Speakers

Rep. Sarah Elfreth

Sarah Elfreth broke barriers in 2018, becoming the youngest woman ever elected to the Maryland State Senate. Over six years, Sarah built a reputation as one of Maryland’s most effective legislators, passing 91 bipartisan bills into law. Her work has focused on issues that directly impact Maryland families, including protecting the Chesapeake Bay, expanding prenatal care, and supporting veterans with PTSD. She has been recognized as “Legislator of the Year” by numerous organizations and serves on the Chesapeake Bay Commission, helping coordinate State and federal environmental clean up efforts. Known for her collaborative approach, Sarah brings people together to solve problems and do what’s right.

Now Congresswoman, Sarah looks forward to representing the communities of Maryland’s Anne Arundel, Howard, and Carroll Counties with the same energy and dedication to partnership on Capitol Hill. A proud graduate of Towson University and the Johns Hopkins University, Sarah lives in Annapolis with her dog Ollie, where she enjoys hiking, being on the water, and collecting oyster plates.

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 her second term in the Maryland State Senate, representing District 9 in Howard and Montgomery Counties. She serves as Senate Deputy Majority Whip, Chair of the Joint Committee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology and Biotechnology, a member of the Education, Energy, and Environment Committee, and Chair of the Energy Subcommittee.

A national leader on energy, cybersecurity, and emerging technology policy, Senator Hester has passed more than 60 bipartisan bills by bringing together experts, advocates, and legislators to address complex challenges. Her work has advanced Maryland’s energy transition, strengthened ratepayer protections, expanded renewable energy planning, improved grid resilience, and addressed emerging issues such as PFAS and data center growth.

Senator Hester chairs the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Natural Resources, Energy, and Environment Committee, helped develop national data center policy, and founded the PJM Legislators Collaborative to engage on regional energy challenges.

Before public service, Senator Hester spent 20 years working in sustainable development, ESG reporting, stakeholder engagement, and strategic planning with companies, governments, communities, and nonprofits. She holds a degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from Cornell University and lives in Howard County with her husband and two daughters.

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. 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. Dylan Behler

Dylan Behler is a lifelong Marylander and Anne Arundel County resident and serves as Delegate for District 30A where he has passed 9 pieces of legislation and brought home millions of dollars for our community. Prior to serving in the General Assembly, Dylan worked as Chief of Staff to then State Senator Sarah Elfreth and Legislative Director at the Department of Natural Resources in Governor Wes Moore’s administration, helping to protect our environment. He was appointed by the Governor in February 2025, becoming the youngest member of the General Assembly. In the House of Delegates, Dylan serves on the Environment and Transportation Committee where he works on issues related to the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, bringing down energy prices, and ensuring that transportation needs are met across Maryland. Dylan is a graduate from the University of Maryland and currently resides in Annapolis.

Del. Mark Edelson

Mark is an active community leader, civic-minded attorney, educator and organizer. His passion for service and commitment to inclusive policies that strengthen our collective spirit and success is rooted in his formative experiences as a foreign-born immigrant to the U.S. The resilience, grit, and fortitude modeled to him by his family – intent on providing every opportunity to succeed despite the struggle and sacrifice this often required on their part, ingrained in Mark a great sense of purpose, duty, and responsibility.

While his dogged work ethic and persistence allowed Mark to accomplish many of his parents’ greatest wishes for his future, he knows intimately that nothing would have been possible without the privilege of opportunity, support, and mentorship he received every step along the way. His late mother’s guiding principle: “If you can, you must,” drives Mark today in his vision and work to ensure that every resident of this city he loves – Baltimore City – has the same opportunity, hope, and experience that lifted his family from their hardships and guided Mark’s belief that anything is possible.

Del. Linda Foley

Delegate Linda Foley represents the people of Maryland District 15 in the General Assembly. She sits on the House Environment and Transportation Committee.

Del. David Fraser-Hidalgo

David has represented District 15 in the House of Delegates since 2013. He is a member of the Environment and Transportation Committee and is the Chair of the Motor Vehicle and Transportation Subcommittee. He also serves as the Chair of the Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus. 

