Rick Caruso
Founder and CEO // Caruso Affiliated

Rick J. Caruso is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Caruso Affiliated, recognized as one of the country’s most innovative and influential real estate companies.  Caruso Affiliated owns and manages a dynamic portfolio of outdoor lifestyle properties -- including The Grove in Los Angeles, The Americana at Brand in Glendale, The Commons at Calabasas and The Promenade at Westlake, delivering 5 -star customer service with a neighborhood scale and community feel, and creating a unique guest experience that attracts over 60 million visitors annually. 

Mr. Caruso has been widely honored for both his business innovations and philanthropic contributions to the Greater Los Angeles community.  He recently endowed the Caruso Catholic Center at the University of Southern California, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of Southern California, the Board of Councilors of Pepperdine School of Law and the Board of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation. His numerous community and philanthropic commitments include service on the boards of Para Los Niňos, St. John’s Health Center Foundation, The California Medical Center, USC School of Policy, Planning and Development and The National Institute of Transplantation.  Mr. Caruso has been inducted into the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Business Hall of Fame. 

Together with his wife, Tina, he also founded the Caruso Family Foundation, dedicated to supporting organizations that improve the lives of children in need of healthcare and education.

Mr. Caruso believes strongly in public service and civic responsibility.  He served as President of the Los Angeles Police Commission, President of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Board of Commissioners and served as the Governor’s appointee to the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission.

Mr. Caruso holds a a Juris Doctor degree from Pepperdine University School of Law, where he was a Brock Scholar, and a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Southern California.  

He is a native of Los Angeles, and continues to reside in the city with Tina, their three sons and a daughter.

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Kristin Eberhard
Legal Director, Western Energy & Climate Projects, Energy & Transportation Program // NRDC

Kristin Eberhard is the Legal Director of Western Energy and Climate Projects in NRDC’s energy program. Ms. Eberhard leads NRDC's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in California and throughout the West. She has taught "Climate Change Law" at Stanford Law School and "Energy Law" at UCLA Law School. In the past, Ms. Eberhard has worked as a litigator at a private law firm, as an energy consultant for PG&E, and conducting independent research on renewable energy and sustainable building practices in rural areas of Latin America. She graduated cum laude from the Duke University School of Law, while concurrently earning a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment. She also holds a B.A. in Science, Technology and Society, with interdisciplinary honors in Environmental Science and Technology Policy, from Stanford University.

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Bob Foster
Mayor // City of Long BeachChair // ISO Board of Governors

Mayor Bob Foster was elected as the 27^th mayor of Long Beach in 2006 and re-elected in 2010. 

Mayor Foster served as president of Southern California Edison before his retirement in 2006 after more than 20 years with the company.  As an Edison executive, Mayor Foster led California’s largest electric company through the 1999 energy crisis.  During Mayor Foster’s tenure, Edison developed the largest renewable, clean energy programs in the United States.

He began his public service career as a staff member for the California Energy Commission where he helped create the first statewide energy efficiency standards that are still enforced today. 

He was appointed as the Environment Committee chair in 2008, elected to the Advisory Board in 2009 and the Board of Trustees in 2010 for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. 

Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Mayor Foster to the Board of Governors for the California Independent Systems Operators (ISO) in 2010.

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Mary Nichols
Chairman // California Air Resources Board

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Rick Cameron
Director of Environmental Planning // Port of Long Beach

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Gene Rodrigues
Director of Energy Efficiency // Southern California Edison

Gene Rodrigues is the Director of Customer Energy Efficiency and Solar for Southern California Edison Company. In this capacity, Gene oversees SCE’s portfolio of Energy Efficiency, Low Income Energy Efficiency, Low Income Rate Assistance, California Solar Initiative and Self Generation Incentive programs.  SCE is a national leader in helping customers to save energy, money and the environment through its award-winning energy efficiency programs. 

In addition to his duties at SCE, Gene serves as chairman of the board of directors for the Consortium for Energy Efficiency.  He also serves on the boards of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the China-US Energy Efficiency Alliance.  Gene is a member of the executive leadership group for the U.S. DOE/EPA-sponsored State Energy Efficiency Action Network, the strategy committee for EEI's Institute for Energy Efficiency, and the steering committee for the Alliance to Save Energy's Global Action Network for Energy Efficiency Education.

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Jun Niimi
Consul General // Japanese Consulate, Los Angeles

Consul General Niimi joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1979 after graduating from Tokyo University’s Faculty of Law.  His previous international assignments were in England, Kenya, France, Iran, Russia, and Thailand. At Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Tokyo, he has served as Director of the Overseas Public Relations Division, Director of the Consular Policy Division, Director of the Overseas Establishments Division, and as Assistant Vice-Minister.  The post of Consul General at Los Angeles is his first assignment in the United States.

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Christine Kehoe
Executive Director // California Plug In Electric Vehicle Collaborative

Elected to the State Senate in 2004 and re-elected in 2008, Kehoe represents the 39th Senate District, which includes much of San Diego, the cities of Del Mar and Lemon Grove, and neighboring communities.

As a Senator, Kehoe has established herself as an environmental leader and dedicated ‘good government’ advocate.  She chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, and is a member of the Banking & Financial Institutions Committee; Governance & Finance Committee; Natural Resources & Water Committee; Transportation & Housing Committee; and also chairs the Joint Emergency Management Committee.

Prior to being elected to the Senate, Kehoe served two terms as State Assemblymember representing the 76th District from 2000 through 2004. Before that, she served seven years as City Councilmember representing San Diego's Third District.  Previously, Kehoe was a volunteer with the Center for Women's Studies and Services, editor of the San Diego Gayzette newspaper, and served as executive director of the Hillcrest Business Association.

Kehoe is a member of the Sierra Club, the National Organization for Women (NOW), National Women's Political Caucus, Uptown Democratic Club, California Women in Government, the San Diego Democratic Club, and the Women's Transportation Seminar. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the California Elected Women's Association for Education and Research (CEWAER).

Kehoe lives in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood with her partner Julie Warren.

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Carla Peterman
Commissioner // California Public Utilities Commission

Carla Peterman was appointed to the California Energy Commission by Governor Jerry Brown in January 2011 and began work in March 2011. Commissioner Peterman currently presides over the Energy Commission's Renewables Committee and is the Associate Member on the Electricity and Natural Gas Committee and Transportation Committee. Ms. Peterman has conducted extensive research on solar photovoltaic markets and climate change at the University of California Energy Institute at Haas from 2006-2011 and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 2008 to 2010. Ms. Peterman also served on the board of directors for The Utility Reform Network (TURN) from 2008-2011, most recently as Board Treasurer.

Ms. Peterman will complete her doctoral studies this year in Energy and Resources at the University of California Berkeley; she holds a BA in history from Howard University, a MSC in environmental change and management, and an MBA from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

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Su Wei
Director General, Climate Change Department // China's National Development and Reform Commission

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Osamu Onodera
Director // Japan New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, Silicon Valley

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Janet-Marie Smith
Senior VP Planning and Development // Los Angeles Dodgers

Renowned architect and urban planner Janet Marie Smith was named the Dodgers’ senior vice president of planning and development on Aug. 6, 2012. Smith is overseeing upgrades and enhancements to Dodger Stadium.    This post reunites Smith with Dodger President, Stan Kasten.  Smith worked for Kasten in a similar position to create the Atlanta Braves’ Turner Field and the Atlanta Hawks’ Philips Arena.  

Smith is probably best known in the baseball world, for her work on the influential Oriole Park at Camden Yards.  Smith worked for the Orioles from 1989-94 as vice president of planning and development during the design and construction of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Opening in 1992, Camden Yards immediately became the standard-bearer for a new wave of traditional baseball parks that have been built in subsequent years. Smith played an instrumental role in the design of the ballpark, creating a state-of-the-art unique facility that blends with the urban context of downtown Baltimore while taking inspiration from baseball parks built in the early 20th century. 

Prior to joining the Dodgers, Smith worked for the Baltimore Orioles as vice president of planning and development from September 2009 to August 2012. In that role, Smith directed renovations and expansion of the Orioles’ new spring training facility in Sarasota, Florida as well as upgrades and enhancements to Oriole Park at Camden Yards to celebrate the park’s 20^th anniversary.

From 2002 to 2009, Smith served as senior vice president of planning and development for the Boston Red Sox, overseeing the preservation of historic Fenway Park and leading the program that placed this significant ballpark on the National Historic Register. 

From 1994-2000, Smith held the position of president of Turner Sports and Entertainment Development, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, and was the vice president of Planning and Development for the Atlanta Braves. Her work in Atlanta helped transform the 1996 Olympic Stadium into Turner Field, home of the Braves, and she also oversaw the development of the Philips Arena, home of the NBA Atlanta Hawks and NHL Atlanta Thrashers.

Smith also worked as senior advisor of planning and design with Baltimore-based Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse on many of their development and rehab projects from Nashville, Tenn. to Providence, R.I., including concept planning for the renovation of the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, Calif. She was also part of the THINK team, one of the final two teams in the competition for the World Trade Center site in New York City in 2002. 

In 2012, the Boston Baseball Writers honored Smith with a Special Achievement Award for her work at Fenway Park. In 2011, she was named in the Inaugural Class of the Sports Business Journal “Game Changers: Women in Sports Business.”

Before working in sports, Smith worked on urban development projects including Pershing Square in Los Angeles and Battery Park City in New York City, where she served as coordinator of Architecture and Design.

Smith holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from City College of New York and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Mississippi State University. She is an associate member of the Urban Land Institute, American Institute of Architects, and the American Planning Association. She also serves on the board of directors for Berklee College of Music in Boston and the advisory board for the University of Michigan Sports Management Program. 

A native of Jackson, Miss., Smith resides in Baltimore with her husband, Bart Harvey, and their three children.

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Jeff Kightlinger
General Manager // Metropolitan Water District

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Felicia Marcus
Board Member // California State Water Resources Control Board

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Zev Yaroslavsky
Supervisor, 3rd District // Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors

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Jack Baylis
Senior Vice President // The Shaw Group

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Tom Soto
Co-Founder and Managing Partner // Craton Equity Partners

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Jonathan Weisgall
Vice President // Mid-American Energy

Jonathan Weisgall is Vice President for Legislative and Regulatory Affairs for MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Geothermal Energy Association. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he has taught a seminar on energy issues since 1990, and he has also guest lectured on energy issues at Stanford Law School, Haverford, and the Johns Hopkins Environmental Science and Policy Program. Mr. Weisgall graduated from Columbia College and from Stanford Law School. He previously practiced law in Washington, D.C. at Covington & Burling, has written several law review articles and has published articles in Legal Times, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Foreign Policy, SAIS Review, and The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

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Ron Nichols
General Manager // LADWP

Ron Nichols is General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.  Under his leadership, in two years LADWP has more than doubled the utility’s commitment to energy efficiency, doubled the pace of funding rebates for customer-installed solar, and started an aggressive new solar feed-in tariff program while meeting 20% renewable energy delivered to its power customers. Similarly, LADWP has adopted expanded goals to reduce reliance on imported water to meet LA water customer needs through increased water conservation, clean-up of contaminated ground water, stormwater capture and recycled water.  These changes are underway while maintaining among the lowest customer rates for water and power in California. 

