2026 VerdeXchange Conference Agenda 

May 31 – June 3, 2026 | Los Angeles 

Monday, June 1 — Day 1 

7:00 AM -Doors Open: Welcome to VX26 [Crystal Ballroom] 

Speakers: Stephen Cheung (President & CEO, LAEDC); David Abel (Chairman, VerdeXchange)

7:10–8:10 AM 

EIS Council: Middle East Energy & Security Briefing (Breakfast) — By Invitation [Tiffany Room]

8:20–9:10 AM PLENARY 1: Infrastructure in Transition — Can Wise Regulation and Technology Solve Systemic Infrastructure Challenges? [Crystal Ballroom] 

Moderator: Arnab Pal (Executive Director, Deploy Action) 

Panel: Siva Gunda (Commissioner, CEC); Christine Harada (Commissioner, CPUC); Shinjini Menon (SVP, Southern California Edison); Allan Marks (President, Board of Commissioners, LADWP) 

9:15–9:55 AM PLENARY 2: Disasters — Preparedness, Response, & Resiliency — How Do We Better Respond? [Crystal Ballroom] 

Moderator: Jim Kelly (Director, S&C; Electric) 

Featured: Mark Pestrella (Director, LA County Public Works) 

Panel: Shivaji Deshmukh (GM, MWDSC); David Nahai (Chair, LA Regional Water Quality Control Board)

10:05–10:55 AM

Concurrent Sessions 

• What's Taking So Damn Long? Fixing Energy Project Permitting [Roman] 

Moderator: Jim Kelly (Director, S&C; Electric) 

  • Panelists: Noemi Gallardo (Commissioner, CEC); Jason Rondou (Interim COO, LADWP); Christine Harada (Commissioner, CPUC); Brianna Pilkinton (Senior Principal, Stantec) 

• Local and Regional Responses to Drought, Flood, & Emergency Preparedness [Grecian]

Moderator: Nancy Sutley (Board Vice Chair, MWDSC) 

  • Panelists: Jacob Lipa (Founder and Principal, Lipa Consulting); Liz Crosson (Chief Sustainability Officer, MWDSC)

• Climate Districts for Disaster Recovery — PCH as the Common Denominator [Corinthian]

Moderator: Larry Kosmont (Chairman & CEO, Kosmont Companies) 

  • Panelists: Joe Irvin (City Manager, Malibu); Aaron Ordower (Environment Deputy, LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath)

• Can We Still Build Big Things? Part 1 — Lessons from CHPE [Gold]

Moderator: Kathleen Brown (Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP) 

  • Panelists: Peter Rose (Sr Director, Stakeholder Relations, Hydro-Québec); Janna Sidley (Board Member, LACERS); Cameron Bard (CRO, Madison Energy Infrastructure); Orion Fulton (Associate Principal, ARUP)  

11:00–11:45 AM 

Concurrent Sessions 

• Critical Minerals for the Energy Transition [Roman] 

Moderator: John Shegerian (Co-Founder, Chairman/CEO, ERI) 

  • Panelists: Steve Schell (CPO, SolGrapH, Inc.); Kevin Kammerzell (VP, Stantec) 

• Data Center Water Reality — Closed Loop vs. Real Cost [Corinthian] 

Moderator: Jim Kelly (Director, S&C; Electric) 

  • Panelists: Brianna Daniels (VP, Stantec); Tasha Harvey (Associate Principal, ARUP); Tomo Kumahira (Co-Founder & CEO, WaterOne.ai); Adrian Hightower (Strategic Sustainability Partnerships Program Manager, MWDSC)

• Automation & the Future of Mobility [Grecian] 

Moderator: Billy Riggs (Professor, Director, USF) 

  • Panelists: Phil Recht (Partner, Mayer Brown LLP); Adam Lane (Public Policy Manager, Waymo); Daniel Eppstein (Head of Partnerships, CoMotion) 

• Can We Still Build Big Things? Part 2 — Private Dollars [Gold] 

