Speakers for VX2015

Carla Peterman
Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer
PG&E Corporation
Biography

Carla Peterman

Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer
PG&E Corporation

Carla J. Peterman is Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer for PG&E Corporation, the parent company of Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

Peterman has spent her career focused on California's energy policy and regulatory landscape. At PG&E, she oversees the company's regulatory, legislative, sustainability, and charitable strategies, all focused on delivering for the customers and communities that PG&E serves in Northern and Central California.

Prior to joining PG&E in 2021, Peterman served as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Regulatory Affairs at Southern California Edison. Before that she served a six-year term as a Commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

A steadfast proponent of clean energy, at the CPUC Peterman led the adoption of the first utility energy storage mandate in the country, the approval of nearly $1 billion of utility investments in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, the adoption of utility energy efficiency goals and business plans, and the implementation of California's Renewables Portfolio Standard.

Before her CPUC appointment, Peterman served on the California Energy Commission, where she was the lead commissioner for renewables, transportation, and natural gas. She also is a former board member of The Utility Reform Network, an organization that represents consumers before the CPUC and California Legislature.

In 2019, Governor Newsom appointed her to chair the Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery. She currently serves as a member of the Federal Reserve of San Francisco Economic Advisory Council. She has also served on various other boards, including the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), NARUC's Energy Resources and Environment Committee (Vice-Chair), and the external advisory board for Sandia National Laboratories’ Energy and Homeland Security Portfolio.

Peterman holds a BA from Howard University, a PhD in energy and resources from the University of California, Berkeley, and MS and MBA degrees from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

Pedro Pizarro
President
Southern California Edison
Biography

Pedro Pizarro

President
Southern California Edison

Pedro Pizarro is president of Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the nation’s largest investor-owned electric utilities, delivering power to more than 14 million people in a 50,000-square-mile service area spanning Central, Coastal, and Southern California.  He is a member of SCE’s board of directors.

Pizarro was president of Edison Mission Energy (EME) and chair of its board of directors from 2011 until its sale of substantially all of its assets to NRG Energy on April 1, 2014.  EME was a subsidiary of Edison International (EIX) at the time.  EME was an independent power producer that owned, leased, operated, and sold energy and capacity from electric power generation facilities, and engaged in hedging and energy-trading activities in competitive power markets. 

Previously, Pizarro progressed through several roles at EIX and SCE.  He joined EIX in 1999 as director of Strategic Planning, and was elected vice president of Technology Business Development in 2000.  He moved to SCE in 2001 as vice president of Strategy and Business Development and general manager of Edison Carrier Solutions (ECS), a division of SCE that provides wholesale broadband services to telecommunications carriers.  Pizarro was elected vice president of Power Procurement in 2004, senior vice president of Power Procurement in 2005, and executive vice president of Power Operations in 2008.  In that role, he oversaw SCE’s transmission and distribution system, the procurement unit for conventional and renewable power contracts, SCE’s gas-fired and hydroelectric generation facilities, and ECS.

Prior to his work at EIX and SCE, Pizarro was a senior engagement manager with McKinsey & Company in Los Angeles providing management consulting services to energy, technology, engineering services, and banking clients.  There, he developed corporate strategy, handled mergers and acquisitions, and oversaw operational and organizational engagements.

Pizarro earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from Caltech and held National Science Foundation and Department of Defense graduate fellowships.  He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Harvard University.

Pizarro serves on the boards of Argonne National Laboratory, the Southern California Leadership Council, and Western Energy Institute.  He also has served on the boards of Caltech, the Electric Power Supply Association, the California Power Exchange, the Colburn School, and House Research Institute. 

Mary Nichols
Co-Chair
Commission on the Future of Mobility
Biography

Mary Nichols

Co-Chair
Commission on the Future of Mobility

Mary Nichols is the former Chair of The California Air Resources Board, where she occupies the attorney seat. She served on the Board under Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. (1975-82 and 2010-18), Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (2007-2010) and Governor Gavin Newsom (2019—2021.)  She also served as California’s Secretary for Natural Resources (1999-2003), appointed by Gov. Gray Davis.

When not working for the State of California, Mary was a senior staff attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council; Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Regulation, in the administration of President William Jefferson Clinton; and headed the Institute of Environment and Sustainability at UCLA.

Over a career as an environmental lawyer spanning over 45 years, Mary Nichols has played a key role in California and the nation’s progress toward healthy air. She has also led the Board in crafting California’s internationally recognized climate action plan.       

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

Mark Ridley-Thomas

Supervisor, 2nd District
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors

Since he was overwhelmingly elected in 2008 and reelected in 2012 and 2016 to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Mark Ridley-Thomas has distinguished himself as a strong advocate for more than two million Second District residents. He presently serves as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, President of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission and a member of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

He has promoted the District’s interests on a variety of fronts, including transportation, job creation and retention, and local hiring. In the area of health policy, Supervisor Ridley-Thomas has overseen the construction of the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, as well as a network of cutting-edge health care facilities throughout the District. He has facilitated the use of technology and encouraged an integrated approach to wellness that includes mental health care and a prominent role for school-based clinics. His advocacy has helped secure an equitable share of funding for public-private partnership health clinics in underserved areas.

Prior to his election to the Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Ridley-Thomas served the 26th District in the California State Senate where he chaired the Senate’s Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development. He served as Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus in 2008 and led the Caucus in unprecedented levels of cooperation and collaboration with counterparts in the Latino and Asian-Pacific Islander Legislative Caucuses.

Mark Ridley-Thomas was first elected to public office in 1991 and served with distinction on the Los Angeles City Council for nearly a dozen years, departing as Council President pro Tempore. He later served two terms in the California State Assembly, where he chaired the Assembly Democratic Caucus. His legislative work addressed a broad range of issues with implications for economic and workforce development, health care, public safety, education, budget accountability, consumer protection and civic participation.

He is widely regarded as the foremost advocate of neighborhood participation in government decision-making. By virtue of his founding of the Empowerment Congress, arguably the region’s most successful 24-year experiment in neighborhood-based civic engagement, he is considered the founder of the Neighborhood Council movement.

Ridley-Thomas’ political career was preceded by a decade of service as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Los Angeles, which followed a brief but successful five-year stint as a high school teacher.

The Supervisor is a graduate of Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles and earned a baccalaureate degree in Social Relations with a minor in Government and a master’s degree in Religious Studies with a concentration in Christian ethics from Immaculate Heart College. Supervisor Ridley-Thomas went on to receive his Ph.D. in Social Ethics from the University of Southern California focusing on Social Criticism and Social Change.

He is married to Avis Ridley-Thomas, Co-Founder and Director of the Institute for Non-Violence in Los Angeles. They are the proud parents of Sinclair and Sebastian, both Morehouse Men. Sinclair recently earned an MBA degree at USC’s Marshall School of Business, works in the investment banking industry, and resides with his wife Shaunicie, an attorney, in San Francisco. Sebastian is a member of the California State Assembly representing the 54th District, which includes Southwest Los Angeles, Culver City, Century City and Westwood.

Kazuo Furukawa
Chairman
New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO)
Biography

Kazuo Furukawa

Chairman
New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO)

Kazuo Furukawa is chairman of NEDO, Japan’s largest public research and development management organization. His role is to guide the organisation towards achieving its twin missions of developing new energy and environmental technologies while increasing Japan’s industrial competitiveness.  Prior to NEDO, Mr. Furukawa worked for Hitachi, Ltd. serving as President and CEO of the diversified industrial conglomerate from 2006 until 2009. He has also served as the President of Information Processing Society of Japan and Vice Chairman of Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation).

Robert Weisenmiller
Chairman
California Energy Commission
Biography

Robert Weisenmiller

Chairman
California Energy Commission

Chair Robert Weisenmiller was appointed as member and Chair to the California Energy Commission in January 2011 by Governor Jerry Brown and re-appointed in January 2015. He fills the Engineer/Scientist position on the five-member Commission. Commissioner Weisenmiller brings more than 30 years 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.

Before his appointment, Chair Weisenmiller, a co-founder of MRW & Associates, used his expertise to assist businesses, financial institution, regulatory commissions, and public agencies in strategic planning, policy development, analyzing energy markets and regulations, rate design and implications of utility mergers.

Chair Weisenmiller's career also included a previous period of public service with the Energy Commission as Advisor to Commissioner, Manager of the Special Projects Office, and Director of the Office of Policy and Program Evaluation in the period between 1977 and 1982. Chair Weisenmiller holds a Doctorate in Chemistry and a Masters in Energy and Resources from University of California Berkeley and received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Providence College.

Kathleen Brown
Treasurer (former)
State of California
Biography

Kathleen Brown

Treasurer (former)
State of California
A former California State Treasurer with nearly two decades of experience as a senior bank executive, Kathleen Brown concentrates on business counseling, government and regulatory affairs in connection with the health care, energy, real estate and financial services industries. 

Before joining Manatt, Kathleen served in senior executive positions at Goldman Sachs Inc. and Bank of America. At Goldman Sachs, where her roles included chairman of Midwest investment banking and head of the Western region public-sector and infrastructure group, Kathleen participated in over $4.2 billion of water and power bond financings and counseled municipal utilities in California in their efforts to meet the state’s renewable energy standards. She also helped healthcare institutions navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by healthcare reform. 

A former Democratic Party gubernatorial nominee, Kathleen has extensive experience in the public sector. As California State treasurer, she managed a $25 billion bond portfolio, oversaw a $32 billion cash management fund and served as a trustee on the boards of CalPERS and CalSTRS, two of the largest pension funds in the nation. 

Kathleen served as co-chair of the Council of Institutional Investors; co-chair of the Presidential Commission on Capital Budgeting; a commissioner of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works; and a two-term member of the Los Angeles Board of Education. 

Before she campaigned for treasurer, Kathleen was an attorney at a global law firm, where she was a member of the capital markets group working in public and corporate finance. 

Ms. Brown serves on the Board of Directors of Sustainable Development Acquisition Corp (SDAC), FivePoint Communities, Stifel Financial Corp, Bill Lane Center for the American West, the Annenberg Foundation, the Mayor’s Fund Los Angeles, the Advisory Board of the Stanford Center on Longevity, and The Trusteeship.

Dennis Arriola
President and CEO
Southern California Gas Company
Biography

Dennis Arriola

President and CEO
Southern California Gas Company

Dennis Arriola is president and CEO of Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas).

Arriola spent most of the past 20 years in a broad range of leadership roles for the Sempra Energy companies. He has served as president and chief operating officer of SoCalGas since 2012, and was promoted to CEO in 2014.

In 2008, Arriola left the Sempra Energy companies to become executive vice president and chief financial officer for SunPower Corp., a Silicon Valley-based solar panel manufacturer. He rejoined SoCalGas in 2012.

From 2006 to 2008, he was senior vice president and chief financial officer of both SDG&E and SoCalGas. Previously, Arriola also served as vice president of communications and investor relations for Sempra Energy and regional vice president and general manager of Sempra’s South American operations. He first joined the company in 1994 as treasurer for Pacific Enterprises/SoCalGas.

Arriola serves on the board of directors for the American Gas Association, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Western Energy Institute, California Business Roundtable, Latino Donor Collaborative and Southern California Leadership Council.

Arriola has a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University.

Tomio Tamakoshi
General Manager of Design Department
NGK Insulators, LTD. NAS Battery Division
Biography

Tomio Tamakoshi

General Manager of Design Department
NGK Insulators, LTD. NAS Battery Division

Professional Summary:

Tomio Tamakoshi received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degree both in electrical engineering from Nagoya University in 1986, 1988, respectively. In 1988, he joined NGK INSULATORAS, LTD.

He joined NAS Battery Development Program in 1988, where he engaged in module design and its performance evaluation.  Then he worked on developing battery controller, which included specific battery management unit.

Then, he worked as sales engineer for Kyushu Electric Power Company to promote several NAS battery project in Kyushu area. In 2005, he was involved in the wind-battery hybrid project and contributed the 34MW NAS battery system installation which battery make the 51MW wind farm to schedulable power source. In 2008, he was involved in Abu Dhabi 108MW project.

Today, he has been managing design department in NAS battery division as a general manager.

Education & Qualification:

·       Nagoya University, Japan – B.Sc. and M.Sc. degree both in electrical engineering 1981 – 1987

·       The Third Class Electric Chief Engineer                     1992

·       The Second Class Electric Chief Engineer                  1994

·       The First Class Electric Chief Engineer                       1997

Related Industry & Project Experience:

·       Project Manager of 1 MW NAS Battery Project for Fukuoka metro in 2003.

·       Project Manager of 2 MW NAS Battery Project for Kitakyushu speedboat racecource  in 2003.

·       Project Manager of 0.6 MW NAS Battery Project for Saga city hall in 2003.

·       Project Manager of 2 MW NAS Battery Project for Fukuoka metro in 2004.

·       Project Manager of 34 MW NAS Battery Project for Futamata wind farm in 2005

·       Project Manager of 108 MW NAS Battery Project for Abu Dhabi in 2008

 

Ed Kjaer
Director, Transportation Electrification
Southern California Edison
Biography

Ed Kjaer

Director, Transportation Electrification
Southern California Edison

 

Edward Kjaer is the Director of SCE’s Transportation Electrification program.  In his role, Kjaer is responsible for this broad corporate wide effort supporting transportation connecting to the SCE’s electrical system.  Kjaer’s responsibilities include; company strategy, external stakeholder engagement, regulatory and legislative strategy, and internal company wide program coordination.  Prior to this position, Kjaer has been a leading proponent of electric transportation at Edison holding key leadership positions since joining the company in 1996.  In 2011, Kjaer received the prestigious “Hall of Fame” award from the Electric Drive Transportation Association and has been named to the Automotive News “Electrifying 100” most influential people leading industry towards a more electric powered transportation future.

Caroline Choi
Senior VP, Regulatory Affairs
Southern California Edison
Biography

Caroline Choi

Senior VP, Regulatory Affairs
Southern California Edison

Caroline Choi is senior vice president of Regulatory Affairs for Southern California Edison (SCE).  In this role, she is responsible for the Company’s regulatory strategy and policy at the national and state levels, including regulatory affairs, regulatory operations and environmental affairs.

Choi previously served as vice president of Energy and Environmental Policy. Prior to joining SCE in 2012, Choi was executive director of Environmental Services & Strategy at Progress Energy; she served the company in various roles, including director, Energy Policy & Strategy, and manager, Federal Public Affairs.

Choi is active in national policy and community engagement, where she serves as Chairman of the Board of the Smart Electric Power Alliance, a nationwide organization that supports utilities in the implementation and deployment of clean energy and distributed resources. She also serves as a board member of the Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund and the National Forest Foundation. Choi holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Dartmouth College.

Go Takizawa
Chief Representative
NEDO Silicon Valley Office
Biography

Go Takizawa

Chief Representative
NEDO Silicon Valley Office

Go Takizawa is a senior official of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), which is the largest Japanese public funding agency in the areas of new energy, energy efficiency, smart grid and other industrial technologies. As the Chief Representative of NEDO Silicon Valley Office, he is closely involved in NEDO smart grid projects demonstrated in New Mexico and Hawaii. He also initiates EV and energy Storage related demonstration projects in California.

Prior to the NEDO position, he was a Director in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Government of Japan (METI), where he was responsible for auditing the electricity price increase and planning the power supply and demand measures for Japan, as well as revitalizing a law concerning energy efficiency. As a government officer, he has a wide range of experiences in many policy planning fields such as global warming, intellectual property, space industry development, economic cooperation and human resorces.

He graduated from Tokyo University with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Duke University.

Marcie Edwards
Fmr. General Manager
LADWP
Biography

Marcie Edwards

Fmr. General Manager
LADWP

Marcie is a former General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), and was the first woman to lead the nation’s largest municipality. She previously managed Anaheim Public Utilities for 13 years, and was tapped to serve as the Anaheim City Manager in 2013. She also spent 25 of her earlier years working her way up the ladder at LADWP. Marcie is a former governor on the California Independent System Operator Board, and served as interim CEO of that agency during a portion of the energy crisis. She now sits on the California Wildfire Safety Advisory Board.

Dennis McGinn
Admiral (ret) & Fmr. U.S. Assistant Secretary/Boardmember
US Navy/EPRI
Biography

Dennis McGinn

Admiral (ret) & Fmr. U.S. Assistant Secretary/Boardmember
US Navy/EPRI

Admiral Dennis McGinn served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment from September 2013 until January 2017.  In this role, he led the transformation of naval installations toward greater mission resiliency though energy efficiency, renewable energy, microgrids, and other technologies.  

Previously, Admiral McGinn served on active duty in the United States Navy for 35 years attaining the rank of Vice Admiral.  He served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfare Requirements and Programs, overseeing the development of future Navy capabilities, and previously commanded the United States Third Fleet.  While in the Navy, he served as a naval aviator, test pilot, aircraft carrier commanding officer, and national security strategist.  

Admiral McGinn is a former President of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) where he led efforts to communicate the economic, security and environmental benefits of renewable energy.  Admiral McGinn is also a past member of the Steering Committee of the Energy Future Coalition, the United States Energy Security Council, the Bipartisan Center Energy Board, the past Co-Chairman of the CNA Military Advisory Board, and has been an International Senior Fellow at the Rocky Mountain Institute.

Admiral McGinn holds a BS in Naval Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and was a Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Fellow at the U.S. Naval War College. He also participated in the National Security Program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Harlan Kelly
General Manager
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Biography

Harlan Kelly

General Manager
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

Harlan L. Kelly, Jr. has been a speaker at the Verdexchange Conference and Expo for many years, and is the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), the third largest municipal utility in California, which provides drinking water and wastewater services to San Francisco; wholesale water to three Bay Area counties; and green hydroelectric and solar power to San Francisco’s municipal departments.  Mr. Kelly began his tenure as General Manager in 2012, and has been in San Francisco government for 35 years in various capacities including City Engineer from 1996 to 2003.  He serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, and other entities.  His writing and insights are featured in The Value of Water – A Compendium of Essays by Smart CEOs

Steve Berberich
President and CEO
California ISO
Biography

Steve Berberich

President and CEO
California ISO

Steve Berberich is President and Chief Executive Officer at the California Independent System Operator (ISO). 

Mr. Berberich has navigated the ISO through a series of major initiatives, including the world’s most expansive integration of renewable resources into the power grid. His vision for reducing the grid’s reliance on fossil fuels has catalyzed many significant new programs including the nation’s first Energy Imbalance Market, which welcomed several western states into the ISO’s bulk power markets. 

With over 25 years of experience in the utility, consulting, banking and finance sectors, he also holds an undergraduate degree in finance and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Tulsa. 

 

Jim Avery
Senior Vice President, Power Supply
San Diego Gas & Electric
Biography

Jim Avery

Senior Vice President, Power Supply
San Diego Gas & Electric
Michael Carlin
Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer
SFPUC
Biography

Michael Carlin

Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer
SFPUC
Hector De La Torre
Board Member
California Air Resources Board
Biography

Hector De La Torre

Board Member
California Air Resources Board

Hector De La Torre is the Executive Director of Gasol Foundation US, a national nonprofit dedicated to children’s health and wellness. He is also Chair of the board at LA Care, the largest public nonprofit health plan in the United States, and a trustee at his alma mater Occidental College in Los Angeles.

De La Torre served in the California State Assembly from 2004 to 2010, representing the largely Latino 50th District in Southeast Los Angeles County. He chaired the Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, the Rules Committee and helped create and chaired the Accountability and Administrative Review Committee during his tenure.

De La Torre was the Executive Director of the national non-profit Transamerica Center for Health Studies.

Prior to his service in the Assembly, he served as Mayor and as a member of the South Gate City Council, Judicial Administrator in the Los Angeles Superior Court, chief of staff to the Deputy Secretary of Labor in the Clinton Administration, and a teacher at Edison Junior High in South Los Angeles.

De La Torre graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Diplomacy and World Affairs from Occidental College and attended the Elliot School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. He lives in South Gate.

Bob Sipchen
Senior Editor, California Section
Los Angeles Times
Biography

Bob Sipchen

Senior Editor, California Section
Los Angeles Times

Bob Sipchen helps edit the Los Angeles Times California Section. In 2002 he and Alex Raksin won the Pulitzer Prize for “Helping People Off the Streets,” a series of editorials on Los Angeles’ homeless mentally ill population. In 1993 he shared in the Times’ Pulitzer for its team coverage of the Los Angeles Riots.  In his many years at the Times, Sipchen has served as Sunday Opinion Editor, Senior Editor at the Los Angeles Times magazine, editor and creator of the Outdoors section, columnist, and staff writer.

From 2007 till 2015 Sipchen worked at the Sierra Club, America’s largest and most effective grassroots environmental organization, where he led a staff of up to 80 multi-media professionals and served as National Communications Director and Editor in Chief of Sierra magazine, an award-winning, 500,000- circulation bimonthly created by Sierra Club founder John Muir in 1893. 

Sipchen is an adjunct professor at Occidental College, where he teaches journalism and communications classes. He and his wife, Pam, live in Los Angeles and are the parents of three adult children. 

Dennis Luna
Managing Partner
Luna & Glushon
Biography

Dennis Luna

Managing Partner
Luna & Glushon

Dennis is the managing partner of Luna & Glushon, a firm headquartered in Century City.

Dennis is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and holds a Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Southern California, School of Petroleum Engineering.

He has served on many commissions in the City of Los Angeles, including Commissioner and Treasurer for the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, and as a Commissioner of the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department.

He is also a former Director and Member of the Executive Committee of the Economic Development Corporation of Los Angeles County.

Dennis is a frequent speaker on matters related to energy, water resources, and the economy.

George Hawkins
General Manager
DC Water and Sewer Authority
Biography

George Hawkins

General Manager
DC Water and Sewer Authority

George Hawkins serves as General Manager of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water). On his arrival in 2009, Mr. Hawkins launched an ambitious agenda to transform DC Water into a customer-oriented enterprise that is driving innovation and delivering improved value to its ratepayers.  The core goal is to improve aging infrastructure while complying with stringent regulatory requirements. DC Water is implementing the $2.6 billion Clean Rivers Project to nearly eliminate overflows of sewage and stormwater to the Anacostia and Potomac rivers and Rock Creek.  DC Water is also nearing completion of a $470 million waste-to-energy program to help manage solids being removed from reclaimed water while generating 13 megawatts of green power.  DC Water is also driving industry-leading efforts in customer engagement, including a vibrant social media presence, in science and engineering research and development, and in product development and licensing.  DC Water is designing a social media program to encourage innovative ideas from staff and to support a utility driven business incubator for businesses and local jobs. 

In 2014, DC Water devised a creative solution to better match the financing of its $2.6 billion Clean Rivers Project with the project’s life-expectancy. The Authority became the first U.S. water/wastewater utility to issue century bonds with a 100-year final maturity. This issuance enables DC Water to spread the costs of the project over the minimum expected life of the tunnels and be supported by future ratepayers who will also benefit. The $350 million sale was also the first “green” bond issue in the U.S. debt capital markets certified by a third party.

Mr. Hawkins began his career practicing law for the Boston firm Ropes & Gray, and is a member of the Bar in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Princeton University and Cum Laude from Harvard Law School. Since 1999, Mr. Hawkins has taught Environmental Law and Policy for the Princeton Environment Institute at Princeton University.