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Robyn Beavers
Director of Commercialization // DEKA Research & Development

Robyn Beavers started her career as an energy efficiency consultant and then moved on to become the founding member of Google’s Green Business & Operations strategy team. In this role she delivered several green strategic programs including the country's largest corporate solar installation at the time, energy efficiency retrofits for Google's global offices, employee incentive programs, and the creation of a large scale renewable energy investment program. While pursuing her MBA, Robyn served as a Fellow for the Department of Energy. In 2011, she joined Vestas Wind Systems where she created WindMade, a global NGO that issues the first global consumer label for brands and products made with wind energy. She has recently joined DEKA Research & Engineering to commercialize their various distributed water and power technologies. She holds both a B.S. in Civil Engineering and an MBA from Stanford University.

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Earl Blumenauer
Oregon's 3rd District // US House of Representatives

A lifelong resident of Portland, Oregon, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-3) has devoted his entire career to public service.

While still a student at Lewis and Clark College, from which he holds undergraduate and law degrees, Blumenauer spearheaded the effort to lower the voting age both in Oregon and at the national level. Elected to the Oregon Legislature in 1972, where he served three terms and chaired the House Education and Revenue Committee in 1977-78, he was subsequently elected to the Multnomah County Commission in 1978, where he served for eight years. Joining to the Portland City Council in 1986, Blumenauer’s 10-year tenure as the Commissioner of Public Works demonstrated his innovative leadership in transportation, planning, environmental programs and public participation that have helped Portland earn an international reputation as one of America’s most livable cities.

Elected to the US House of Representatives in 1996, Mr. Blumenauer has created a unique role as Congress’ chief spokesperson for Livable Communities: places where people are safe, healthy, and economically secure.  From 1996 to 2007, he served on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he was a strong advocate for federal policies that address transportation alternatives, provide housing choices, support sustainable economies, and improve the environment. He was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee from 2001 to 2007 and vice-chair of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming from 2007 to 2010.  Congressman Blumenauer was recently elected to his ninth term in the House of Representatives and is a member of the Ways and Means Committee and the Budget Committee.

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Jerry Meral
California Natural Resources Agency // Deputy Secretary

Gerald Meral, Ph.D. was appointed Natural Resources Agency deputy secretary for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) on Jan. 19, 2011.  Dr. Meral will be charged with guiding completion of the BDCP to restore the Bay-Delta ecosystem and create water supply reliability for California.  In addition, he will also be responsible for the development of any revenue and funding proposals necessary to complete the plan.

Dr. Meral was executive director of the Planning and Conservation League from 1983 to 2003. He previously served as deputy director of the California Department of Water Resources from 1975 to 1983 under Governor Brown, and director of the western water program of the Environmental Defense Fund from 1971 to 1975. Dr. Meral holds a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of California, Berkeley.  He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan.  He lives in Inverness, Calif. with his wife Barbara.

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Gail Goldberg
Executive Director // ULI- Los Angeles

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Doug Kim
Director, Advanced Technology // Southern California Edison

Doug Kim is the director of Advanced Technology, Southern California Edison’s technology evaluation organization. This Transmission and Distribution group operates as part of the Engineering and Technical Services division and is responsible for SCE’s smart grid development, which includes advanced grid technologies, energy storage, electric transportation, and the integration of energy smart consumer products.

Before taking the helm at Advanced Technology, Mr. Kim led SCE’s Plug-In Electric Vehicle Readiness efforts to ensure SCE’s grid and services are prepared to support the integration of the many new electric vehicles being marketed by automobile manufacturers. 

Kim began his tenure at Edison International (EIX), the parent company of SCE, in 1996 where he was engaged in the company’s strategic planning and new business development. He also served as an internal consultant for many of EIX’s operating units. Mr. Kim went on to manage a variety of SCE organizations where he led the assessment of new business opportunities, development of strategies, and detailed business plans. 

Mr. Kim earned a Master of Business Administration degree from UCLA and his Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, CA. 

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Hector de la Torre
CARB Commissioner // Free Conferencing Corporation

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Bruce Karas
Vice President, Environment & Sustainability // Coca Cola Refreshments

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Gary Petersen
Partner and Co-Founder // Environmental Problem Solving Enterprises

Gary Petersen is a partner in Environmental Problem Solving Enterprises, which he co-founded in 1997. The firm specializes in advancing environmentally preferable products and services, including the development of renewable energy and fuels, emerging green technologies, and sustainable design and development. He is a national leader on recycling and sustainability issues.  As founder and president of Ecolo-Haul Recycling (1972-1988), he built a regional network of nearly 60 recycling centers serving much of southern California. He established Los Angeles´s first curbside recycling program in 1972 and was the first citywide recycling contractor for Los Angeles and Santa Monica from the mid-1970s into the late 1980s.   Ecolo-Haul Recycling was later acquired by Waste Management Inc., and Mr. Petersen served as a vice-president and director of environmental affairs for the company's Recycle America program from 1988 to 1997. Mr. Petersen has advised local, State, and federal agencies, corporate entities, businesses, and environmental organizations.  He was a member of the task force for the Greening of the White House.  He is Chairman of the Board of Green Seal and co-chairs the Corporate Board of the Environmental Media Association (EMA).  Mr. Petersen is a co-founder of the California Resource Recovery Association and was a founding member of the National Recycling Coalition. He was appointed as the environmental member of the California Integrated Waste Management Board in 2005 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and served until 2008.

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Homer Williams
Chairman // Williams & Dame Development

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Catherine Dunwoody
Executive Director // California Fuel Cell Partnership

Catherine Dunwoody is the executive director of the California Fuel Cell Partnership. She has led the organization since 1999 when it was announced as a fuel cell vehicle demonstration program. Today the CaFCP is globally recognized as a leader in promoting hydrogen fuel cell vehicle commercialization. Catherine leads the CaFCP’s team of industry and government members in their collaborative planning, technical and outreach activities. She has long championed the cause for clean air and a better environment, having started her career at the California Air Resources Board in the mid-1980’s as a laboratory chemist, then managing teams responsible for stationary source testing and implementing clean vehicle regulations. In 2011 Automotive News named Catherine as one of the “Electrifying 100” most influential players in the move to electric drive vehicles. Catherine graduated with highest honors in Biochemistry from the University of California, Davis. 

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Joe Edmiston
Executive Director // Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy

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Chris Hill
President & CEO // Electric Mobility Canada

Chris Hill is the President  & CEO of Electric Mobility Canada, Canada’s leading voice for industry members providing electric-powered solutions to the economic and environmental issues in the transportation sector.  This not-for-profit association has 125 members in the automotive industry, energy utilities, research and development centres, universities and end-user fleets.  Electric Mobility Canada is presenting its 5^th annual conference, the largest EV event in Canada, in Ottawa in October 2013.

Chris has an MBA from the University of Toronto and has received several awards for his work in implementing low emission automotive technology.  He lives in Mississauga, Ontario.

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Kevin Ratner
President // Forest City

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Pete Skala
Program Manager // California Public Utilities Commission’s Demand-Side Analysis branch

Pete Skala is the Program Manager of the California Public Utilities Commission’s Demand-Side Analysis branch. In this capacity, Mr. Skala oversees the Commission’s analysis of the existing potential and corresponding cost-effectiveness of the various demand-side energy resources being pursued by the state’s large investor-owned utilities (energy efficiency, demand response, and distributed generation).  This branch of the CPUC’s Energy Division is also responsible for evaluating the success of the utilities’ demand-side energy resource programs.   

Mr. Skala has worked at the CPUC in various capacities for over ten years.  Prior to running the Demand-Side Analysis program, he supervised the Commission’s Climate Strategies section, working closely with the Air Resources Board in the design of the cap and trade program (particularly with respect to its impact on the electricity sector).  Before this, he was responsible for overseeing the development of the utilities’ long-term (10-year) procurement plans.

Prior to joining the Commission, Mr. Skala spent over a decade working with various environmental consultancies as an environmental engineer and project manager, designing and implementing state superfund site remediation projects, waste reduction programs, and environmental assessments in support of military base closures.

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Alex Fay
Business Development Manager // Quallion

Alex Fay manages business development efforts for clean transportation and medical devices, and he oversees research and development programs at Quallion, a manufacturer of lithium ion batteries for advanced applications.  

Alex’s portfolio includes the company’s effort to expand its manufacturing capabilities through a grant from the California Energy Commission.  He also works closely with Quallion’s R&D and engineering teams to develop novel lithium ion battery chemistries, cell designs, and safety features. 

Prior to joining Quallion, Alex worked as a clean technology advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.  Alex is a graduate of UCLA.

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Anthony Ravitz
Real Estate and Workplace Services, Green Team Lead // Google

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Vance Fong
Environmental Indicator Program Manager // US Environmental Protection Agency

Vance S. Fong, P.E. is the Manager of the Environmental Indicator program leading Region 9 efforts to develop environmental indicators across media programs, working with the U.S. EPA Headquarters to develop the Report on the Environment, and providing support to states and tribes to develop their own indicators.  He was the Chief of the Quality Assurance Office managing the Region 9 Quality Assurance Program and environmental data collection activities.  He worked in Hawaii Department of Health and provided programmatic advice and technical assistance in the development and implementation of the Hawaii Hazard evaluation and Emergency Response Rules.  He joined the Pacific Southwest Regional Office in 1987 where he was a Superfund Project Manager, responsible for leading and overseeing environmental remediation efforts at Federal Facilities on the National Priority List. 

Vance has been designated by the EPA Science Policy Council to be a member of EPA Group on Earth Observation (GEO) representing EPA Region 9.  Vance has been the Principal Investigator for two Advanced Monitoring Initiative projects -- Satellite and Surface Monitoring of Ozone Concentrations in Support of U.S.-Mexico Border 2012 Program and the California Sustainability Indicators Suite.

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Josh Richman
Vice President of Business Development // Bloom Energy

Josh Richman is the Vice President of Business Development for Bloom Energy Corporation where his responsibilities include market development, strategic partnerships, and legislative and regulatory affairs. Before joining Bloom, Josh was an associate at Greenrock Capital, a private equity fund focused exclusively on clean energy investments. Prior to his work in the energy sector, Josh spent six years in the political arena serving as Congressman Patrick Kennedy’s Political Director and as a senior member of the Richard Gephardt for President campaign. 

Josh graduated with honors from Brown University and received his MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. While at Stanford, Josh co-founded the GSB Energy Club and worked at Technology Partners, a Silicon Valley cleantech venture capital firm. Josh served on the board of the Clean Tech Advisory Council for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, and on the Sunnyvale Mayor’s Green Ribbon Sustainability Taskforce.

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Doug Sereno
Director of Program Management // Port of Long Beach

Douglas J. Sereno, P.E., has been the Director of Program Management for the Port of Long Beach, California since August 2007 where he oversees the Port’s 5-year, $4.5B capital improvement program.  Significant current projects under his direction are the $950M Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement, the $1.2B Middle Harbor Redevelopment Program and the $600M Pier G Redevelopment Program.  Doug holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.  He is a Registered Engineer in the State of California and is credentialed as a Envision Sustainability Professional by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI).

Doug is involved in sustainable infrastructure initiatives with ASCE’s Coasts, Oceans, Ports and Rivers Institute (COPRI) as the chairman of its Sustainability Committee and as the secretary of the ASCE - LA Chapter’s Sustainability Committee.  He serves on ASCE‘s Subcommittee on Sustainable Infrastructure Certification that is developing an international certification standard for the Sustainable Infrastructure Professional, ASCE’s  Committee on Sustainability as a member of the Strategic Communications Committee and ISI Envision Infrastructure Rating System Leadership Credits Sub-Committee.  He was the initial chair of the Port’s Sustainability Task Force and is a founding member of the Joint West Coast Ports Technical Committee for the Development of Sustainable Design and Construction Guidelines. He is an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Water Environment Federation and the U.S. Green Building Council, LA Chapter.