Moderator: Kathleen Brown (Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP) 

  • Panelists: Romi Kadri (Managing Partner, Levelized); Andrea Ambriz (GM, Exposition Park); Tom Soto (Founder & CEO, SAS Earth Energy Services); John Keisler (CEO & Managing Partner, Sunstone Economic Development); Lauren Faber O'Connor (Partner, Lowercarbon Capital); Ben York (Applications Manager, EPRI), Ariel Fan (GreenWealth Energy)

• By-Invitation Roundtable: Coordinating Load Flexibility for an Affordable Grid Future (begins 11:00 AM) [Moroccan] 

Chair: Arnab Pal (Executive Director, Deploy Action) 

• Water Charrette (begins 11:35 AM) [Tiffany Room] 

11:50 AM–12:35 PM 

Concurrent Sessions 

• SB 905 — Getting the Most from What We've Already Paid For [Roman] 

Moderator: Arnab Pal (Executive Director, Deploy Action) 

  • Panelists: Andrew McAllister (Commissioner, CEC); Tim Hade (Co-Founder, Brightfield AI); Julia Pyper (VP, Goodleap); Nadia Vogt (Associate, Senior Project Manager, Stantec); Gerro Prinsloo (Sales Director, AlumaPower Corp.); Minh Le (General Manager, Energy & Environment, LA County ISD)

• Data Center Siting & Permitting — Getting to Yes [Corinthian] 

Moderator: Joe Sullivan (Director of Energy Solutions, IBEW) 

  • Panelists: Noemi Gallardo (Commissioner, CEC); Tasha Harvey (Associate Principal, ARUP); Edgar Khalatian (Partner, Mayer Brown, LLP) 

• V2G — Finally Ready for Prime Time? [Grecian] 

Moderator: Jim Kelly (Director, S&C; Electric) 

  • Panelists: David Jacot (AGM & Executive Director of Distributed Energy Solutions, LADWP); Larry Chung (VP, SCE); Tiya Gordon (Co-Founder & COO, it's electric); Tim O'Connor (Executive Director & Ratepayer Advocate, OPA, City of LA) 

• Building a Wildfire Resilience Workforce in LA [Cordoban] 

Moderator: Larry Frank (Sr Advisor to Mayor Karen Bass) 

  • Panelists: Nurit Katz (Chief Sustainability Officer, UCLA; VP Board of Water and Power Commissioners, LADWP); Robert Barna (Battalion Chief, City of Los Angeles); Devon Zatorski (Principal Project Coordinator, City of Los Angeles); Veronica Davey (Director, Chrysalis); Chris Caines (Sr Project Director, Resilience Force) 

1:00–1:10 PM 

Lunch Served

Introduction Remarks: Stephen Cheung (President & CEO, LAEDC) [Crystal Ballroom] 

Special Remarks: Tamotsu Saito (Chairman, NEDO) 

1:15–1:45 PM 

LUNCH PLENARY 1: Energy, AI & the Grid [Crystal Ballroom] 

Moderator: Lauren Faber (Partner, Lowercarbon Capital) 

  • Panelists: Robert Piascik (SVP, CIO & CTO, NYPA); Remi Raphael (CAIO, EPRI); Udi Ganani (VP, EIS Council)

1:45–2:25 PM 

LUNCH PLENARY 2: Scaling an Affordability Agenda [Crystal Ballroom] 

Moderator: Jim Kelly (Director, S&C; Electric) 

  • Panelists: Noemi Gallardo (Commissioner, CEC); Robert Hertzberg (Member Board of Directors, FPH2); Ted Bardacke (CEO, Clean Power Alliance)

2:25–2:45 PM 

Public/Private Partnerships: Rebuilding Fire-Scorched Palisades and Altadena [Crystal Ballroom]

Facilitator: Jessica Lall (Managing Director, CBRE) 

  • Guests: Rick Caruso (Founder & Executive Chairman, Caruso); Christine Kwon (Director, Department of Angels)

