Speakers

Sen. Brian Feldman

Maryland State Senator Brian J. Feldman, both an Attorney and a CPA, is Chair of the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee. 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 General Assembly on clean energy. In 2019, Senator Feldman sponsored Maryland’s landmark “Clean Energy Jobs Act” and was recognized by the Community for Solar Access as a “Legislative Champion” and by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network as a “Climate Champion” in 2022. Brian serves on the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Senator Feldman and his wife, Janice, have two children who graduated from Montgomery County public schools. 

Sen. Katie Fry Hester

Senator Katie Fry Hester is serving in her first term as State Senator.

Prior to becoming State Senator, Katie worked in international development with governments, businesses, communities, non-profits, and international agencies around the world to build partnerships and implement strategies that are good for business, good for the environment, and good for communities.

During those 20 years of international experience, Katie helped develop local agricultural markets, worked with government agencies to create jobs, advised companies on engaging key stakeholders, and trained hundreds of people in partnership building.

Del. Lorig Charkoudian

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.

Del. Marc Korman

Marc Korman has proudly represented District 16 in the Maryland House of Delegates since 2014. In 2023, he was named Chair of the Environment & Transportation Committee, where he champions issues like public transit, environmental protection, and sustainable growth. Previously, Marc served as House Majority Leader and chaired the Montgomery County House Delegation. A lifelong Montgomery County resident, Marc attended Montgomery County Public Schools, earned degrees from USC, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Maryland, and now lives in Bethesda with his wife, Rebecca, and their two children. 

Del. Lily Qi

Before joining Montgomery County to oversee economic and workforce development, she was a senior economic development official for Washington, DC, a spokesperson for the DC financial regulatory agency and assistant director of multicultural affairs at American University. Delegate Lily Qi was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in November 2018 representing Montgomery County. As the first Chinese-speaking legislator in the Maryland General Assembly. She chaired the Maryland Governor’s Commission on Asian American Affairs. Lily was recognized as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women by the Daily Record, Washington Chinese Post’s Person of the Year 2018 and was two-time recipient of the National Association of Counties awards for her work in improving government cultural competency and innovation partnerships.

Del. Joe Vogel

Delegate Joe Vogel is a leading voice for climate action and climate innovation in the Maryland General Assembly. Joe’s results-oriented approach to legislating challenges the norms of gridlock in both parties to take on big issues by expanding opportunity. His bill created the Climate Tech Founders Fund, making major investments in climate technology start-ups to support entrepreneurs and address climate change. He secured public funds for small, minority, and women owned businesses working on climate solutions to ensure Maryland’s green economy was built for all, not just a select few. He’s recruited CEOs and industry leaders across the state in the efforts to make Maryland a global leader in climate innovation.

Joe was born in Uruguay and raised in Montgomery County. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from The George Washington University and a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Outside of the legislative session, Joe works for KABOOM!, a non-profit building high-quality, sustainable play spaces for every child.

Brooke Lierman

Kelly Speakes-Backman

Kelly Speakes-Backman is the Director of the Maryland Energy Administration under the Moore-Miller administration. A nationally recognized energy executive with over 25 years of experience in energy and environmental issues, her experience spans public, NGO and private sectors, including most recently building and managing a public affairs organization at Invenergy, an American-based multinational power generation development and operations company.

Prior to this, Kelly served as Acting Assistant Secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. She was the first CEO of the Energy Storage Association, where she led policy, external relations, and industry leadership efforts for the organization. She was also a commissioner of the Maryland Public Service Commission in the O’Malley-Brown administration, where, as an adjunct to the commission, she served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Co-Vice Chair of the NARUC (National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners) Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment, and member of the EPRI Energy Efficiency & Grid Modernization Public Advisory Group. Kelly has held leadership positions in the private sector at United Technologies, Wärtsilä, SunEdison, and The Alliance to Save Energy.