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Gary Lee Moore
City Engineer // City of Los Angeles

Gary Lee Moore is the City Engineer of the City of Los Angeles, leading a world-class organization of 800 professional engineers, architects, surveyors and technical support staff dedicated to sustaining and transforming Los Angeles into the world’s most livable city. As the general manager of the Bureau of Engineering, he is responsible for the City’s vast network of public infrastructure, which includes the planning, design, and construction of all public facilities, management of billions of dollars of voter-approved public bond funds, and the delivery of cross-sector local government programs that serve millions of  residents and businesses in diverse neighborhoods and industries. With more than 27 years of public service, Mr. Moore is an accomplished executive and professional engineer, who is responsible for an annual operating budget of more than $140 million and 430 active projects totaling nearly $2.1 billion. Since he began his tenure as City Engineer in 2003, Mr. Moore has been responsible for the completion of 1277 projects totaling more than $3.8 billion.

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Dean Wiberg
Jet Propulsion Laboratory // Program Manager

Dean Wiberg is a program manager in the Commercial Program Office at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with responsibilities to develop business opportunities with non-NASA entities to solve sponsor requirements using JPL technologies and capabilities leading to transfer and commercialization. Before assuming his current role in the program office, Dean was a project lead in JPL’s Microdevices laboratory for the development of a variety of instruments, sensors and systems predicated on Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) technology where he was named in about 15 patents and new technology disclosures. Before joining JPL, Dean held technical, management and business development positions at the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), IBM, Westinghouse, Northrop Grumman, Sarcos Research/University of Utah and was co-founder of a venture funded, high tech materials company, VaporFab, which was subsequently sold to International Nickel Company. Dean holds a BS in Chemistry, an MS in Chemical Engineering and has done additional graduate studies in Materials Science and Business Administration. He is also on the Board-of-Directors for CleanTech LA and the Foothill Municipal Water District.

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Mark Gold
Associate Director // UCLA Institute for the Environment and Sustainability

Mark Gold is the Associate Director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Prior to his current role, he led the environmental group, Heal the Bay, for nearly 20 years as its executive director and President. Gold received his bachelors and masters in biology and doctorate in Environmental Science and Engineering from UCLA.  He has worked extensively for the last 25 years in the fields of coastal protection, water pollution, water supply, and urban sustainability.  In particular, he has worked on research projects on urban runoff pollution, DDT and PCB contamination in fish, and the health risks of swimming at numerous runoff contaminated beaches.  He created Heal the Bay's Beach Report Card and he has helped author numerous California coastal protection, water quality and environmental education laws. He served on the USEPA Urban Stormwater Federal Advisory Committee, and was the vice-chair of the California Ocean Science Trust, and the National Estuary Program's Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission.  Recently, Gold co-authored the Vision 2021 LA Sustainable City Plan, a joint effort between the IoES and the Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment at the UCLA Law School.

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Thomas Day Jr
Chief Sustainability Officer // United States Postal Service

Thomas Day was named Chief Sustainability Officer in June 2011. He leads the USPS effort of being a sustainability leader by creating a culture of conservation throughout the Postal Service and leading the adoption of sustainable business practices. Prior to serving in this role, he was Senior Vice President, Intelligent Mail and Address Quality (2007-2011) and Senior Vice President, Government Relations (2005-2007). From 2001-2005, he was Vice President, Engineering.

Day is a third generation employee who entered the Postal Service as a management associate in the Northeast Region in 1984 following five years’ service as an officer in the U.S. Army. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in engineering in 1978. He represented the Postal Service as a Sloan Fellow at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, where he earned a master of science degree in management in 1996.

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Frank Harris
Manager of Corporate Environmental Policy // Southern California Edison

Frank Harris is the Manager of Corporate Environmental Policy at Southern California Edison. In this capacity he manages SCE’s greenhouse gas policy activities and represents SCE before the California Air Resources Board, the California Public Utilities Commission, and the California Energy Commission. Additionally, he is responsible for evaluating environmental and energy legislation and regulation, providing policy recommendations to SCE management and coordinating and communicating SCE policy recommendations to external stakeholders. Dr. Harris holds B.A. degrees in Economics and Finance from the University of Texas at Dallas and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California at Irvine where he specialized in Energy Policy and Public Choice.  His most recent publication “California Dreaming: The Economics, Politics, and Mechanics of Meeting California’s Carbon Mandate” was included in Generating Electricity in a Carbon Constrained World

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Varun Sivaram
Senior Advisor, Energy and Water // Office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

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Paul Clark
Director // Climate Change & Emissions Management Corporation (CCEMC)

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David Stickler
NRG Energy Services

David Stickler directs distributed generation strategy at NRG Energy, Inc. a Fortune 300 company that is at the forefront of changing how people think about and use energy. In addition to 47,000 megawatts of generation capacity, NRG’s retail electricity providers serve more than two million customers. David has over 30 years of experience in the power industry that started in US Navy in nuclear power plant operations. He received a BS in Electrical Engineering from Penn State University and an MBA from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business.

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Jordanna Rubin
Client Program Manager // Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure

Ms. Rubin is a client program manager for Shaw’s Sustainability Services National Practice Program. She holds a Masters in Public Administration, with a concentration in Environmental and Energy Policy, and a certificate in Conservation Biology from Columbia University in New York City.

Mrs. Rubin has a diverse professional background in environmental management and resource conservation. She has managed projects that developed and implemented sustainability programs, green infrastructure and high efficiency design, environmental stewardship reports and capital planning, energy strategies and audits, industry benchmark assessments, and GHG inventories.  Mrs. Rubin has been involved in several green conferences and workshops, presenting infor­mation on ARRA funding opportunities, sustainable and green infrastructure design, and strategies for program implementation to city, county, state officials, and other stakeholders.

Prior to joining Shaw, Ms. Rubin was the Environ­mental Resources Manager for the City of Miami Beach, FL. She was responsible for the management of all environmental projects and education programs and served as a liaison to local and state environmental regulatory agencies. Mrs. Rubin was the project manager for the design, engineering, and construction of over 15 public works construction projects, including South Beach’s “Beachwalk”.

Ms. Rubin served as Co-Chair of the Florida Green Building Coalition, Local Government Committee for over 5 years and is a member of numerous organizations including: USGBC, the C4 Central Coast and the Association of Environmental Professionals. 

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Hampik Dekermenjian
Senior Vice President // CDM Smith

Mr. Hampik Dekermenjian is a Senior Vice President with CDM Smith.  He is responsible for managing CDM Smith’s public sector business in Southern California and Arizona.  Mr. Dekermenjian has over 20 years of experience working with cities and municipalities in the areas of water resources, stormwater management, water and wastewater treatment, and municipal strategic planning.  He has been part of the leadership team in southern California in developing stormwater compliance strategies and TMDL implementation plans.  He has also been involved in numerous stakeholder outreach initiatives, focusing on reaching consensus in the development of these strategic plans.  He holds a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in environmental engineering and a Master of Business Administration; the latter two from the University of Southern California.

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Adam Sulkowski
Associate Professor of Business Law and Sustainable Development // University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Adam Sulkowski specializes in research and teaching in the fields of sustainable business, corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability reporting, and law. He received his JD and MBA from Boston College and was a manager for several years before becoming a full-time professor. Since then, Prof. Sulkowski has authored over 30 published works of scholarship and his research has been cited by MSN, The Times of India, Inc. magazine, and Science Daily. He led MBA students in producing the first sustainability report in the world by a university that attained an A level of compliance with the world’s preeminent standard, the GRI’s G3.1 standard.  Most recently, this report became the first by a university to attain the A+ level of compliance with the G3.1 standard, and Sulkowski's students produced the first sustainability report by a city (Fall River, MA) and small town (Dartmouth, MA) in the United States to use the GRI's standard - these reports are the first in the world by municipalities to report on enough metrics to qualify as A level.

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Randy Hoyle
Senior Vice President and Head of Wind and Solar Development // Terra-Gen Power

Mr. Hoyle leads Terra-Gen’s wind and solar development initiatives.  Over the past three years his team has successfully developed and constructed 1,320MW of wind energy composed of nine projects and represents a $2.8 billion investment in California.  In 2011, Terra-Gen was recognized as the #1 wind developer in the United States based on installed capacity during the year.  Prior to joining Terra-Gen, Mr. Hoyle was Managing Director at Edison Mission Energy, the unregulated affiliate of Edison International, responsible for business development activities related to a national wind energy platform. From 1994 to 2005, Mr. Hoyle was employed by NextEra Energy Resources, the unregulated affiliate of NextEra Energy, Inc. (formerly FPL Group). He last served as Director, Development accountable for originating and developing an industry-leading wind franchise in the southern Mid-Continent region. Previous to that assignment at NextEra, he provided leadership in natural gas development, mergers and acquisitions, and financial analysis roles. Mr. Hoyle earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Miami (FL) and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Finance from Iowa State University.

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Matthew Harris
Senior Director, Executive Office // San Diego County Regional Airport Authority

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Chun-cheng Piao
Senior Manager, Ph.D., Environmental Technology Laboratory // Daikin Industries, Ltd

Dr. Piao joined Daikin Industries, Ltd, after he got his doctoral degree, since 1992. He mainly worked at Daikin research lab, and involved in many projects, such as development of fundamental thermodynamic properties of HFCs refrigerant, evaluation and development of natural working fluids air-conditioning system, feasibility study of latent/sensible heat separate air-conditioning system, feasibility study of micro co-generation system, etc. Recently, he is more interested in introducing outside advanced technologies into Daikin’s technology portfolio, to make an innovation in HVAC, an established traditional industry. 

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Jean-Phillipe Brisson
Partner, Environmental, Land and Resources Department // Latham & Watkins LLP

JP Brisson is a partner in Latham & Watkins’s Environmental, Land and Resources Department and Vice-Chair of its Air Quality and Climate Change Practice. He has close to fifteen years of experience advising oil and gas, industrial and financial institution clients on a range of environmental-related matters including carbon finance, renewable energy and commodities and is ranked by Chambers for his work in this area. He was previously Vice President in Goldman Sachs’ Global Commodities business where he established Goldman’s US carbon trading desk.

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Paul Helliker
Deputy Director, Delta and Statewide Water Management // California Department of Water Resources

Paul Helliker was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in October, 2012 to the position of Deputy Director, Delta and Statewide Water Management.  In that role, Paul oversees DWR's Bay-Delta Office, FloodSAFE Environmental Stewardship and Statewide Resources Office, Division of Environmental Services, and the Inter-State Water Resources Manager.  Paul has worked in environmental and resource management programs for 26 years, with experience at the federal, state and local levels.  Prior to joining DWR, Paul served for eight years as the General Manager of the Marin Municipal Water District, where he also served as chair of the Bay Area Water Agencies Coalition (composed of the major wholesale and retail water supply agencies in the Bay Area), and chair of the regional water management group responsible for the Bay Area Integrated Regional Water Management.  Paul also served under Governor Gray Davis as the Director of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation from 1999-2004, and in other executive and management positions prior to 1999 at CALSTART, the California Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Paul holds a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, and a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering, all from Stanford University.

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Paul Sellew
CEO // Harvest Power Canada Ltd. and Harvest Power, Inc.