2:50–3:35 PM 

Concurrent Sessions 

• Operate Today, Transform for Tomorrow — Infrastructure Balancing & Behind-the-Meter Gas [Roman]

Moderator: Jim Kelly (Director, S&C; Electric) 

  • Panelists: Nate Taylor (Director, SoCal Gas); Nadia Vogt (Associate, Senior Project Manager, Stantec)

Investing in Nature-Based Solutions — Valuing Ecosystem Services for California's Future [Grecian]

  • Moderator: Miguel Luna (Chair, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy; CEO Urban Semillas)

  • Panelists: Nurit Katz (CSO, UCLA; VP Board of Water and Power Commissioners, LADWP); Jennifer Norris (ED, Wildlife Conservation Board); Ignacio Fernandez (Sr Policy Advisor, The Climate Registry); Paula Daniels (ED, LA County Office of Food Systems).

• EV Market Momentum — Pullbacks and Progress [Corinthian] 

Moderator: Ruben Aronin (Senior Principal, Better World Group) 

  • Panelists: Alycia Gilde (Fmr Sr Advisor for Transportation to the White House; CSO LACISD); Tiya Gordon (Co-Founder & COO, it's electric); Phil Recht (Partner, Mayer Brown LLP) 

• Green Capital: Financing & Policy to Scale Innovation [Gold] 

Moderator: Kathleen Brown (Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP) 

  • Panelists: Anil Tammineedi (Partner, Angeleno Group); Lauren Faber O'Connor (Partner, Lowercarbon Capital); Romi Kadri (Managing Partner, Levelized) 

• By Invitation Roundtable: Scaling Heat Pump Deployment — SoCal's $40M Investment Plan (2:30–4:30 PM) [Moroccan]

Facilitator: Ross Zelen (Chief Committee Consultant, Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies)

3:40–4:25 PM 

Concurrent Sessions 

• Solar and Battery Storage — Getting the Policies Right [Roman] 

Moderator: Eliot Abel (SVP, Corporate Clean Energy Solutions, Pivot Energy) 

  • Panelists: Cameron Bard (CRO, Madison Energy Infrastructure); Haresh Kamath (Director, Cross-Cutting Technologies and Solutions, EPRI); Martin Howell (Associate Principal, ARUP); Violet Flocks (Associate, Mayer Brown LLP); Howard Chang (CEO, Ava Community Energy) 

• AI for Water & Energy — Cyber Resiliency & Continuity of Operations [Grecian]

Moderator: Joone Kim-Lopez (GM/CEO, Moulton Niguel Water District) 

  • Panelists: Jeff Berk (Principal, ARUP); Robert Piascik (SVP, CIO & CTO, NYPA); Udi Ganani (VP, EIS Council); Norma Grubb (CIO, CAIO, LADWP); Tasha Harvey (Associate Principal, ARUP) 

• Intelligent Urban Infrastructure — Sepulveda Corridor Case Study [Corinthian]

Moderator: Eli Lipmen (Executive Director, Move LA) 

  • Panelists: Hilary Norton (Executive Director, FASTLinkDTLA); Kristen Torres Pawling (Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of Councilwoman Yaroslavsky); Lamont Cobb (Director of Planning & Land Use, CD6) 

• LAEDC/WTC International Cleantech Pitch Session [Tiffany Room] 

Moderator: William Powles (Sr Director of International Trade, World Trade Center Los Angeles) Judges: Gunjan Siroya (Chief Solutions Officer, Larta Institute); Olivia Gray-Rodgers (Director of Trade for the Southwest U.S. & Hawaii, British Consulate General, Los Angeles)

• CONTINUED: Scaling Heat Pump Deployment Roundtable (until 4:30 PM) [Moroccan]

4:30–5:15 PM 

Concurrent Sessions 

• Speed to Power — Get the Power You Need, When You Need It [Roman] 

Moderator: Victoria Harmon (CEO & Founder, VL Harmon Advisors) 