Mark Callaway
Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager
Morgan Stanley
Biography

Mark Callaway

Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager
Morgan Stanley

Mark is a Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager at Morgan Stanley specializing in Impact Investing.  He has been in the financial services business for over 30 years working as an advisor to institutional and individual clients.  Mark manages a practice based in Atlanta, Georgia and is one of 20 investing with Impact “Champion” out of 17,000 advisors at Morgan Stanley.  He is the only Morgan Stanley “Champion” advisor in the Southeast. 

His interest in Sustainable, Responsible and Impact Investing goes back to his years growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the ‘60’s –‘70’s.  He started transitioning clients to ESG screened investments in 2001.  In April of 2011 Morgan Stanley recognizing the need to offer Impact Investing options to their retail clients and announced the formation of the Investing with Impact platform headed up by Hilary Irby, Executive Director of the Morgan Stanley Global Sustainable Finance (GSF) group and Head of the Morgan Stanley Investing with Impact Initiative. GSF harnesses the power and discipline of the capital markets to enhance environmental sustainability, advance economic opportunity and promote community development. The firm’s Investing with Impact initiative aims to provide clients with investment opportunities focused on providing financial returns as well as positive environmental and social impact.  In November of 2013, James Gorman, President,  of Morgan Stanley announced the creation of The Institute of Sustainable Investments, www.morganstanley.com/sustainableinvesting/ headed up by Audrey Choi, Managing Director at Morgan Stanley and CEO of the Institute.  The Institute for Sustainable Investing seeks to help businesses, institutions and individuals direct capital to these challenges in scalable ways. We focus on:

  • Sustainable Investing: Financial solutions that enable sustainable investing at scale
  • Thought Leadership: Groundbreaking insights that help mobilize capital to sustainable solutions
  • Capacity Building: Programs and strategic partnerships that build capacity and best practices in the field of sustainable investing

5 years ago Mark started the Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankings, www.southeasterncorporatesustainabilityrankings.net  whose goal it was to assess the advancement of corporate sustainability in the Southeast.  He has also certified by Global Reporting Initiative and participated in US SIFs inaugural “Fundamentals of Sustainable and Responsible Investments” education program. 

He served on 2 of the Callaway Family Foundations based in Georgia for over 25 years and in 1994 formed his own foundation, The Morning Star Foundation, Inc. to foster philanthropy in his kids.  4 of his 5 children currently serve on the board.  All investments in Morning Star Foundation are screen for their ESG scores and both the Foundation and Mark are signatories of the Divest/Invest Pledge.

Mark received both his B. A. and M.B.A at LaGrange College and has completed post graduate studies at NYU,  The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and will be back in England in April to attend Oxford Universities Impact Investing program and participate at the Skoll World Form.  He has served in a number of leadership capacities on the boards of University of Georgia, The Georgia Institute of Technology and other Southeastern based organizations.  

Steve Olson
Co-chair
World Trade Committee of Los Angeles
Biography

Steve Olson

Co-chair
World Trade Committee of Los Angeles
Renata Simril
President and CEO
LA84 Foundation
Biography

Renata Simril

President and CEO
LA84 Foundation

Renata Simril is President and CEO of the LA84 Foundation (www.LA84.org).  Formed in 1985, originally as the Amateur Athletic Foundation, the LA84 Foundation (“LA84” or the “Foundation”) is a legacy of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Summer Games.  The LA84 Foundation transforms lives through its investment in youth sport programs, infrastructure, research, and education across eight Counties of Southern California, and is a national leader in elevating the role that sports play in positive youth development.

Ms. Simril is an accomplished civic and private sector trailblazer with more than 20 years of diversified experience with a commitment to leadership and service.  She most recently served as Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff to the Publisher of the Los Angeles Times, where she oversaw staff operations and special projects.  Her earlier career included three seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where she served as Senior Vice President of External Affairs overseeing the restoration of the Dodgers brand and the Dodgers Foundation; and over a decade in real estate development with Jones Lang LaSalle, Forest City Development and LCOR, Inc.  Her public service included stints as Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Housing in the Hahn Administration, where she worked to expand rental and affordable housing in Los Angeles, and as a Development Deputy to Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, where she worked to help rebuild communities in South Los Angeles after the 1992 civil unrest.  Ms. Simril began her career in the U.S. Army as a Military Police Officer in the U.S. and Germany. 

Ms. Simril is active in the community outside of LA84 Foundation, currently serving on the Boards of the LA2024 Olympic Bid Committee; Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce;  United Way of Greater Los Angeles; Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission; and Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation; and as a member of the Board of Regents of Loyola Marymount University (LMU).  In 2016, she was named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s inaugural list of The Los Angeles 500 Most Influential People. 

Ms. Simril is a third generation Angeleno.  She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies from Loyola Marymount University and a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Development from USC.  Ms. Simril resides in Studio City with her husband and two sons.

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

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 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.

Austin Beutner
Publisher and Chief Executive Officer
Los Angeles Times
Biography

Austin Beutner

Publisher and Chief Executive Officer
Los Angeles Times
Mark Rothleder
Vice President, Market Quality and Renewable Integration
California ISO
Biography

Mark Rothleder

Vice President, Market Quality and Renewable Integration
California ISO

Mark Rothleder is Vice President, Market Quality and Renewable Integration at the California Independent System Operator Corporation and is leading of the ISO’s renewable integration work. Mr. Rothleder has held several critical positions at the ISO after joining the grid operator as one of its first employees in 1997.  He is now the longest serving ISO employee.  Before being named vice president, he was Executive Director of Market Analysis and Development.  His previous positions included Principal Market Developer and Director of Market Operations.

Akira (Keith) Morise
Assistant General Manager
Toshiba International Corporation, Transmission & Distribution Division
Biography

Akira (Keith) Morise

Assistant General Manager
Toshiba International Corporation, Transmission & Distribution Division

Vice President – Energy Storage business development, Assistant General Manager, Toshiba International Corporation, T&D Division, New York office, (2014 April - Present)

From 2012 to 2014:

Senior Manager, International Total Solution Sales Dept, Transmission & Distribution Systems Div., Social Infrastructure Systems Company, Toshiba Corporation

Senior Manager, Battery System Engineering Group, Power Grid Automation & Smart Grid Solutions Engineering Dept., Transmission & Distribution Systems Div.(Concurrently)
Senior Manager, Strategic Business Planning of Lithium Ion Battery (SCiB), in charge of partnering and M&A, Automotive Systems Div.(Concurrently)

Summary

More than 3 years being in charge of market development of Energy Storage Solutions Business in global market, acting as Sales Engineer of Toshiba rechargeable battery (SCiB).

More than 6 years experience of Strategic business planning and business development of Toshiba rechargeable battery (SCiB) in global market at Toshiba.

More than 25 years experience in overseas market including 8 years stays in foreign countries - 3 years in Belgium and 5 years in Russia.

Main tasks - been working as a Global Sales and Marketing. Also acted as sales-engineer for some product categories.

Worked for SONY Corporation from 1998 2007

Worked for NGK Insulators from 1984 to 1998

Education

Waseda University

Bachelor of Arts, Russian literature, 1979 - 1984

Tanya Peacock
Managing Director
EcoEngineers
Biography

Tanya Peacock

Managing Director
EcoEngineers

Tanya Peacock is Managing Director at EcoEngineers, an international clean energy consulting firm with deep expertise in carbon life-cycle analysis. Based in Los Angeles, Tanya is responsible for expanding EcoEngineers’ energy transition practice in California. She is simultaneously leading the fast-growing hydrogen sector. 
 
A well-known clean energy champion, Tanya currently serves as chairperson of the California Hydrogen Business Council. She has held board and leadership roles at the American Biogas Council, Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas, California Stationary Fuel Cell Collaborative, among others. Additionally, she is an expert in California’s cap-and-trade program and played a key role in the development of policies to support the production and use of clean energy in California.
 
Prior to joining EcoEngineers, Tanya led the California Policy and Government Affairs team at Bloom Energy focusing on decarbonization pathways, clean hydrogen opportunities, and distributed energy policy priorities. Before that, she led rates and policy teams at Sempra Energy and its subsidiary, SoCalGas.
 
Tanya earned a Master of Regional Planning degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and a Bachelor of Arts from Mills College in Oakland, California. She is a current board member at the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters.
 

Martin Adams
General Manager & Chief Engineer
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Biography

Martin Adams

General Manager & Chief Engineer
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Martin Adams is the General Manager and Chief Engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the nation’s largest publicly-owned utility.  He took over the leadership role in July 2019 after three years as the agency’s Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the City’s water and power systems.     

He leads an organization of more than 10,000 employees delivering water and power to the 4 million residents of Los Angeles.  Mr. Adams has more than 35 years of experience with at LADWP, where he started in 1984 as an entry level engineer in the Water System, eventually leading that organization as the Senior Assistant General Manager of Water.  During the course of his career, Mr. Adams worked throughout the Water System and was directly involved with the planning and implementation of major changes to water storage, conveyance, and treatment facilities to meet new water quality regulations.  He has spent almost half of his career in system operations, including ten years as the Director of Water Operations in charge of the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the Los Angeles water delivery system, including the Los Angeles Aqueduct and other supply sources, pump stations, reservoirs, water treatment, and management of Water System properties. 

Mr. Adams is a native of the greater Los Angeles area and lives with his family in Burbank, where he served for nine years on that city’s Water and Power board.  He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

Brad Copithorne
Vice President of Commercial PACE Programs
Renewable Funding, LLC
Biography

Brad Copithorne

Vice President of Commercial PACE Programs
Renewable Funding, LLC
Peter Bryant
President and Founder
TransTech USA, LLC
Biography

Peter Bryant

President and Founder
TransTech USA, LLC

Peter Bryant, the Founder and President of TransTech USA, LLC has over twenty four -year experience working within the global technology industry both as an entrepreneur and in general management for larger enterprises such as GE Information Services and Computer Associates. Peter is widely known within the global enterprise software industry and is rapidly being recognized as one of the leading authorities on successful commercialization of technology and technology innovation. As an executive, Peter has consistently increased shareholder value through the successful implementation of aggressive growth strategies complemented by a laser like focus on profitability and cash management. Peter has built successful companies in the US, UK and APAC regions.

Prior to founding TransTech USA Peter spent 2 years as CEO of Clear Technology where he was responsible for directing all of Clears global operations as the company launched its breakthrough advanced Business Process Management and Automation solution. Prior to Clear Technology Peter spent one year as President of InfoNow Corporation, a NASDAQ company and a leading provider of Enterprise Channel Management solutions. Prior to that he was Vice President of Operations North America for Mincom, Inc. where he was responsible for all Sales, Marketing and Alliance functions. His previous 13 years were spent at Computer Associates International, the 3rd largest global provider of enterprise software solutions.  In his last position as Vice President for New Business, he managed domestic new business opportunities.

In his earlier positions at Computer Associates, Peter managed and directed a variety of groups in Computer Associates Sydney, the Asia Pacific Headquarters and was on the board from 1987 to 1995. These positions included Chief Operating Officer for 6 years (all customer facing operations), Executive Director of the Enterprise Applications Products Division Asia Pacific. He has also held executive positions with GE Information Services, OpenPlus International and Compuware Solutions in Sydney.

Peter’s operational experience, ability to identify and extract value from complex technologies and his familiarity raising capital and working within the aegis of the private equity industry provide him unique insights into what is necessary for successful commercialization of a technology company. Peter also leverages for the advantage of his clients a high value global network of the leading thinkers in the technology world and within the broader vendor, analyst and investor community.

Peter has a unique ability to rapidly understand complex business processes and map, at a macro level, technology solutions that will improve, automate and speed up those processes.

Peter holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration from Victoria University in Wellington New Zealand and has completed studies at the Kellogg School of Management. Peter is also a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a CA of the NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants. Mr. Bryant has been a speaker at various IT and industry conferences in the US, UK and APAC. Peter is an active member of the Colorado Governor’s Commission for Technology and Science, The Rocky Mountain Venture Club, the ANZA Technology Network and is an active advisor to the CTEK Angel Investor group. Peter also sits on the Board of Advisors of several emerging technology companies and technology incubators.

Catherine Reheis-Boyd
President
Western States Petroleum Association
Biography

Catherine Reheis-Boyd

President
Western States Petroleum Association

Catherine Reheis-Boyd has served as the President and CEO of the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) since January 1, 2010. She oversees the trade organization’s operations and advocacy in five Western states – California, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, and Oregon.

Over her 33 year career at WSPA, Ms. Reheis-Boyd has held a variety of leadership roles, including a 2003 appointment as Chief of Staff and subsequent promotions to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. As part of her 39 years of experience in the oil industry, Ms. Reheis-Boyd worked for an environmental consulting firm on various projects before joining Getty Oil and Texaco, working on environmental compliance at the Kern River Field in Bakersfield, California.

She currently manages a broad range of Association activities, including legislative and regulatory issues associated with transportation fuels policy, air and water quality, climate change, renewable fuels and alternative energy issues, crude oil and natural gas production and many other issues in WSPA’s five states, and beyond those borders into Canada and abroad.

In 2004, Ms. Reheis-Boyd was appointed by the California Resource Secretary to the California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Blue Ribbon Task Force to an eight-year term. The MLPA is charged with protecting ocean resources off the California coastline from Oregon to Mexico. In addition, Ms. Reheis-Boyd was appointed to the National Marine Protected Areas Center’s Federal Advisory Committee which recommends strategies to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the United States Department of Interior on how to strengthen and protect the nation’s systems of Marine Protected Areas. Ms. Reheis-Boyd is a member of, or advisor to, a number of climate change policy panels and regulatory agencies in all five WSPA states.

In 2016, Ms. Reheis-Boyd was named Distinguished Woman and Petroleum Advocate of the Year by the California Latino Leadership Institute.

Ms. Reheis-Boyd received her Bachelors of Science degree in Natural Resource Management from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where she currently sits on the Advisory Committee and pursued postgraduate studies in environmental engineering at the University of Southern California.

The Western States Petroleum Association represents major integrated petroleum companies, independent refiners and oil and natural gas producers that explore for, produce, transport, refine and market petroleum, petroleum products, and natural gas as well as advanced alternative and renewable transportation fuels in the West. On behalf of the industry, WSPA works to encourage public policies that promote socially and environmentally responsible economic growth and prosperity.

Emilio Cruz
Assistant General Manager
SFPUC
Biography

Emilio Cruz

Assistant General Manager
SFPUC

Emilio Cruz is the Assistant General Manager, Infrastructure, overseeing all water, power and sewer capital programs and projects, including the Water System Improvement Program, Sewer System Improvement Program, and Hetchy System Improvement Program. He leads the Infrastructure Division, coordinating the work of the following Bureaus: Environmental Management, Construction Management, Engineering Management, Project Management, Project Controls, and Contract Administration. Emilio brings to the SFPUC all the attributes of a dynamic career encompassing twenty-five years serving the City and County of San Francisco, and private and non-profit sectors. He was Program Manager of the Waterfront Capital Improvement Program under the Chief Administrative Officer of San Francisco; Director of Facilities and Operations for the Port of San Francisco; Chief of Staff to the Mayor; General Manager of the Municipal Railway; Vice President of URS Corporation; Director of Economic Development for the City and County of San Francisco; Chief Operating Officer of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund; Vice President and Partner of EPC Consultants; and most recently, Program Manager for the $4.2 billion Transbay Terminal Program. He is a graduate of Stanford University, with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. He has led numerous boards, including the San Francisco Board of Education, and San Francisco Planning and Urban Research (SPUR), for which he served as President and Vice President, respectively.

Cecilia Estolano
CEO & Founder
Estolano Advisors and CEO of Better World Group
Biography

Cecilia Estolano

CEO & Founder
Estolano Advisors and CEO of Better World Group

Cecilia V. Estolano is a leading expert on contemporary urban planning issues, with experience in economic and workforce development, land use, environmental policy, and urban revitalization. She has worked directly with public, private, institutional, and non-profit clients to plan, finance, design, implement, and operate policy-driven programs and projects that promote sustainable solutions tailored for each community.

Cecilia is a former Chair of the Regents of the University of California and has served as President of the California Community College Board of Governors. She received an A.B. from Harvard-Radcliffe Colleges, an M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA, and a J.D. from UC Berkeley. Prior to founding Estolano Advisors in 2011, Cecilia served as CEO of CRA/LA, practiced land use and environmental law while Of Counsel and an Associate at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, served as Senior Policy Advisor at the U.S. EPA during the Clinton Administration, and served as Environmental Policy Advisor to former L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley. In addition to her work at Estolano Advisors, she became the CEO of Better World Group, an environmental strategy firm, in 2018. 

Enrique Zaldivar
CEO
Baldwin Park
Biography

Enrique Zaldivar

CEO
Baldwin Park

Enrique was at the helm of LA Sanitation & Environment (LASAN) as the Director and General Manager for over eight years. He was originally appointed in 2007, and then reappointed by Mayor Garcetti in September 2013.  LASAN is one of the largest agencies in the City of Los Angeles with nearly 3,300 employees and an annual revenue budget of over $1.1 billion. Through Mr. Zaldivar's leadership and management, LASAN oversees important environmental and infrastructure programs such as the City's Clean Water program, one of the largest in the world with its iconic flagship Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant; the Solid Resources program, which has achieved one of the highest recycling rates in the nation at 76.4% and climbing, and includes the recently implemented recycLA Franchise Initiative; and the Watershed Protection program, which is among the most innovative in the country with its use of green infrastructure for achieving water quality objectives for urban stormwater runoff, while delivering on multiple other benefits like open space, urban habitat support, and water supply. 


Under Enrique's leadership, LASAN has had some very significant accomplishments of great benefit to the City at large, such as:

  • The adoption of the Low Impact Development Ordinance (LID), which brought in the expanded participation of the private sector for achieving stormwater quality and capture;
  • Successfully implemented the Single-Use Plastic Bag Ban Ordinance; 
  • Laid the policy groundwork for the adoption of the Solid Waste Private Hauler Exclusive Franchise Initiative; 
  • Made a persuasive case to the Mayor, City Council and the ratepayers for the approval  of a 10-year Financial Rate Plan for the City's Clean Water Program, providing financial stability and efficiency to one of the most critical  infrastructure programs of the City; 
  • Placed LASAN at the forefront of the larger City's strategy for water sustainability through its recycled water and watershed protection programs in alignment with Mayor Garcetti's Executive Directive No. 5 and City Council Policies;
  • Established a full-service Customer Care Center with 24/7 coverage to address customer requests at any time, in recognition of the fact that LASAN is a 24/7 operating agency and fully integrated with the MyLA311 system;
  • Successfully made the Solid Resources Program a Full Cost Recovery service as a quasi-Enterprise Fund with full accountability to the  ratepayers;
  • Implemented the brand new Clean Streets Initiative (CSI) through the leadership of the Mayor and City Council, with the ultimate goal of making  every corner of Los Angeles a clean, livable, and sustainable environment; 
  • Established a productive and collaborative Joint Labor/Management process across the entire organization where work issues get addressed and just as importantly, a process where innovation and work efficiency are fostered and promoted. 


Originally from the state of Zacatecas, Mexico, Enrique graduated from Azusa High School in the City of Azusa, attended UCLA long enough to have Bruin blood in him, and calls himself a proud Bronco from Cal Poly Pomona where he graduated as a Civil Environmental Engineer in 1985. He has also done graduate studies there and now serves as the Vice Chair of their College of Engineering’s Dean’s Leadership Board. Enrique is active in several organizations and serves on several of their Boards, including the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), and others. He also serves on Cal Poly Pomona's School of Engineering Dean's Leadership Council where he has also been inducted into the Hall of Fame and honored as a distinguished alumni. Enrique has been honored by several organizations for his environmental leadership stewardship, including the Los Angeles Conservation Corps (LACC), Friends of Ballona Wetlands, Heal the Bay, Community Conservation Solutions, and others.  Enrique also has an interest in furthering the relationship between the U.S., Mexico and Canada by sharing industry best practices and technical exchange missions between the three countries.

Enrique started his career with the City of Los Angeles in 1985 straight out of college as an associate engineer. Twenty-two years later, he became the General Manager of LA Sanitation and Environment.

Enrique and his wife, Brenda, have three children: Enrique Jr., Alonzo, and Carina.

 

Abigale Abel
Affiliate
CityFi
Biography

Abigale Abel

Affiliate
CityFi

Abigale (Abby) Abel is a strategy and marketing professional with extensive corporate experience developing and delivering on clean energy growth strategies.

As a Cityfi Senior Associate, Abby has worked on standing-up the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance, a statewide platform designed to accelerate the adoption of innovative technology and practices to enhance the quality of life for all Coloradans. She has also served as a Strategic Advisor to the City of Aurora Smart City Strategic Planning process, and supported the roll-out of a mobility data platform to cities nationwide. 

Prior to joining Cityfi, Abby led commercial partnerships for GE Ecomagination, a cross-GE innovation platform to identify and test new technology and commercial solutions to environmental challenges. Abby also served as the Chief Marketing Officer for GE’s Renewable Energy business where her team led market analysis and strategic planning. 

Abby’s strengths are applying clear thinking, creative problem solving and a collaborative leadership style to uncover and deliver on unique marketopportunities. She is passionate about linking innovation to the urban environment in support of cleaner, more equitable and resilient communities.

Abby holds a Master of Business and Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan.  She lives in Denver, CO with her husband and two children.

Adel Hagekhalil
General Manager
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Biography

Adel Hagekhalil

General Manager
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Adel Hagekhalil is the General Manager and Chief Executive Officer for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the largest wholesale drinking water agency in the country. Metropolitan is a state-established cooperative that delivers water to 26-member public agencies, serving 19 million people across Southern CA.
 
As General Manager, Mr. Hagekhalil is responsible for leading Metropolitan’s daily and long-term operations and planning to provide safe, reliable water to Southern California. He oversees Metropolitan’s $1.9 billion annual budget, 1,800 employees, and extensive system of conveyance, storage, treatment, and delivery infrastructure.
 
Mr. Hagekhalil is a registered civil engineer and national board-certified environmental engineer, having earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Houston, TX. Before joining Metropolitan, he was appointed in 2018 by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to serve as the executive director and general manager of the city’s Bureau of Street Services. His responsibilities included oversight of the management, maintenance, and improvement of the city’s network of streets, sidewalks, trees, and bikeways. He also focused on climate change adaptation and multi-benefit integrated active transportation corridors.
 
Previously, he served nearly 10 years as assistant general manager of the Los Angeles’ Bureau of Sanitation, led the city’s wastewater collection system, stormwater and watershed protection program, water quality compliance, advance planning, and facilities. He also helped develop the city’s 2040 One Water LA Plan, an award-winning regional watershed approach to integrate water supply, reuse, conservation, stormwater management and wastewater facilities planning.
 
Mr. Hagekhalil is a member of the American Public Works Association as well as the Water Environment Federation, which recognized him in 2019 as a WEF Fellow for his contribution to enhancing and forwarding the water industry. He also served for more than a decade as a board member on the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, including a term as president.