PAUL SELLEW is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Harvest Power Canada Ltd. and of Harvest Power, Inc. Paul has been a leader in the organics industry for more than 25 years. In 1982 he founded Earthgro, Inc., which grew to be the second largest producer of compost-based lawn and garden products in North America. He has also founded and led International Process Systems, Inc. (composting technology provider), Allgro, Inc. (compost marketing firm), Environmental Credit Corp. (carbon credit creation and trading), and Backyard Farms (hydroponic greenhouse tomato producer). Paul graduated from Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

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Robert Weisenmiller
Chair // California Energy Commission

Dr. Robert Weisenmiller was appointed to the California Energy Commission by Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger in January 2010, by Governor Jerry Brown in January 2011 and subsequently appointed Chair in February 2011. He fills the

Engineer/Scientist position on the five-member Commission where four of the five members by law are required to have  professional training in specific areas - engineering or physical science, environmental protection, economics, and law.

Chair Weisenmiller brings more than 30 years of energy experience to the Commission including expertise in electricity and gas markets and California regulatory policies. Chair Weisenmiller has served as an expert witness in more than 100 state and federal regulatory commission proceedings and has authored numerous publications on electricity and natural gas markets.

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Tom Whitton
Director of Business Development // PyroGenesis Canada Inc.

Mr. Whitton obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from McGill University in 1991.  He began his career pursuing mandates in applied research, process engineering, and production management with ICI Explosives, Noranda, and Recyclex.  In 2001, Mr. Whitton joined PyroGenesis, where he occupied several roles in production, contract management and business development, principally with the company’s Advanced Materials division.  With the sale of this division in 2004, Mr. Whitton was transferred to Raymor Industries, becoming Director of Business Development, with responsibilities for growing the company’s powders and nanotechnology businesses along with presenting the company to the investment community in Canada and the US.  After a year-long stint as the powders division’s Director of Operations,  Mr. Whitton returned to PyroGenesis in 2009 to his current role.  At PyroGenesis, with his background and experience in engineering, operations, technology and business development, Mr. Whitton helps lead the company’s efforts in growing their plasma-based waste-to-energy and metallurgical technology businesses.  Mr. Whitton was an original elected board member of Ecotech Québec, the province’s new clean technology cluster, and continues to participate in the organization’s Regulatory and Fiscal Framework study group.  Mr. Whitton is also currently a sitting City Councillor for Deux-Montagnes, a suburb of Montreal, having been elected in 2009.

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Louis Romo
Vice President, Business Development // JFE Engineering America

Mr. Romo is currently responsible for all business development for JFE Engineering America including diverse technologies such as waste to energy, produced water treatment, waste heat generation, electric vehicle chargers and steel bridge construction. With a strong background in international business Mr. Romo has created sales and market strategies for each of JFE’s target markets.

Mr. Romo has helped create various startup companies in the green tech industry serving as business development lead.  He was involved in the creation of Calnetix, a Southern California engineering company focusing on high tech clean energy technologies, and VYCON an energy storage flywheel technology company.  With expertise in the design of magnetic power systems Mr. Romo has also served as Vice President of Engineering and Director of Business Development for Integrated Magnetics a leading Southern California manufacturing group.  As an Electrical Engineer designing high speed motor and generator systems for Allied Signal Aerospace (now Honeywell), he was the Program Manager responsible for the electrical power systems group.

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Dave Ramslie
Senior Sustainability Programs Manager // City of Vancouver

Dave Ramslie is the City of Vancouver’s Senior Sustainability Programs Manager. In this role Dave is responsible for overseeing the development of programs and policies that address Vancouver’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions targets and the ongoing development of Vancouver’s Green Building Strategy. Dave’s work on green building standards and land use policy has won national awards from the Canadian Institute of Planners, and from the Canadian Green Building Council, for Government Leadership in Green Building. In 2012 Dave was recognized by the International Living Future Institute with their Public Sector Leadership award in recognition of decade of work on urban sustainability issues.  

Some signature projects include:

• Developing Canada’s first municipal energy efficiency financing program,
• Developing Vancouver’s green building code,
• Authoring Vancouver’s carbon neutral buildings strategy.
• Developing Vancouver’s electric vehicle charging by-law
• Creating Vancouver’s green rezoning policy and passive design guidelines
• Developing the policy frame work for large site redevelopment that included district energy

Dave formally served on the Board of Directors for the Cascadia Regional Green Buildings Council. He also lectures throughout the Northwest on Urban Sustainability issues and helps develop sustainability curriculum for local universities and colleges. 

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Chip Clements
President // Clements Environmental Corporation

Mr. Clements has over 35 years of experience in the environmental field and has managed more than 150 projects in his career.  As the founder of Clements Environmental Corporation, he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of business development, project performance, client liaison, and administration.  He is expert in Zero Waste planning and the development of solid waste and recycling infrastructure including: Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) and transfer stations, composting operations, C&D processing plants, recycling centers, and e-Recycling facilities having permitted over 70 such projects throughout California.  In addition, he has extensive experience in innovative/alternative technologies for converting solid waste into renewable electricity and fuels and has been working on the development of such facilities for the past 10 years.

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Jean-Yves Benoit
Director of the Carbon Market // Quebec Ministry of Sustainable Development

Mr. Jean-Yves Benoit graduated with honors from Montréal University and received a Master of science in Economics.  He worked for many years in the private sector before joining Quebec’s Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment, Wild Life and Parks in 2006.   Jean-Yves represents the government of Québec in the Western Climate Initiative and is a member of the WCI Board of Directors. 

For the last several years Mr. Benoit has been working on the establishment of a cap-and-trade carbon market in Quebec.  This market will be a key driver for Quebec to achieve the targeted 20% reduction in GHG levels by 2020. 

Because of their mutual commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gasses, Quebec and California have agreed to work to link their two markets in 2013.  Mr. Benoit is the director of the Carbon Market Division leading the team that is responsible for both developing and implementing Quebec’s cap and trade system as well as linking Quebec’s market with that of Califoria.

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Mark Schleich
Director, Resource Recovery & Waste Management Division // Santa Barbara County Public Works Department

Mark Schleich has been a civil engineer for over 25 years at the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department. He has been directly involved in solid waste policy and projects as the director of the Resource Recovery & Waste Management Division for the past 15 years. Mr. Schleich’s division manages three recycling & transfer stations as well as one regional landfill that in total employ over 90 people. During Mr. Schleich’s tenure, the County has increased its recycling rate from 30% to over 70% and received numerous awards for innovative solid waste management including: Landfill Management Excellence Silver Award (SWANA, 2001), Integrated Solid Waste Management Gold Award (SWANA, 2008), and Household Hazardous Waste Management Excellence Award (CalEPA, 2002).

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Lei He
Director // UCLA Clean Energy Research Center

Dr. Lei He is a professor at UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and the founding director of clean energy research center, Los Angeles. The center is a US-China EcoPartner awarded by the Department of State.

Dr. He obtained several technical awards from ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). He also has consulted a number of IT companies including Cisco, Hewlett-Package, and Intel, and was a founding technical adviser to two VC-supported software startups. He is now the chief scientist for Pride Power Systems and DB New Energy.

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Traci Minamide
Chief Operating Officer // City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation

Traci is the Chief Operating Officer for the City of Los Angeles, LA Sanitation, an organization of approximately 3,000 employees with annual revenue of nearly $1 billion.  In this capacity, she assists the Director by maintaining Bureau-wide oversight of operational activities in a program that consists of three core services: wastewater collection and treatment, solids resources, and watershed protection (stormwater).  Her main area of focus is in wastewater treatment, water recycling, and biosolids management where over 450 million gallons a day are collected and treated.

Traci has been with the City for 25 years and has previously served with the City’s Department of Water and Power and the Irvine Ranch Water District.  She has served in many capacities including water planning, industrial pretreatment, environmental regulations, and wastewater treatment.  She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from California State Polytechnic University at Pomona and a Master of Science degree in environmental engineering from Loyola Marymount University.  She is also a licensed professional civil engineer in the State of California and a Board Certified Environmental Engineer.

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Bob Savage
Director, Climate Change Secretariat // Alberta Environment

Bob Savage has spent majority of his career in government working in the field of integrated resource management and land use planning in Alberta.  Over the past 10 years, he has focused on climate change policy where he was a lead in the development of Alberta’s greenhouse gas regulatory system, the offset system  and the establishment of the Climate Change and Emissions Management Fund and Corporation.  Currently, Bob is the Director of Alberta Environment’s Climate Change Secretariat, where he is responsible for the implementation of Alberta’s Climate Change Strategy, including both greenhouse gas mitigation and adaptation policy. 

Bob’s education has been focused on land use planning and resource economics and he holds an MBA in project management.

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Richard Atwater
Southern California Water Committee // Executive Director

Richard Atwater was recently appointed as the Executive Director of the Southern California Water Committee (August 2010). He previously was the CEO/GM of Inland Empire Utilities Agency (1999-2010), President of Bookman-Edmonston Engineering ( 1996-1999), GM of West Basin and Central Basin MWDs (1990-1996).

Mr. Atwater has over thirty-five years experience in water resources management and development in the western U.S.  He has pioneered many award-winning water projects and implemented numerous innovative water resource management programs that meet today’s high standards for quality, reliability and cost-effectiveness.  Mr. Atwater has testified extensively before the U.S. Congress and the California Legislature on water policy issues.  In 1994 Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt awarded Mr. Atwater the Conservation Service Award, the highest citizen award for resources management. And has received from three separate Governors the Economic and Environmental Balance Award (Wilson, Davis and Schwarzenager).  Mr. Atwater was a member of the California Water Commission, the 2001 Drought Task Force, 2003 Water Recycling Task Force and the 2006 Desalination Task Force.

Mr. Atwater has participated in policy formulation workshops and expert panels for the National Academy of Sciences, Western Governors Association, Western Water States Council, and the National Water Research Institute.  In addition, Mr. Atwater has served on the Board of Directors of the Association of California Water Agencies, Urban Water Institute, WateReuse Association (President 2007-2009), Southern California Alliance of Publically Owned Treatment Works (SCAP, President 2007-2010) and the Western Urban Water Coalition.

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Xiaomei Tan
Deputy China Country Director and Director of China // World Resources Institute

Xiaomei Tan is the Deputy China Country Director and Director of China Sustainable & Livable Cities Initiative. She is charged with steering WRI’s research agenda in China, fostering high-level dialogues around critical environmental and development issues, and leading a team of over 10 researchers to contribute to China’s sustainable urbanization and overseas investment.

Xiaomei previously was a senior associate leading WRI’s Emerging Actors in Development Finance project. Her research on how to channel China’s rapidly growing overseas investment to low-carbon development in developing countries has facilitated the communication between Chinese overseas investors and host countries. Prior to that, Xiaomei was the project manager of WRI’s China Climate and Energy Program. Her research sought to understand how low-carbon technology was introduced, adapted, deployed and diffused in China and other developing countries; the respective capacities of developed and developing countries in innovating and manufacturing low-carbon technology; and the concerns over intellectual property rights.

In her various roles, Xiaomei has published widely in mainstream and professional journals such as Energy Policy, Ecological Economy, Overseas Investment and Export Credits, and etc.

Xiaomei holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy from American University in Washington DC. Her master’s degree is in Economics and BA in Political Science. Xiaomei is an avid hiker and tree hugger and has completed many sections along the Appalachian Trail and several parts of the Rocky Mountains. Her other passions include jogging and yoga.

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Jonathan Naimon
Founder/Managing Partner // Green Light Advisors

Mr. Naimon is the founder of Light Green Advisors (LGA), a sustainable asset management company, which manages climate change funds for institutional investors including one of California’s public employee pension funds.  LGA has advised a series of environmental funds and trusts for investors in Europe and the US that utilize the firm’s “best-in-class” model for resource efficiency and sustainability.  In 2011, the Chinese government adopted the emissions rates metrics pioneered by LGA in the late 1990s to gauge its climate efficiency progress.