  • Panelists: Dr Kelly Sanders (Associate Professor, USC); Gerro Prinsloo (Sales Director, AlumaPower Corp.); Andrew Grinalds (Co-Founder & COO, Critical Loop); Nasser Usman (Co-Founder & CEO, GridGPT); Rachit Khare (Founder & CEO, Concept X) 

• Advanced Generation — Fusion [Grecian] 

Moderator: Bob Powell (Professor, UC Davis; S&T; Committee Chair, Lawrence Livermore National Security)

  • Panelists: Richard Magee (VP, TAE Technologies); Robin Wong (Industry & Partnerships Lead, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory); Ed Moses (Founder & CEO, Longview Fusion Energy Systems); Lauren Faber O’Connor (Lowercarbon Capital). Responder: Romi Kadri (Partner, Levelized Capital).

• Heavy Duty Trucking: The Complementary Role of Battery Electric and Hydrogen [Corinthian]

Moderator: Terry O'Day (COO & Founder, In-Charge Energy) 

  • Panelists: Aaron Lapsley (CTO, Hyroad); Reb Guthrie (Principal, Stantec) 

• WTC Consular Panel [Tiffany Room] 

Moderator: Stephen Cheung (President & CEO, LAEDC) 

  • Consulate Generals: Japan, Canada, India, and Germany 

6:30 PM 

Canada / Germany / Quebec / VX Hosted Dinner (By Invitation) [Crystal Ballroom]

Tuesday, June 2 — Day 2 

7:15 AM  Doors Open

8:00 AM Welcome Day 2 [Crystal Ballroom] 

David Abel, Chairman VX2026

8:10 AM Opening Remarks: Efrain Escobedo (President & CEO, Center for Nonprofit Management); Eric Garcetti (former US Ambassador to India & former Mayor of Los Angeles) 

8:15–9:00 AM 

Infrastructure & The Olympics: Preparation, Execution & Legacy [Crystal Ballroom]

Moderator: Andrea Ambriz (GM, Exposition Park) 

  • Panelists: Eric Garcetti (former US Ambassador to India & former Mayor of Los Angeles), Marcel Porras (Deputy Chief Innovation Officer, LA Metro); Eddie Alvarez (Council Representative, LA Area, LA/OC Building Trades)

9:10–10:00 AM 

Concurrent Sessions 

• Affordable Housing: Is the Model Broken? [Corinthian] 

Moderator: Rick Cole (Councilmember, City of Pasadena) 

  • Panelists: Robert Hertzberg (Sr. Advisor, Mission Possible Partnership; CA Senate Majority Leader Emeritus); Dan Weinstein (Partner, CTI Housing); Ted Grove (Residential Land Development Sector Leader North America, Stantec) 

• Wildfire Liability and Insurance — Who Pays? [Grecian]

Moderator: Jules Radcliff (Attorney at Law, Radcliff Fairman, LLP) 

  • Panelists: Joy Chen (ED, Every Fire Survivor's Network); Maggie Messerschmidt (Resilience Associate, ARUP)

• India and California Climate Tech Collaboration [Cordoban] 

Moderator: Anil Tammineedi (Partner, Angeleno Group) 

  • Panelists: K J Srinivasa (Consul General of India, Los Angeles); Ambassador Eric Garcetti (Frmr US Ambassador to India); Gunjan Bagla (CEO, Amritt, Inc.); Mason Rush (EA, CBRE) 

• H2 Session 1: Decarbonizing Ports, Maritime Uses & the Global Supply Chain [Tiffany Room]

Moderator: Lex Heslin (CEO, Enso Infrastructure) 

  • Panelists: Noel Hacegaba (CEO, Port of Long Beach); Gene Seroka (ED, Port of Los Angeles); Yuhei Sasahara (Managing Director, NYK Group Americas); Alisa Kreynes (Director of Ports and Shipping, C40 Cities); Jason Rondou (Interim COO, LADWP) 

10:10–11:00 AM 

Concurrent Sessions 

• Resiliency Hubs & Building Decarbonization [Corinthian] 