Darrell Steinberg
Mayor
City of Sacramento
Biography

Darrell Steinberg

Mayor
City of Sacramento

Darrell Steinberg is Mayor of the City of Sacramento. Prior, Darrell was a California State Senator representing the Sacramento Region (6th District) in the state legislature for 14 years, including the last 6 as the President of the Senate. Before he was elected to the Assembly in 1998, Darrell also served on the Sacramento City Council for 6 years.

During his legislative tenure, Darrell worked on agreements that protected California's water supply, overhauled workers compensation laws, revamped zoning rules to combat urban sprawl and global warming, enhanced workplace safety, tackled school dropout rates, and reduced governmental red tape to benefit the economy. He led the charge in passing pension reform that eliminated flagrant abuses of the system. Darrell aided in sending AB 900 to the governor to expedite the legal process for large scale environmentally sustainable projects, and also introduced SB 946 to mandate insurance companies cover treatment of people with autism and related disorders. He is well known for his commitment to mental health, authoring the legislation that became Proposition 63 to provide greater funding for mental health care. He is recognized in Sacramento and with the leadership of the National Basketball Association for securing the passage of SB 743 that made changes to the California Environmental Quality Act, allowing the Kings’ arena to be built in downtown Sacramento. In the 2013/2014 session, he authored bills on insurance (SB 476), political reform (SB 477), medical practice (SB 670), flood protection (SB 753), redevelopment (SB 1129), and the statewide ballot initiative process (SB 1253), a measure strongly supported by former Chief Justice Ron George.

Darrell is also the Founder and Board Chair of The Steinberg Institute for Advancing Mental Health Policy.

Adam Schiff
Congressman, California's 28th District
US House of Representatives
Biography

Adam Schiff

Congressman, California's 28th District
US House of Representatives
Michael George
Fmr. Delta Watermaster
State of California
Biography

Michael George

Fmr. Delta Watermaster
State of California

Michael Patrick George was appointed to a four-year term as Delta Watermaster beginning in January, 2015; he was re-appointed for a second four-year term through January of 2023.  The position of Delta Watermaster was created by the 2009 Delta Reform legislation.  The Delta Watermaster is an independent officer of the State reporting jointly to the State Water Resources Control Board and the Delta Stewardship Council.  The Watermaster has statutory responsibility for administering water rights within the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta and the Suisun Marsh.  Additionally, the Delta Watermaster advises the Board and the Council on related water rights, water quality and water operations in and affecting the Delta, which is, simultaneously, a critical estuarine habitat, a vital agricultural area, and the hub of California’s water infrastructure.

Prior being appointed, Mr. George was active in western water law and policy as a water lawyer, as the CEO of a publicly traded water resource management company, as a senior executive of an investor owned water utility and as an investment banker serving both public and private entities in the water industry.  He is an honors graduate of The University of Notre Dame where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and of the Georgetown University Law Center where he was an editor of Law and Policy in International Business.  Mr. George has lectured on California water resource issues at the University of California San Diego, the University of Southern California and the University of California at Berkeley.  He is a member of the California Bar.

 

Dean Wiberg
Biography

Dean Wiberg

Bill Allen
President and CEO
LAEDC
Biography

Bill Allen

President and CEO
LAEDC

Bill Allen is the Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation and its subsidiary, the World Trade Center Los Angeles. Mr. Allen is also Co-Chair of the California Stewardship Network, a Vice Chair of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley and a member of the Board of Directors of the Weingart Foundation, Regional Economic Association Leaders of California Coalition, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles Coalition for the Economy and Jobs, FilmL.A., Unite L.A., and Sister Cities of Los Angeles.

Active in regional economic development for more than twenty years, Mr. Allen was the first CEO of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley from 1996-2000, and in 2000 was named California’s Civic Entrepreneur of the Year by the California Center for Regional Leadership.

Mr. Allen has served as a trustee of the University of Southern California, chair of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Chair of Film LA, and cochair of the “Shaping Tomorrow” capital campaign for the Valley Presbyterian Hospital, on whose board he served for fifteen years.

Mr. Allen was previously a television network and studio executive with nearly twenty years experience in entertainment production and management, where he supervised the development and production of hundreds of episodes of network, syndicated and cable television, as well as several highly rated TV movies and specials.

A cum laude graduate of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California in 1979, Mr. Allen also received his Masters Degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine University in 1983.

Earl Blumenauer
Congressman, Oregon's 3rd District
US House of Representatives
Biography

Earl Blumenauer

Congressman, Oregon's 3rd District
US House of Representatives

Earl Blumenauer was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, and has been a life-long resident of Oregon's 3rd Congressional District.

Through his years as a local official in the Oregon Legislature, Multnomah County Commission, and Portland’s City Council, Earl developed a national reputation for his advocacy of public transportation, land use planning, protection of the environment, and school funding.

Elected to Congress in 1996, Blumenauer has been a champion for cleaning up America’s most polluted sites and has introduced legislation to reinstate the federal Superfund tax. He is also a leader in public lands protection, in particular for protecting Oregon’s crown jewels such as Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge. He is the former Vice Chair for the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and has strongly defended the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, as well as EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases in the fight against climate change. Blumenauer has also led an initiative to reform federal flood insurance policies by protecting environmentally sensitive and disaster prone areas from development, and modernizing the policies of the US Army Corps of Engineers.  His environmental priorities are geared towards helping the federal government be a better partner to local communities in improving and sustaining the health of our land and water.

Blumenauer currently sits on the Ways and Means Committee. 

Seleta Reynolds
General Manager
Los Angeles Department of Transportation
Biography

Seleta Reynolds

General Manager
Los Angeles Department of Transportation

Seleta Reynolds is General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), the second largest municipal transportation agency in the country. Reynolds is responsible for 1,300 employees and 52 different business lines – from parking meters to traffic signals to buses. Reynolds was appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2014 to implement the Mayor’s vision of safe and sustainable transportation choices for all. Under Reynolds’ leadership, LADOT has installed hundreds of data-driven safety improvements in high needs locations, launched the largest scooter program in the world, launched the largest electric vehicle car-share program in the country, and created a first-of-its-kind digital platform to manage for-profit mobility companies. 

Reynolds is a true believer that LADOT should reflect the city that it serves. Over 90 percent of her executive team are women and people of color. Reynolds has over 20 years of transportation experience in both the public and private sectors. She served as president of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) for four years, which represents cities and transportation agencies in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. She is the Board Chair and founding member of the Open Mobility Foundation (OMF), a public-private forum created to tackle technical issues surrounding emerging mobility technology. In 2019, she also joined the board of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA).

Atsushi Honzawa
Senior Engineer
Hitachi Ltd, Energy Solutions Business Management Division
Biography

Atsushi Honzawa

Senior Engineer
Hitachi Ltd, Energy Solutions Business Management Division

Mr. Honzawa is a professional of project management and various experience in designing and engineering in utility engineering project such as Japan-US island grid project in Maui.

He studied electrical engineering at University of California, Berkeley.

After experiencing control system design of thermal power plant system, he is in charge for business development of ancillary services of Power grid, especially battery energy storage system.

He is also leading the International standardization of Electrical Energy Storage System as the Convenor of WG2 of IEC TC120; Electrical Energy Storage System.

Jonathan Weisgall
Vice President, Government Relations
Berkshire Hathaway Energy
Biography

Jonathan Weisgall

Vice President, Government Relations
Berkshire Hathaway Energy

Jonathan Weisgall is Vice President for Government Relations for Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. He joined CalEnergy (Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s predecessor company) in 1993 as Vice President for Legislative and Regulatory Affairs. 

Weisgall also serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies and vice chairman of the Geothermal Rising’s Policy Committee. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he has taught a seminar on energy issues since 1990 and recently received the Charles Fahy Distinguished Adjunct Professor Award as outstanding adjunct professor of the year. He has also guest lectured on energy issues at Stanford Law School, Haverford, and the Johns Hopkins Environmental Science and Policy Program and its School of Advanced International Studies. He was a member of the Lithium Valley Commission and has been named one of the top Washington, DC corporate lobbyists by The Hill since 2004.

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, Johns Hopkins SAIS Review, and The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Weisgall is also the author of Operation Crossroads:  The Atomic Tests at Bikini Atoll (U.S. Naval Institute Press, 1994) and the executive producer of “Radio Bikini,” which was nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary in 1988.
 

Felicia Marcus
William C. Landreth Visiting Fellow
Stanford University Water in the West
Biography

Felicia Marcus

William C. Landreth Visiting Fellow
Stanford University Water in the West

Felicia Marcus is an attorney who has served in leadership and management positions in the government and non-profit sectors. She is currently the Landreth Visiting Fellow at Stanford University’s Water in the West Program and is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Felicia was most recently Chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board (working on issues of drought, groundwater management, water supply, drinking water, water quality and a host of other issues) after having served as Regional Administrator of the U.S. EPA Region IX and as head of the Los Angeles Department of Public Works in addition to senior leadership in national non-governmental organizations (NRDC and TPL).  She has experience as a private and public interest sector attorney and has worked on issues across the West spanning water supply, water rights, and water quality in addition to experience in other sectors like energy, toxics, and land use. She is also a member of the Water Policy Group, an international network of former and current high level water officials dedicated to assisting developing nations, a Board Member of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, which oversees the bulk electricity transmission grid for the Western US and parts of Canada and Mexico, and is also one of the three US members of the Joint Public Advisory Committee of the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation in addition to serving of many boards and advisory committees.

David Agnew
Managing Director, Government Affairs
Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets
Biography

David Agnew

Managing Director, Government Affairs
Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets

David Agnew currently serves MIRA as Managing Director, Government Affairs. In this new role, Agnew acts as MIRA’s liaison with federal, state and local governments, building on MIRA’s existing presence in the marketplace while also exploring new investment opportunities.

Prior to joining Macquarie, David served at the White House, where he was Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. In this role, David oversaw the Obama Administration’s relationship with state, city, county, and tribal elected officials across the country. David previously served as Deputy Director of the office and was the President’s liaison to America’s mayors and county officials.

Before working in the White House, David was a businessman and community leader in Charleston, South Carolina. He has served as a top deputy to Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., a Special Assistant in the Office of U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, and a management consultant at Price Waterhouse. David has been active in public affairs and urban policy throughout his career, and has served in leadership roles for numerous non-profit organizations, including the Trust for Public Land, the Charleston Parks Conservancy, and the College of Charleston Riley Center.

David received his Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He is a Harry S. Truman Scholar, a European Union Visiting Fellow, and a Liberty Fellow.

 

Sue Minter
Executive Director
Capstone Community Action
Biography

Sue Minter

Executive Director
Capstone Community Action

Sue Minter is the Executive Director of Capstone Community Action, a regional anti-poverty non-profit in Vermont dedicated to creating resilient communities and advancing social, economic and environmental justice. In 2021 she was appointed to serve on the Vermont Climate Council, established to create the state’s climate action plan, where she co-chair of the Just Transitions Committee.

Minter has served the state of Vermont as the Secretary of the Agency of Transportation (2015), Deputy Secretary (2011-2014) and as the state’s Chief Recovery Officer (2011-2013) following the devastation from Tropical Storm Irene. Sue also served on President Obama’s White House Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience (2015) as a sub-committee co-chair and also led a Vermont disaster response team to support Colorado DOT after 2013 flooding. Minter was the Democratic candidate for Vermont Governor in 2016.

Minter’s public service included elected office as State Representative in the Vermont legislature from 2004–2010, serving as a member of the House Appropriations Committee and House Transportation Committees, when she was selected to be an Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership (2009-11) and was designated as a 2008 Emerging Political Leader by the State Legislative Leadership Foundation.

A graduate of Harvard University (BA) and M.I.T. (MA in City Planning), Sue and her husband, David Goodman, live in Waterbury Center and have two adult children.

Jeffrey Kightlinger
General Manager & CEO
Metropolitan Water District
Biography

Jeffrey Kightlinger

General Manager & CEO
Metropolitan Water District

Jeffrey Kightlinger is general manager and chief executive officer for The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The Metropolitan Water District is the largest municipal water provider in the nation delivering an average of over 2 billion gallons of water a day to 19 million customers across Southern California.  Metropolitan serves one out of every two Californians in the six counties of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego.

Kightlinger was appointed general manager in February 2006.  Prior to that, he served as the general counsel for the agency.

Robert Garcia
Mayor
City of Long Beach
Biography

Robert Garcia

Mayor
City of Long Beach

Dr. Robert Garcia is an accomplished educator and the 28th Mayor of Long Beach. He was elected on June 3rd, 2014, becoming the youngest person ever to hold that office. Robert has taken a leadership role in balancing the city budget, reforming pensions, expanding park space, and investing in technology, and is committed to moving Long Beach forward by attracting tech and green jobs, creating new educational partnerships, and rebuilding our aging streets, sidewalks and alleys.

Robert has been a member public policy and communications faculty at the University of Southern California, and taught Communication Studies at both Cal State Long Beach and Long Beach City College. His passion for education led him to pursue a Doctorate in Higher Education, which he was awarded in 2010 after publishing his dissertation on California's Master Plan for Education. Robert also holds a Masters Degree in Communication Management from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Studies from California State University, Long Beach.

In 2007, Robert co-founded and launched the Long Beach Post, a Long Beach based media website and newspaper. By the time he left the company 2013, the small business had grown into an important source for community information and has over 45,000 online subscribers. As First District Councilmember, a position he held from 2009-2014, Robert served as the Chair of the Long Beach Public Safety Committee and the Long Beach Housing Authority, and on both the Federal Legislative and State Legislative Council Committees. He also served on the California Coastal Commission from January, 2013 until taking office as Mayor of Long Beach.

Robert was born in Lima, Peru, and immigrated to the United States at age 5 with his family. He grew up in Covina, California and was raised by three strong women in his life - his mother, grandmother and aunt. Robert was the first person in his family to attend and graduate college. While at CSULB, Robert was elected student body president.

Robert has been named one of Long Beach's "Most Innovative Minds" by Long Beach Magazine, to the Advocate Magazine's 40 Under 40 List in 2010, and to Instinct Magazine's Leading Men in 2009. He was the receipient of the 2014 Vanguard Leadership award from Equality California. Robert lives in downtown Long Beach.

Joe Edmiston
Executive Director
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
Biography

Joe Edmiston

Executive Director
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy

Joseph Edmiston was appointed Executive Director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy by Governor Jerry Brown in 1979. Under his leadership, the Conservancy has preserved over 60,000 acres of public parkland within and surrounding the Los Angeles Metropolitan region, in a zone extending from the edge of the Mojave Desert to the Pacific Ocean. From north to south, these areas drain into the Santa Clara River, Calleguas Creek, numerous smaller coastal watersheds in the Santa Monica Mountains, and the Los Angeles River and Rio Hondo. Joe has lectured extensively on environmental planning, park development, and urban land use. He and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, have been the recipient of numerous national awards including, most recently, the highest honor of the National Planning Association, the Daniel Burnham Award.

George Minter
Regional Vice President for External Affairs and Environmental Strategy
Southern California Gas Company
Biography

George Minter

Regional Vice President for External Affairs and Environmental Strategy
Southern California Gas Company

George Minter is currently Regional Vice President for External Affairs and Environmental Strategy for SoCalGas, the nation’s largest gas utility. He is responsible for the Company’s public affairs, community relations, and energy and environmental affairs functions. 

He’s been a long time public policy professional specializing in energy and environmental matters, policy development, communications and political advocacy. Previously, he’s been a managing principal for LA-based public affairs consulting firms, Greer/Dailey/Minter and GM Public Affairs, handling approvals for large energy and land use projects.  He began his career as a political consultant managing local, state and national political campaigns.

George has served as a board member of numerous civic associations and community organizations, has been the recipient of several awards and honors, and has been a regular speaker at state and national conferences on energy and environmental policy. 

He’s the father of two grown children, is married, and lives in Pasadena, California; and is a Phi Beta Kappa and Honors graduate of the University of California at Berkeley.

Sanjay Ranchod
Director & Counsel, Business Development & Policy
Tesla
Biography

Sanjay Ranchod

Director & Counsel, Business Development & Policy
Tesla

Sanjay Ranchod works at Tesla, where he is Director and Counsel, Business Development and Policy. Previously, he was Vice President of Policy & Electricity Markets and Regulatory Counsel at SolarCity from 2011 through 2017. Before joining SolarCity, Ranchod represented renewable energy companies and other businesses on regulatory matters as an attorney at the Paul Hastings law firm.

Ranchod serves on the board of directors of the California Solar Energy Industries Association and as a Commissioner of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, a state agency. He served on Sierra Club’s board of directors from 2004 to 2010, and on the board of the Sierra Club Foundation from 2010 to 2016. Ranchod also served on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Center for Environmental Health / Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He received a BA from Brown University and a JD from Stanford Law School.

Nancy Sutley
Deputy Mayor of Energy & Sustainability
City of Los Angeles
Biography

Nancy Sutley

Deputy Mayor of Energy & Sustainability
City of Los Angeles

Prior to her role as Deputy Mayor of Energy and Sustainability, Nancy Sutley  served LADWP’s Senior Assistant General Manager of External and Regulatory Affairs, and the Chief Sustainability Officer. In this role, Ms. Sutley oversaw the Department’s customer service operations, energy efficiency and water conservation programs, environmental regulation, public affairs and legislative teams. Over the course of her tenure with the Department, Ms. Sutley initiated LADWP’s corporate sustainability programs, spearheaded LADWP’s La Kretz Innovation Campus, promoted the electrification of the transportation network and coordinated the Clean Grid L.A. plan.

Prior to joining LADWP in 2014, Ms. Sutley served as Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Under her leadership, the Council played a central role in shepherding the Obama Administration’s signature environmental projects and was one of the chief architects of President Obama’s 2013 Climate Action Plan.

Ms. Sutley has an extensive background in public service that includes posts as Deputy Mayor for Energy and Environment for the City of Los Angeles, Board Member of the Metropolitan Water District, Member of the California State Water Resources Control Board, Energy Advisor for California Governor Gray Davis, Deputy Secretary for Policy and Intergovernmental Relations at the California Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Senior Policy Advisor for the US EPA during the Clinton Administration.

Ms. Sutley holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and a Master of Public Policy degree from Harvard University.

Bob Foster
Board Member
EPCOR Utilities
Biography

Bob Foster

Board Member
EPCOR Utilities

Bob Foster has spent more than 40 years in the energy policy arena in California.  He began his career working on energy efficiency for the State Senate and then led the energy efficiency program for the California Energy Commission.  He then joined Southern California Edison working his way up in the company, eventually serving as its President from 2002 to 2006.  After retiring from SCE, he ran for and was elected Mayor of Long Beach, Ca., serving for 8 years from 2006 to 2014.  He also served as Chair of California’s Independent System Operator (CAISO) from 2011 to 2014.  He now operates Prometheus Advisors, providing consulting on energy, water, entitlements, and public policy issues. He serves on the boards of EPCOR in Edmonton Canada, the American Transmission Company in Milwaukee, and Port Solutions in Los Angeles.  Bob is an ardent baseball fan and in 1983 coached a team from Sacramento to the Little League World Series in Williamsport Pa.

Guanbin Zhang
Commercial Consul
Chinese Consulate, Los Angeles
Biography

Guanbin Zhang

Commercial Consul
Chinese Consulate, Los Angeles

Guanbin Zhang joined the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles in February 2012. In his current capacity as a Commercial Consul, Zhang observes trade issues, serves and provides guidance for Chinese companies in Southern California, promotes investments and exhibitions between China and the Consulate area of Southern California, Hawaii, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Prior to his appointment as Commercial Consul in LA, Mr. Zhang worked in the Department of Foreign Trade of Ministry of Commerce of China (MOFCOM). As Vice Director of his sub-section, Mr. Zhang was in charge of import policy on some important industrial products and foreign trade structural adjustment.

Mr. Zhang received his Ph.D. in economics from China Central University of Finance and Economics, and his Master in International Trade from the China Agricultural University.

Felipe Fuentes
Councilmember, 7th District
Los Angeles City Council
Biography

Felipe Fuentes

Councilmember, 7th District
Los Angeles City Council
Robyn Beavers
CEO
Blueprint Power
Biography

Robyn Beavers

CEO
Blueprint Power

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 then joined DEKA Research & Engineering to commercialize their various distributed water and power technologies. Her most recent corporate involvement has been as Sn VP for NRG Energy. She holds both a B.S. in Civil Engineering and an MBA from Stanford University.

Nandhu Nandhakumar
Senior Vice President
LG Technology Center of America
Biography

Nandhu Nandhakumar

Senior Vice President
LG Technology Center of America

Dr. Nandhakumar has been serving (since 2006) as Senior Vice President - Advanced Technology in the office of the CTO of LG Electronics Inc.  He has been leading technology initiatives, partnerships and corporate investments in areas of long-term strategic interest to LG Electronics, such as connected entertainment, connected health, connected energy and connected vehicle. 

Dr. Nandhu Nandhakumar was also the founding head of the LG Technology Center of America, a recently established Silicon Valley-based incubator for emerging technologies relevant to the various companies under LG Corp. The Technology Center invests in new ventures via LP arrangements with leading Venture Capital funds, and collaborates with university research centers and national government laboratories.

Earlier, he served as CTO, VP Engineering and a Board Director of Triveni Digital, which has deployed products for the management and monitoring of metadata and data in broadcast DTV signals. 

He has also served on the faculties of the University of Texas, Austin and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. 

Dr. Nandhakumar has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications Engineering from Madras University, Master’s degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from UT Austin. He is a senior member of the IEEE. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Telecommunication Industry Solutions, Board of Directors of the Telecommunications Industry Association, Advisory Board of Independa, the EvoNexus Startup Incubator Committee of CommNexus, and Dean’s Advisory Committee of USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering.

Janea A. Scott
Vice-Chair
California Energy Commission
Biography

Janea A. Scott

Vice-Chair
California Energy Commission

Janea A. Scott is vice-chair on the California Energy Commission. The Energy Commission is the State's primary energy policy and planning agency. Ms. Scott was appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in February 2013 to serve as the Commission's public member. She is the lead Commissioner on transportation and western regional planning, and last year Ms. Scott led the 2014 Integrated Energy Policy Report Update. Ms. Scott serves as the chair of the California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative, a public/private organization focused on accelerating the adoption of PEVs to meet California's economic, energy and environmental goals. She is also a member of the U.S. Department of Energy's Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee.

Prior to joining the Energy Commission, Ms. Scott worked at the U.S. Department of the Interior in the Office of the Secretary as the Deputy Counselor for Renewable Energy and at Environmental Defense Fund in both the New York and Los Angeles offices as a senior attorney in the climate and air program. Ms. Scott was also an AmeriCorps member working at the San Francisco Urban Service Project from 1996-1997. Ms. Scott earned her J.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder Law School and her M.S. and B.S. in Earth Systems from Stanford University. 

Cisco DeVries
CEO
Renewable Funding LLC
Biography

Cisco DeVries

CEO
Renewable Funding LLC

Renewable Funding is a finance company specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects for residential and commercial properties. The firm is providing over $500 million in capital through the CaliforniaFIRST Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program and the WHEEL unsecured energy loan program.  It also is fund and program manager for the State of Hawaii’s Green Infrastructure Authority.