Mr. Naimon has particular expertise in solar finance, having advised Sun Edison on the development of its third party tax equity finance model. Sun Edison, now part of MEMC, is among the top owner & operators of solar projects in the US and worldwide.   Prior to founding LGA, Mr. Naimon held both management and technical positions at a think tank (IRRC) acquired by MSCI, Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), ICF International, and the Energy & Commerce Committee of the US House of Representatives.  Mr. Naimon has served as a visiting professor on sustainable finance at the Norwegian School of Management in Norway and taught cost benefit analysis at Carnegie Mellon University Heinz School. He has a MS in Environmental Management from the University of North Carolina and a BS in Biology and Cognitive Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

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Wenhang Huang
Director of International Collaboration // NDRC Climate Change

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Sanjay Ranchod
Director of Government Affairs and Senior Counsel // SolarCity

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David Roberti
Former President pro tem // California State SenateFormer Boardmember // Integrated Solid Waste Management Board

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Linda Adams
Former Secretary // California EPAFounding Partner // Clean Tech Advocates

Linda S. Adams, former Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, is a founding partner of Clean Tech Advocates, a firm dedicated to promoting innovative technologies.

Prior to forming this new team in the private sector, Linda served in cabinet-level positions with three governors during her distinguished career with the State of California. Ms. Adams held key positions in both the Executive and Legislative branches during her many years in public service.

In 2006, Ms. Adams was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as Secretary of the California Environmental Agency (CalEPA), the first woman to serve in that position. Immediately upon her appointment, she was designated the governor’s lead negotiator on AB 32, California’s ground breaking climate change and clean energy measure. When Governor Jerry Brown was elected in 2010, Linda was asked to continue as Secretary of CalEPA and to assist in the transition.

Ms. Adams holds the position of the chair of the Climate Action Reserve, North America's premier carbon registry.  She also serves on the boards of the Pacific Forest Trust, the Delta Vision Foundation, the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance, and is the founding President of R 20-Regions of Climate Action.

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Michael Montoya
Director, Grid Advancement, Advanced Technology // Southern California Edison

Michael R. Montoya is the director of Grid Advancement for Southern California Edison’s Transmission and Distribution. The Advanced Technology group, previously Engineering Advancement, was created in November 2004 to evaluate, test, demonstrate, and analyze technologies for implementation on SCE’s grid. Under Montoya’s leadership, Grid Advancement teams investigate advancements in power systems modeling and analysis, transmission and distribution automation, distributed energy resources, home area networking, communications and security, infrastructure improvements, asset management, and a variety of devices and systems to make the electric grid more reliable, safe and affordable.

Mr. Montoya has made many contributions throughout his 37-year career at SCE. Prior to heading research, development and demonstration at SCE, Montoya was director of TDBU’s Project Management Organization and director of Grid Operations, Protection and Controls. During his tenure at SCE he served in both technical and managerial capacities.

Montoya earned his undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of La Verne and certificates in I.T. Essentials for Business Leadership from Pepperdine University and Sustaining the Innovative Organization from the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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Danny Kennedy
Founder // Sungevity

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Harry Atwater
Director // Resnick Sustainability Institute at Caltech

Dr. Harry A. Atwater is the Founding Director of the Resnick Sustainability Institute at the California Institute of Technology and Howard Hughes Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science. He is the founder of venture-backed solar energy companies Alta Devices and Caelux, and also currently directs the DOE Light Material Interactions Energy Frontier Research Center at Caltech. Dr. Atwater's research interests include photovoltaics, solar energy conversion, optical metamaterials and nanoscale optical phenomena. He has over 400 papers in journals, conferences and technical magazines, and 30 issued patents.  He is recipient of the 2012 Eni Award for Renewable and non-Conventional Energy and the 2012 Green Photonics Award of the SPIE.

He has Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and has served as a faculty member at Caltech and Harvard. 

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Jason Gremillion
Vice President of Development & Investment // Trammell Crow Company

Jason Gremillion serves as Vice President of Development & Investment for Trammell Crow Company where his primary focus is on the industrial pursuit and development initiative. Mr. Gremillion’s current projects include: Carson Industrial Center North, La Verne Technology and Trade Center , and the CleanTech Manufacturing Center. Mr. Gremillion has accumulated 20 years of commercial real estate development and construction experience specializing in providing comprehensive expertise in site selection, valuation and market analyses, entitlements, design and construction management, transaction management, and partner relations.

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Phoebe Yee
Vice President of Design // Related California

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David Peterson
EV Regional Manager, Corporate Planning // Nissan North America, Inc.

David Peterson is responsible for electric vehicle market acceptance strategy and implementation in the Western United States. David previously led electric vehicle research at the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation where he focused on developing sustainable business models and public policy. Prior to joining Nissan he was a financial analyst (M&A, wholesale banking) at ING Bank, N.V. in Shanghai, and an economist with AECOM Technology Corp. in Asia and California. 

He holds a master’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

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Michael Wehner
Assistant General Manager // Orange County Water District

Mike Wehner is the Assistant General Manager at Orange County Water District (OCWD) and manages Water Quality and Technology programs at the District.  Mike was also responsible for obtaining regulatory approval and bolstering public support for the Groundwater Replenishment System, the world’s largest potable reuse system, which currently provides 70 MGD of high purity recycled water to prevent seawater intrusion and replenish the Orange County groundwater basin.  Prior to joining OCWD, he spent 20 years with Orange County Environmental Health where he was Water Quality Program Chief. 

Mike is an internationally recognized expert in water quality, public health and advanced water purification technology and has served on advisory panels for the National Water Research Institute, WaterRF, the WateReuse Research Foundation, the NRC, US EPA, CDPH, the State Water Resources Control Board, UK Water Industry Research, Thames Water, CSIRO in Australia and the PUB in Singapore.

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Bill Strang
Chairman // TOTO MexicoPresident, Operations Group // TOTO Americas

President, Americas – Operations Group and Chairman of TOTO Mexico; Bill has responsibility for all operations, including supply chain, design and development engineering, Quality, ISO, Environmental and management of the five TOTO North America plants:  Morrow, GA; Lakewood, GA; Fairburn, GA; and Ontario, CA, Monterrey Mexico with 1.8 million sq ft under roof.  

Under Bill’s leadership, TOTO has received awards for 5S implementation, US EPA Water Efficiency Leadership Award, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue’s Water Conservation Leadership Award, the Argon Award, the City of Atlanta Phoenix Award, and Chattahoochee Riverkeeper sustainability award.   TOTO is one of the largest users of Green Energy from Georgia Power.   

TOTO USA has also developed secondary uses or recycling channels for the waste streams from the manufacturing process, converting them from waste to raw material feed stocks for other manufacturers. 

Argon Award for leadership in sustainability, previous winners of this award have been Ted Turner – Chairman of the Turner Foundation, Arthur Blank – co founder of Home Depot, Jim Jacoby – Founder and CEO of Jacoby Development and Ray Anderson – Chairman of Interface Company.

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Robert Jernigan
Principal and Managing Director // Gensler

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Bill Bogaard
Mayor // City of Pasadena

Bill Bogaard is the in his fourth term as Mayor of Pasadena, after taking office in 1999 as the City’s first directly elected mayor.  The subsequent time has been an active period in the City’s history, including the arrival of the Gold Line light rail system; development of new housing; construction of a new convention center; establishment of new arts institutions; and reform of the public schools.  He serves as chair of Pasadena Bioscience Collaborative, a technology enterprise incubator, and the Pasadena Emergency Services Council.  He is a member of the Gold Line Foothill Construction Authority, and is President of the League of California Cities.

Mayor Bogaard graduated from Loyola Marymount University and the Michigan Law School.  He practiced law in Los Angeles, and then joined the First Interstate Bancorp until its merger with Wells Fargo & Co. in the late 1990’s.

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Joel Levin
Vice President, Business Development // Climate Action Reserve

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Cherif Youssef
Technology Development Manager // Southern California Gas Company

Mr. Youssef is the Technology Development Manager for the Southern California Gas Company.  Mr. Youssef has 35 years of experience in the energy industry with past responsibilities in Marketing, Human Resources, Operations and Engineering.  He is responsible for managing a $10 million per year R&D program. This program is focused on developing and demonstrating new products and technologies to help customers use energy more efficiently, meet their environmental regulations, use renewable energy and use alternative fuel vehicles.

Mr. Youssef has a Bachelor and Masters in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California.

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Tony Salazar
President, West Coast Operations // McCormack Barron Salazar

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Paul Krekorian
Councilmember, District 2 // Los Angeles City Council

Devoted to public service throughout his adult life, Paul Krekorian’s career has been defined by his proven record of successful, results-oriented leadership in state government, local government, public education and in the private sector.  His career in politics, however, was born of humble beginnings in the San Fernando Valley. After attending Cleveland High School in Reseda, Paul graduated from USC and went on to law school at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall.  For twenty years, Paul practiced business litigation and intellectual property law before serving on the Board of Education in Burbank.

In 2006, Paul was elected to the California State Assembly, representing the communities of Burbank, Glendale and the east San Fernando Valley in Sacramento, where his record included a string of environmentally conscious bills from increasing the state’s stock of renewable energy to reducing pollution in our oceans. Most recently, Paul was elected to lead Los Angeles' second City Council district in 2009. In L.A., Paul has continued his successful green advocacy while leading the charge to revamp the city’s neighborhood council system, which he has consistently lauded as a way of “bringing greater democratization and neighborhood empowerment to this city’s governance.”

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Phillip Isenberg
Chair // Delta Stewardship Council

Chair of the Delta Stewardship Council.  Previously, he served as a Sacramento City Council member from 1971-1974, Mayor of Sacramento from 1975-1982 and as a member of the California State Assembly representing portions of Sacramento, Contra Costa and San Joaquin Counties from 1982 to 1996.  His state legislative district contained major parts of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.  His subject area focus as an elected official included land use planning, water and resource issues, state budget and fiscal matters, redevelopment reform and healthcare issues.

Isenberg holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of California, Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law and a Bachelor of Art in Social Science and Government from California State University, Sacramento. He was in private practice and also served as President of Isenberg-O’Haren Government Relations from 2004 to February 2010.  He is currently an inactive member of the California State Bar.

Isenberg served as chair of the California Marine Life Protection Act Blue Ribbon Task Force from 2004 to 2006 and served as chairman of the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force from 2007 to 2008.  The recommendations of the Delta Vision Task Force provided much of the structure of the major water/Delta policy changes adopted by the legislature in 2009 and signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger.

He was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to a six year term on the Delta Stewardship Council, and elected Chair of the Council by his colleagues.

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Tim Psomas, PE
Chairman // Institute for Sustainable InfrastructureFormer Chairman // Psomas Engineering and the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC)

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Pat Proano
Assistant Deputy Director // Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, Environmental Programs Division

A 30 year veteran of Los Angeles County, Mr. Proano has a strong track record of providing leadership, coordination, and support for the County’s Department of Public Works.  He has led and coordinated numerous Public Works projects and activities throughout Los Angeles County’s 88 cities and its unincorporated areas.

Mr. Proano has most recently been at the forefront of the County’s efforts of integrating Conversion Technologies (CTs) into the municipal waste system.  He was also instrumental in the effort to pass the plastic bag ban in the Los Angeles County unincorporated areas, and as a member of the Keep California Beautiful Coalition, he has worked to maintain a clean environment both with the County and statewide.

Mr. Proano has been asked to speak at numerous conferences and meetings and continues to constructively engage stakeholders on solid waste issues throughout the County and State.