David has a proven track record as an advocate for the environment in his 9-year career as a delegate. He has been named a “Green Champion” by the Maryland League of Conservation Voters every year since 2017 for supporting and sponsoring priority environmental legislation. 

In 2017, he spearheaded the charge in the General Assembly to ban fracking in Maryland, making it only the third state at the time to successfully enact such a ban. He has led efforts to phase out our reliance on fossil fuels and encourage the use of electric vehicles in Maryland, with the passage of the Clean Cars Act of 2022 the creation of an electric school bus pilot program and legislation to electrify the state’s vehicle fleet, Maryland is one step closer to a green energy future.  

David continues to deliver thoughtful environmental solutions that preserve our environment while creating a higher quality of life for District 15 residents. 

Del. Michele Guyton

Michele has been working to improve the lives of Maryland families for 25 years. The most challenging aspects of her own life have made her the most effective advocate for others. Her past experiences with serious medical conditions, caring for an aging parent, and parenting beautifully neurodiverse children strengthened her belief that access to high-quality medical and behavioral health care is a basic human right and that family medical leave policies should reflect this truth.

As a fierce educational advocate for children with disabilities, Michele co-founded a support group for families with disabilities and chaired the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Tourette Association of America. All three of her boys graduated from Baltimore County Public Schools and are pursuing their dreams. Her middle son, a Veteran, currently serves our country as an officer in the US Army Reserves.

Michele’s commitment to our animals, natural resources, agriculture and public safety is evident in the legislation she has sponsored over the past 8 years. As Vice Chair of the Environment and Transportation Committee, she is in the perfect place to continue working towards these priorities. The newly organized committee also encompasses energy and utilities beginning this legislative session. Particularly in rural areas of the state, there are still families without reliable internet access. In addition, skyrocketing utility bills have affected the entire eastern seaboard, but Maryland is experiencing unique challenges relating to controversial transmission projects and the planned proliferation of data centers. Michele looks forward to tackling these complicated subjects and working with colleagues, constituents, and advocates from both the utility companies and environmental groups to balance our energy needs with the protection of our fragile natural resources and communities.

Del. Dana Stein

Dana is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates and represents District 11B in Baltimore County. He was first elected to the House in 2006, served as Vice Chair of the House Environment and Transportation Committee between 2015 and 2023. He also serves as chair of the Environment Subcommittee of the Environment and Transportation Committee.

Dana is the executive director and founder of the Baltimore non-profit Civic Works. Participants rehab homes, build parks and gardens, make improvements in the homes of senior citizens, and grow fresh produce at an urban farm. Civic Works also operates a high school in Baltimore, REACH Partnership.

Prior to establishing Civic Works, Dana practiced law for several years at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in Washington, D.C. He has a B.A. in government from Harvard University, a law degree from Columbia Law School, and an MPA from Princeton University. He and his wife Margaret live in Pikesville with their three kids.

Willie L. Phillips

Mr. Phillips is a nationally recognized regulatory leader with 20 years of experience managing complex federal and state issues, building consensus and integrating legal and technical information to shape public policy and modernize the energy grid.

As the former chair and commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Mr. Phillips led the approval of reforms that accelerated the interconnection of energy generation projects to the electric grid, revamping long-term and regional transmission planning, and advancing grid reliability against extreme weather as well as cyber and physical security threats. In addition to his substantial experience with matters involving electric transmission, Mr. Phillips was responsible for regulating the interstate electric, natural gas and oil pipeline industries in the U.S.

Prior to his role with FERC, Mr. Phillips served as the chairman and commissioner for the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia (DCPSC) and previously served as assistant general counsel for the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).

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.

Serena McIlwain

Secretary Serena McIlwain is the 11th Secretary of the Maryland Department of the Environment, confirmed in March 2023. She leads Maryland’s efforts to protect public health, advance climate action, and safeguard natural resources.
She brings more than 30 years of federal, state, and legislative experience — including senior roles at the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the California Environmental Protection Agency. Her career has spanned six presidential administrations and two governors, a record of sustained, values-driven leadership through every kind of political weather. Her priorities include meeting Maryland’s ambitious climate goals, addressing systemic environmental injustices, restoring the Chesapeake Bay, and building a high-performing, accountable public agency.