Previously, as Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Berkeley, he envisioned and led the initial development of the first PACE program, which allows property owners to pay for solar installations and energy efficiency projects as a line item on their property tax bill. DeVries also served as an appointee in the administration of President Bill Clinton, serving as an aide to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation and the U.S. Secretary of Energy.   

Michael Picker
President
California Public Utilities Commission
Biography

Michael Picker

President
California Public Utilities Commission

Michael Picker was named President of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on December 23, 2014, by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., who first appointed President Picker as a Commissioner on January 29, 2014. Prior to his appointment, President Picker was Senior Advisor for Renewable Energy in the Office of the Governor from 2009 to 2014. He was a principal at Lincoln Crow Strategic Communications from 2000 to 2009, Deputy Treasurer in the Office of the California State Treasurer from 1998 to 1999, Chief of Staff to Sacramento Mayor Joe Serna Jr. from 1992 to 1999, and Deputy Assistant for toxic substance control in the Office of the Governor from 1981 to 1982. He was a member of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District Board of Directors from 2012-2014. President Picker is a former lecturer at UCLA’s Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning, and instructor at Occidental College’s Urban and Environmental Policies Institute. He holds an MBA from UC Davis, specializing in marketing, social marketing, and nonprofit management.

Tommy Moala
Assistant General Manager
SFPUC
Biography

Tommy Moala

Assistant General Manager
SFPUC

Tommy T. Moala has overseen operations for the City’s combined sewer system since 2007. A former US Naval Propulsion Engineer, Tommy has more than 15 years experience in wastewater in-plant management. He joined the agency as a Stationary Engineer in 1990, moving up steadily the ranks to become Operations Manager, and setting the Enterprise’s standard for zero-violations along the way.

A team recipient of the National Protection Agency O & M award and the National Association of Clean Water Agency award, Tommy received Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Public Managerial Excellence award and our O’Shaughnessy award for organizing the Emergency Response Team dispatched to Hurricane Katrina. He is a member of the Water Environment Federation, the California Water Environment Association, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies and the American Water Works Association. Tommy is also on the board of the Bay Area Clean Water Agency.

Martha Welborne
Senior Advisor
HR&A
Biography

Martha Welborne

Senior Advisor
HR&A

Martha Welborne is a nationally-recognized leader in urban development. Her exceptional career as a civic and organizational change-maker has spanned the country, with a focus on complex development and mobility management in Los Angeles. With experience in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, Martha has spearheaded some of Los Angeles’ most innovative public transportation and revitalization projects in recent history—including the installation of the county’s first rapid bus lines and the redevelopment of the Grand Avenue corridor.

Prior to joining HR&A, Martha was the Senior Vice President of Corporate Real Estate for the Walt Disney Company, where she oversaw all corporate real estate development, design, construction; asset and portfolio management; and facilities support and services. From 2010-2016, Martha served as the Chief Planning Officer at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). Responsible for planning the long-range mobility future of the county, Martha led a staff of more than 200 to accelerate the delivery of voter-approved projects funded by Measure R and execute strategic initiatives, such as the Master Plan of the historic Union Station property. From 2001-2011, Martha was the Managing Director of the Grand Avenue Committee, a public/private initiative involving both the City and County of Los Angeles to spur cultural and mixed-use private development on Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles, including the redevelopment of Grand Park.

Martha began her career as an architect and planner, working on both individual building design and large-scale projects as an associate partner of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP and a principal of Sasaki Associates, Inc. She has served on the board of the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority and as President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Martha is a former member of MIT’s Visiting Committee for the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, the Board of the Community Foundation Land Trust, and the Board of Councilors for USC’s School of Architecture and for KUSC.

In addition to her role as Senior Advisor at HR&A, Martha will also serve as Project Director of LA Aerial Rapid Transit Technologies, LLC, the first permanent public transit link to Dodger’s Stadium since it was built nearly 60 years ago.

Martha earned a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Notre Dame, and Master’s degrees in both Architecture and City Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was also a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects.

Dr. Bernd Fischer
Consul General
German Consulate - Los Angeles
Biography

Dr. Bernd Fischer

Consul General
German Consulate - Los Angeles

Dr. Bernd Fischer is currently the Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany in Southern California and the states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. In his role as Consul General in Los Angeles he seeks to foster and deepen German-American relations and has lectured at prestigious universities on Germany’s reunification and the important role it plays in the European Union.

He holds a Doctorate in Philosophy from Heidelberg University and was a Fulbright fellow at the University of Arizona. Key posts of his Foreign Service career include German Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia, Head of the Economic Department at the Embassy in Washington, Deputy Ambassador in Tokyo and he served in the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations in New York as well as various positions at the German Foreign Office headquarters in Bonn and Berlin.

Dr. Fischer also co-authored the Germanbook Zwischen Wilhelmstrasse und Bellevue: 500 Jahre Diplomatiein Berlin in 1998, an overview of the history of foreign diplomacy in Berlin.

Maurício Andrés Ribeiro
Deputy Secretary General
National Water Agency, Brazil
Biography

Maurício Andrés Ribeiro

Deputy Secretary General
National Water Agency, Brazil

Architect, Brazilian.

Visiting Research Fellow, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, India, 1977-78.

Municipal Secretary for Environment, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 90-92.

 President of The Minas Gerais State Foundation for the Environment, 1995-1998. Councilor at the National Council for the Environment, Brasilia.

Diretor of the National Council for the Environment, Ministry of Environment, Brasilia, 2001.

Adviser at the National Water Agency, Brasilia, 2002-2014.

Author of many articles and books on environment. www.ecologizar.com.br

Peter Taylor
President
ECMC Foundation
Biography

Peter Taylor

President
ECMC Foundation

Peter J. Taylor became President of the ECMC Foundation in 2014. The Foundation's mission is to inspire and to facilitate improvements that affect educational outcomes — especially among underserved populations — through evidence-based innovation.  From 2009 2014, Taylor was Chief Financial Officer of the University of California system after spending most of his career in investment banking, as a Managing Director in municipal finance for Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital.

Taylor serves on the boards of Edison International, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the J. Paul Getty Trust, where he Chairs the Audit Committee.  Previously, he was Chair of the Boards of Directors of the James Irvine Foundation and the UCLA Foundation.  He was also President of the UCLA Alumni Association Board of Directors, and the Alumni Representative on the UC Board of Regents for two years.

Taylor received his BA from UCLA, and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy Analysis from Claremont Graduate University.  He participated in the Coro Southern California Fellowship in Los Angeles.

Jim Kelly
Director
S&C Electric
Biography

Jim Kelly

Director
S&C Electric

Jim Kelly retired from Edison International (EIX) on July 1, 2011, after almost 38 years of service with the Company.

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 12,000 miles of transmission and 100,000 miles of distribution lines spread across a 50,000-square-mile service area.

Mr. Kelly was also president of Edison ESI, a subsidiary company that operates one of the largest electrical and mechanical repair facilities in the U.S..

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.

Kelly also previously served as the vice president of Regulatory Compliance and Environmental Affairs, and has in-depth experience with environmental regulation, permitting and licensing.

Since his retirement, Jim has advised or directed a number of firms in the energy space. 

Jim earned a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Long Beach, and a master’s degree from California State Polytechnic University.  He holds teaching credentials in several subjects and has taught at a number of colleges and universities throughout his career.

Marie-Hélène Labrie
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs and Communications
Enerkem
Biography

Marie-Hélène Labrie

Senior Vice President, Government Affairs and Communications
Enerkem

Marie-Hélène Labrie is Senior Vice President, Government Affairs and Communications.  She joined Enerkem in May 2008.  Prior to that, she worked in communications, business strategy, and market analysis as Director of Marketing and Strategic Planning at CAE, and as a consultant for numerous organizations, such as Oliver Wyman Delta Organization & Leadership and Desjardins Financial Security. 

She is Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of Écotech Québec, a cleantech cluster, and she is a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, the Conseil des entreprises en technologies environnementales du Québec, and the Mississippi Biomass and Renewable Energy Council. She represents the company at the Advanced Ethanol Council in Washington and the Canadian Cleantech Coalition in Ottawa. 

Ms. Labrie began her career at the Government of Canada, in the Department of National Defense, and pursued it at Industry Canada and the Privy Council Office.

Marie-Hélène Labrie holds a Masters in International Business and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Université Laval in Québec.

Gabe Klein
Partner
CityFi
Biography

Gabe Klein

Partner
CityFi

Gabe is the former Commissioner of the Chicago and Washington DC Departments of Transportation. In both cities he revamped technology platforms and government processes while focusing on putting people first vs. automobiles on city streets. This included launching two of the first and largest bikeshare systems in the U.S. and building protected bike lanes and better pedestrian infrastructure for vulnerable citizens citywide, as well as facilitating private services like carshare and rideshare that could help each cities mobility goals. Gabe honed his creativity and leadership skills working in business, including Zipcar, where he served as Vice President, Bikes USA as national Director of Stores and his own electric powered, organic food truck chain, On The Fly.

Post-government, and after an enriching fellowship with the Urban Land Institute in 2014, Gabe joined Fontinalis Partners as a Special Venture Partner on their $100 million 2nd fund. Gabe also advises governments and companies worldwide on innovation in cities including Singapore where Gabe has been a visiting fellow for the Centre For Livable Cities, working on creating a “car-lite” city-state.  In 2015, Gabe also published Start-Up City with David Vega-Barachowitz on Island Press, a manifesto on revamping how (and how fast) we innovate in cities and rethinking public-private partnerships with a triple-bottom line approach as technology shapes a dramatically different future.

Gabe sits on the boards of Streetsblog, Carma, and advisory boards of NACTO, Sensity Systems, Zendrive, and advises next-gen start-ups including Phone2Action and Transit Screen. As Commissioner, he has worked to bring a new Riverwalk to Chicago as well as the breathtaking Bloomingdale Trail, 100’s of miles of bike lanes, new policies combined with technology solutions to revamp parking, permitting, and many other arcane government processes.

Jun Ichi Aoki
Deputy Vice President
Hitachi, Ltd.
Biography

Jun Ichi Aoki

Deputy Vice President
Hitachi, Ltd.

Jun Ichi Aoki, the deputy vice president of Defense Systems Company, Hitachi, Ltd., and a member of Water Security Council of Japan, established by the Japanese Government (Liberal Democratic Party of Japan). Through the activities for the council, he has achieved a wealth of experience and knowledge in the conservation and management of water resources.

Aoki’s specialty is in defense related technologies such as Command & Control, Communication, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance. Aoki also has expertise in modeling & simulation and image intelligence. Currently his mission is to create new business in non-military markets with applied defense technologies.

Recently, Aoki has been involved in development of computer systems with his knowledge of defense technology, in collaboration with the University of Tokyo and Geosphere Environmental Technology Corporation, which has successfully been commercialized to calculate and visualize the cycle of groundwater and surface water.

Aoki graduated from Nihon University with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering.

Lauren Faber O'Connor
Fmr. Chief Sustainability Officer
City of Los Angeles
Biography

Lauren Faber O'Connor

Fmr. Chief Sustainability Officer
City of Los Angeles

In her role as Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Los Angeles, Lauren Faber O’Connor is driving the implementation of LA’s Green New Deal, a global model for local action to confront the climate crisis and build an inclusive green economy that prioritizes equity. Lauren has spent her career working on environmental issues from serving as West Coast Political Director for the Environmental Defense Fund to being appointed Assistant Secretary for Climate Change Programs at the California Environmental Protection Agency to addressing climate change and energy as the Senior Policy Advisor at the British Embassy.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Earth Systems and Economics from Stanford University, and Master’s degree in Climate and Society from Columbia University.

Bob Hertzberg
Sr. Advisor
Mission Possible Partnership
Biography

Bob Hertzberg

Sr. Advisor
Mission Possible Partnership

Prior to his time with Mission Possible Partnership, Senate Majority Leader Emeritus Robert Hertzberg was first elected to the California State Assembly in 1996. He served as the 64th Speaker of the California State Assembly, unanimously elected by both parties in 2000 and 2002. After his tenure as Speaker, Hertzberg set out to the private sector as a clean energy entrepreneur, where he helped create one of the first solar companies in Los Angeles, and co-launched a company that produced inexpensive, lightweight solar panels. In 2014, he returned to state government when he was elected to represent nearly 1 million people in the San Fernando Valley in the California State Senate.

Tony Lucente
Director, Business Transformation
Nissan America Latina
Biography

Tony Lucente

Director, Business Transformation
Nissan America Latina

Experienced Senior Consultant with in-depth Business Transformation, Corporate Real Estate, Project and Change Management skills and an exemplary record of achievement.

Retired Senior Corporate Real Estate strategy executive for Nissan Americas based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with responsibility for Nissan's Business Transformation practice for the Latin America Region including operations in 30+ countries. More than 30 years of international experience including corporate real estate, facilities, transportation & fleet management, corporate security, organization design and business process outsourcing program management. 

Exceptional results-oriented leader with proven strategic and operational abilities. Strong record of success in developing, launching and managing local, regional and global programs. Applies multifaceted tool set, innovative approaches and outstanding multicultural team building talents to enhance enterprise-wide business performance resulting in sustainable growth and profits. Superior verbal and written communications proficiency, vendor management and P&L management skills. Extensive community and civic affairs experience.

Specialties: Corporate Real Estate Strategy, Global Project and Change Management, Communications, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Six Sigma based organization development and Business Process Reengineering.

Mark Gold
Director of Water Scarcity Solutions
NRDC
Biography

Mark Gold

Director of Water Scarcity Solutions
NRDC

Prior to his time at NRDC, Mark Gold served as Executive Director of OPC and the Deputy Secretary for Ocean and Coastal Policy for the California Natural Resources Agency, Mark serves as a key advisor to Governor and the Secretary of Natural Resources and directs policy, scientific research, and critical partnerships to increase protection of coastal and ocean resources in California. Prior to his appointment, he was the UCLA Associate Vice Chancellor for Environment and Sustainability where he led their Sustainable Los Angeles Grand Challenge effort. Prior to UCLA, Mark was the first hire at Heal the Bay, where he served as their President for 18 years. During that time, he worked on ocean and coastal legislation and policy, stormwater, watershed management, and marine conservation and coastal restoration issues, projects and programs. Over the course of his career, his research focused on beach water quality and health risks, as well as sustainable water resources management. Mark received his bachelor’s and master’s in Biology as well as his doctorate in Environmental Science and Engineering, all from UCLA.

Howard Chang
Senior Manager and Segment Leader for Channel Partner Operations
SunEdison
Biography

Howard Chang

Senior Manager and Segment Leader for Channel Partner Operations
SunEdison

Howard Chang is currently a Senior Manager and the Segment Leader for Channel Partner Operations at SunEdison. In this role he oversees the construction of C&I projects acquired from third party channels across the United States. Joining SunEdison in 2012, Howard is the first graduate of SunEdison’s Solar Leadership Program, in which he completed three rotations across Utility - Project Finance, Distributed Generation - Commercial Management, and served as the Chief of Staff to the President of SunEdison’s North America business unit.

Howard graduated from Yale University in 2012 with an MBA from the School of Management and a Master of Environmental Management from the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He has a background in finance and energy, having worked at J.P.Morgan, GE Energy Financial Services, and EnerNoc.  He received his BA in Economics from Johns Hopkins University and is originally from the Philadelphia area. He currently resides in San Francisco and tries to take advantage of all that the bay area has to offer, including hiking, biking, and wine tasting. 

Susan Kennedy
‎Founder & CEO
Advanced Microgrid Solutions
Biography

Susan Kennedy

‎Founder & CEO
Advanced Microgrid Solutions

Before starting a groundbreaking energy storage company, Susan served for two decades at the highest levels of state and federal government, most recently as chief of staff to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, cabinet secretary and deputy chief of staff to Governor Gray Davis and communications director for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. She served from 2003-2006 on California’s Public Utilities Commission, regulating the state’s investor-owned electric utilities, telecommunications providers and private water companies. 

In her numerous government roles, Susan was at the center of many of California’s groundbreaking environmental policies, including the carbon reduction mandate and cap-and- trade program under AB 32, the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard, auto emission standards and Renewable Portfolio Standard. She coordinated the State’s emergency demand response efforts during the energy crisis of 2000-2001 and as a member of the PUC she authored what was then the largest energy efficiency program in utility history.

Susan’s company, Advanced Microgrid Solutions, is on the leading edge of a complete transformation of the electric grid.  Using advanced energy storage systems, AMS is creating the first fleet of Hybrid Electric BuildingsÒ in the world, turning portfolios of commercial and industrial buildings into virtual power plants for Southern California Edison.  In 2014 her company won the first major contract in the world to use these advanced energy storage technologies on a large scale to replace capacity from the retired facility at San Onofre nuclear facility.  AMS is consistently listed as one of the top clean tech companies to watch in the US.

She holds a B.A. in Management from Saint Mary’s College of California.

Joe Jankosky
Director, IntelligentHome New Verticals
Time Warner Cable
Biography

Joe Jankosky

Director, IntelligentHome New Verticals
Time Warner Cable

Joe develops new businesses for Time Warner Cable’s IntelligentHome platform, specifically in energy (Management, Retail Electricity, Solar) and healthcare (Independent Living, Mobile PERS). Prior to TWC, he managed Southern California Edison's strategic alliances with service providers in the home energy management industry; he originally negotiated energy contracts for SCE.  Joe has also held leadership positions in the private equity, HVAC manufacturing and management consulting industries. He holds BA, MBA and MPA degrees from Stanford, USC and Harvard.

Andrew McAllister
Commissioner
California Energy Commission
Biography

Andrew McAllister

Commissioner
California Energy Commission

Commissioner Andrew McAllister is serving his third term on the California Energy Commission.

At the Energy Commission, he leads the policy area of energy efficiency, including the Building Energy Efficiency Standards, appliance efficiency, and load management and flexibility. More broadly, he is focused on enabling modern, data-rich analytical tools to support strong clean energy policy development and program implementation.

Commissioner McAllister has worked on energy deployment and policy since the early 1990s. He has worked across the world to deploy clean, cost-effective energy solutions with counterparts ranging from tiny remote communities to the largest of utilities. He administered two of California’s signature renewable energy programs, developed and operated energy efficiency programs for utilities, and conducted a broad range of policy-related research for California and the federal government.

He is a board member and immediate past board chair of the National Association of State Energy Officials, and a board member of the Alliance to Save Energy. His deep grounding in technology, policy, and the marketplace provides him with uncommon insight on the accelerating changes taking place in California’s energy sector.

Before joining the Energy Commission, he was managing director at the California Center for Sustainable Energy. He worked with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association International, Ltd. in Central and South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa on renewable generation, load management, utility planning, and remote power projects. He was a project manager at an energy-consulting firm and an energy efficiency analyst at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Commissioner McAllister holds a master of science and a Ph.D. from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor of arts from Dartmouth College. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Terry O'Day
Chief Operating Officer
In-Charge Energy
Biography

Terry O'Day

Chief Operating Officer
In-Charge Energy

Terry cofounded In Charge Energy in 2019. It is the infrastructure leader in electrification of transportation fleets in the United States, and the preferred infrastructure partner of Ryder TruckRental, which serves over 65,000 customers in the U.S. Terry currently advises Macquarie Capital, a division of theAustralian multinational independent investment bank and financial services company that is the world's largest infrastructure asset managerwith $495 billion in assets under management. Previously, Terry led North American strategy for innogy e-MobilityUSa division of the $40 billion per year German energy company.There, he participated in acquiring the leading U.S. electricvehicle fast charging hardware company and a customer-facing software application with over 700,000 regularusers

Previously, Terry led the Western region forEVgo, the nation’s largest public fast charging company for electricvehicles (EVs), taking that company from its first public fast charging installation in 2011 to more than 1,000 chargers nationwide and overseeing an investment program of over $140 million. He led partnerships with major automakers, energy companies and state governments, including a $122.5 million agreement with the California Public Utilities Commission

Earlier in his career,Terry founded four companies with Edison International in energy, security services, and electric vehicle charging and the first car rental company in the United States to offer only electric vehicles to the general public, serving fifteen airports in six states and more than 500,000 customers withover 850 cars.Terry also served as Executive Director of Environment Now foundation, a strategic, entrepreneurial, activist leader in California. The organization founded dozens of activist environmental organizations protecting air, land andwater quality in California and Mexico. In 2007, Terry cofounded Move LA and developed LA County’s Measure R, which over 67% of voters approved in 2008 and is contributing over $40 billion to transit investment countywide.

Terry currently serves as Mayor Pro Tempore for the City of Santa Monica and was first elected in November 2010. The city of 95,000 residents hasa daytime population of over 300,000, with 2,300 employees and a $700 million annual budget. Terry led a six-year process to update the City’s General Plan, which became the leading example ofenvironmental land use planning in the state, reducing projected per capita greenhouse gas emissions from land use by 31 percent in 25 years. He led the city’s policy to transition away from imported water, relying instead on sustainable, local water supply and the conversion of over 200 transit buses from natural gas to electric fuel. He has served in community leadership positions in California and Mexico; including Waterkeeper Alliance, Coro Southern California; The USC Center for Sustainable Cities, Environmental EntrepreneursCoalition for Clean Airand the Metropolitan Water DistrictTerry has an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and BA with honors from Stanford University.

Mike Levin
Congressman, California's 49th District
US House of Representatives
Biography

Mike Levin

Congressman, California's 49th District
US House of Representatives

Congressman Mike Levin is proud to represent California's 49th Congressional District, which includes North County San Diego and South Orange County.

Currently serving his third term in the House of Representatives, Levin sits on the House Committee on Natural Resources and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, where he serves as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.

Levin was raised in South Orange County and attended local elementary and junior high schools. He spent his high school years at Loyola High in Los Angeles, and went on to study at Stanford University, where he served as the student body president. Upon graduation from Stanford, Levin served as a Coro Fellow and then attended Duke University School of Law.

Prior to being elected to Congress in 2018, Levin fought for climate action while working as an environmental attorney. He also served on the board of the Center for Sustainable Energy, and co-founded Sustain OC, helping accelerate the transition toward more sustainable power generation and transportation alternatives.

As a member of Congress, some of Levin's top priorities are combating climate change, protecting our natural resources, and capitalizing on the economic benefits of a sustainable energy future. He has led legislation to transition America to zero emission vehicles, ban new offshore drilling leases along the coast of Southern California, responsibly develop renewable energy on public lands, and much more.

Another priority for Rep. Levin is increasing oversight and accountability at the decommissioning San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), and moving the spent nuclear fuel out of the region as quickly and safely as possible. Levin stood up a local task force upon arriving to Congress to formulate policy recommendations to address the hazardous waste. He is the founder and Co-Chair of the Spent Nuclear Fuel Solutions Caucus, a bipartisan group to drive progress on the safe storage, transportation, and disposal of nuclear fuel across the country. He has also led legislation to prioritize the removal of spent nuclear fuel from environmentally sensitive sites like San Onofre, mandate resident inspectors at decommissioning nuclear power plants during sensitive activities, and fund a research and development program at the Department of Energy to find innovative solutions to spent nuclear fuel management.