With a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Masters in Public Policy and Administration from California State University in Long Beach, Mr. Proano is a licensed Civil Engineer in California.  He has also served as an adjunct professor at his alma mater in the Graduate Center of Public Policy and Administration.

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Jonathan Parfrey
Executive Director // Climate ResolveCommissioner // LADWP

Jonathan Parfrey is executive director of Climate Resolve. In 2008, Parfrey was appointed by Mayor Villaraigosa to the Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners where he is serving a five-year term. In 2013, Parfrey is a visiting lecturer at UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. For four years, he served as the first director of the Green LA Coalition. Parfrey is immediate past president of the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters, and a founding board member of CicLAvia. From 1994 to 2007, Parfrey served as Los Angeles director of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization, Physicians for Social Responsibility. In 2003, Parfrey was appointed to Governor Schwarzenegger's Environmental Policy Team. In 1992, Parfrey received the Paul S. Delp Award for Outstanding Service, Peace and Social Justice. In 2002 he was awarded a Durfee Foundation Fellowship. In 2010, he received a Stanton Fellowship.

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Fred Walti
Executive Director // Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator

In his role as Executive Director of CTLA and LACI, Fred combines experience as an entrepreneur with his passion for clean technology.  Prior to joining this new public/private partnership, Fred worked as a technology entrepreneur and an advisor on the City’s cleantech business strategy.

As Executive Director, Fred lead’s the strategic, policy, industry partner and outreach efforts of CLTA and LACI.

Fred brings sixteen years of entrepreneurship to this effort, having co-founded The Propellant Group, a management consulting group, Full Moon Interactive (FMI), an Internet architect, and LAI, Inc., a consulting company focusing on leveraging technology in traditional businesses.  Fred built FMI from startup to $25 million in annual sales with 14 consecutive quarters of profitability.  Fred also started one of the first interactive divisions of a global advertising agency in 1995.  Prior to his experience in “new media,” Fred spent 15 years with global communications companies in various executive capacities.   Fred ran the Apple computer account on a worldwide basis for BBDO and was GM of their San Francisco office, doubling the billings of the office and returning it to profitability in 18 months.

Fred has been involved -- either as a consultant, principal, employee or investor -- in the startup of several-dozen technology companies.  He served as COO of Snap.com, a next-generation venture-backed search engine.  Previously, Fred was a Strategic Advisor at Idealab in which he led the efforts to develop operating plans for a number of their portfolio companies.  Fred served as the Interim CEO for Geocities, helping to author its first business plan, gain its first round of venture backing, and crystallizing its advertising-driven business model.  Geocities went public and was later sold to Yahoo in 1999.

Starting in 2008, Fred began advising the Mayor’s Office, CTLA, the CRA/LA, LAEDC, and UCLA on various early efforts to develop a clean technology commercialization ecosystem.

Fred speaks often to groups on creating cleantech innovation ecosystems, harnessing the region’s strengths to build a large green economy, entrepreneurship, the role of economic development in creating jobs, and public/private partnerships.

Fred received his BA from New York University.

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Frances Spivy-Weber
Board Member // State Water Resources Control Board

Frances Spivy-Weber was re-appointed as the Public Member of the State Water Resources Control Board on March 1, 2009.  She serves as Vice Chair of the Board and is the Board liaison to the Los Angeles, San Diego, Central Coast, and Lahontan Regional Boards and the Ocean Protection Council Steering Committee.  She represents the Secretary of CalEPA on the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission.  

Prior to joining the Board, she was the Executive Director of the Mono Lake Committee for almost ten years; International Programs Director of National Audubon Society for almost ten years.  Fran has served on numerous state and regional water advisory groups and task forces, including the Bay-Delta Public Advisory committee, co-chairing its Water Use Efficiency Subcommittee; State Water Plan 2005 Advisory Committee; California Landscape Task Force 2005; State Water Recycling Task Force 2003; Governor’s Advisory Drought Planning Panel 2000.

Ms. Spivy-Weber has served as convener and on the Board of the California Urban Water Conservation Council, co-convener of the Southern California Water Dialogue, and on the Boards of the Water Education Foundation, California Council of Land Trusts, and Clean Water Action/Clean Water Fund.  Fran has a BA from the University of Texas in history and political science and an MA from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.  She has four years of graduate coursework in biology from Sacramento and San Francisco State Universities.

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Eliot Abel
Renewable Energy Leadership Program // GE Energy

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Bob Hertzberg
California Assembly Speaker Emeritus // Mayer Brown LLP

Robert M. Hertzberg was twice unanimously elected Speaker of the California State Assembly (2000 – 2002).    Currently, Mr. Hertzberg is Vice-Chair of the Los Angeles office of Mayer Brown LLP, an international Law firm with offices around the globe.  He is also co-founder of G24 Innovations based in Cardiff, Wales which manufactures a new type of lightweight and flexible solar cell that generates power in any light, even in indoor conditions.

 His work with G24i and as Co-founder of Renewable Capital, has made him an active entrepreneur and leader in global policy on renewable energy.  The Guardian  (UK) named him as one of the “50 People Who Could Save the Planet”  and his company won the World Bank Award, for Lighting Africa, for a project in Rwanda.  CNBC European Business recognized G24i as one of its TOP 100 Low-Carbon Pioneers.  Mr Hertzberg has appeared on CBS Evening News, CNN, BBC, Nightline, as in articles in The Economist, and  Fortune Small Business. A previous solar company in Los Angeles won the 2005 Wall Street Journal Innovation of the Year Award in the field of energy.

For his entire life, Bob has had a deep interest in public policy and politics.   The Los Angeles Times said this about Bob Hertzberg:  He is a high-velocity wonk; he loves BIG ideas and will flesh out every one of them if you give him the chance.”  Among his many involvements, he chaired the transition team for Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and served on the transition team of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.  He serves on the Boards of The Public Policy Institute of California, The Board of Counselors for the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development, (where he also served as a Keston Fellow on Infrastructure), The Board of Visitors for the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine, The Rose Institute at Claremont, The Los Angeles World Affairs Council, The Pacific Council and is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations.

Mr. Hertzberg was named to replace Leon Panetta, as Co-Chair of California Forward, a non-partisan group focused on repairing the dysfunction of California Government.  He also serves on The Think Long Committee of California.

He is a Magna Cum Laude Graduate of The University of Redlands (1976) and received his JD from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (1979). 

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James Goldstene
Executive Officer // California Air Resources Board

James N. Goldstene is the Executive Officer of the California Air Resources Board.  The Board has 11 members appointed by the Governor and is responsible for promoting and protecting the public health and ecological resources of California through effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering the effects of its actions on the state’s economy.  To achieve this goal, the Executive Officer oversees the development and implementation of regulations and policies adopted by the Board and represents the ARB before the Legislature and in a wide variety of state, regional, national and international forums.  The California Air Resources Board has more than 1300 employees.

Goldstene was appointed Executive Officer in October 2007. Since then the Board has passed major rules to reduce diesel emissions from trucks, construction equipment and ships. It also adopted a comprehensive plan to reduce global warming pollutants under AB 32, California’s pioneering climate change legislation, and developed a range of measures and regulations to implement this plan, including the groundbreaking Low Carbon Fuel Standard and the establishment of a greenhouse gas emissions-trading program.  In 2008 the Obama administration adopted California’s standard for greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles as the standard for the entire nation. Currently, ARB is working with the U.S. EPA and the Department of Transportation to develop more stringent standards for vehicles from model year 2018 to 2025.

Prior to his appointment as Executive Officer, Goldstene served first as a specialist to coordinate the Board's involvement in California's Smog Check program. Later, as Senior Advisor to the Board's Office of Climate Change, he was also responsible for providing policy guidance and direction for the implementation of AB 32.

Prior to joining the Board, Goldstene served as Deputy Chief at the California Department of Consumer Affairs' Bureau of Automotive Repair, the agency responsible for regulating automotive repair dealers and running the state's Smog Check program.  His career history also includes key management positions with the Bureau of Barbering and Cosmetology, the State Contractors License Board, the California Pollution Control Financing Authority and other financing authorities in the Office of the State Treasurer. Goldstene served as Lieutenant Governor Leo McCarthy's environmental advisor in the early 1990s.

Goldstene also serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Clean Air Agencies and is currently co-chair of the Western Climate Initiative Executive Committee.

Goldstene holds a B.A. and an M.A. in Government from California State University, Sacramento, where he served as part-time faculty in the Government Department for many years.  As part of his graduate studies, he completed a year studying in the Department of Politics at the University of Bristol in England.  Goldstene taught American government and political theory at California State University, Sacramento for many years.

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Terry O'Day
Regional Director // eVgo/ NRG

Mr. O’Day is Director of California Business Development for NRG EV Services and Councilmember in the City of Santa Monica.

NRG EV Services provides affordable, comprehensive charging plans and charging networks that provide range confidence throughout the metropolitan areas where eVgo operates. The parent company, NRG Energy, is a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 Company that owns and operates one of the country's largest and most diverse power generation portfolios.  The company has committed over $35 million in capital to develop the infrastructure required for electric vehicles to achieve market success.

Mr. O’Day was elected to the Santa Monica City Council in November 2010.  Prior to his appointment, he was Chair of the city’s Planning Commission. The City has 90,000 residents, a $650 million annual budget, 1,700 employees and a AAA credit rating.  Mr. O’Day led a six-year process to update the City’s General Plan – the leading example of environmental land use planning in the state, reducing per capita greenhouse gas emissions from land use by 31 percent by 2030.

Previously, Mr. O’Day was Executive Director of Environment Now foundation.  Founded by the family of Frank and Luanne Wells in 1989, Environment Now is known as a strategic, entrepreneurial, activist leader in California, having founded more than a dozen lasting, successful organizations like the Waterkeepers in California and Mexico and Energy Independence Now.  Mr. O’Day’s achievements included founding ten Waterkeeper programs now defending over 1,000 miles of coastline, developing an alliance that led to a $40 billion transit initiative in L.A. County in 2008, and protecting hundreds of thousands of forestland acres throughout the state.  His two predecessors departed the foundation to become Secretaries of the California Natural Resources and the California Environmental Protection Agencies, respectively.

 He is co-founder of Move LA, a collaboration of business, labor and environmental organizations, including the LA Area Chamber of Commerce, the LA Business Federation, LA County AFL-CIO, Building Trades Council of LA and Orange Counties.  Move LA devised Measure R, which raised $40 billion in new funding for transit and transportation investment through a half-cent sales tax approved by LA County voters in November 2008 with 68 percent of the vote.  Mr. O’Day signed the ballot argument in favor of Measure R that was distributed to all LA County voters.

Mr. O’Day is also past president of EV Rental Cars, a company he co-founded in 1998.  It was the first rental company in the United States to offer only environmental vehicles, such as hybrid, natural gas, and electric cars to the general public. It served fifteen airports in six states and more than 500,000 customers, with over 700 cars, broadening access to clean fuel vehicles and developing markets for new sustainable technologies.  Terry and his partners earned awards from the Coalition for Clean Air, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the Council on Economic Priorities.  They were featured in Newsweek, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Business Week.

Mr. O’Day has advised sustainable technology companies addressing solar, wind, and conventional energy production, manufacturing, electric vehicles, natural gas vehicles, and logistics, as well as public agencies including the Metropolitan Water District.  He holds an MBA from The UCLA Anderson School of Management and completed the Coro Public Affairs Fellows Program in Los Angeles. He received a BA with honors in Public Policy at Stanford University, with a thesis addressing public finance and demand management of electricity.  He has been active with community organizations throughout California and Mexico, including Coro Southern California, the USC Center for Sustainable Cities, the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, Human Rights Watch California Committee, Environmental Entrepreneurs, the Weingart Center and as the Board Chair of the Coalition for Clean Air.

