2024 MCEC Legislative Reception

Maryland continues to set ambitious targets to reach Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) goals. Decoding decarbonization will be a critical step for state, local communities, and business leaders to develop successful strategies and partnerships for success.

Decoding Decarbonization: 2024 MCEC Legislative Reception

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024

2024 MCEC Legislative Reception

Maryland Legislative Session Highlights - Featured Speakers

Legislators face challenges to meet climate change mitigation goals and targets set under the Climate Solutions Now Act 2022. Guest speakers will share updates on legislative priorities and plans for collaboration between agencies, stakeholders, and utilities to meet state goals.

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Brooke Lierman

Comptroller
Maryland

Brooke Lierman

Comptroller of Maryland

Brooke Lierman is the 34th Comptroller of the state of Maryland and the first woman to be independently elected to one of our state’s constitutional offices. She is an attorney by training, practicing as a civil rights and disability rights lawyer for many years, and prior to her election as Comptroller, she served for 8 years a member of the House of Delegates representing part of Baltimore City. While in the House, she spent time in leadership roles on both the Appropriations Committee and the Environment and Transportation Committee. As a Delegate, Brooke also led efforts to eliminate single use plastics by passing the first styrofoam ban in the nation and a ban on single use plastic bags through the House. She also championed legislation aimed towards creating a better system for receiving and processing certain air and water quality complaints by the Department of Natural Resources. As Comptroller, she is leading an agency of 1,100 dedicated Maryland public servants in 12 offices around the state. Together and under her leadership, the office is working to create a Maryland that is more equitable, more resilient, and more prosperous so that all Marylanders can reach their full potential.

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Sen. Brian Feldman

Chair, Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee
District 15

Senator Brian Feldman

Chair, Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee, District 15

Maryland State Senator Brian J. Feldman, both an Attorney and a CPA, is Chair of the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee. In 2019, Brian was the lead sponsor of the Maryland Clean Energy Jobs Act. Brian serves on the Executive Nominations Committee, the Rules Committee, and the Legislative Policy Committee. He is also a member of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change and the Maryland Economic Development Commission. Nationally, as a member of the National Conferences of State Legislators, he serves as Vice Chair of the Task Force on Energy Supply, and as a member of the Task Force on State and Local Taxation and the Committee on Natural Resources and Infrastructure. Brian also represents Maryland as a member of the Southern States Energy Board. Numerous honors and awards have been conferred on Senator Feldman for his work in the Maryland legislature on clean energy. In 2022, he was recognized by the Community for Solar Access as a “Legislative Champion” and by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network as a “Climate Champion”. Brian serves on the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Senator Feldman and his wife, Janice, have two children.

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Sen. Benjamin Brooks Sr.

Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee
District 10

Senator Benjamin Brooks Sr.

Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee, District 10

Senator Benjamin T. Brooks, Sr., is a member of the Maryland State Senate, serving the 10th Legislative District for Baltimore County since January 2023. He serves on the Education, Energy and the Environment Committee, Energy Sub-Committee and Chair of the Joint Electric Universal Workgroup Service Program. He previously served two terms in the Maryland House of Delegates where he chaired the Public Utilities Sub-Committee. Currently, he is a member of the Baltimore County Senate Delegation, Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, Inc., Democratic and Veterans Caucuses.

Senator Brooks was the first African American Commissioner on the Baltimore County Liquor Board. A native of Sumter, South Carolina, he is the fourth child of thirteen born to the late Thomas and Hester L. Brooks. He fulfilled his military obligations by serving in the U.S. Army. Upon completing a tour in Vietnam, he was awarded the Good Conduct, Accommodation, and Vietnam Service medals before being honorably discharged. Privately, Senator Brooks does consulting for B&R Brooks LLC, an accounting firm that he founded 42 years ago, which is now owned and operated by his son. The Senator resides in Woodstock with his wife of 48 years, Theresa. He also has two daughters and seven grandchildren.

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Del. Marc Korman

Chair, House Environment & Transportation Committee
District 16

Delegate Marc Korman

Chair, Environment & Transportation Committee, District 16

Marc Korman was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2014. In 2023, he was named chair of the Environment & Transportation Committee, one of just six standing committees in the House. Prior to that, he served on the Appropriations Committee where he previously chaired the Transportation & Environment Subcommittee and the Personnel Subcommittee. In 2023, he served as Majority Leader of the House of Delegates.