Rep. Levin is also a leader on legislation to support veterans. As the grandson of a World War II veteran and the representative of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Levin is an advocate for the servicemembers and veterans who have sacrificed for our freedom. He has spoken out about the importance of protecting the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from privatization efforts, improving veterans’ health care and services, and expanding job opportunities for those who have served.

Levin is proud to lead the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity. Since he became Chair, his subcommittee has become one of the most productive in Congress, with more than 50 bills to serve veterans passing into law. Levin sponsored one of the most consequential pieces of legislation signed into law for veterans in recent years, the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020, which strengthened and expanded a wide range of veterans’ benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. 

Levin has also championed efforts to expand access to affordable health care, lower the cost of higher education, preserve Social Security and Medicare, prevent gun violence, enact comprehensive immigration reform, and protect a woman's right to choose. He is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and, as the grandson of immigrants from Mexico, a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Levin holds town halls regularly to keep his constituents informed and answer their questions, and he has also made those town halls available as part of his podcast, Listening with Levin.

Levin lives in San Juan Capistrano with his wife, Chrissy, and their two children.
 

Lew Horne
Divisional President, Southern California, Arizona and Hawaii
CBRE
Biography

Lew Horne

Divisional President, Southern California, Arizona and Hawaii
CBRE

Lewis C. Horne is a Divisional President with responsibility for CBRE’s business in Southern California, Arizona and Hawaii. 

In this role, Mr. Horne leads the strategic direction and performance of the firm’s Advisory Services business, which includes Advisory & Transaction Services, Asset Services, Capital Markets, Local Project Management and Valuations. 

Mr. Horne is passionate about collaboration and actively promotes the integration of multiple disciplines to ensure well-conceived, strategic solutions for complex client assignments. This passion led him to become an early adopter and champion for workplace transformation, including Workplace Strategy, Experience Consulting, Change Management and Occupancy Management. 

Mr. Horne is an active and well-respected leader in the Los Angeles community, regularly lending his voice, experience, and time to help create meaningful solutions for a wide variety of business and social issues, including the complex challenges around homelessness. 

Prior to his current role, Mr. Horne held a variety of leadership positions in the company, beginning as an industrial brokerage professional in 1984 and quickly growing to become one of the top 3% of brokerage professionals company-wide. He has successfully grown his career at CBRE for more than 30 years.

Professional Affiliations

-  L.A. County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), Board Chairman

-  CBRE Americas Operating Management Board (AOMB), Board Member

-  Woodbury University, Board Member

-  Urban Land Institute (ULI) Los Angeles, Executive Board of Directors

-  ULI Mixed-Use Council (Silver Flight), Board Member

-  Big Brothers / Big Sisters, Board of Directors 

Awards & achievements

-  Led CBRE Los Angeles Strategic Office Transformation Initiative (2012-2014) 

-  Created and led CBRE’s U.S. Client Care & Development Initiative (2012)

-  Manager Innovation Award (2010)

-  Manager of the Year Award, Nationwide (2003)

-  Women's Network, Endurance of Spirit Award (2003)

-  Benjamin Arthur Banker Educational Excellence Award (2001, 2002)

-  James J. Didion Leadership Award (1999, 2000)

EDUCATION

University of Southern California, Bachelor of Science in Business

James Villeneuve
Consul General
Canadian Consulate-Los Angeles
Biography

James Villeneuve

Consul General
Canadian Consulate-Los Angeles

James Villeneuve was appointed Consul General of Canada, Los Angeles in February 2014. He is Canada's senior representative in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Villeneuve worked for Anheuser Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewing company and the parent company of Labatt Breweries, for more than 27 years. He started with Labatt in Toronto in sales and marketing and was later transferred to Vancouver, where he was regional director of government affairs for Western Canada.

In 1995, Mr. Villeneuve returned to Toronto to manage Labatt’s rebranding initiative and to run the company’s corporate and sports properties. He later became director of corporate affairs and then vice-president of corporate affairs for Canada. From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Villeneuve worked in Brussels to lead InBev’s global corporate affairs practice. After InBev purchased Anheuser Busch in 2009, Mr. Villeneuve moved to St. Louis to lead the company’s North American corporate affairs department.

Mr. Villeneuve has served on many boards during his career, including the Toronto Economic Development Commission, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the 2008 Toronto Olympic Bid, the Granville Island Trust, the Association of Canadian Advertisers, Carleton University, the Canadian Club, Teach for America, the United Way and the Regional Chamber and Growth Association in St. Louis. He received a Bachelor’s degree from Carleton University in 1985. 

Mr. Villeneuve is married to Kim Walker-Villeneuve and they have two children, Grace and Andrew.

Gail Goldberg
Boardmember
Metropolitan Water District Board
Biography

Gail Goldberg

Boardmember
Metropolitan Water District Board

S. Gail Goldberg, FAICP, served as Executive Director of the Urban Land Institute - Los Angeles from June of 2011 until February 2017.  Ms. Goldberg brought to the table not only her many years leading the planning departments of two of the world’s most significant cities, but also many years of service to ULI.

Goldberg was Director of Los Angeles City Planning Department from February 2006 through August 2010. She was responsible for organizing and directing the policies and activities of the City’s Planning Department, including the development, maintenance and implementation of all elements of the City’s General Plan as well as a range of other special zoning plans.

Prior to joining the Los Angeles Planning Department, Goldberg worked for 17 years in the City of San Diego Planning Department, serving as Planning Director from 2000 through 2005. She oversaw a planning process to update the city’s 20-year-old General Plan. The result – which became an international model for urban revitalization – was a 20-year vision for the San Diego and a long-term strategy for achieving that vision known as the “City of Villages.”

Goldberg is a native Californian and holds a degree in Urban Studies and Planning from the University of California San Diego and is a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners. Goldberg currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the USC Center for Sustainable Cities and the USC Price School Masters of Planning Program.  She also serves on the Advisory Board for the University of California’s District 9 Transportation Center.  Beginning in March 2019, Goldberg serves on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Water District representing San Diego.

Goldberg has formerly served as an Urban Land Institute Trustee, one of two public members on the State Strategic Growth Council, Chair of the San Diego/Tijuana ULI District Council and on the Statewide Coordinating Committee for the Urban Land Institute’s California Smart Growth Initiative. She is a past President of the San Diego Chapter of the Lambda Alpha Honorary Land Economics Society.

 

 

 

 

Frank Breust
Vice President Governmental and External Affairs
BMW Group Representative Office California
Biography

Frank Breust

Vice President Governmental and External Affairs
BMW Group Representative Office California

Frank Breust is heading the government and external affairs office of the BMW Group in Sacramento, California since July 2013. In this function he coordinates corporate positioning with all relevant stakeholders in the fields of environmental, mobility and sustainability policies.

Prior to this, Mr. Breust was responsible for coordinating the political communication of the BMW Group in Munich with regard to human resources related issues as well as sustainability engagements. Mr. Breust also steered social sustainability topics in the HR strategy. Before joining the BMW Group, Mr. Breust was an officer of the German Air Force and served as an air traffic controller and in the German Military Intelligence Service for twelve years.

Frank Breust was born and grew up in Oldenburg, Germany and holds a Diploma in Business and Economics Education and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree

Jack Baylis
President and CEO
The Baylis Group
Biography

Jack Baylis

President and CEO
The Baylis Group
Billie Greer
President
Southern California Leadership Council
Biography

Billie Greer

President
Southern California Leadership Council

Billie Greer is the President of the Southern California Leadership Council, a non-profit , non-partisan organization founded by four former California Governors and Southern California business and community leaders, to address and resolve public policy issues critical to the region’s economic vitality. With 30 years of experience in the public affairs arena as an advocate and community leader, Billie Greer served as Director of Governor Schwarzenegger’s Los Angeles regional office and a member of his senior staff from 2004 – 2010.  During the Governor’s tenure, she also served as an Alternate on the California Coastal Commission.  In 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Billie to the California Science Center & Exposition Park Board. Earlier in her career, Billie was an executive with the consulting firm of Braun & Company/Braun Ketchum and subsequently co-founded and served as president of Greer/Dailey, a LA-based public affairs consulting firm, which helps for-profit and non-profit clients, facing land use and environmental challenges, meet their objectives. Billie left Greer/Dailey upon accepting the Governor’s appointment. Active in the community, Billie is a trustee of the Lowe Institute of Political Economy at Claremont-McKenna College and serves on the Board of Directors of the Television Foundation and the Downtown Women’s Center. In 2004, Billie was inducted into the National Association of Women Business Owners/LA’s Hall of Fame, and she has been honored by several other organizations including LA Bio Med, the San Fernando Valley Business Journal, the Black Business Association of Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles African American Public Policy Institute, among others. 

William Rouse
General Manager
Yellow Cab of Los Angeles
Biography

William 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 more than 1200 vehicles in its combined fleet.

Mr. Rouse is also affiliated with the management of San Diego Yellow Cab, with 330 vehicles in service, and California Yellow Cab, in Orange County, California, with over 200 vehicles.

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 the past President of the Taxicab Limousine & Paratransit Association (TLPA), his industry’s international taxicab trade association.  He is also serving his second term as President of the Taxicab Paratransit Association of California (TPAC), the industry’s statewide trade association.  He also recently completed a two-year term as Chair of the Long Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Christian Felske
Technical Specialist - Processing, Research & Regulatory
Waste Management Services, City of Edmonton
Biography

Christian Felske

Technical Specialist - Processing, Research & Regulatory
Waste Management Services, City of Edmonton

 Christian received his Civil Engineering Diploma and his Ph.D. in Solid Waste Management from the University of Essen in Germany. Prior to moving to Canada, he was a project engineer with the AGR mbH in Essen, Germany from 1999 to 2003. During that time he was involved in the design and operation of several landfills, composting plants and anaerobic digestion/waste to energy facilities in the Ruhr Region in Germany. From 2003 to 2009 Christian worked as a Research Scientist in the Waste Management Technologies program at the Alberta Research Council during which he lead several landfill gas biofiltration/ bioreactor and waste to energy projects. In his current role with WMS of the City of Edmonton Christian is responsible for overseeing the Branch’s processing activities, interactions with regulators, and for providing technical and scientific expertise through the Branch’s Research & Development activities. Christian is also managing the Advanced Energy Research Facility which houses a pilot municipal solid waste gasifier and waste-to-biofuel process based on Enerkem technology.

Matt Petersen
CEO
Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator
Biography

Matt Petersen

CEO
Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator

Matt Petersen is the President and CEO of Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI.) LACI is creating an inclusive green economy by unlocking innovation (e.g., incubating leading startups), transforming markets (i.e., creating aspirational partnerships), and enhancing community (i.e., inspiring future entrepreneurs). LACI's three priorities are accelerating transportation electrification, clean energy, and sustainable cities.

Prior to joining LACI, he was appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti as the first ever Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Los Angeles. Serving as CSO for four years, Petersen was the chief architect of the groundbreaking Sustainable City pLAn, helped LA become a global leader in EVs, solar and water conservation, and helped create the Climate Mayors. Petersen co-founded Global Green USA and led the organization for 19 years as President and CEO.

Petersen is chair of the Climate Mayors board, and a board member of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles, Center for Environmental Health, and the Sir Edmund Hilary Institute for International Leadership. Petersen also created Citizen E to find and support individuals taking responsibility for a corner of their world. Petersen is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Pacific Council on International Policy, the LA Sustainability Leadership Council. He and his son live in Santa Monica, and Matt is a retired AYSO coach.

Evan Birenbaum
Managing Partner
Valkyrie Security Group
Biography

Evan Birenbaum

Managing Partner
Valkyrie Security Group

An expert in the development of cross-infrastructure analytics and technology for Big Data applications, he is one of the most sought-after providers in the U.S. market for the design and development of technology tools to power e-commerce, and he has been at the forefront of the development and market application of behavioral energy efficiency technology. He was among the pioneers in developing mobile apps, including, in 2003, the development of the mobile customer relationship management (CRM) application with the German software giant SAP SE and Canadian multinational developer of enterprise software and Internet of things Research in Motion (RIM), now known as BlackBerry Limited, providing the catalyst for SAP's mobile CRM platform used by such giants as McCormick & Company. His career in technology began in high school when he worked for IBM, and while at John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, he worked for Deutsche Bank as a consultant deploying real-time trading technologies developed by Bloomberg, and in 2004 he co-founded his first technology company, SOS Technology Group, providing an array of IT services. By 2010 he was at Southern California Edison as its lead corporate strategist and company-wide program manager for Environmental Strategy and Sustainability, then in 2014 he co-founded and served as Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Executive Officer for Chai Energy. He is a leader in many organizations, including Young Professionals in Energy (LA) and Reef Check Foundation, serving as a member of the Boards of Directors of both, is on the Steering Committee of the Sustainable Business Council, and has been a featured speaker on cutting-edge technology issues at numerous forums, including SXSW Eco 2015, and VerdeXchange, 2015-2019. He is frequently quoted, or featured, in media outlets covering technology developments, such as appears in "L.A. Startup Pays Users to Save Power," Annlee Ellingson, L.A. BIZ Journal, 8/15/16, and "Can the Golden State Go Green," Anne C. Mulkern, E&E News, 3/13/17.

Harry H. Horinouchi
Consul General
Japan Consulate - Los Angeles
Biography

Harry H. Horinouchi

Consul General
Japan Consulate - Los Angeles

Harry H. (Hidehisa) Horinouchi was appointed Consul General of Japan, Los Angeles, in August of 2014. Over his several decades career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he has spent over ten years in China, and the remainder of his overseas postings in the United States. The post of Consul General in Los Angeles is his second US mission. During home ministry assignments at MOFA headquarters in Tokyo, Horinouchi has been charged with legal affairs and treaties portfolios several times, in addition to Asian and Oceanian regional affairs and international intelligence analysis. He has written numerous law journal articles on international legal issues, authored one book published in China for Chinese readership, and has been a lecturer on international law at Waseda University’s Graduate School of Law. He is a graduate of the Law Faculty of Tokyo University, and also attended Nanjing University in China and Harvard Graduate School in Regional Studies.

Stephen Cheung
President/CEO
LA County Economic Development Council/World Trade Center-Los Angeles
Biography

Stephen Cheung

President/CEO
LA County Economic Development Council/World Trade Center-Los Angeles

Stephen Cheung is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) and its subsidiary, the World Trade Center Los Angeles (WTCLA).  As CEO of the LAEDC, Mr. Cheung brings together the capabilities of LAEDC’s mission-delivery department areas, including the Institute for Applied Economics, Business Assistance, Industry Cluster Development, Workforce Development, World Trade Center Los Angeles, Strategic Relations, Communications & Marketing, and Public Policy, into a single team that delivers the LAEDC’s critically important, public-benefit mission - Reinventing our economy to collaboratively advance growth and prosperity for all.

In 2023, Cheung was elevated to President and CEO after serving as Chief Operating Office and Executive Vice President of LAEDC, and continues in his concurrent role as President of World Trade Center Los Angeles, a title he has held since coming to the organization in 2014.  Prior to that, Cheung was the Secretary General and Managing Director of International Trade and Foreign Affairs for Los Angeles Mayors Eric Garcetti and Antonio Villaraigosa, and was responsible for managing policies and programs related to the Port of Los Angeles, Los Angeles World Airports, International Affairs,  Global Trade and Clean Technology. In these roles, he was the lead organizer for the Mayors’ previous international trade missions to Mexico, China, Korea, Japan, Colombia, Chile and Brazil.  Furthermore, Cheung implemented the city’s strategic plan to make Los Angeles a global capital of clean technology by building the infrastructure to support research, development and manufacturing with key partners.

Concurrently, Cheung was the Director of International Trade for the Port of Los Angeles – the busiest container port in North America, and was responsible for developing programs to increase trade through the Port of Los Angeles, and facilitate goods movement through the Southern California region.

Cheung currently sits on the Board of Advisors of UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA Extension, Coro Southern California and Sister Cities of Los Angeles, while also serving on LA Metro’s Sustainability Council and Biz-Fed’s International Trade Committee. He also serves on the Los Angeles County Workforce Development Board.

David Jacot
Director of Efficiency Solutions
LADWP
Biography

David Jacot

Director of Efficiency Solutions
LADWP

David Jacot, P.E., is the Director of Efficiency Solutions for the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP). LADWP operates the largest public power portfolio of energy efficiency programs in the nation, 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, as well as the integration of energy efficiency with other distributed energy resources to facilitate LADWP’s transition to 100% renewables. David also oversees the integration of electric, gas, and water efficiency programs through a nation-leading joint program partnership with the natural gas utility serving Los Angeles, the Southern California Gas Company. Finally, David manages LADWP’s energy and water efficiency labs, hand-on demonstration facilities, and emerging technology assessment and commercialization efforts at the La Kretz Innovation Campus, home of the world-renowned Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator.

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 California State Polytechnic University - Pomona, as well as 20+ years of experience designing high performance building systems, modeling building energy usage, and managing cost-effective and investment-grade energy efficiency programs.

Rick Cole
Councilmember
City of Pasadena
Biography

Rick Cole

Councilmember
City of Pasadena

Rick Cole is Chief Deputy Controller, responsible for overseeing the accounting, payroll and auditing functions for the City of Los Angeles. His public service includes serving as Mayor of Pasadena, City Manager in three Southern California communities (Santa Monica, Ventura and Azusa) and as Deputy Mayor for Budget and Innovation in the City of LA. He is an adjunct professor of urban policy at Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy and Occidental College’s Urban and Environmental Studies Institute.

Sachiko Yoshimura
Chief Executive Director
Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)
Biography

Sachiko Yoshimura

Chief Executive Director
Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)

Sachiko Yoshimura joined JETRO in April 1988. JETRO is a Japanese Government Agency under Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) that promotes trade and investment between Japan and other countries. JETRO Los Angeles supports businesses of all sizes and industries to expand their business in Japan and provides, through comprehensive research, information on current developments, the economy, and trade in Japan to support entering into the Japanese market.

Ms. Yoshimura has worked in various departments overseeing international trade fairs, research and economic analysis supporting Japanese companies, especially small and median companies looking to expand their business overseas. Most recently she served as the Director of Intellectual Property Division, helping Japanese companies to protect their intellectual properties abroad. She graduated from Sophia University in Tokyo with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature.

Eliot Abel
Senior Vice President, Corporate Clean Energy Solutions
Pivot Energy
Biography

Eliot Abel

Senior Vice President, Corporate Clean Energy Solutions
Pivot Energy
Eliot is the current Senior Vice President, Corporate Clean Energy Solutions for Pivot Energy. He previously lead commercial sales & project development at Namaste Solar, guiding the development of solar projects ranging from 50kW to 10MW. Prior to joining Namaste Solar, Eliot was the Founder and Principal of Abel Clean Energy Advisors, a consulting firm that helps commercial property owners and developers utilize innovative financing, such as C-PACE, to implement renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions that increase value, reduce operating costs, and enhance the sustainability of their properties. Earlier in his career, Eliot worked in business development roles at a UK-based thin film solar startup, GE’s global Renewable Energy business, and San Diego-based Renovate America. Eliot serves on the Boards of the Colorado Solar and Storage Association and Namaste Solar, and holds a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.
 
David Fransen
Chief Strategy Officer
Next Generation Manufacturing Canada
Biography

David Fransen

Chief Strategy Officer
Next Generation Manufacturing Canada

Over his 34-year career, David has served as a senior executive in government, academia and the diplomatic corps. He provided strategic leadership across a wide range of economic policy and program sectors as a senior official at the Privy Council Office and Health Canada, as an Assistant Deputy Minister at Industry Canada, as the first Executive Director of the Institute for Quantum Computing, and as Canada’s Consul General in Los Angeles.

David is also a former Special Advisor to the President of the National Research Council, former Chair of the Waterloo Innovation Summit, and a member of the boards of Waterloo Economic Development Corporation, the Institute for Quantum Computing, and Quantum-Safe Canada. He led in the creation, and then served as a member, of the founding Board of Governors of the Council of Canadian Academies. He also served as a member of the board of directors of Canadian Commercial Corporation, the Standards Council of Canada, and as Secretary of the Minister of Industry Canada’s Expert Panel on Commercialization chaired by Joe Rotman.

David has a PhD from the University of Toronto, a BA and MA from the University of Waterloo, and a Bachelor of Theology from Canadian Mennonite University. He is currently a Fellow of the Public Policy Forum.

Nat Gale
Transportation Manager
Mayor’s Office of Transportation, City of Los Angeles
Biography

Nat Gale

Transportation Manager
Mayor’s Office of Transportation, City of Los Angeles

As Great Streets Program Director, Nat Gale oversees the coordination and collaboration across City Departments and with community stakeholders related to Great Street Projects. In the near-term, project implementation will focus on temporary treatments, including plazas and parklets, as well as robust community partnerships and programming. Outside of the project specific role, Nat will be overseeing the development of citywide policy guidance to help change burdensome regulations or promote innovative solutions that help create and sustain vibrancy on our streets.

Nat has an undergraduate degree from Columbia University in Civil Engineering with a minor in History, and a dual Master’s degree from USC in Urban Planning and Public Administration. He is an avid cyclist, dedicated transit-user, and a proud pedestrian. Nat previously worked as a transportation planner in NYC, a geotechnical engineer in Portland, OR, and an environmental engineer in LA.

William Funderburk
Sr. Consultant
PermaCity Foundation
Biography

William Funderburk

Sr. Consultant
PermaCity Foundation

William Funderburk is Senior Advisor with PermaCity Foundation, a group spun out of acquisition by commercial industrial solar developer Catalyze Corporation of Permacity Corporation in 2021.   He develops renewable energy projects for PermaCity and advises development teams on legal, political, policy and finance issues

From 2013 to 2018 Mr. Funderburk served as the Vice President of the Board of Commissioners for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and he retired from litigation as managing partner in the Los Angeles office of a California business litigation and counseling firm, Castellon & Funderburk LLP, which he co founded in 1999.  Based in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, Mr. Funderburk is known for being a visionary when it comes to everything from sustainability to renewables to clean tech to water quality. Mr. Funderburk has been a key force in handling the water crisis in Los Angeles, California and around the Country including playing a lead negotiating role in the historic multiagency settlement of the Owens Lake PM-10 dust control dispute.  He also played a key role as LADWP liaison in finalizing agreements to expand the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, negotiating the cleanup of the San Fernando Valley aquifer and lead authoring of the landmark Equity Metrics Data Initiative.

Mr. Funderburk attended the Paris Climate Accords with the Los Angeles delegation to the United Nations 21st Conference of Parties (COP).  He later became the first LADWP Commissioner in history to attend a COP as a delegate in 2017 in Bonn (COP 23) and spoke in Madrid (COP 25 in 2019), Glasgow (COP 26 in 2021) and Sharm El Sheik (COP 27 in 2022) on subjects ranging from Global Youth Empowerment, LA as a blueprint for global decarbonization, neurodiversity, global youth empowerment and equity metrics.