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Panama Bartholomy
Office of Assembly Speaker John A Perez

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Coby Skye
Engineer // Los Angeles County Department of Public Works

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Richard Maullin
Founding Partner // Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3)Member // ISO Board of Governors

As one of the founding partners (1981) of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3), Richard Maullin has provided opinion research and consulting services to a wide variety of domestic and international clients.  Dr. Maullin often serves as the principal researcher on opinion research, strategic planning and communications consulting projects involving state, regional and local government.  Dr. Maullin has also provided voter research services and strategic advice to numerous ballot measure campaigns.  In the candidate election arena, Dr. Maullin has been a successful gubernatorial campaign manager and has provided opinion research and strategic consulting to candidates for governor, mayor and other state and local elective offices. 

Dr. Maullin has held high-level executive positions both in government and in the private sector.  He was the California Deputy Secretary of State from 1971 to 1974 and served as Chairman of the California Energy Commission from 1975 through 1979.  Dr. Maullin currently serves as a member of the Board of Governors of the California Independent System Operator Corporation which operates California’s electric grid.  From 1980 to 1985, Dr. Maullin was President and Chief Executive Officer of MCR Geothermal Corporation.  Dr. Maullin was also a member of the Social Science Research Staff at the RAND Corporation from 1965 through 1971, specializing in Latin American politics and economics.  He has taught international relations at UCLA (1968), and currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Vilnius Yiddish Institute at the Vilnius University in Vilnius, Lithuania. 

Richard Maullin was born in Los Angeles, California and received his bachelor’s (with honors. 1962), master’s (1964) and PhD (1972) degrees in Political Science from UCLA.

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Lucy Jones
Senior Science Advisor // Natural Hazards Mission Area, SAFRR Projec, US Geological Survey

Dr. Lucy Jones is the Senior Science Advisor in the Natural Hazards Mission Area of the US Geological Survey, leading its long-term science planning for natural hazards research and the SAFRR Project: Science Application for Risk Reduction. She created the groundbreaking ShakeOut and ARkStorm scenarios and has published over 90 papers in research seismology with primary interest in the physics of earthquakes, foreshocks and earthquake hazard assessment, especially in southern California.  She serves on the California Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council and was a Commissioner of the California Seismic Safety Commission from 2002 to 2009. Dr. Jones received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chinese Language and Literature, Magna Cum Laude, from Brown University in 1976 and a Ph. D. in geophysics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981.

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Wahid Nawabi
Senior Vice President and General Manager, Efficient Energy Systems // AeroVironment

Wahid Nawabi is senior vice president and general manager of Efficient Energy Systems (EES) at AeroVironment.  With 20 years’ experience in advanced technology in diverse industries such as fuel cells, clean tech, industrial manufacturing, and energy management, Wahid is responsible for architecting the roadmap of AeroVironment’s Electric Vehicle “ecosystem” solutions offering. As a former segment manager at American Power Conversion (a division of Schneider Electric), Wahid played a key role in revenue growth of $50 million to more than $2.4 billion, helping to establish the company as a world leader in power protection.  Wahid sees similar potential in the electric vehicle industry and is committed to enabling the mass adoption of EVs and the advancement of the clean transportation movement. 

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Mory Gharib
Vice Provost for Research // Caltech

Dr. Mory Gharib is Vice Provost for Research and the Hans W. Liepmann Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Bio-Inspired Engineering at the California Institute of Technology.  He received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tehran University (1975) and then pursued his graduate studies at Syracuse University (M.S., 1978, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering) and Caltech (Ph.D., 1983, Aeronautics).  After two years as a senior scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA/CIT), he joined the faculty of the Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences Department at UCSD in 1985.  He became a full professor of fluid mechanics in 1992 and, in January 1993, he joined Caltech as a professor of aeronautics.

Dr. Gharib’s current research interests include bio-inspired engineering for the development of medical devices, wind energy harvesting and propulsion systems. His other active projects include the development of advanced 3-D imaging systems, and nano and micro-fluidics. His biomechanics work includes studies of the human cardiovascular system and physiological machines.  His honors and affiliations include: Fellow, American association for the advancement of science  (AAAS), Fellow, American Physical Society (APS), Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME), He has received 5 new technology recognition awards from NASA in the fields of advanced laser imaging and nanotechnology. For his 3-D imaging camera system, he has received R&D Magazine’s “R&D 100 innovation award” for one of the best invention of the year 2008. Dr. Gharib holds 182 publications in refereed journal and 50 U.S. Patents

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Gillian Holcroft
PyroGenesis Canada Inc // Chief Operating Officer

Ms. Gillian Holcroft, MEng, serves as the Chief Operating Officer and VP Business Development of PyroGenesis Canada Inc. Previously she had served as its Director of Waste Treatment. Ms. Holcroft joined PyroGenesis Canada Inc. in 2003 as Product Development Manager. She also served at Noranda Inc. where she was involved in many aspects of the companies operations from production, technology development, business modeling and was involved in the design, engineering and start-up of a ¾ of a billion (CDN$) production facility. She has been a Director of PyroGenesis Canada Inc. since June 2006. Ms. Holcroft holds a Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering and a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering both from McGill University, Montreal.

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Mickey Kantor
Partner, Mayer Brown LLP // Former US Secretary of Commerce

Mickey Kantor concentrates his practice on corporate and financial international transactions. He has extensive experience in market access issues, as well as the expansion of client activities in foreign markets through trade, direct investment, joint ventures, and strategic business alliances.

Prior to joining Mayer Brown, Mickey was the United States Secretary of Commerce (1996-1997) and the United States Trade Representative (1993-1996). He has been called “arguably the finest trade negotiator in the world”(Chambers Global 2006) and is said to be “blessed with fantastic political insights and connections”(Chambers USA2007).

He was recently recognized in The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers-Trade & Customs 2009. Among them any awards and honors he has received are the following: the Order of the Southern Cross Award by The Government of Brazil, 2001, the William O. Douglas Award by the Constitutional Rights Foundation, the Thomas Jefferson Distinguished Public Service Medal from the Center for the Study of the Presidency, the Albert Schweitzer Leadership Award from the Hugh O'Brien Youth Foundation, and Elihu Root Distinguished Lecturer, Council on Foreign Relations.

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Cecilia Estolano
Co-Founder // ELP Advisors

Cecilia V. Estolano is a member of Estolano LeSar Perez Advisors LLC (ELP Advisors) which provides consulting services to public agencies, foundations, business associations and other stakeholders seeking to grow thriving, healthy and vibrant communities. ELP Advisors offers a range of services, including strategic planning; design and implementation of stakeholder engagement processes; sustainable economic development; community planning; business cluster and sector strategies; business development and retention strategies; transit-oriented development planning, green workforce development strategies and project management.
 
Ms. Estolano, a land use and environmental lawyer, is an expert in CEQA requirements and was formerly a Senior Policy Advisor with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She was also formerly the Chief Strategist of State and Local Initiatives for Green For All, a national organization that advocates for broad access and opportunity in the clean-energy economy. Ms. Estolano oversaw Green For All's State and Local Initiatives and the Capital Access Program and was charged with spearheading the organization's effort to scale public-private partnerships as a means to grow family-supporting green jobs in cities across the United States, particularly in under-served communities.  Ms. Estolano previously served as Chief Executive Officer of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA). Under Ms. Estolano's tenure, CRA/LA was the largest redevelopment agency in California, with an annual budget of over $726 million and a work program covering 32 project areas.

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Eric Garcetti
Councilmember, 13th District // Los Angeles City Council

Eric Garcetti's mayoral agenda combines practical experience with bold new ideas to get our economy back on track and move L.A. forward. Garcetti is currently serving as the Councilmember representing the 13th Council District. He was Los Angeles City Council President from 2006 until 2012. 

Garcetti is a passionate fighter for a healthier and greener Los Angeles.  He authored the nation's widest-reaching green building ordinance, legislation making LA the nation's largest city with a solar feed in tariff, LA’s solar zoning ordinance to accelerate solar installation and the nation's largest local clean water initiative.  In the city's smallest district, Garcetti tripled the number of parks from 16 to 47. He also authored legislation to create the Neighborhood Land Trust.

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Mark Ridley-Thomas
Supervisor, 2nd District // Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors

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Doug Failing
Executive Director of Highway Projects // Los Angeles Metro

Doug Failing serves as the Executive Director of the Highway Program for Los Angeles County Metro where he is responsible for Delivery of the nearly $8 billion Measure R Highway Program. Failing was chosen by the Los Angeles Times’ West Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in Southern California. Failing earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Michigan Technological University in Houghton and Caltrans as a Junior Civil Engineer.

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Alex Beavers
Director, Commercial Ventures & Strategic Programs // SRI International

Alex Beavers is Executive Director of Ventures and Licenses at SRI International where he is responsible for commercializing green and sustainability technologies developed by SRI.  He is a 30-year veteran high-technology executive and entrepreneur.  

Previously, Beavers was the founding CEO of Artificial Muscle, Inc., where he led the company for two years after it was spun out of SRI. Prior to founding Artificial Muscle, he was CEO of Thomson Industries, a global linear motion systems company based in New York. Beavers has also been CEO of ITP Systems, a factory floor systems integration company, CEO of Applicon, Inc., one of the original CAD/CAM systems companies, CEO of Schlumberger Automation Systems Asia, and General Manager of the General Electric Vision Systems Business. In addition to these CEO positions, he was a Managing Partner in the Consulting Business at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he led the Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management practices. He has also served on the Board of Directors of several high-tech startup companies. 

Beavers has more than 25 papers published in technical journals and trade magazines. In addition, he has written a book, Roadmap to the e-Factory, and served as the editor for the book, Life Wins! He received a B.S. from Vanderbilt University, an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Houston, and an MBA from Boston University

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Tony Lucente
Retired Senior Corporate Real Estate // Nissan Brazil

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Aaron Klemm
Energy Project Manager // City of Huntington Beach

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Arthur Leahy
CEO // Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)

Arthur T. Leahy is CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). Metro is the third largest public transportation agency in the United States with an annual budget of $4.2 Billion and more than 9,000 employees with an operating fleet of over 2200 buses and 5 rail lines with annual rider ship exceeding 400 million boardings.

Leahy is heading one of the nation’s largest public works programs through Measure R that will, literally, change the urban landscape and shape the future of Los Angeles for generations to come.

He began his career 40 years ago as a bus operator.  Having worked through the ranks, he rose to lead 3 major transportation agencies. He was recently recognized by his peers in Metro Magazine –a trade publication as being one of the country’s most influential leaders in the transit industry.

Leahy earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from California State University, Los Angeles (CSLA) in 1974 and a master’s degree in public administration from USC.

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Jim Kelly
Former Senior VP // Southern California Edison

Jim Kelly retired from Southern California Edison after almost 38 years of service with the Company.  He is now Managing Director of The Power of Leadership, a non-profit venture dedicated to promoting the value of technical education to young people.  He also serves as a CEO, director, advisor or consultant to a number of firms and agencies in the technology and utility fields.

Prior to his retirement, Mr. Kelly was the senior vice president of Transmission & Distribution for Southern California Edison, responsible for the operation and maintenance of an electrical grid comprised of over 100,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines spread across a 50,000-square-mile service area.  Mr. Kelly was responsible for an annual budget of over $2.5 billion.