Moderator: Beckie Menten (California Director, Building Decarbonization Coalition) 

  • Panelists: Andrew McAllister (Commissioner, CEC); Randall Winston (Deputy Mayor of Infrastructure, City of Los Angeles); Jonathan Parfrey (ED, Climate Resolve); Sahar Abbaszadeh (Associate Principal, ARUP) 

• Ports: Zero-Emission Operations by 2035 — What's the Real Plan? [Grecian]

Moderator: Mary Nichols (Professor, Institute of the Environment, UCLA) 

  • Panelists: Randall Winston (Deputy Mayor of Infrastructure, City of Los Angeles); David Libatique (Deputy Executive Director, Stakeholder Engagement, Port of Los Angeles); Christopher McGrath (Principal, Stantec) 

• Can CA Create a Truly Circular Economy? [Roman] 

Moderator: Coby Skye (ED, San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority)

  • Panelists: Zoe Heller (Director, CalRecycle); Emily Coven (California ED, Circular Action Alliance); Heidi Sanborn (Founder & ED/CEO, National Stewardship Action Council); Erin Rowland (General Superintendent, Waste Diversion &Recycling, City of Los Angeles); Mike Caprio (Director of Government Affairs–California, Republic Services)

• H2 Session 2: Japan's Global Leadership in Hydrogen & Ammonia Project Deployment [Tiffany Room]

Moderator: Takehito Yokoo (CEO, Jozen Power) 

  • Panelists: Daishu Hara (Sr Director, Hydrogen and Ammonia Department, NEDO Japan); Jackie Birdsall (Sr Program Manager, Toyota North America); Aya Izawa (CN Business Development Assistant Manager, NGK Corporation); Yuma Taniguchi (Business Development Manager, Nikkiso CE&IG) 

11:10–11:50 AM 

Concurrent Sessions 

• Making Power Happen — In an Era of AI, Finance, Regulatory, & Political Headwinds [Grecian]

Moderator: Tom Soto (Founder & CEO, SAS Earth Energy Services) 

  • Panelists: Angelina Galiteva (Founder & Board President, Renewables 100 Policy Institute); Isaac Segovia (Member Board of Trustees, California Science Center); Rachit Khare (Founder & CEO, Concept X); Nasser Usman (Co-Founder & CEO, GridGPT); Elias Rashmawi (VP, Stantec) 

• Breaking the Toxic Cycle of Hazardous Products [Roman] 

Moderator: Heidi Sanborn (ED, Stewardship Action Foundation) 

  • Panelists: John Shegerian (Co-Founder, Chairman/CEO, ERI); Chris Sheppard (Principal Engineer, LA County Public Works); Tom Koutroulis (Director, County of Orange, OC Waste & Recycling) 

• The War on Wildfire: AI, Autonomous Systems, and Breakthrough Technologies Defending Human Life and Critical Infrastructure [Corinthian] 

Moderator: Joe Boystak (Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder, Balboa Geolocation, Inc.) 

  • Panelists: Peter Ambler (VP, Pano AI); Andrew Wordin (Battalion Chief, LACFD); Ed Chow (Civil Programs Manager, JPL); Hamed Noori (Founder & CEO, SenseNet) 

• H2 Session 3: U.S. Hydrogen & Ammonia Market Reality — Which Business Models Are Working? [Tiffany Room]

Moderator: Lex Heslin (CEO, Enso Infrastructure) 

  • Panelists: Jason Caudle (CEO, First Public Hydrogen); Ricky Sakai (SVP, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America); Aaron Lapsley (CTO, Hyroad Energy); John Flory (President, Clean Hydrogen Buyers Alliance) 

12:00 PM 

Lunch Served [Crystal Ballroom]

12:30–1:15 PM 

Fireside Chat: Great Power Comes with Great Responsibilities — Energy Infrastructure & the AI Economy [Crystal Ballroom] 