He has advised clients on drafting environmental legislation and regulations on groundbreaking issues such as reducing lead drinking water in California, establishing net metering for stationary, hydrogen powered fuel cells and counseling early stage companies on renewables, water, air and soil remediation technologies. 

On a national level, William has counseled clients on appearances before Congress and a number of federal councils under the jurisdiction of the White House.  The agencies range from the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Departments of Energy, Interior, State, and Defense to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Mr. Funderburk has published various articles regarding California storm water regulations, clean power and distributed generation, Superfund reform and insurance recovery for environmental liabilities. He also speaks as an expert in environmental compliance, having given over 150 speeches in Washington, D.C. and California for the past three decades.

Mr. Funderburk is a member of the California State Bar and District of Columbia Bar.  He graduated from Yale University (B.A. in Engineering and Applied Science) and Georgetown University Law Center (J.D.).
 

Thomas Day Jr
Chief Sustainability Officer
United States Postal Service
Biography

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.

Mike Wallace
Chief Decarbonization Officer
Persefoni
Biography

Mike Wallace

Chief Decarbonization Officer
Persefoni

Mike Wallace is an internationally recognized expert with nearly 30 years of experience in sustainability, ESG reporting/compliance, and managing social and human capital issues. He currently serves as the Chief Decarbonization Officer at Persefoni, a carbon accounting technology company, where he oversees strategic partnerships to help with the integration and application of Persefoni’s climate accounting and management platform (CMAP). Prior to joining Persefoni, Wallace was a partner at the global sustainability consultancy, ERM where he counseled clients on corporate responsibility and sustainability solutions and helped shape several strategic partnerships for ERM. In that role, Wallace also served as the Interim Executive Director for the Social & Human Capital Coalition, a multi-stakeholder project of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). His work included overseeing the establishment of the overall governance structure, technical council and global network that drove the creation of the Social & Human Capital Protocol, which was officially launched at GreenBiz 2019 by the founders WBCSD, Nasdaq, and Microsoft. Prior to ERM, Wallace was a director for the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), where he worked on foundational initiatives such as the International Integrated Reporting Council (IRRC), the European Commission proposal on corporate ESG reporting, and the UN Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative (SSEi) on ESG listing guidance.

Guillaume Clairet
Executive Vice President
H2O Innovation
Biography

Guillaume Clairet

Executive Vice President
H2O Innovation

Guillaume Clairet is currently the Executive Vice President of H2O Innovation, a leading company in water treatment related technologies. Mr Clairet initially started his career in the water industry as a research associate for the National Institute of Scientific Research (INRS) where he conducted several studies on the contamination of ground water from military training activities. Mr. Clairet joined H2O Innovation in 2003 when the company was still at the start up stage. He played a key role in the rapid growth of H2O Innovation through various positions such as Project Manager, Sales Manager and International Business Development Director. Mr. Clairet received a Physics Engineering Degree from Laval University in Quebec, Canada and he also completed a Master in Business Administration (MBA) at the University of San Diego, USA. Mr. Clairet stands on the Board of Directors of the International Desalination Association since 2011 and he is a member of WEF, AWWA and AMTA. He is also a registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Quebec, Canada.

James Jessop
Business Advisor, Storage and Conversion of Energy
Hydro-Québec Research Institute
Biography

James Jessop

Business Advisor, Storage and Conversion of Energy
Hydro-Québec Research Institute

James Jessop is the Business Advisor for the Storage and Conversion of Energy Direction of IREQ, the Research Institute of Hydro-Québec and is responsible for all commercial activities related to R&D activities including industrial and institutional partner relations and IP licensing.

Hydro-Québec is Canada’s largest electricity producer and one of the world’s leading hydropower producers. It transmits and distributes electricity from renewable sources to over 4 M customers. Its research institute, IREQ, conducts research and development work in energy-related fields, including energy efficiency and energy storage. Hydro-Québec invests $100 M in research every year.

James is working for Hydro-Québec since 2000 when he was hired as international business advisor for the generation group. In 2006, he joined IREQ as business advisor initially for the search for industrial partners for distribution R&D projects before focusing on energy storage and battery materials projects.

James holds a B.Sc.A in geological engineering and a M.Sc. in Physics from Université Laval, Québec. He is a Certified Licensing Professional.

 

Doane Liu
Executive Director
Los Angeles City Tourism Department
Biography

Doane Liu

Executive Director
Los Angeles City Tourism Department

In March 2017, Doane Liu was appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti as the Executive Director of the Los Angeles City Tourism Department (CTD), formerly the Department of Convention and Tourism Development, with the goal to further enhance and increase Los Angeles’ prominence and attraction as a world class tourist and convention destination. 

Liu joined the CTD after serving as Deputy Executive Director and Chief of Staff at the Port of Los Angeles, where he was the second in command at the busiest container port in North America and head of the Port’s External Affairs Bureau.

Before the Port, Liu was Deputy Mayor for the City of Los Angeles. He managed the Mayor's Office of City Services and helped the Mayor oversee 15 City Departments, including the Los Angeles Department Water and Power, Public Works, Transportation, Recreation and Parks, Public Library, and LA Zoo. He also established the Great Streets Studio and LA RiverWorks in the Mayor’s Office. A first-generation Korean-American, Liu also was a liaison in the Mayor’s Office to the Korean-American community in Los Angeles.

Liu was previously Chief of Staff for Councilman Joe Buscaino and served as Chief of Staff for Councilwoman Janice Hahn, Deputy Mayor for Mayor James K. Hahn and District Director for Congresswoman Jane Harman. He was also Senior Vice President of Government Banking at JP Morgan Chase and Vice President in the Real Estate Industries Group at Security Pacific National Bank.

Liu currently serves on the boards of AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Fleet Week Foundation, and Sister Cities of Los Angeles. He has previously served on the boards of the LA24 Olympic Bid Committee, LA County Business Federation, Harbor Interfaith Shelter, Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Mary Star of the Sea High School, and Holy Trinity School.

Liu graduated from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania and received an MBA from University of Southern California. He and his wife have four grown children and have lived in San Pedro for nearly 30 years.

Joe Byrne
Chair
California Water Commission
Biography

Joe Byrne

Chair
California Water Commission

Joseph Byrne is an of counsel attorney in the Los Angeles office of Best Best & Krieger and is a member of the firm's Environmental Law & Natural Resources, Special Districts, Municipal and Business Services practice groups. He advises both public and private sector clients on water law, public law and government and legislative strategies, with additional experience in general business law.

Joseph has considerable experience advising public and private clients on various issues related to water, including helping clients secure water supply, negotiating and drafting many types of water-related agreements, analyzing water rights, and advising on regulatory and policy issues. He also advises a number of public entities — primarily cities and special districts — on a broad range of issues, including various contracts, the Brown Act, CEQA, conflicts of interest, personnel, public works bidding and contracts, the Public Records Act, land use and general compliance with state and federal laws. He works closely with a number of cities and districts on a daily basis.

Joseph is also very familiar with California’s legislative process as well as water policy issues. He worked on water policy issues at the State Capitol for a number of years and recently taught a water policy class at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Public Policy. In May 2010, Joseph was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve on the California Water Commission, where he serves as chair. He was re-appointed to another term by Gov. Jerry Brown in July 2014. The Commission has a number of important statewide responsibilities related to water.

In addition to his public sector work, Joseph advises private sector clients on a wide variety of general business law issues, including general litigation, corporations, employment, contracts and general counsel work. He has specific experience working with apparel and water technology companies on many aspects of their businesses, including negotiating and drafting licensing agreements, purchase and sale agreements, manufacturing and distribution agreements, and employment and settlement agreements.

Joseph worked in the government practice group at Mayer Brown, where he advised clients on transactional matters and gave strategic advice on state legislative and regulatory matters. He also worked at Burke, Williams & Sorensen for a number of years in its public law practice group. From 1998-2002, he worked in the California State Assembly, serving two years as counsel to the speaker of the California State Assembly and as the speaker's chief policy consultant on water/environment and public safety. He also served as the speaker's appointee to the California Court Reporters Board and the California Earthquake Authority.

He was born, raised and continues to lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children. Joseph enjoys spending time in the outdoors, sports and learning about California history.

Steve Clemons
Director Business Development
Zonoff
Biography

Steve Clemons

Director Business Development
Zonoff

Steve is a senior executive with over 20 years in developing business opportunities with emergent technologies. He currently is working with Zonoff, the dominant smart home platform provider and the engine behind Staples Inc. “StaplesConnect” smart home ecosystem. He also is associated with Microsoft Ventures Accelerator program as a mentor. Previously with Cisco, Steve developed their consumer DIY smart home market entry strategy for energy, security, entertainment and health care applications.

Ohad Zeira
Senior Director of Global Product Management
Belkin International
Biography

Ohad Zeira

Senior Director of Global Product Management
Belkin International

Ohad Zeira is the Director of Global Product Management for Belkin International.  He oversees the development, ongoing direction and overall growth for Belkin’s connected home solutions

Ohad uses customer research and product usage data to find the best opportunities with the company’s’ hardware and software roadmaps in the Internet of Things space. He launched Belkin’s first WeMo Home control solutions, Belkin’s most ambitious development program combining solutions with the cloud and mobile apps. WeMo combines hardware, mobile apps and cloud intelligence that allow consumers to control their home from anywhere at any time. Another area of on-going innovation that Ohad leads is the work Belkin is doing with water and power energy use through the Belkin Echo Power and Echo Water solutions.  These solutions are analyzing energy and water usage to help homeowners and building managers understand waste and part replacements and even sense security issues.

A six year Belkin veteran, Ohad Zeira has held numerous positions in fast growing marketing segments including energy management, mobility and home automation as well as corporate development.  Before joining Belkin International, Ohad held positions at Bose Corporation and Ernst & Young Consulting.

Ohad holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management and has a Master’s of Science in Operations Research from Cornell University. 

Jerry Callahan
CEO
ISI Technology
Biography

Jerry Callahan

CEO
ISI Technology

Jerry grew up on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and studied naval architecture at MIT and Stevens Institute of Technology. He began his career as a civil engineer at the second largest dredging and marine construction company in the world, and rose to General Superintendent (COO) 7 years later. After that, he began a series of business “turnarounds”, including some “fast track” plant relocations. He also started up a few companies, such as Blue Rhino Propane Cylinder Exchange, and National Packaging Solutions Group. He has been a principal in a private equity group, has run several portfolio companies for private equity firms, and has also provided a broad range of management consulting from strategy development to M &A advisory services. Along the way he received an MBA from the University of Chicago. Jerry has recently patented and developed the world’s first fully electronic water heater, and as the CEO of ISI Technology (www.isitechnology.com), is focused on commercializing this technology in 2014.

Jerry enjoys competitive sailboat racing, cycling, and many other outdoor activities. He is an active member of WPO and CEO, and lives on Sullivan’s Island, SC. He and his wife Susie have a daughter who graduated from Tufts and is a research analyst in Cambridge, MA, and a son who graduated from University of South Carolina and works in the marine construction business.

Jim Wunderman
President and CEO
Bay Area Council
Biography

Jim Wunderman

President and CEO
Bay Area Council

Jim Wunderman is President and CEO of the Bay Area Council, a CEO-led public policy and advocacy organization formed in 1945 that works to make the Bay Area the most innovative, globally competitive, and sustainable region in the world. Since becoming CEO in 2004, Wunderman has honed the Council’s regionalist approach to advocacy in key areas that impact the Bay Area’s economy and competitiveness, including: business climate, housing, transportation, workforce, water, energy, communications, education, gender equity and cyber security. In 2015, he was named one of the Top 100 movers and shakers in California politics.

Wunderman has led the Council’s efforts to advocate for billions of dollars in federal, state and regional funding for major transportation projects completed or currently under construction. He has worked to expand the Council’s leadership outside the region, including opening an office in Sacramento and overseas offices in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing, and partnering with the state to reopen the California-China Trade Office. Wunderman positioned the Council to lead in developing an innovative early education program – Talk, Read, Sing -- and partnering with The Clinton Foundation to introduce it nationally. Under his leadership, the Council’s advocacy helped win important statewide education reform through local control funding. Wunderman has continued to play a key role in efforts to achieve consensus-based solutions to California’s water challenges, and is leading the region’s business community in the effort to make sure the economy is a primary driver of planning and regional sustainability efforts.

Prior to his work at the Bay Area Council, Wunderman’s career from 1984 to 2004 was split between both the private and public sectors. He served as Chief of Staff to San Francisco Mayor Frank M. Jordan from 1992-95, following five years of work for Mayor Dianne Feinstein.  From 1997-2004 he served as Senior Vice President for External Affairs at Providian Financial Corporation.  He also served as Vice President and General Manager of two major waste collection, disposal and recycling firms in the Bay Area under its parent, Recology, Inc.

Wunderman has served on numerous Boards and Commissions.  He currently serves on the University of California Business Executive Council, the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) Board, the State of California’s International Trade and Investment Advisory Council, the Too Small to Fail Advisory Council, California-China Trade and Investment Advisory Board, ChinaFisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics, Bridge Housing Board of Directors, Sierra Energy, TMG Partners, the East Bay Zoological Society Foundation, the Chabot Space & Science Center Foundation Leadership Council, the Human Needs Project, Ready Nation Advisory Board, and the SF Bay Restoration Authority.  He also serves on the Transit Sustainability Project Steering Committee, the Clean Energy Working Group, EDA East Bay Economic Development Alliance, the REAL Coalition, and the Super Bowl Host Committee.

Wunderman is a Visiting Professor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management.  He is a graduate of San Francisco State University, Majoring in Political Science, and received an Associate’s Degree in Business Administration from Kingsborough College, City University of New York.  He has four children and resides in Contra Costa County. 

Lisa Mowery
Chief Financial Officer
City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation
Biography

Lisa Mowery

Chief Financial Officer
City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation

Lisa Mowery is the Chief Financial Officer for the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation, which is responsible for providing solid resources, stormwater and wastewater services to over 4 million people.  During her 23 years with the City of Los Angeles, Ms. Mowery has also worked as a project manager and environmental compliance specialist.  During the past 15 years, she has been involved in the issuance of over $3.5 billion in bonds for the City's Wastewater Program.  Ms. Mowery also specializes in rate-setting and led an effort for the wastewater program resulting in the adoption of sustainable wastewater fees for a ten-year period.  She currently manages the LA Sanitation’s financial programs, totaling more than $1 billion in annual revenues. She has a BS in Civil Engineering from Purdue University and is a Registered Civil Engineer in California.

Jonathan Parfrey
Executive Director
Climate Resolve
Biography

Jonathan Parfrey

Executive Director
Climate Resolve

Jonathan Parfrey is founding executive director of Climate Resolve, LA's leading climate advocacy organization. Jonathan served as a commissioner at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (2008-2013). Jonathan is a founder and Vice Chair of CicLAvia, the popular street event, as well as a founder of the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability and the statewide Alliance of Regional Collaboratives for Climate Adaptation. He served as director of the GREEN LA Coalition (2007-2011), and as the Los Angeles director of Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization Physicians for Social Responsibility (1994 to 2007). Prior to that, Jonathan directed the Orange County Catholic Worker (1987-1993). He is currently a gubernatorial appointee to the State of California Climate Adaptation Technical Advisory Committee and Vice Chair of the BizFed Institute.

Matt Golden
Principal
Efficiency.org
Biography

Matt Golden

Principal
Efficiency.org

Matt Golden is an entrepreneur and policy advocate, committed to bringing energy efficiency in the built environment to scale as a demand side resource. Matt’s work focuses on managing performance risk as it relates to energy finance in both energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Matt leads a number of projects for clients that include the development of 3D simulation based training for the US Department of Energy, real-time energy performance valuation using Smart Meter data for Pacific Gas and Electric and the Environmental Defense Fund’s Investor Confidence Project developing protocols for commercial energy efficiency, designed to reduce transaction costs, and develop actuarial data to unlock capital markets.  

Mike Quindazzi
Business Development Leader-Pacific Southwest
PwC
Biography

Mike Quindazzi

Business Development Leader-Pacific Southwest
PwC
Mike Quindazzi is the Business Development Leader for the Pacific Southwest region for PwC. He has 25 years of management consulting and industry experience.  He is currently leading revenue growth and market development for a $600 million business unit to record growth. He consults with diverse clients across our marketplace on a wide range of business and technology issues and opportunities. 
 
Within his responsibility, he has a unique view across many sectors (including technology, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, higher education, financial services and international trade) of the Global Megatrends that are changing the face of the world. Mike explores the potential business, technology, and societal impacts of these macro trends, uncovering both risk and opportunities. 
In his professional management consultant experience, he has provided objective advice for clients with the aim of maximizing growth, improving business performance, optimizing organizational performance, and utilizing technology for competitive advantage.
 
Work examples include: helped develop and launch a new business unit resulting in $2+ billion business today; eliminated operational bottlenecks and increased cash flow by $74 million by streamlining a 5-week order-to-cash process to less than 2-day; team created $225 million sales uplift for another leading client by delivering data-driven ability to make marketing allocation decisions and measure return on marketing spend.
 
Mike stays active in his local communities and is responsible for PwC’s local community service team and efforts. In 2011, PwC celebrated 100 of services in Los Angeles and engaged the community with 100 ways of giving back in that same year.  In 2013, the local team set a Guinness Book of Record for youth education. Mike is also active with the LAEDC Board of Governors and on multiple economic development committees.
 
Mike holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Montclair State University where he graduated with highest honors, Summa Cum Laude, and was granted honorary membership from the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

Jeffrey Chernick
CEO & Co-Founder
RideAmigos
Biography

Jeffrey Chernick

CEO & Co-Founder
RideAmigos

Jeffrey Chernick is the CEO and Co-Founder of RideAmigos, a global leader in Transportation Demand Management software, which works with local governments across 3 counties to eliminate traffic and increase air quality. RideAmigos develops multi-modal transportation solutions, providing regional commuter networks, multi-modal travel dashboards, ridesharing, certified transportation commute surveys, trip trackers, reward systems, and GIS reporting tools. He has been featured on FOX, NBC, ABC, NY1, New York Post, Newsday, and the LA Times. Jeffrey is also the Director of the teen foster mentorship program M4, and the drummer of electro band, Story of the Running Wolf.

Richard Katz
Commissioner
Los Angeles City Planning Commission
Biography

Richard Katz

Commissioner
Los Angeles City Planning Commission

Richard Katz was elected to the California State Assembly in 1980, serving continuously for 16 years. As Democratic Leader in 1995, Katz led the Party to majority status by winning 43 seats in the 1996 elections. California’s term limits law prohibited Katz from seeking re-election.

For 10 years, Richard Katz served as Chair of the powerful Assembly Transportation Committee. He created the Congestion Management Plan, requiring cities and counties to measure and mitigate impacts of land use decisions on their streets, highways and transit systems.

Katz was California’s lead negotiator for the landmark Colorado River Agreement between the State of California, the Federal Government, four California Water Agencies, and the six Colorado River Basin States, furthering his expertise as a negotiator on issues of statewide significance.

Katz had already played a pivotal role in renegotiating $30 billion worth of California’s Energy contracts and developing California’s Transportation Blueprint for the 21st Century, which the voters approved as Proposition 111 in 1990.

In June of 2005, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed Katz to serve with him on the Governing Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where Katz served for 8 years. In 2008, the Mayor appointed Katz to the Metrolink Board after the horrendous Chatsworth accident, “to make sure this never happens again.” Katz served on the Metrolink Board for 7 years, focused on safety issues and leading the effort that resulted in Metrolink being the first railroad in the country to implement Positive Train Control (PTC) a state of the art life saving satellite based technology.   

When Mayor Garcetti was elected in 2013, he appointed Richard Katz to the Los Angeles City Planning Commission, where he continues to serve.

Richard Katz is the owner of a successful public policy/government relations firm, Richard Katz Consulting (RKC), Inc. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Valley Economic Alliance and on the Boards of Heal the Bay and the Jordan farmer Foundation.

A native of Los Angeles, Richard Katz lives in Studio City with his eight year-old son Mitchell Robert.

 

Pat Proano
Former Deputy Director of Transportation
Los Angeles County Department of Public Works
Biography

Pat Proano

Former Deputy Director of Transportation
Los Angeles County Department of Public Works

Pat Proano, a licensed Professional Civil Engineer in California, has a dynamic background providing leadership and coordination for Public Works projects and services in Los Angeles County.  He has worked in and/or managed nearly all facets of Public Works including environmental, transportation, and land development services, and emergency management. 

Mr. Proano has expertise in strategic planning and performance management.  He spearheaded the development and implementation of the County’s unincorporated areas’ strategic plan and served as the lead County manager for the Florence-Firestone unincorporated area.  Pat has most recently been at the forefront of developing a Sustainable Waste Management Future for Los Angeles County including efforts to integrate conversion technologies into the municipal waste system. He was instrumental in sponsoring legislation to define these technologies and develop incentives for projects in California.

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

As a fluent English and Spanish speaker, he has represented the County at various media events, has published numerous Op Eds advocating sustainability, and has been asked to speak at conferences and forums. 

 

 

 

 

 

Katherine Perez
Principal & Los Angeles Office Leader
Arup
Biography

Katherine Perez

Principal & Los Angeles Office Leader
Arup

Katharine Aguilar Perez is the Los Angeles Cities Leader and  Principal with Arup. She is an expert in urban planning, transportation, and stakeholder engagement. In the planning and land use field, she is highly regarded for developing complex public participation strategies that require collaboration among multi-cultural communities. With her background in community development, private real estate development, transportation policy and urban planning, she is recognized as a leader in the planning and development fields and speaks at conferences throughout the country.

Julia Levin
Executive Director
Bioenergy Association of California
Biography

Julia Levin

Executive Director
Bioenergy Association of California

Julia Levin is the Executive Director of the Bioenergy Association of California (BAC), which represents more than 50 companies, agencies and local governments working to promote sustainable bioenergy development.  Prior to BAC, Julia served as the Deputy Secretary for Climate Change and Energy at the California Resources Agency where she chaired the Governor’s Inter-Agency Bioenergy Working Group and led development of California’s 2012 Bioenergy Action Plan.  Previously, Julia worked with Attorney General Jerry Brown to defend California’s feed-in tariff and other clean energy policies.  Julia has also served as a Commissioner on the California Energy Commission, where she was the presiding Commissioner on renewable energy and associate Commissioner on energy efficiency.    

Prior to state government, Julia was the Global Warming Director for the National Audubon Society and the California Policy Coordinator for the Union of Concerned Scientists, where she led campaigns to pass California’s first RPS and its climate action registry, and worked to promote clean fuels and vehicles.  Julia received her B.A. from Brown University and her law degree from Hastings College of the Law.

Michael Shull
General Manager
Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
Biography

Michael Shull

General Manager
Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks

Michael Shull began his career with the City of Los Angeles in 1990 with the City’s Department of Public Works, Bureau of Engineering where he worked for 14 years. A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, he earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Civil Engineering. Mr. Shull then joined the City’s Department of Recreation and Parks (RAP) in July 2005. In December 2013, Mike was appointed Interim General Manager General Manager for RAP and recently received his permanent appointment as General Manager in August 2014.