I. Katherine Magruder

Throughout her career Ms. Magruder has been focused on the balance of environment, economy, and cultural character in effective sustainable economic development.

As Executive Director of the Maryland Clean Energy Center, since 2009, Ms. Magruder manages the statewide green bank working to advance the commercialization and adoption of clean energy products, services, and technologies in Maryland. She collaborates with multiple state and federal agencies, along with utility and private sector partners, to implement climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives. In this role she operates financing programs, administers grants, engages in business development initiatives, oversees outreach, and monitors associated public policy activity.

Previously, as Chief of Staff at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Ms. Magruder was responsible for strategic planning, staff management and external relations. During appointment as the Director of Resource Based Industries at the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (Commerce), she focused on sustaining the agriculture, forestry, mining, fisheries and maritime industry sectors. Working in key positions with various municipalities, Ms. Magruder led local and regional agribusiness, cultural preservation, and ecotourism initiatives to benefit communities on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Kathy is a member of the American Green Bank Coalition and currently serves as co-chair of the Association for University Research Parks Climate Technology & Building Caucus. She holds seats on the Maryland Power Plant Research Program Advisory Committee, the Maryland Industrial Partnerships Advisory Board , the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Climate, Energy & Environment Policy Committee and is appointed to the Governor’s Economic Competitiveness Sub-cabinet for Maryland.

Brooke Lierman

Odogwu Linton

Odogwu Obi Linton was appointed to the Maryland Public Service Commission in 2017, reappointed in 2022, and again in 2025 by Governor Wes Moore. He brings over two decades of leadership experience in energy policy, utility regulation, consumer protection, and regulatory law, with a strong focus on ensuring reliable, affordable, and equitable utility service for Maryland residents.

Commissioner Linton has served in multiple capacities at the Commission, including Director of the Consumer Affairs Division, where he led the development of comprehensive consumer protection regulations for Maryland’s competitive energy markets and managed the state’s Supplier Diversity Program to expand participation in utility supply chains. He previously served as Deputy Staff Counsel for the Commission, handling complex regulatory matters involving rate design, market oversight, and service quality standards.

Commissioner Linton was appointed by Governor Moore as the Commission’s representative on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission (WMATC). Nationally, Commissioner Linton has held leadership roles with the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), including Chair of the Consumers and the Public Interest Committee, member of the Emergency Preparedness Task Force, and founding Chair of the Supplier and Workforce Diversity Staff Subcommittee. In 2026, he was elected first vice-president of the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners (MACRUC). Throughout his career, he has moderated or participated in more than one hundred national and regional panel discussions, addressing a broad range of topics including ratepayer protections, energy affordability, climate policy, and small business market access.

Prior to his public service roles, Commissioner Linton practiced regulatory and energy law representing consumers, small businesses, and competitive suppliers. Earlier in his career, he served as regulatory counsel for Baltimore Gas and Electric Company and as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Evelyn Omega Cannon of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.

Commissioner Linton holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, where he served as Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Health Care Law and Policy. He earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Administration of Justice and Africana Studies from Rutgers University.

Commissioner Linton resides with his family in Catonsville, Maryland.

Frederick Hoover

Frederick H. Hoover was appointed by Governor Wes Moore to the Commission in January 2026 to fill out a term ending June 30, 2029. He stepped down as chair of the Commission on January 12, 2026. He was first appointed to the Commission for a five-year term beginning on July 1, 2023.

He most recently served as Assistant People’s Counsel in the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel, representing residential consumers of public utilities, retail energy suppliers and other entities before the Maryland Public Service Commission, courts and federal agencies.

Commissioner Hoover served for more than seven years as director of the Maryland Energy Administration, responsible for coordinating energy policy for the state of Maryland. He subsequently held positions as director of both MEA’s Division of Energy Programs and Division of Renewable Energy. He is a former senior director of the National Association of State Energy Officials, where he directed the electricity policy program including the fuel and grid aspects of both transmission and distribution networks including modernization, renewable energy, and energy efficiency.

Commissioner Hoover was a founding board member of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, an organization dedicated to holding elected officials at the legislative and executive level accountable for environmental issues. He was a member of the Maryland Cybersecurity Council.