Marc was born and raised in Montgomery County. Marc attended Montgomery County Public Schools and graduated from Richard Montgomery High School. He attended college at the University of Southern California and returned to Montgomery County while working on Capitol Hill. On Capitol Hill, Marc worked for two Democratic Members of Congress on an array of policy issues including transportation, healthcare, and the environment. He earned his Master’s degree in Government from Johns Hopkins University. He went on to receive his law degree from the University of Maryland where he was awarded the Public Service Award. He currently practices law at a firm in Washington, DC and has been a co-recipient of the firm’s Pro Bono Award. Marc lives with his wife, Rebecca; son, Harrison; and daughter, Abby, in Bethesda.

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Del. Lorig Charkoudian

House Economic Matters Committee
District 20

Delegate Lorig Charkoudian

Chair, Unemployment Insurance Subcommittee (Economic Matters), District 20

Lorig Charkoudian represents District 20 in the Maryland General Assembly, where she serves on the Economic Matters Committee and is Chair of the Unemployment Insurance Subcommittee. Lorig is a strong advocate for legislation promoting environmental justice, consumer protections, economic justice, criminal justice reform, pedestrian safety, and a sustainable food system. In addition to her role as Delegate, Lorig is the Executive Director of the Community Mediation Maryland. Lorig received her PhD in Economics from Johns Hopkins University, has been honored three times as Maryland’s Top 100 Women by the Maryland Daily Record. She lives in Takoma Park with one of her two children, Raffi, and runs ultra-marathons.

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Del. David Fraser-Hidalgo

House Economic Matters Committee
District 15

Delegate David Fraser-Hidalgo

Chair, Property and Casualty Insurance Subcommittee (Economic Matters), District 15

Delegate Fraser-Hidalgo represents District 15 in the Maryland General Assembly. The Delegate serves on the Economic Matters Committee, is chair of the Property and Casualty Insurance Subcommittee, and serves on the Public Utilities Subcommittee. Delegate Fraser-Hidalgo is Chair of the Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus and has served in the House of Delegates since 2013.

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Del. Joe Vogel

District 17

Maryland Department Report Overviews & Industry Spotlights - Featured Speakers

The Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022 mandated numerous reports due to the Maryland General Assembly in December 2023. Maryland department representatives will share key report findings that may influence legislation during this session.

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Serena McIlwain

Secretary
Maryland Department of the Environment

Secretary Serena McIlwain

Secretary, Maryland Department of the Environment

Serena McIlwain was confirmed as the Maryland Department of the Environment’s 11th Secretary on March 2, 2023. Prior to that, she was the Undersecretary and Chief Operations Officer at the California Environmental Protection Agency. A native of the Washington Metro area, Secretary McIlwain also worked for the federal government as a senior executive for numerous executive branch agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as Assistant Regional Administrator for Region 9 in San Francisco, California, Performance Improvement Officer and Director of Continuous Improvement at U.S. EPA Headquarters, and Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy. Secretary McIlwain holds two master’s degrees in Public Administration from George Mason University and Administration & International Studies from Central Michigan University.

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Paul Pinsky

Director
Maryland Energy Administration

Paul Pinsky

Director, Maryland Energy Administration

Paul Pinsky was appointed by Governor Wes Moore to be the Director of the Maryland Energy Administration and he took office on January 18, 2023. Prior to his appointment as director, he was elected to the Maryland State Senate seven times. As a senator, he chaired the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee. He has also served on the Maryland Commission on Climate Change since its inception.. He is the principal author of dozens of environmental laws that have helped shape most major state environmental policies in Maryland over the last two decades. He attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he earned a B.A. degree in public affairs.

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Deron Lovaas

Chief, Environment and Sustainable Transportation
MDOT

Deron Lovaas

Chief, Environment and Sustainable Transportation, MDOT

Deron Lovaas has worked on state and federal transportation policy for almost 3 decades. He currently holds the environment and sustainable portfolio at the Maryland Department of Transportation. He worked for more than 20 years at the Natural Resources Defense Council before joining MDOT, leading initiatives and projects focused on transportation, utility, housing, and clean vehicles policy. Before that he worked with other nonprofit advocacy groups as well as with the Maryland Department of the Environment. Deron graduated from the University of Virginia.

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Nicola Tran

Director, Housing and Building Energy Programs
Department of Housing and Community Development

Nicola Tran

Deputy Director, Housing and Building Energy Programs, Department of Housing and Community Development

Nicola Tran is an Energy Professional with 15 years of experience in sustainability and energy efficiency solutions. Nicola was born and raised in Germany, where she earned a master's degree in Sociology, focussing on the subject of environmental behavior.

After immigrating to the US, Nicola joined a residential energy solutions contractor start-up, where she performed over 300 energy audits and designed systems and trainings to scale up operations from 1 to 30 employees.