Jay Ziegler
Delta Watermaster
State Water Resources Control Board
Biography

Jay Ziegler

Delta Watermaster
State Water Resources Control Board

On April 3, 2023, Jay Ziegler was appointed to a four-year term as Delta Watermaster for the State Water Resources Control Board.

Prior to being appointed, Mr. Ziegler was the Director of External Affairs and Policy for The Nature Conservancy (TNC). During his 12 years at the conservancy, he led the agency’s policy engagements on water, climate strategies, biodiversity protection and environmental funding initiatives. Prior to joining TNC, he was a partner in the interdisciplinary public affairs firm, Ziegler Associates, where he focused on land use, water policy, renewable energy, and permitting and mitigation matters. Previously, he served in multiple roles at state and federal natural resource agencies, including intergovernmental affairs with Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, where he focused on endangered species, public lands, water, and natural resource management issues across the West. 

The position of Delta Watermaster was created by the 2009 Delta Reform Act. The Delta Watermaster is an independent office of the State of California reporting jointly to the State Water Resources Control Board and the Delta Stewardship Council. The Watermaster has statutory responsibility for administering water rights within the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta and the Suisun Marsh. Additionally, the Delta Watermaster advises the Board and the Council on matters relating to water rights, water quality, habitat and land use across this vital estuary, agricultural and recreational area, and the hub of California’s water conveyance infrastructure.

He is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, serves on several non-profit boards, and resides in Davis, California with his wife, Carri. 
 

Phil Huber
Partner
Marstel-Day
Biography

Phil Huber

Partner
Marstel-Day

Mr. Huber has more than 40 years of military, federal government civil service, and private sector consulting experience. As a partner of Marstel-Day, Mr. Huber is responsible for the firm’s Sustainment Program portfolio. The portfolio includes a wide range of issue identification and problem solving associated with encroachment analysis, comprehensive planning, interaction with stakeholders, and understanding and influencing of state and federal legislation and regulations. Mr. Huber has worked on many projects that produce strategies, policies, decision support tools, training modules, and comprehensive plans, and he has conducted and facilitated many encroachment partnering and management workshops throughout the United States. He supports projects for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.

Mr. Huber’s military career spanned 30 years in both active and reserve status. His major deployments were to Viet Nam, Saudi-Arabia/Kuwait, and Bosnia. He retired as a colonel. Concurrent with his military career, he completed 28 years of federal civil service in a wide variety of environmental positions, culminating as the Assistant for Environmental Quality, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (DASA) for Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health (ESOH). Mr. Huber’s assignments included managing two Army installation environmental programs, working on the environmental staffs of two Army major commands (one in Europe), and managing worldwide general support programs as a staff member for the U.S. Army Environmental Center. He has extensive experience in working multiple environmental challenges associated with DoD’s encroachment issues and integrating environmental considerations into various DoD business processes such as installation management, logistics, acquisition, training and education, and military training and operations. Mr. Huber’s last civil assignment was as an information technology specialist supporting the Air Force’s Chief Information Officer.

Mr. Huber has a BS in forest science from Pennsylvania State University, PA; an MBA from Jacksonville State University, AL; and an MA in national resourcing from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, Washington, DC.

Paul Krekorian*
Councilmember, District 2
Los Angeles City Council
Biography

Paul Krekorian*

Councilmember, District 2
Los Angeles City Council

Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, Paul Krekorian has spent more than a decade in public service. Since 2010, he has served on the Los Angeles City Council where his leadership of the Budget and Finance Committee helped guide the city through the Great Recession. Paul also serves on the board of the LA County Metropolitan Transit Authority, Metrolink and the San Fernando Valley Council of Governments.

A former member of the California State Assembly, Paul is the first Armenian-American to be elected in the City of Los Angeles.

Cole Hershkowitz
Co-Founder and CEO
Chai Energy
Biography

Cole Hershkowitz

Co-Founder and CEO
Chai Energy

Cole Hershkowitz's career was born at the intersection of technology, liberal arts, and sustainability. Cole founded Chai Energy, a company that uses energy data and an intuitive user experience to show homeowners exactly where they are wasting money on their utility bill and what they can do to curb that waste.  Chai is available today throughout California.  

At Chai, Cole has brought 4 distinct products to market, patented deep machine learning technology used to decipher energy data, and raised over a million dollars from venture investors in support of technical development.    Previous to Chai, Cole led Caltech's Solar Decathlon team to a second place win in the Engineering category with an incredibly innovative smart home system that was years ahead of its time.  The home featured a first of it's kind gestural home control system that would use Machine Vision and 3d maps to allow homeowners to turn off appliances with a simple point.  Cole also spent time at Southern California Edison working not he Smart Grid Deployment and time at Alsop-Louie Partners learning about Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship.  

Lin Midkiff
The Aerospace Corporation
Biography

Lin Midkiff

The Aerospace Corporation

Everett L. (Lin) Midkiff III has 36 years of experience in the aerospace, aviation and information systems fields. He currently supports system architecting, engineering, integration and technical analysis efforts in a variety of market sectors, including transportation, energy, and homeland security.

He joined The Aerospace Corporation in 1997, with initial responsibilities for systems engineering, operational transition support, and long-range planning for the Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN).  He transitioned to the Civil and Commercial Operations group in 1998, supporting commercial space launch and advanced space vehicle concepts. In 2000, he became a private consultant for data communications, information technology and entertainment service applications in the commercial aircraft industry.  He returned to Aerospace in 2010 to focus on new initiatives in interplanetary space, automated transportation networks, and related science and technology domains.

Mr. Midkiff holds a B.A. degree in Business Administration from William Jewell College, Liberty, Missouri, and an M.S. degree in Computer Science from Missouri Science & Technology (formerly the University of Missouri-Rolla).

Tom Soto
Founder
Latimer Partners, LLC
Biography

Tom Soto

Founder
Latimer Partners, LLC

I am a long-time investor in the impact sector. I was born & raised in East LA County & Pomona, California to two of the state’s most well-respected Latino Civil Rights leaders. My father was Assemblyman Phil Soto, the first Latino elected to the state legislature in 1962. My late mother was Nell Soto, my dad’s campaign manager & the mother to their six children. She was a long-time advocate supporting farm worker rights, the environment and labor. She too served the last ten years of her life as a member and leader in the California State Senate.
 

I have owned four PE funds, and now manage our family investment office, Latimer Partners, LLC with my husband of 18 years, Todd Soto. I’ve stood at the dovetail of energy, tech, cloud-based and IoT platforms, renewable energy, and over many Fourth Industrial Revolution-driven platforms where technology contributes to improving the human condition using AI, fintech, and blockchain, all while challenging LP’s and tech platforms to embrace diversity, equity and inclusion. Between contributing to climate change initiatives; Clean Air Act Standards and forcing the removal of diesel from municipal procurement processes across the country and the need to decarbonize our economy, this all to promote a political process and regulatory framework needed to establish a clean economy driving the planet into a future of prosperity and abundance.

I am the former Chairman of the New America Alliance, the national Latino business initiative seeking to increase access to capital for diverse fund managers; I am a founder and Vice Chair of the LA Clean Tech Incubator and Trustee of the California Science Center and Trustee of the NRDC. I'm also an appointee to the California Lithium Valley Commission. After selling my fund, Craton Equity Partners to TCW in 2013, I was the Managing Director of Alternatives at the $198b fund and was an Investment Committee Member of TCW Alternatives. Under mine and my colleagues’ leadership, the TCW alternatives platform grew from $300m in AUM to $10.3b in three years. I am a former member of the board of trustees of the Redwood Mutual Fund, owned by Aspiration where I am a former Sr. Advisor, the country’s fastest-growing online bank and financial services platform.

I am a two-time appointee of President Clinton and was the Team Lead for The Executive Office of the President’s Transition Team for the White House Council on Environmental Quality for President-Elect Obama and a founding member of the Executive Council for Clean Energy for Biden. We live in Los Angeles, with our thirteen year old son.

Erica He
Senior Advisor, Energy Solutions
Innovation Core SEI Inc. (Sumitomo Electric)
Biography

Erica He

Senior Advisor, Energy Solutions
Innovation Core SEI Inc. (Sumitomo Electric)

Erica is the Senior Advisor, Energy Solutions, at Innovation Core SEI Inc., which is the US subsidiary of Sumitomo Electric. Erica is the former Vice President of Innovation Core SEI Inc. Erica has been leading the North America market development for Sumitomo Electric’s Smart Energy Solutions business, with a focus on energy storage. Prior to Sumitomo, Erica was the Business Development Manager at SANYO North America, where she developed new businesses and strategic partnerships in the areas of renewable energy, smart grid and consumer electronics. Erica holds a MS in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University and a BS in Electric Engineering from University College London. 

Stephen Jones
Managing Director
ITM Power Inc.
Biography

Stephen Jones

Managing Director
ITM Power Inc.

Steve joined ITM in 2005 as a research technologist and is currently Managing Director for ITM Power Inc. based in Irvine, California.

Steve has held positions in R&D, product, systems and business development roles and as such has an excellent understanding of the technical and commercial aspects of the business. He holds a BSc and MPhil in Materials Science from Birmingham University, a MBA from Sheffield University and is a chartered manager.

Thomas Cain
Found and CEO
Sustainability Partners
Biography

Thomas Cain

Found and CEO
Sustainability Partners

Mr. Thomas Cain is CEO of Sustainability Partners LLC, a sustainable products finance company and Managing Partner of EFW Partners, a multi-strategy investment firm focused on energy, food and water.

Cain has directly invested hundreds of millions in a diverse array of young technology companies focused on sustainability including Kokam Ltd., Dow/Kokam, Townsend Advanced Energy, Sungevity, Quantum, Lime, Enerpulse, Flex Energy, Water Health International, Stem, Electratherm, Codexis, Solezyme, and Project Frog and has been a director in over 30 public and private companies. He is a frequent keynote speaker and co-authored Energy Venture Capital Best Practices.

Cain started his business career by founding Distribution Architects Int’l. (“DAI”) in 1977, which grew into one of the world’s largest supply chain and ERP software companies with offices around the world. Through both organic growth and accretive M&A, he retired as chairman of the acquisition corporation in 2001, with 2,500 employees and annual revenues of $120M. He next founded Starco Energy, an owner/operator of restored petrochemical fuel terminals, which he sold to Quintana Energy in 2006. He also founded Focus Capital Group of America, an extension of Focus Capital Group -Israel, through which 20 distressed turnarounds were accomplished and exited. One such turnaround was Evans Systems, Inc., a Texas-based public petrochemical company.

Cain is a member of WPO, founded the YPO Global Supply Chain Conference, served as chairman of their MIT Presidents Education, and group-led the Harvard Business School Presidents Education for a combined 10+ years.

Cain holds multiple patents for advanced ECM electric motors for networking and AI that are in commercial use today. As a software developer, Cain’s software has won prestigious national competitions as the Internet Computer Expo’s “Best Business Product” and the Retail Information Systems Conference’s “Best Innovation in Logistics.” He is considered the father of the modern day “DLL” architecture. DAI was DEC’s largest commercial OEM and Cain was a senior advisor for the design of DEC’s 64-bit alpha chip.

Cain’s interest in energy began in his collegiate days while serving as a consulting mathematician for Los Alamos Labs working on the analysis of magnetic flux fields in controlled fusion plasmas in an effort to directly produce electricity through neutron capture by lithium blankets. He is an alumnus of ASU with undergraduate and graduate studies in mathematics.

 

Snuller Price
Principal
Energy + Environmental Economics
Biography

Snuller Price

Principal
Energy + Environmental Economics

Mr. Price leads Energy + Environmental Economics’ climate policy practice area.  He has more than 20 years of experience supporting state, utility, and federal government clients with greenhouse gas policy, renewable resource evaluation, distributed generation, energy efficiency and utility resource planning.  Under his direction, the E3 team has recently completed or has underway the assessment long term climate scenarios for California, and the United States.  Mr. Price is also co-author of the 2012 paper in Science exploring pathways for California to meet the deep GHG reductions called for by 2050 of 80% below 1990 levels, and manages the team working on the United Nations Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP).  Mr. Price has an M.S. in Engineering Economic Systems from Stanford University (’97) and a B.S. in Engineering and B.A. in Economics from Swarthmore College (’93).

Mia Lehrer
President/Commissioner
Studio MLA/LADWP Board
Biography

Mia Lehrer

President/Commissioner
Studio MLA/LADWP Board

Mia Lehrer is the founder and president of Studio-MLA, an L.A. urban design and landscape architecture firm. Her firm specializes in the design and implementation of public and private sector projects, such as urban waterway programs, local and regional parks, and mixed-use developments. Mia has a breadth of experience in the public sector, including service as a member of Los Angeles’ Cultural Affairs Commission, Zoning Advisory committee, and the Mayor’s Design Advisory Panel.

Mia is also known as a long-time champion for the Los Angeles River, notably through her work as a member of the team that delivered the City’s River Revitalization Master Plan and the 2020 Upper LA River and Tributaries Revitalization Plan.

A native of El Salvador, Lehrer earned a B.A. from Tufts University and a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. She was named a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects in 2010. If confirmed, she would replace former Commissioner Mel Levine.

Mia was appointed to the LADWP Board of Commissioners, making it the first ever all-female board, but LA Mayor Eric Garcetti in September 2020. 

Varouj Abkian
Assistant Director
City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation
Biography

Varouj Abkian

Assistant Director
City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation

Mr. Abkian is an Environmental Engineer with an extensive background in wastewater treatment design, construction and operations. He is an executive with LA Sanitation, City of Los Angeles. He has over three decade of experience in the Environmental Engineering field and is a professor in local universities.

Wayne Ratkovich
President and CEO
The Ratkovich Company
Biography

Wayne Ratkovich

President and CEO
The Ratkovich Company

Wayne Ratkovich is the founder and CEO of The Ratkovich Company (TRC), a Los Angeles development firm whose mission is “to profitably produce developments that improve the quality of urban life.” Specializing in urban infill and rehabilitation projects, TRC’s accomplishments range from large-scale entitlement endeavors to retail, office, entertainment and mixed-use projects. His company engages in both new development and the imaginative reuse of existing buildings including seventeen buildings that are historic landmarks.

TRC is the developer of The BLOC, a massive remodeling of the former Macy’s Plaza in downtown Los Angeles. The property consists of a 496 room Sheraton Hotel, 430,000 square feet of retail stores, a 700,000 square foot office building and parking for 2,000 cars.

TRC developed the Hercules Campus, an eleven building complex of former Hughes Aircraft Company Buildings that have historic status. The eleven buildings total 525,000 square feet and are located on 28.3 acres of land in the Playa Vista area of Los Angeles. The project was originally developed in association with Penwood Real Estate Investment Management. Seven of the buildings are now owned in association with Invesco. The project is fully leased to two tenants, Google and the advertising firm 72 and Sunny.

The firm owns and continues to develop The Alhambra, a 45-acre and 1.0 million square foot urban community consisting of office, retail and residential uses in Alhambra, California. TRC is also the developer of the prominent landmark, 5900 Wilshire, a 30-story, 491,000 square foot high-rise office tower situated directly across from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the Miracle Mile District of Los Angeles. The City of Los Angeles recently selected TRC to develop a 31-acre waterfront site as the San Pedro Public Market.

In total, Ratkovich has developed over 16.0 million square feet of office, retail, industrial and residential properties. Projects the company has to its record include: The James Oviatt Building; The Fine Arts Building; The Pellissier Building and Wiltern Theatre; Chapman Market; Ladera Center; an urban campus for the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising; the City of Glendale’s Alex Theatre; and a variety of high technology complexes including the Irvine Technology Center and the Von Karman Corporate Center.

As a Trustee for the Urban Land Institute, Mr. Ratkovich has served two terms as a Vice Chairman and member of its Executive Committee. He has been a member of eleven ULI committees, three times Chairman of the Awards of Excellence Jury, Chairman of an Urban Development/Mixed-Use Council, a member of the Inner City Task Force, and Chairman of ULI’s Forum on Urban Neighborhood Revitalization. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of ULI Americas.

In 2011, ULI named Ratkovich a Life Trustee, an honor given to only 13 members in the 75 year history of the 35,000 member organization. He is also a Trustee Emeritus of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Jackie Ferlita
Manager
ClimeCo
Biography

Jackie Ferlita

Manager
ClimeCo

Jackie heads up ClimeCo’s California office, focusing on California’s many and varied regional markets, and the state’s AB 32 carbon cap-and-rade program. Jackie began her career in the environmental markets as head of Business Development for Air Quality Consultants (AQC) in Huntington Beach, CA.  Her main tasks at AQC were emissions aggregation and emissions appraisal for the South Coast Air Quality Management District.  Prior to joining ClimeCo, Jackie has assumed a variety of roled in her career - working on the development of numerous greenhouse gas offset projects and environmental commodity origination in the emissions markets. In May 2012, Ms. Ferlita was recognized at one of Orange County’s “Top 40 under 40” young professionals for her work in the environmental markets.  Ms. Ferlita currently serves as a Board member on the SCAQMD Home Rule Advisory Committee, and is an active member of WSPA Associates and several A&WMA regional chapters. Ms. Ferlita has a BA in Political Science from the University of California Los Angeles and an MBA with an emphasis on Finance from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business Management.

Nate Lewis
Scientific Director and Principal Investigator, Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis
Department of Energy; California Institute of Technology
Biography

Nate Lewis

Scientific Director and Principal Investigator, Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis
Department of Energy; California Institute of Technology

Dr. Nathan S. Lewis is the George L. Argyros Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology and Principal Investigator in the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, the DOE’s Energy Innovation Hub in Fuels from Sunlight.

Professor Lewis is Principal Investigator of the Beckman Institute Molecular Materials Resource Center.  His research interests include artificial photosynthesis and electronic noses. Nate continues to study ways to harness sunlight and generate chemical fuel by splitting water to generate hydrogen. He is developing the electronic nose, which consists of chemically sensitive conducting polymer film capable of detecting and quantifying a broad variety of analytes. Technical details focus on light-induced electron transfer reactions, both at surfaces and in transition metal complexes, surface chemistry and photochemistry of semiconductor/liquid interfaces, novel uses of conducting organic polymers and polymer/conductor composites, and development of sensor arrays that use pattern recognition algorithms to identify odorants, mimicking the mammalian olfaction process.

Rodger Schwecke
Vice President of Customer Solutions
Southern California Gas Company
Biography

Rodger Schwecke

Vice President of Customer Solutions
Southern California Gas Company

Rodger R. Schwecke is Vice President of Customer Solutions for SoCalGas. In this role, he is responsible for customer programs promoting energy efficiency, sustainability, low-income assistance, commercial and industrial customer services, advertising, customer communications, customer research, web services, and the development of new emerging technologies including SoCalGas’ natural gas vehicle program.  He serves on the Discovery Science Center Board, Orange County Business Council, NGVAmerica Board and Executive Committee, and UCLA Extension Global Sustainability Certificate Program Advisory Board. 

Catherine Burke
Associate Professor Emerita
USC, Sol Price School of Public Policy
Biography

Catherine Burke

Associate Professor Emerita
USC, Sol Price School of Public Policy

Catherine Burke, Ph.D., Associate Professor Emerita, University of Southern California, Sol Price School of Public Policy.  She received her doctorate in Political Science from University of California, Los Angeles with major fields in American Politics, Public Administration and Management (Business School).  She is also a graduate of Cornell University with an AB degree, government major. 

She became interested in the problem of innovation as a doctoral student and was curious as to why the planners and transportation agencies were actively trying to avoid learning about Personal Rapid Transit as then being presented by the Aerospace Corporation.  Later she wrote the book, Innovation and Public Policy:  The Case of Personal Rapid Transit, D.C. Heath and Company, Lexington Books, 1979.  The book is out of print, but can be downloaded free of charge at:  http://www.advancedtransit.net/content/innovation-and-public-policy-book

She has been a member of the Advanced Transit Association (ATRA) since its inception and has served on its Board and as President.

Dr. Burke has been a panelist and consultant to the Office of Technology Assessment of the U.S. Congress and a member of the Los Angeles County Economy and Efficiency Commission.  Burke was instrumental in developing the Price School’s metropolitan simulation program.  She has been a consultant to a large public utility (Communications and Computing Services, Regulatory Policy and Affairs, Environmental Health and Safety, and Public Affairs Departments),), cities (Los Angeles and Pasadena) and county (Los Angeles) governments, an international mining and manufacturing firm based in Australia, an ISP (internet service provider), a regimental commander (Colonel) of Royal Engineer Commandos in the British Army as well as several non-profit social service organizations.

Her primary professional focus has been in the fields of organization structures, systems design, leadership and management, as well as issues of innovation.  Recently her focus has been on the issues of climate change and the need to reduce GHG emissions, which has returned her focus on the potential of Automated Transportation Networks to improve urban transportation, freight movement and inter-city travel.  Only by providing public transit, which gives full access to an urban area, will we be able to significant reduce the use of carbon based fuels for automobiles and trucks.  

Her most recent book written with Ian Macdonald and Karl Stewart is Systems Leadership:  Creating Positive Organisations, Gower Publications, Ltd., 2006.

Walter Spansel
Vice President and Transmission Officer
NV Energy
Biography

Walter Spansel

Vice President and Transmission Officer
NV Energy

Walter Spansel is vice president and transmission officer, responsible for all real time operations, accountable for transmission strategy, services, system planning, engineering, asset management, operations, reliability and project delivery for NV Energy, a Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company.

Mr. Spansel was previously an executive with Southern California Edison, serving as director of transmission and also served as director of operations at Entergy Corporation, having progressed through several management assignments. He was also previously president and chief executive officer of a consulting firm and partner of an electrical engineering firm.

Mr. Spansel earned a bachelor of science in electrical engineering and a master in business administration from the University of New Orleans, a Louisiana State University system school. He also participated in an Executive Development Program of The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Spansel currently serves on the board of trustees of Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada and previously served on the board of directors of the North American Transmission Forum.

Joel Levin
Vice President, Business Development
Climate Action Reserve
Biography

Joel Levin

Vice President, Business Development
Climate Action Reserve

As the Climate Action Reserve’s Vice President of Business Development, Joel Levin is responsible for strategic development of the Reserve and has overseen its development from inception to its current status as the recognized environmental standard for carbon offset projects in the United States. He is the Reserve’s primary liaison to the business community and is a frequent and popular speaker on the Reserve’s programs and other climate change topics.

Joel has served as staff to the California Market Advisory Committee and the California Climate Action Team. Prior to working at the Reserve, Joel worked at Feeva Wireless in Berkeley and APX in Santa Clara. He has also served on the Capitol Hill staff of Senator Timothy E. Wirth (D-Colorado).

Joel holds an M.B.A. from U.C. Berkeley and an M.A. in International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University.

Nicholas Lumpkin
Director of Business Development
Clean Energy Renewable Fuels
Biography

Nicholas Lumpkin

Director of Business Development
Clean Energy Renewable Fuels

Nicholas Lumpkin is the Director of Business Development for Clean Energy Renewable Fuels which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Clean Energy Fuels Corp. Since 2006 he has held various roles within the Clean Energy family of companies and became involved in the renewable natural gas business shortly after the 2008 acquisition of the McCommas Bluff landfill gas project. His current focus includes project feasibility, financial modeling, and the sales, marketing, and distribution of biomethane as a transportation fuel.  