He serves on the Board of Directors for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) Committee on Consumers and the Public Interest and the Committee on Electricity. He was recently appointed to NARUC’s Washington Actions Program, the group that represents NARUC’s interests before federal executive and legislative entities.

A resident of Annapolis, Maryland, Commissioner Hoover earned his law degree from the University of Baltimore, and a bachelor’s degree from Mount Saint Mary’s University. He also completed Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government Executive Education Program in Economics and Environment.

Chuck McLean

Ryan C. ‘Chuck’ McLean was appointed to the Public Service Commission by Governor Wes Moore, for a five-year term beginning July 1, 2025.

Prior to joining the bench, Commissioner McLean was the PSC’s Chief Public Utility Law Judge, and led the PULJ Division for nearly seven years.

He joined the PSC in 2008 as an assistant staff counsel. A former assistant county attorney in Carroll County, Commissioner McLean is also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, having served as a captain in the Judge Advocate General Corps.

A graduate of Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College), he received a law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Paul Pinsky

Paul Pinsky served in the Maryland legislature for 36 years, 28 of them in the state senate. His senate career led him to chair the Education, Health & Environment Committee.

He was a fearless leader on behalf of the environment and led the fight to combat climate change and develop clean energy. He authored numerous bills including the Healthy Air Act and the nationally acclaimed Climate Solutions Now Act which set firm greenhouse gas reduction measures, required Building Energy Performance (BEP’s) standards for large buildings, targeted support for underserved-overburdened communities and created — and funded – the new Climate Catalytic Capital fund (C3) housed in MCEC.

While in the senate, Paul was central in shaping and passing the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. This education measure ultimately will provide the largest school funding increase in Maryland’s history, with special attention to students learning while in poverty. The law also focuses on teacher quality, raises teacher salaries statewide, and increases investment in technology education.

In 2023, Gov. Moore asked Pinsky to lead the state’s energy administration and continue his efforts to promote clean energy and reduce greenhouse gases. Paul served in that position for nearly three years before retiring.

Bonnie Suchman

Bonnie A. Suchman was appointed to the Maryland Public Service Commission in June 2023 by Governor Wes Moore to fulfill a term that expires June 30, 2027.

Jim Gilroy

Jim Gilroy serves as the State Government Affairs Manager for PSEG.

William Ellis

William is a nationally recognized leader in energy policy, grid modernization and climate change. In 2015, he was first recognized by Association of Energy Service Professionals (AESP) as the “One to Watch” for his contribution related to energy efficiency and sustainability. William was awarded Modern Day Technology Leader at the 2017 Black Engineer of the Year Awards. As recent as 2021, William was recognized by Environment + Energy as the Nation’s Top 100 Leaders, for his work related to decarbonization and electrification transportation.

In his current role as Director of Governmental and External Affairs, William is responsible for engaging in stakeholder relations with state and local officials, community leaders and businesses, consumer and nonprofit organizations within the Pepco Maryland region. Advocating, shaping policy and managing issues to deliver value to our customers and key stakeholders. In 2020, William was appointed to the Prince George’s County Climate Action Commission. He was instrumental in the County’s plan to reduce GHG emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Ed Hirsch

Edward Hirsch is an energy industry leader with experience spanning distribution utilities, oil and gas, and power generation. He leads strategic initiatives focused on decarbonization, clean energy, and innovative pilot programs that advance sustainability and net-zero goals. Edward holds an MBA in Energy and Sustainable Enterprise and a BS in Chemical Engineering. His contributions to the industry include published research, award-winning innovation, and board leadership. He is also committed to mentoring emerging professionals and advancing equity, through participation in professional and community organizations.

Sowmya Krishnamoorthy

Sowmya Krishnamoorthy is a Senior Manager of DER Strategy with Baltimore Gas & Electric.

Tamla Olivier

Tamla Olivier is the president and chief executive officer of Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation. Olivier and her leadership team oversee safety, reliability, customer service, financial performance, and BGE’s commitment to delivering value to its customers while fostering an equitable energy transition. BGE is the nation’s first gas utility and is currently Maryland’s largest electric and natural gas utility, serving more than 1.3 million electric and 700,000 gas customers in central Maryland.