In 2017, she joined the Housing and Building Energy Program division at the MD Department of Housing and Community Development as a program manager. Currently, as Director of the Energy Programs, she oversees the delivery of several statewide limited income energy efficiency programs, and leads program development efforts as well as stakeholder engagement.

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Special Guests

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Kumar Barve

Commissioner
Maryland Public Service Commission

Kumar Barve

Commissioner, Maryland Public Service Commission

Prior to his term on the PSC, Barve was a 32 year veteran of the Maryland House of Delegates, where he served in senior leadership as the Majority Leader and Chairman of the Environment & Transportation Committee. Professionally, he was the CFO of an environmental company in Rockville, MD. Lives in Rockville with his wife, Maureen Quinn. She is the Chairwoman of the MD Workers Compensation Commission. graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in Accounting.

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Tracey Anderson

Senior Director Global Real Estate & Supply Chain Sustainability
Sysco Corporation

Tracey Anderson

Senior Director Global Real Estate & Supply Chain Sustainability, Sysco Corporation

Tracey is Senior Director Supply Chain Sustainability for Sysco Corporation. For 6 years, Tracey has worked to tackle Sysco’s operational emissions. Tracey launched Sysco’s electric vehicle program that aims to replace 35% of Sysco’s North American tractor fleet with electric vehicles by the end of 2030 – this equates to approximately 2,800 electric vehicles. Tracey also led development of Sysco’s roadmap to procure 100% renewable energy by 2030.

Tracey is married to Kimberly Michelle and has two daughters Alexis and Taylor. His passions include reading, road cycling, hiking, boxing and general fitness training.

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Carrie Stockwell

Director of Corporate Relations
Constellation Energy

Carrie Stockwell

Director of Corporate Relations, Constellation Energy

Carrie leads corporate philanthropy for Constellation, America’s No. 1 carbon-free energy producer and one of three Fortune 500 companies in Maryland. She directs programs to uplift and strengthen Constellation’s communities and create greater economic opportunities for all. Carrie has served in various philanthropy roles at Constellation in her seventeen-year tenure. As Constellation established itself as an independent company, she led a team in building the new philanthropy strategy, partnerships, and platform to drive more than $18M in annual charitable giving and more than 100,000 hours of annual employee volunteer service. In building new strategic philanthropy partnerships, Carrie led the launch of Constellation’s new $1M Powering Change investment to prepare and connect community residents with family sustaining careers. That work was recognized last year with the Center for Energy Workforce Development Community Partner Award. She also led the effort to create the Constellation Youth Energy Summit, to inspire the next generation of energy leaders. Prior to Constellation, our presenter served with community focused organizations in the US and abroad. She has also served on the board of trustees for Green Street Academy and the Maryland Philanthropy Network.

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Dr. Salvo Vitale

General Counsel & Director
US Wind Inc.

Dr. Salvo Vitale

General Counsel & Director, US Wind Inc.

With a strong background of over 15 years of legal experience in the areas of corporate governance, business law and extraordinary transactions, Dr. Vitale has worked in the fields of international commercial law and renewable energy. Dr. Vitale is responsible for the organization of the company in terms of general strategy, commercial development, operational structure and financial results. In addition to the above, he oversees all contracts, business commitments, formal legal arrangements and agreements for the portfolio of projects in the US and Europe. In 2023, Dr. Vitale was appointed by Governor Wes Moore to the Maryland Clean Energy Center’s Board of Directors. Salvo joined the Toto Group in 2011 and previously practiced law in Rome, Italy at Bonelli Erede law firm. Dr. Vitale attended Guido Carli International University (LUISS) in Rome, Italy, where he earned his Master Degree in Law and PhD in Commercial Law.

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Wade Haerle

Director
Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator

Wade Haerle

Director, Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator

As the Director of Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator (MEIA), Wade leads a team of experts and mentors who support early-stage energy entrepreneurs in developing and commercializing climate and energy technologies. With over 15 years of experience in public relations, entrepreneurship, and agribusiness, he brings a unique perspective and skill set to the energy sector, helping startups navigate the complex regulatory, market, and social challenges they face.

Wade's mission is to foster a vibrant and diverse energy innovation ecosystem in Maryland, where entrepreneurs can access the resources, networks, and opportunities they need to succeed.

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Special Thanks to Our 2024 Event Sponsors

Sponsorships support MCEC Policy Watch activities and related initiatives.

View 2023 Legislative Reception Highlights

View 2022 Legislative Reception Highlights

View 2020 Legislative Reception Highlights