Dr. Shane Stephens
Co-Founder
FirstElement Fuel, Inc.
Biography

Dr. Shane Stephens

Co-Founder
FirstElement Fuel, Inc.

Dr. Shane Stephens is a Co-Founder of FirstElement Fuel, Inc. and serves as the company’s Chief Development Officer.  FirstElement is a California based company dedicated to building the first true “Network” of hydrogen fueling stations.  The company was recently awarded a Grant from the State of California of $27.6 Million to bring the first phase of its hydrogen station Network to life.  Shane is deeply committed to the advancement of clean energy, particularly the electrification of the automobile and the successful launch fuel cell electric vehicles as a way to combat climate change, air pollution, and the world’s overall addiction to petroleum.  Shane brings vast experience as a scientist and thought leader in the clean energy space from his time at UC Irvine’s Advanced Power and Energy Program, the National Fuel Cell Research Center and The White House.

Donald Paul
Executive Director
USC Energy Institue
Biography

Donald Paul

Executive Director
USC Energy Institue

Donald Paul is the Executive Director of the USC Energy Institute, Professor of Engineering, and holds the William M. Keck Chair of Energy Resources.

The USC Energy Institute supports university-wide research, education, and workforce development initiatives with industry and governments in the areas of advanced energy systems and infrastructures.

Dr. Paul had a distinguished 33-year career with the Chevron Corporation, retiring in June 2008 as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.  During his career, he advanced through positions of increasing responsibility in research and development, exploration and production operations, and executive management, including appointment as the president of Chevron’s Canadian subsidiary.

Dr. Paul serves as a Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D.C. and in 2014, was re-appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Energy to the National Petroleum Council. He participates in advisory roles at several universities (including MIT, Harvard, Texas and Stanford), governments, national laboratories, oil and gas companies, utilities, and technology companies. He is frequently recruited to speak at national and international forums on the future of energy, the security of energy systems, intelligent energy infrastructures, and energy careers.

 He holds B.S., M.S., and PhD degrees from MIT and an honorary doctorate from the Colorado School of Mines. 

 

 

James Stinson
Client Technical Professional, Financial Performance Management
IBM
Biography

James Stinson

Client Technical Professional, Financial Performance Management
IBM

James Stinson is a client technical professional for IBM Business Analytics and has devoted the last 10 years helping companies realize their analytic vision. Prior to that James was a Director of Finance and a Software Engineer. He has an MBA and holds degrees in both Finance and Accounting. 

Mark Sadovnick
Managing Partner
5th Element Group
Biography

Mark Sadovnick

Managing Partner
5th Element Group

Having built a reputation over 30 years for looking beyond the mechanics of executive search, Mark has a proven commitment and ability to make a difference with Management, the individual candidates and their families, ensuring the mutual “right fit”.  Recognized by Business Week as one of 150 most influential search consultants in the world, Mark gained business and international awareness from his experiences with Deloitte in Canada and Jaycees International.

 

Mark has worked with many large and middle-market companies, as well as start-ups, advising what it takes to be recognized as a preferred employer and how innovative recruitment of exceptional management candidates will impact their financial results as well as the organization’s reputation and image. His background in finance has given him the advantage of being able to attract the right fit CFO’s and other quality financial management to join and benefit his clients.                                                          

 

Mark proactively introduces and recommends clients and strategic partners to each other, for mutual benefit of all resources. With extensive cross-industry, international experience and relationships, he recognizes the value of understanding and respecting cultures, languages, and the impact on people and business. “It’s all about people, inclusion and trust, to create a winning team.”

 

Mark sits on the Boards of Million Peacemakers (“Nonflict”), World Language Communications, the Hidden Tears Project and VerdeXchange Institute. He has been involved in many Sports & Entertainment projects, including SportsFund, and owning professional cycling and roller hockey teams. Mark is a Chartered Accountant, graduating from McGill University in Montreal. 

Tim Dafeta, P.E.
Assistant General Manager
City of Los Angeles Hyperion Treatment Plant
Biography

Tim Dafeta, P.E.

Assistant General Manager
City of Los Angeles Hyperion Treatment Plant

Tim Dafeta is a registered civil engineer with the State of California.  Tim is currently the Plant Manager of the City of Los Angeles Hyperion Treatment Plant. Hyperion Treatment Plant is one of the largest plants in the world, with a 450 million gallon per day (MGD) average dry weather capacity and highly technical operations, including full secondary treatment with pure oxygen activated sludge, Class A anaerobic digestion, cryogenic oxygen generation, air emission controls and odor management facilities, biogas power generation, and a variety of offsite biosolids reuse alternatives. Approximately 35 MGD of secondary effluent is transported to a neighboring water district for further treatment and reuse by other local users.

Steve Sullivan
Former Managing Director
Southern California Edison
Biography

Steve Sullivan

Former Managing Director
Southern California Edison

Steve Sullivan retired from Edison International (EIX) on October 1, 2013, after 35 years with the company. Edison is the parent company of Southern California Edison, a regulated electric utility.

As an executive of SCE, Mr. Sullivan led two of its largest organizations dedicated to serving government customers: first as Director of Local Public Affairs, and second as Director of Government & Institutions within the Customer Service organization.

After retiring from SCE, Mr. Sullivan has remained active in the utility space by providing consultative services to companies, and in some instances has taken a “hands-on” role with start-up companies, especially with those that provide cutting-edge technologies and/or play a role in shaping public policy issues affecting the electric industry in California. Some of his recent business ventures include:

Advanced Rail Energy Storage (2014 to 2019)

Sullivan served as COO of ARES, a firm pioneering the use of electric locomotive technology for large-scale energy storage. By providing a completely non-polluting and low-cost solution the need for grid scale storage and grid stability, ARES will allow America and the world to successfully and reliably integrate unprecedented amounts of clean energy. ARES anticipates bringing its first large-scale project (50 megawatts) on-line in 2020.

ICE ENERGY (2014 to 2017)

Sullivan served as an advisor to the Ice Energy Board. Ice Energy is the leading provider of smart grid-enabled, distributed energy storage to the utility industry. It delivers cost-effective solutions at grid-scale to reduce peak demand, improve energy system efficiency and reliability, and transform the way the utility system operates.

BUSINESS RADAR (2014 to 2015)

Sullivan served as a board member of iRestore, Business Radar. IRestore provides first responders (e.g. police and fire) with an intelligent mobile service that can instantly connect and communicate with local utilities – the iRestores product and protocols helps utility workers assess damage to the electric grid and respond more effectively to emergencies.  

EMPIRE WATER (2014 to 2018)

Sullivan, a former minority owner of Empire Water Corporation (EWC). EWC formed in 2008 to purchase assets of the West Riverside Canal Company (WRCC) and the 350” Mutual Water Company, located in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Both Companies were formed in 1888, and have operated more or less continuously since that time. EWC owns and manages the only private canal in the region, in addition to owning and/or controlling significant water resources. For over 100 years, the WRCC transported roughly 10,000 acre-feet/year of water from San Bernardino to Riverside County.

 

Omar Moghaddam
Regulatory Affairs
City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation
Biography

Omar Moghaddam

Regulatory Affairs
City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation
  • Over 30 years of experience in management, operations, R&D, permitting, and regulatory compliance of water/ wastewater, renewable energy, sustainability, biomass and biogas-to-energy conversion and capital projects, chemical and refinery processes; climate change and greenhouse gases’ inventories and modeling; air quality and biosolids management, and environmental regulatory and legislative affairs.
  • 30 years with the City of Los Angeles
  • Currently: Director of Regulatory Affairs, City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation
  • Formerly:
    • Division Manager of Energy and Applied Research
    • Senior Operations Manager at Hyperion Energy Recovery System
    • Senior Air Quality Manager
    • Senior Energy & Utility Manager
    • Resource Development Engineer at LADWP
  • Education:
  • B.S. in Chemical Engineering, AIT
  • M.S. in Petroleum Engineering, USC
  • M.S. in and Mechanical Engineering, USC
  • Post-graduate and research studies in thermal science, USC
David Yale
Special Services
Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink)
Biography

David Yale

Special Services
Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink)
Tim Romer
Chief Financial Officer & Head of Strategy
Project Canary
Biography

Tim Romer

Chief Financial Officer & Head of Strategy
Project Canary

Tim Romer is Project Canary's Chief Financial Officer and Head of Strategy. He brings over 35 years of experience working in US infrastructure markets to help build critical assets that promote economic growth with a long-standing focus on technology, ESG, and sustainability. Working at the intersection of the private and public sectors, Tim has been an early market leader developing innovative solutions to complex problems with a proven track record of executing a variety of deals and partnerships. Tim brings critical expertise to the Project Canary team with over $75 billion of M&A advisory and financing transactions covering a broad range of assets in transportation, water, power, renewables, social, sustainable, digital, and other sustainable infrastructure sectors.

Before joining Project Canary, Tim worked as a Goldman Sachs Investment Banker and a software company CFO. He holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from The Wharton School.

Jeffrey Reed
Director of Business Strategy and Development
Southern California Gas Company
Biography

Jeffrey Reed

Director of Business Strategy and Development
Southern California Gas Company

Jeffrey Reed is the Director of Business Strategy and Development for Southern California Gas Company. In that capacity he leads development of policies and initiatives aimed at supporting the development and deployment of sustainable energy solutions. In his current and prior roles Jeff has led the natural gas RD&D, energy efficiency technology transfer, venture investment and low-emission vehicle programs and he is responsible for the company’s long-range technology forecasting and strategic planning. Jeff is currently on the Leadership Council of the Los Angeles CleanTech Incubator and is a board member of the California Hydrogen Business Council. Prior to joining the Sempra utilities, Dr. Reed was a senior strategy consultant with Booz-Allen and Hamilton and Accenture, and was an officer with ABB Power Generation in Switzerland.  He holds a doctorate in engineering from UC Berkeley and a master’s degree in management from Stanford University.

Tyson Eckerle
Deputy Director of Zero Emission Vehicle Market Development
Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development
Biography

Tyson Eckerle

Deputy Director of Zero Emission Vehicle Market Development
Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development

Tyson Eckerle serves as the Deputy Director of Zero Emission Vehicle Market Development in the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (Go Biz). In this role, he leads a team focused on scaling the zero emission vehicle market by organizing stakeholder efforts to remove market barriers, create opportunities, and streamline development. Prior to joining Go Biz, Tyson served as Executive Director of Energy Independence Now, a non-profit dedicated to action-oriented solutions to petroleum dependence and climate change.

Tyson holds a B.A. in Biology from the University of California, Davis and a Master of Environmental Science and Management (MESM) from the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management from the University of California, Santa Barbara. 

Bill Peters
Deputy Editor
Argus Media
Biography

Bill Peters

Deputy Editor
Argus Media

Bill Peters is Deputy Editor of Argus Air Daily, where he covers and analyzes how environmental policies and markets shape the energy sector across North America. He has written extensively on how state and federal climate policies seek to drive change in the transport sector, including California’s Cap-and-Trade and Low-Carbon Fuel Standard programs. He also covers renewable electricity markets and policy in the western US.

Yasutake Kojima
Director
East Japan Railway Company
Biography

Yasutake Kojima

Director
East Japan Railway Company

Yasutake Kojima is Director of Administration and Treasurer of East Japan Railway Company (JR-EAST) New York Office. He conducts overall activity of JR-EAST in both North and South America as well as administrative affairs in NY Office. JR-EAST is the leading railroad corporation in both High-Speed Rail(HSR) and commuter rails in Japan, which runs 69 lines including 5 Shinkansen (HSR in Japanese) lines; and serving over 17 million passengers a day. JR-EAST has speeded up its HSR operation up to 200 mph, and in March 14th 2015, it expands its HSR service to Hokuriku, one of the key economic region along the Sea of Japan’s coast.

Mr. Kojima has over 18 years of experience in management planning, public relations, and implementing kaizen activities in transportation depot for drivers and conductors. Prior to current position, Mr. Kojima served as executive manager of Public Relations Department in the JR-EAST Headquarters, where he represented and was responsible for Corporate Public Relations. He also conducted more than 250 staffs of train drivers and conductors when the East Japan Earthquake and great Tsunami hit and caused disaster. He also served in Management Planning Headquarter and comprehended two Mid-term corporate strategy of JR-EAST, which has consolidated revenue of 200 billion dollars.

He holds an MBA and a MA in International Management from International University of Japan (IUJ) and studied at Amos Tuck School of Business in Dartmouth on exchange. He received a BA in Policy Management at Keio University, under supervision of his thesis with Professor Takashi Fujii, former president of International Federation of Social Science Organization (IFSSO), and Professor Takao Akabane, former administrative vice-minister of Economic Planning Agency of Japan.

Matt Miyasato
Deputy Executive Director for Science & Technology Advancement
South Coast Air Quality Management District
Biography

Matt Miyasato

Deputy Executive Director for Science & Technology Advancement
South Coast Air Quality Management District

Dr. Matt Miyasato is the Deputy Executive Officer for Science & Technology Advancement at the South Coast Air Quality Management District. He is responsible for the SCAQMD's Technology Advancement Office, Mobile Source Division, and Monitoring and Laboratory Analysis Division. Dr. Miyasato’s principal charges are to identify, evaluate and stimulate development and commercialization of clean air technologies, develop and coordinate mobile source regulations, and to conduct ambient monitoring, source testing and laboratory analysis. Dr. Miyasato received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering, and his Masters and Ph.D. in Engineering, specializing in combustion technologies and air pollution control – all from the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Miyasato has worked at Southern California Edison in the Nuclear Engineering Department and at General Electric, where he designed burners and combustion modifications for utility boilers. He was also a research scientist at UCI, where he managed the industrial burner research program and has publications on combustion phenomena, active control, and laser diagnostics. Dr. Miyasato has also been a lecturer at UCI for the undergraduate air pollution control course.

Tom Walsh
Consultant
Kanaflex
Biography

Tom Walsh

Consultant
Kanaflex

WALSH CONSULTING SERVICES/ supporting Kanaflex for more than 10yrs

Executive Director of the Plastics Pipe Institute. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Boston College

Dr.Tom Walsh is Kanaflex Corporation's (Vernon Hill) consultant for plastic pipe engineering and sales division for more than 10 years. He is over viewing Kanflex product development as well as sales strategies.

Walsh Consulting Services  Houston, Texas

Walsh Consulting Services provides strategic business and market analysis as well as failure analysis, expert witness and technical consulting in plastics applications. Walsh Consulting has a broad in-depth industrial background in R&D, product development, technical services, application development, sales, failure analysis, standards development, product approvals, regulatory relations, government relations, marketing, market development, business development, as well as business unit and trade association management.

Walsh Consulting has experience and knowledge over a broad range of plastics including polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP),
polyvinyl chloride (PVC), fluoropolymers (PVDF), engineering thermoplastics, thermoplastic alloys, and filled and reinforced compounds. I have experience in polymer processing including injection molding, blow molding, shhet extrusion, film extrusion, pipe extrusion, fibers, strapping, thermoforming, compression molding and rotational molding. Walsh Consulting provides internationally recognized expert consulting in the areas of plastic piping materials, plastic pipe testing, and long term durability of plastics.

Honors & Awards

American Society for Testing and Materials - Special Service Award - 2012

American Society for Testing and Materials - Committee F17 - Plastic Piping Systems

American Society for Testing and Materials - Award of Merit - 2007

American Society for Testing and Materials - Fellow - 2007

American Society for Testing and Materials - Committee F17 Plastic Piping -Certificate of Appreciation – 2006

American Society for Testing and Materials - committee F17 Plastic Piping - Paul Finn Memorial Award - 2005

American Society for Testing and Materials - Special Service Award - Committee F17 Plastic Piping – 2003

Society of Plastics Engineers - South Texas Section - Award in Recognition of Long Term Service - 2006

Society of Plastics Engineers - Honored Service Award - 2003

 

Jay Keating
President COO
Sekisui SPR American and Heitkamp Inc.
Biography

Jay Keating

President COO
Sekisui SPR American and Heitkamp Inc.

Mr. Jay Keating is the President COO for the infrastructure renewal division based in the USA. The Division is comprised of two Sekisui companies, SSPRA and Heitkamp offering manufacturing, sales, and engineering and construction services to repair underground municipal and industrial pipelines. Service lines include pipe lining renewal options for Drinking Water, Sanitary & Storm Sewer, Gas and Industrial utility pipes.

Sekisui is a global leader in providing pipelining renewal systems with worldwide operations focusing on the repair of aging underground infrastructure. Sekisui systems have been successfully installed in Japan domestic market as well as every country in the world. The value of the technology is geared to protect the environment while providing economical alternatives to replacement of underground pipes.

Jay began his career with Sekisui in 2007 as the V.P. of Operations on the west coast. In 2010 he was promoted to President of the drinking water rehabilitation company “Sekisui NordiTube” In 2012, Jay was promoted to President of the SSPRA and Heitkamp. The combined companies earn $50M in annual revenues based out of Atlanta and Watertown Connecticut

Jay is a licensed professional engineer, and a 1987 graduate of Michigan Technological University in Houghton Michigan

Carter Rubin
Mobility and Climate Advocate
Natural Resources Defense Council
Biography

Carter Rubin

Mobility and Climate Advocate
Natural Resources Defense Council

As the Mobility and Climate Advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council, I'm driven to make California's communities more sustainable, livable, and equitable by improving our transportation systems. 

I previously served in Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's administration as Senior Program Manager on the Great Streets Initiative, which seeks to create vibrant community places along Los Angeles's commercial corridors.

As a resident of Santa Monica, I serve on the board of directors of the Santa Monica Pier Corporation, and have previously served as an appointed member of the Santa Monica Planning and Housing Commissions.

Born and raised on the Westside of Los Angeles, I'm committed to improving the region's quality of life by improving the delivery of public services and by tackling its persistent land use and transportation challenges. I'm passionate about our regional transportation investments and want to ensure that their full promise is delivered to Angelenos. To me that means incorporating the expanding rail system into the urban fabric with a suite of transportation choices and land uses that support vibrant, safe and healthy communities.

I am a founding board member of the California Streets Initiative, the non-profit publisher of Streetsblog LA, SF and California, which connect community leaders and activists to information about sustainable transportation and livable communities.

Gordon Johnson
Chief Engineer
Metropolitan Water District
Biography

Gordon Johnson

Chief Engineer
Metropolitan Water District

Gordon Johnson has responsibility for all of Metropolitan’s engineering activities, including management of the long-term Capital Investment Plan. He oversees a staff of 380 employees responsible for facility planning, design, construction management, project management, environmental planning, and infrastructure monitoring. Some of the current programs Johnson is responsible for include the major rehabilitation of Metropolitan’s 75-year old Colorado River Aqueduct; the addition of ozone as the primary disinfectant at Metropolitan’s five water treatment plants; rehabilitation of 100 miles of large diameter prestressed concrete cylinder pipelines within the water distribution system; and a comprehensive seismic assessment and upgrade program to maintain reliable water deliveries in the event of a significant earthquake. Prior to joining Metropolitan, Johnson served as principal engineer and project manager for two major consulting firms. In addition, he served with the United States Public Health Service. Johnson is affiliated with the American Water Works Association and the International Ozone Association, and is a Board Certified Environmental Engineer by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. He is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and of Stanford University with a M.S. in Environmental Engineering.

Dr. Noel Hacegaba
Deputy Executive Director
Port of Long Beach
Biography

Dr. Noel Hacegaba

Deputy Executive Director
Port of Long Beach

Dr. Noel Hacegaba is the Deputy Executive Director for the Port of Long Beach, California. He functions as the Chief Operating Officer and is responsible for managing the day-to-day administrative and operating functions of the Port, including Commercial Operations, Finance and Administration, Engineering Services, Planning and Environmental Affairs, Human Resources, Communications and Government Relations.

In recent years, Dr. Hacegaba has also led the Port’s response to the pandemic-induced supply chain crisis, leading the Port’s internal Business Recovery Taskforce and coordinating with industry, labor and government partners to identify near-term solutions.  Under his leadership, the Port of Long Beach opened the first “pop-up yard” known as STOR (Short-Term Overflow Resource) for much-needed surge capacity and supported the first 24-hour terminal operation in the nation at TTI terminal.

Dr. Hacegaba is also leading the development of the Port’s digital initiative known as the Supply Chain Information Highway, which seeks to close the gap on the lack of visibility and data sharing in goods movement by enabling end-to-end visibility and coast-to-coast connectivity.  Seven other ports are collaborating with the Port of Long Beach on the development of this digital initiative.  
In addition, Dr. Hacegaba has also led negotiations on behalf of the Port on major business transactions, including the sale of Long Beach Container Terminal and Total Terminals International, each multi-billion dollar assets at the time of sale.

Previously, Dr. Hacegaba served as the Port’s Managing Director of Commercial Operations and Chief Commercial Officer, the Port’s senior executive responsible for developing and executing business development strategies to drive cargo and revenue growth.  In this role, Dr. Hacegaba successfully managed the Port’s commercial activities during a period of significant industry realignment and led the swift recovery of its largest container terminal following the biggest bankruptcy in shipping line industry history, clearing the path for record cargo volumes.

Dr. Hacegaba began his career at the Port in 2010 as the Executive Officer to the Board of Harbor Commissioners, a position that reported directly to the Board and coordinated the governing body’s policy, administrative and communications functions.

In total, Dr. Hacegaba has more than 25 years of public and private sector experience spanning a variety of industries. Prior to joining the Port, he managed $200 million in contracts for a Fortune 500 company. In earlier roles, he served as a senior administrator for an elected office, a business executive for a growing company engaged in international trade, a research analyst for a policy research group and as a management consultant.

He is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he earned degrees in economics (B.A. and M.A.), business administration (B.S.) and urban planning (MPL). He earned his doctorate in public administration at the University of La Verne, where he continues to serve on the faculty of the school’s College of Business and Public Management.

Dr. Hacegaba is also a graduate of the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs, one of the nation’s premier post-graduate fellowship programs. Additionally, he is a Certified Port Executive (CPE) and earned the Port Professional Executive (PPX) and Port Professional Manager (PPM) professional designations offered through the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA). As part of his work in the PPM program, Dr. Hacegaba authored a white paper, “Big Ships, Big Challenges: The Impact of Mega Container Vessels on U.S. Port Authorities,” which was published by AAPA and widely distributed as a reference resource within the port authority sector and the broader goods movement industry. He has written numerous other articles published in Port Technology International and the Journal of Commerce.

An active member of the community and the goods movement industry, Dr. Hacegaba serves in various leadership roles.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Intermodal Association of North America, the largest organization representing the combined interests of the intermodal freight transportation industry, after serving two terms as Chairman of the Board.  He also serves as Chairman of the Professional Development Board of the American Association of Port Authorities, a member of the Marine Exchange of Southern California Board of Directors, Harbor Association of Industry and Commerce Board of Directors, St. Mary Medical Center Board of Trustees, Long Beach City College Foundation Board of Governors and the Los Angeles/Long Beach Propeller Club.