Jason Stanek

Jason M. Stanek is the Executive Director for Governmental Services at PJM Interconnection, LLC. He most recently served as Chairman of the Maryland Public Service Commission from 2018 to 2023. Before that, he was Senior Counsel to the Energy Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce where he advised on matters involving national energy policy, with specific focus on electricity issues and the operations of the regional power markets. He also served in senior positions at FERC for 16 years, advising both a chairman and a commissioner. Jason received a law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University. He also completed studies at American University and the University of North Carolina. 

Lauren Urbanek

Lauren Urbanek is the Senior Manager of Decarbonization Strategy for Utility of the Future at Baltimore Gas & Electric.

Ben Baker

Ben Baker is a Senior Commission Advisor with the Maryland Public Service Commission.

John Borkoski

John Borkoski is a Senior Commission Advisor with the Maryland Public Service Commission.

Eric Coffman

Eric leads the Maryland Energy Administration’s (MEA) portfolio of energy programs, a broad portfolio of efforts funded by the Strategic Energy Investment Fund (SEIF). Th​is dynamic portfolio spans more than $40 million annually backed by a team of fifteen subject matter experts in the fields of resiliency, solar, wind energy, energy efficiency, energy finance, transportation electrification, infrastructure investment programs, biomass and other relevant topics.. His work includes grid modernization, clean energy deployment, energy efficiency, resiliency, smart cities technologies and more. Prior to joining MEA, Eric led the Office of Energy and Sustainability (OES) within Montgomery County’s Department of General Services (DGS). In his time with OES, he was responsible for the sustainability and energy performance of County operations as well as efforts before the Maryland Public Service Commision. In this capacity, Eric oversaw the procurement, financing, construction and commissioning of the County Government’s first microgrids. Before joining OES, Eric led the County’s climate and energy programs for the Department of Environmental Protection.  Eric is a Certified Public Manager, Certified Energy Manager, Certified Energy Procurement Professional among other qualifications.

Hannah Debelius

Hannah Debelius leads the Office of Energy and Sustainability at the Maryland Department of General Services, supporting energy purchasing, building emissions reduction, green purchasing, and fleet EV infrastructure across the State’s public building portfolio. Dedicated to catalyzing energy efficiency and decarbonization in the built environment, she came to Maryland after managing the commercial buildings sector in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Initiative. She has a B.A. in environmental science with a concentration in policy from the College of William and Mary and a M.S. in sustainability management from American University.

Anne Hairston-Strang

Anne Hairston-Strang is the Director of the Maryland Forest Service and an active State Forester.

Haley Kotzker

Haley Kotzker is an Energy Policy Manager at the Maryland Energy Administration

Deron Lovaas

Deron Lovaas has worked on state and federal transportation policy for more than three decades. He’s Chief of Environment and Sustainable Transportation in the Secretary’s office at the Maryland Department of Transportation. His team’s portfolio includes climate mitigation and resilience, vehicle electrification, active transportation, and environmental compliance and innovation. He worked for more than 20 years at the Natural Resources Defense Council before joining the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), leading initiatives and projects focused on transportation, utility, housing, and clean vehicles policy. Before that he worked with other nonprofit advocacy groups including the Sierra Club, and he served briefly with the Maryland Department of the Environment. Deron graduated from the University of Virginia.

Dr. Ryan Opsal

Dr. Ryan Opsal is the Director of Energy Policy at the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA). Dr. Opsal previously served as an Energy Policy Manager at MEA. Prior to working at MEA, Ryan was an Adjunct Professor in the Politics and International Relations Department at Florida International University, where he recently completed his doctorate in International Relations. He taught and conducted research in many areas including energy and international political economy.

Ryan Powell

Ryan has 20 years of experience in science, technology and entrepreneurship. His technical background is in molecular biology and biotechnology where his Ph.D. focused on biofuels. After finishing his Ph.D. he founded a renewable energy startup company to commercialize inventions developed during his doctoral work. His company raised over $5.5M from public and private sources including over $2M from SBIRs. The company developed and scaled biological production systems, solid-liquid separations systems and thermochemical conversion systems to pilot scale. Ryan joined the Department of Commerce in March 2024 as the Energy Program Manager. His work at Commerce focuses on helping renewable energy companies in Maryland grow and thrive. In this role he helps connect companies to funding, raise investment capital, connect them to customers and partners, and provide regulatory assistance.