Moderator: Rebecca Lee (Director of Government Affairs, Western US, NRG) 

  • Panelists: Senator Ben Allen (California State Senate); Lauren Faber O'Connor (Partner, Lowercarbon Capital); Robert Hertzberg (Former CA Senate Majority Leader Emeritus) 

1:15–1:45 PM 

Indigenous Peoples: Full Partners in the Infrastructure Transition [Crystal Ballroom]

Moderator: Jim Kelly (Director, S&C; Electric) 

  • Panelists: Johnny Hernandez (Vice Chairman, Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation); Luticia Miller (VP Project Development, First Nations Major Projects Coalition) 

1:45–2:15 PM 

Post Luncheon: The Innovators — Breakthrough Ideas That Could Change the Game [Crystal Ballroom] 

2:20–3:05 PM

Concurrent Sessions 

• The Future of Long-Duration Energy Storage [Corinthian] 

Moderator: Haresh Kamath (Director, Cross-Cutting Technologies and Solutions, EPRI) 

  • Panelists: Andrew McAllister (Commissioner, CEC); Violet Flocks (Associate, Mayer Brown LLP); Nate Kirchhofer (Co-Founder & CEO, BioZen) 

• Workforce in the 21st Century [Roman] 

Moderator: Ben Stapleton (CEO, US Green Building Council) 

  • Panelists: Carolyn Hull (President & CEO, CM Hull Strategic Advisors); Marcela Oliva (Professor of Architecture and Environmental Design, LATTC; Board Member, USGBC); Peter Rose (Sr Director, Stakeholder Relations, Hydro-Québec); Evan Birenbaum (Sr Technical Executive, EPRI) 

• Building Decarbonization: Hard Truths & Unintended Consequences [Grecian]

Moderator: Jim Kelly (Director, S&C; Electric) 

  • Panelists: Mary Nichols (Professor, Institute of the Environment, UCLA); Sahar Abbaszadeh (Associate Principal, ARUP); Diana Tang (Assistant General Manager, Long Beach Utilities)

• By-Invitation: Palisades / Altadena Building Back Better [Crystal Ballroom] 

• H2 Session 4: Hydrogen Plus Alternative Energy Solutions for Backup Power & Resiliency (2:00–3:00 PM) [Tiffany Room] 

Moderator: Lorraine Paskett (COO, First Public Hydrogen) 

  • Panelists: Timothy Sasseen (Manager, Hydrogen Solutions, American Honda Motor Company); Tanya Peacock (Managing Director, EcoEngineers); Tomohiro Fujita (Section Chief, Namie Town, Fukushima); James Kast (GM of Hydrogen, Iwatani Corporation of America) 

3:10–3:45 PM 

Concurrent Sessions 

• VX2027 — What Should Be on the Agenda? [Moroccan] 

Facilitator: David Abel 

• Storage-First Homes: The New Architecture for Affordable Energy Resilience [Cordoban]

Moderator: Matt Horton (VP, Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation) 

  • Panelists: Vamsi Kumar Kotla (Founder & CEO, ReMo Homes); Lori Dermody (Manager of Corporate Sustainability Programs, LADWP); George Holmes (Exec-Chairman & CEO, Stormentum); Lujuana Medina (Environmental Initiatives Division Manager, County of Los Angeles) 

• CONTINUED: By-Invitation: Palisades / Altadena Building Back Better [Crystal Ballroom] 

• H2 Session 5: Global Hydrogen & Ammonia Market Reality — How Europe & Asia Are Filling the Vacuum & Developing Energy Security (3:10–4:10 PM) [Tiffany Room]

Moderator: Robert Hertzberg (Former CA Senate Majority Leader Emeritus) 

  • Panelists: Paul Nelson (Managing Partner, Saoradh Enterprise Partners); David Yanagisawa (Senior Manager, Mitsui and Co. Ltd.); Eugene Litvinov (Director, Energy & Hydrogen, Hyundai Motor North America); Shailesh Topiwala (Director, Robert Bosch LLC)