Kelly was previously the vice president of Engineering & Technical Services, responsible for planning, engineering, and designing SCE’s electrical grid, as well as research and development, safety and training. Mr. Kelly was one of the early pioneers of the Smart Grid, developing a roadmap for a smarter, safer, more reliable and more environmentally responsible electric grid. Among many other awards and honors, Jim was selected as the IEEE’s “Leader in Power” in 2009.

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David Jacot
Energy Efficiency Director // LADWP

David Jacot, P.E., is the Director of Energy Efficiency for the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP). LADWP operates the third-largest portfolio of energy efficiency programs in California ($130M per year), comprised of a broad array of energy resource acquisition and market transformation programs serving LADWP’s customers and trade ally networks. In this role, David oversees all aspects of LADWP’s offerings and strategies designed to overcome market barriers to the comprehensive adoption of energy efficiency by LADWP’s customers. David has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma, and a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Cal Poly Pomona, as well as 15 years of experience designing high performance building systems, modeling building energy performance, and managing energy efficiency programs.

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Susan Kennedy
Former Chief of Staff // Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Los Angeles Times called Susan Kennedy “the most enduring force in [California] government of the last decade.” Capital Weekly named her the most powerful non-elected person in California.  Ms. Kennedy built her formidable reputation over two decades at the highest levels of state and federal government, most recently as chief of staff to Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, as cabinet secretary and deputy chief of staff to Democratic Governor Gray Davis and as communications director for California’s senior U.S. Senator, Dianne Feinstein.  Ms. Kennedy also served for three years on California’s powerful Public Utilities Commission, overseeing the state’s investor-owned electric utilities, telecommunications providers and private water companies.  Susan Kennedy leads Alston & Bird’s public policy advisory services in its California offices, where she advises clients on key areas of public policy, including energy, environment, financial services and technology, and also provides strategic approaches to navigating ever-changing California and global business and public policy climates. She also coordinates with the firm’s legislative and public policy practice in Washington, D.C., on matters of national significance.
 
Ms. Kennedy’s main area of expertise lies at the critical junction between public policy development and regulatory implementation. As top-level staff to two California Governors and a U.S. Senator, Kennedy was primarily responsible for shepherding the development of many of the groundbreaking environmental policies California is renowned for today, including California’s internationally recognized carbon reduction mandate and cap & trade program under AB 32, the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard, auto emission standards and California’s aggressive Renewable Energy Standard. During her tenure, California’s renewable energy initiatives were so successful that one newspaper called California the new “Saudi Arabia of Solar.” 

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Rick Gustafson
Executive Director // Portland Streetcar, Inc.

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Yufu Cheng
China Country Director // R20: Regions of Climate Action

Dr. Yufu Cheng is China Country Director for R20: Regions of Climate Actions, Chaired by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Together with R20 team, members and partners, Dr. Cheng is working with Chinese Central Governments, Subnational Governments, Technology, Policy and Investing Partners to identify and implement the effective low carbon projects in China. He is also a visiting professor at School of Environment and Energy of Peking University. Before joining R20, he was the Senior Vice President of the Innovation Center for Energy and Transportation (iCET) and Dr. Cheng has over 15 years education and working experiences in the Climate Change related programs. He has worked in research, education, standards and policies, capacity building, project development with colleagues and international leading partners on effective solutions on combating Climate Challenges.  He has built extensive working relationship with different stakeholders (e.g. governmental agencies, private sectors, foundations, NGOs and research communities) to work together in developing effective low carbon projects, especially in Green Energy and Energy Efficiency areas (e.g. LED lights). Dr. Cheng conducted climate change research in China, the United States, Mexico, and the Arctic Region. He is active in environmental outreach and education and has been interviewed by major Medias (e.g. Los Angeles Times and CCTV) and has been invited to speak at major international environmental conferences, such as United Nations’ Global Climate Change Conferences in Copenhagen, Tianjin and Cancun, Governor’s Climate Summit (2008, 2009, and 2010), and Climate Summit in China hosted by thirteen Chinese Ministries.  He serves as expert committee member on several international conferences and as an associate editor for Carbon Management Journal. Dr. Cheng received his Ph.D. in Ecology from joint Doctoral Program between the University of California at Davis and San Diego State University in 2003, Master Degree of Ecology from Chinese Academy of Forestry in 1998 and Bachelor Degree of Biological Sciences from Anhui Normal University in 1995.

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Steve Glenn
Founder and CEO // LivingHomes, LLC

Steve Glenn is the founder and CEO of LivingHomes, LLC (www.livinghomes.net), a premier developer of modern, prefabricated homes that combine world-class architecture with an unparalleled commitment to healthy and sustainable construction.  The first LivingHome, designed by Ray Kappe, FAIA, was installed in eight hours. It became the first home ever to receive a LEED for Home Platinum rating and was the only home to win the AIA’s top sustainability award in 2007.  The second LivingHome was named Green Home of the Year by Green Home Builder Magazine.  Nine LivingHomes have been certified LEED Platinum.  Before LivingHomes, Glenn worked with the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) and managed the development of a $220 million program in Mozambique, the first program CHAI launched in Africa.  Glenn is founder and former Chairman and CEO of PeopleLink, a leading provider of enterprise ecommunity solutions, which raised $35 million from AT&T Ventures, GE, Goldman Sachs, idealab and others. Glenn was a founding partner of idealab, a business incubation firm that raised $1 billion and that founded or invested in a number of successful companies including GoTo/Overture (OVER), NetZero/United Online (UNTD), CitySearch (TMCS), Tickets.com (TKTS), eToys and CarsDirect. Glenn worked for Walt Disney Imagineering as co-director of the Virtual Reality Studio.  Glenn co-founded Clearview Software, which was sold to Apple Computer where Glenn later served as a marketing specialist. He holds a bachelor’s degree with honors from Brown University, and was a Coro Fellow.  Glenn is a co-founder and chair of the Sustainable Business Council (www.sustainablebc.org, the Kaia Parker Dance Fund (www.kaiaparker.org), and a co-founder and former board member of Hope Street Group (www.hopestreetgroup.org).  He is a member of the board of directors of the Brown University Entrepreneur Forum (www.brownep.org), and Watts House Project (www.wattshouseproject.org).  Glenn has taught courses at Pepperdine Business School and California State University, Long Beach and is a regular lecturer at universities and conferences.  He was named the Clean Tech CEO of the Year by Clean Tech Week, and Environmental Entrepreneur of the Year by LA City Council/Faith2Green.

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Mike Wallace
Director // Global Reporting Initiative

Mike Wallace is the Director of the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Focal Point USA.  GRI is a non-profit organization that promotes economic sustainability and provides all companies and organizations with a comprehensive sustainability reporting framework.  GRI is the most widely used sustainability reporting framework in the world, with over 80% of the Global 250 using GRI when they report on sustainability.  GRI’s Focal Point USA was officially launched in January 2011 at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and is responsible for supporting the growth and quality of sustainability reporting in the US. 

Mike Wallace has almost 20-years of international experience advising corporations, non-profits and government agencies in the development and implementation of sustainability programs.  He initially gained his sustainability expertise while working for ERM in Australia.  This expertise was expanded during his time with BSR, and was refined while running his own advisory services firm in California.  He started with GRI in the fall of 2009 at its Secretariat in Amsterdam.  By the fall of 2010 he had established GRI’s Focal Point USA and relocated to New York.

He is a recognized expert in the field, with a unique specialization in the intersection of sustainability and corporate governance.  In addition to speaking globally on the topic of sustainability, Mike has given expert testimony to the European Commission, the US Securities & Exchange Commission, and a range of business associations like the US Business Roundtable and the National Association of Corporate Directors.  Mike has been recognized for his expertise in the field by his inclusion in the NACD’s 2011 Directorship 100, and in Trust Across America’s 2010 Top 100 Thought Leaders.  He has authored numerous articles on the topic and was a contributor to Climate Change – a Guide to Carbon Law & Practice.  

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Bert Dezzutti
Senior Vice President // Brookfield Properties

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Richard Katz
Board Director // Los Angeles Metro

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Peter Gross
Vice President, Mission Critical Systems // Bloom Energy

 Peter Gross, leads the Mission Critical Systems group at Bloom Energy, the leading manufacturer of solid oxide fuel cells.  Peter is recognized as a thought leader in the mission-critical information and infrastructure design realm, has published numerous technical papers in the field, and is a frequent speaker at international events. His focus centers on mission-critical facilities, high-reliability design, energy and sustainability.  Peter has more than 25 years’ experience in the engineering and design of power systems as applied to data centers, trading floors, command and control centers, and telecommunication and broadcasting facilities.

Peter has been at the forefront of many innovative concepts that have contributed to the data center industry evolution, such as the HP modular, pre-fabricated FlexDC product and he was co-awarded a patent for Direct Current power distribution topology. He is presently focused on transforming the data center architecture through the use of fuel cells.

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Fran Pavley
Senator, 23rd District // California State SenateChair // Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water

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David Fransen
Consul General // Consul General of Canada, Los Angeles

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Bill Allen
President and CEO // LAEDC

Bill Allen is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation and its subsidiary, the World Trade Center Association Los Angeles – Long Beach. Mr. Allen is also the 2012 Board Chair of Film L.A., a Vice Chair of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, and the Board Secretary for the Valley Presbyterian Hospital. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Weingart Foundation, International Economic Development Council, California Stewardship Network, Regional Economic Association Leaders of California Coalition, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles Coalition for the Economy and Jobs, Unite L.A., and the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California.

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Jan Perry
Councilmember, 9th District // Los Angeles City Council

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Marzia Zafar
Director, Policy & Planning Division // California Public Utilities Commission

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Bill Rouse
General Manager // Yellow Cab of Los Angeles

As the fourth generation of his family in the taxicab business, William J. Rouse serves as General Manager of five taxicab fleets in the greater Los Angeles area, including Yellow Cab of Los Angeles, Long Beach Yellow Cab, United Checker Cab, South Bay Yellow Cab and Fiesta Taxi.  ASC is the largest taxicab organization in the Western United States with over 1200 vehicles in its combined fleet.

Mr. Rouse is also affiliated with the management of San Diego Yellow Cab, with 330 vehicles in service; California Yellow Cab, in Orange County, California, with over 200 vehicles; as well as the largest taxicab fleets in Nashville, Tennessee and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Mr. Rouse graduated from the University of Southern California in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Finance and Business Economics. He received his law degree from the University of Southern California and was admitted to the bar in 1992. 

Mr. Rouse is currently the President of the international taxicab trade association, the Taxicab Limousine Paratransit Association (TLPA), and he is a past President of the Taxicab Paratransit Association of California (TPAC), the industry’s statewide trade association.  He is also the current Chair of the Long Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Jobs PAC.

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Bill Abolt
Sustainability National Practice Leader // Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure, Inc.

Bill Abolt is a Vice President of Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure and leads its Sustainability, Energy & Carbon Management National Practice. Prior to joining Shaw, he served as Environment Commissioner, Director of the Office of Budget and Management and Chief of Management, Office of the Mayor, for the City of Chicago, where he was responsible for developing Chicago's strategy to become one of the greenest cities in the United States.

Mr. Abolt has over 28 years of experience managing complex energy, environmental and public issues including energy planning, sustainability program design, multi-stakeholder budget processes and enterprise-wide analysis of critical infrastructure and electrical system performance. As a part of his responsibilities at Shaw, he manages and directs specific consulting projects for corporate and public clients including but not limited to assignments involving renewable energy, energy efficiency, green infrastructure and sustainable design.

He is a member of the Green Ribbon Committee of the Chicago Climate Action Plan, the Midwest Advisory Council of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Civic Consulting Alliance Leadership Council and has served as an adjunct instructor in Public Policy and Administration at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and Northwestern University.

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