Angel Saules

As Associate Director of Building Programs I am responsible for supervising an amazingly capable team of Program Managers and Energy Specialists in the execution, implementation, close out and evaluation of non residential commercial and community building programs.

Formerly, I managed the Maryland Energy Administration’s Residential Energy Equity Grant Program, overseeing a dynamic and impactful portfolio of more than $50 million in active funding. I supported and guided over 60 nonprofit and local government partners across the state as they deliver weatherization, HVAC, solar and other critical home energy upgrades to income-qualifying Marylanders.

Nicola Tran

Nicola Tran is the Director of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.

Ryan Trauley

Ryan Trauley is a clean energy professional specializing in residential building decarbonization, with experience in program development, grant administration, and stakeholder engagement across the government, nonprofit, and private sectors. He currently serves as a Program Manager on the Maryland Energy Administration’s Building Decarbonization team, where he develops and manages residential clean energy initiatives. His work has included managing the Maryland Ground Source Heat Pump Advantage Pilot Program, the Affordable Electrification Outreach Program, and the Maryland Solar Access Bridge Fund.

Mollie Woods

Mollie’s work at OPC focuses on legislative policy and strategic projects, developing, coordinating, and advocating for policy positions that advance the interests of residential utility customers. Mollie earned her B.A. from Colgate University and her J.D. from the University of Maryland Carey School of Law, where she focused on consumer and environmental issues. Before joining OPC in 2022, Mollie worked as a judicial law clerk for Judge Dan Friedman on the Appellate Court of Maryland. Prior to law school, Mollie worked in community and youth development for many years before moving to New Hampshire to pursue a love of food through farming and baking.

Dave Castille

Dave Castille, also based in our Hanover office, leads BWEV’s public sector business focusing on Local, State, Federal and Education markets. Dave brings more than 35 years of public sector experience including serving as President for FEI Systems and several other senior positions for 15 years delivering health technology solutions for the public sector. He also spent more than 20 years with Booz Allen & Hamilton as a strategic consultant in the technology sector as well as leading internal teams supporting the business. Dave understands the uniqueness of the public sector business where one size never fits all! His goal is to ensure the EVSE solutions being delivered to our customers meet their needs and will stand the test of time.

Lindsay Cherry

Lindsay Cherry is the Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at NineDot Energy. She leads efforts to navigate and influence policies and regulations that impact the energy storage market in Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Illinois. Prior to joining NineDot, Lindsay worked at Qcells, developing policies to reshore the solar supply chain and to make the supply chain more sustainable and less carbon intensive. She has also worked as a solar analyst for Wood Mackenzie (formerly Greentech media), researching and writing about trends in solar technologies. Lindsay earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Boston University and a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University, where she concentrated in energy and environmental
policy.

Randy Clark

Randy Clark is the Executive Vice President, Energy Infrastructure & Sustainability for The Efficiency Network (TEN). Randy is responsible for driving TEN’s Energy as a Service (EaaS) business and providing a full suite of structured finance solutions to TEN’s customers. Prior to joining TEN, Randy spent 25+ years at another national ESCO where he was responsible for their MUSH performance contracting and Public Private Partnership (P3) businesses.

Josh Cohen

Josh leads the Policy Team for SWTCH, a leader in end-to-end EV charging solutions. In this role, Josh works with his colleagues to inform and shape the legislative and regulatory landscape to enable and support EV charging at scale.

Prior to joining SWTCH, Josh served in similar policy roles at Greenlots (now Shell Recharge Solutions), SemaConnect (now Blink), and the Business Network for Offshore Wind (now Oceantic). Josh’s prior public service includes serving as mayor of Annapolis, Maryland, and as deputy administrator of the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS). Based in Maryland, Josh holds an M.S. in Energy Policy and Climate from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Maryland.

Chris Dellinger

Chris Dellinger is a Business Development Manager with Schneider Electric.

Brian Ferrarese

Brian Ferrarese is the Regulatory Affairs Manager at Dandelion Energy, the leading residential geothermal heating and cooling provider in the U.S. In this role, he works on state policy in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Brian has previously served as Chief of Staff at the MA Department of Environmental Protection as well as in the MA State Legislature. He has a Masters of Public Administration from Suffolk University and a Bachelor of Science from Lasell University.

Joshua Greene

Josh Greene currently serves as corporate vice president of government, regulatory, and industry affairs at the A. O. Smith Corporation having served in that role since joining the company in 2016. As a member of the company’s senior leadership, he is responsible for advancing the company’s business goals and objectives in front of international, federal, and state policy makers and regulatory bodies, as well as representing the company within its industry associations. He also oversees the company’s corporate ESG program, as well as working with the corporate development and strategy teams in facilitating new business opportunities and industry relationships. Josh maintains very board relationships within the environmental, municipal, and business communities.

Josh joined the company after 14 years with the international law firm Squire Patton Boggs LLP in Washington, D.C. where he was partner providing regulatory, policy, and business advice to private and public companies in the energy and environmental industry. Earlier in his career, Josh served as legislative aide in the U.S. House of Representatives as well as a law clerk to the General Counsel of the Maryland Commission on Human Relations
Josh earned his BA with honors from the University of Delaware and JD (law degree) with honors from the University of Baltimore.

Elias Hinckley, LL.M., J.D.

Committee Member

Elias Hinckley is a Partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. He focuses his practice on assisting clients navigating a changing energy, tax, and financial landscape by efficiently and creatively structuring deals.

He incorporates tax, policy, and market insight to solve complex financing challenges for renewable energy companies, private equity, hedge funds, tax equity investors, real estate investors, independent power companies, and public utilities. He has been at the forefront of the development of several financing structures for the clean energy industry.

He has experience representing clients across energy sectors, including solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biofuels, hydroelectric, batteries, fuel cells, energy efficiency, demand response, electric transmission, natural gas, and advanced coal.

Previously, Elias led the energy practice at another international law firm and was the Head of the Alternative Energy Practice for Deloitte USA for several years. He is also an Adjunct Professor of International Energy Policy and Markets at the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service.

Dr. Greg Hitz

As founder of Ion Storage Systems, Dr. Hitz led development of the groundbreaking multilayer garnet structure at the heart of ION’s battery. Greg now sets the vision for the company’s technology growth, oversees intellectual property and data science efforts, and leads technology roadmapping. He has fostered a culture focused on excellence, integrity, and rapid learning cycles across all activities.

Greg has built a world-class team dedicated to delivering no-compromise customer solutions with highly scalable manufacturing. His leadership has also been key in developing new company capabilities and cultivating them into high-performance core competencies. He holds a PhD in Materials Science & Engineering and a bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland.

Andrew Kays

Andrew Kays is the Executive Director of the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority (“Authority”) and has over 20 years of experience in the solid waste and renewable energy industry. He joined the Authority after five years with McCormick and Company, where he worked in quality assurance. Currently Andrew serves as the key liaison in building relationships between elected and non-elected officials, the Authority’s governing board members, and the agency. His role includes oversight of all Authority projects, as well as keeping stakeholders informed of legislation impacting the members and the organization, make appropriate  recommendations for elected officials and staff. He also has budget responsibilities for the organization and assists with training new board members and staff. Andrew earned a MS in environmental sciences and policy from The Johns Hopkins University and a BS in biology from Loyola College (now Loyola University Maryland).

Marshall Klein

Marshall Klein is a fourth-generation grocer and President of Klein’s Family Markets (Klein’s ShopRite of Maryland). Klein’s ShopRite of Maryland is a nine-store supermarket company and member company of Wakefern, the nation’s largest retailer-owned cooperative. Klein’s ShopRite has been owned and operated by the Klein Family of Harford County since 1925. Marshall previously served as the Chief Operating Officer of Klein’s ShopRite. He earned a Doctor of Law from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s degree in Economics and History from Franklin & Marshall College.

Kenya Langford

Kenya Langford is the Founder of GeaVance, a critical infrastructure advisory and development company focused on helping organizations navigate energy, transportation, and resource transitions.

Drawing from experience in both the military and civilian sectors, Kenya has worked across the energy supply chain and brings a practical perspective to complex operational and infrastructure challenges.

Her current areas of focus include sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), EV infrastructure, and practical approaches to strengthening reliability, resilience, and long-term sustainability.

Luke Mairo

Luke Mairo is a financial professional with experience across banking, management, and entrepreneurship. He is the Co-Founder and COO of Voltpost, a mission-driven company that transforms lampposts into modular electric vehicle charging stations. He leads finance, operations, and business development for the company. He was previously a coverage banker at Barclays’ Corporate Bank focusing on energy and technology companies. Luke has a Masters in Sustainability Management from Columbia University’s Climate School. He was the President of the Environmental Entrepreneurs at Columbia, a student organization focused on educating, mentoring, and incubating climate tech entrepreneurs and startups at Columbia’s Climate School programs. Luke is on the Forbes 30 Under 30 List – Energy & GreenTech.

Jonathan Moore

Geoff Oxnam

Geoff Oxnam is a microgrid project developer and former utility executive with more than two decades of experience in energy, utilities, telecommunications, and infrastructure. Geoff earned a BA in History from Williams College (Williamstown, Mass.) and an MBA from The Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School (Baltimore, Md.). Geoff served as Chair of the Maryland Clean Energy Center board of directors on appointment by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.

Richard Paroby

Richard Paroby is a Senior Engineer with The Efficiency Network (TEN).

Bobby Ruiz

Dr. Salvo Vitale

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. Dr. Vitale joined the Toto Group in 2011 and previously practiced law in Rome, Italy at Bonelli Erede law firm. Salvo attended Guido Carli International University (LUISS) in Rome, Italy, where he earned his Master Degree in Law and PhD in Commercial Law.

Alison Shea

Alison Shea is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of experience in energy consulting, infrastructure development, and program management. With a strong foundation in engineering and sales, she has led multi-disciplinary teams delivering energy, infrastructure, and sustainability solutions tailored to C-suite priorities across both public and private sectors. Her work spans the midAtlantic region.

As Senior Vice President at TEN, Alison drives strategic growth across all business lines and leads the company’s expansion into new regional markets. She plays a pivotal role in helping clients achieve safe, affordable, and climate-conscious energy goals.

Alison earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech. She serves on the MCEC advisory council and is a former board member of the Council on Women in Energy and Environmental Leadership (CWEEL). Her career includes leadership roles with energy services firms, higher education institutions, and as president of a Virginia-based regional energy consulting firm. Alison is known for aligning technical innovation with business strategy to deliver measurable impact and long-term value.

Chris Van Horn

Mr. Van Horn has 15 years of experience developing energy performance contracts. At TEN, he manages project development teams for public sector and community-serving customers. In this role, Mr. Van Horn manages engineering, project management, and financing resources to package solutions that offset the costs of facility maintenance, infrastructure upgrades, and energy resiliency needs by leveraging operating cost savings.

Michael Weiner

Mike Weiner serves as Director, Policy and Advocacy at Fluence, where he manages federal and state policy in the United States as well as Canadian policy at the federal and provincial level. Prior to joining Fluence, Mike held policy-related roles with Siemens Energy, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, and Van Ness Feldman LLP. He holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master of Public Administration degree from George Washington University.

John Willis

John Willis is the Founder and CEO of Zero Net Energy Homes.

Adam Agalloco

Adam Agalloco is a Director with ICF.

Chris Castro

Chris Castro is a senior sustainability and clean energy leader with more than 18 years of cross-sector experience spanning nonprofit founding, entrepreneurship, local and federal public service, and executive leadership in sustainable finance. His career has been dedicated to advancing climate action, energy transition, resilient communities, and impact-oriented financial solutions. Chris currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at Climate First Bank, the first FDIC-insured values-based community bank focused on climate finance and advancing a regenerative economy. In this role he leads the bank’s sustainability strategy, develops innovative green financing products, forges partnerships to accelerate climate investment, and helps scale impact nationally. He originally joined the bank as a Founding Director and played a key role in launching the institution.

Joel Cohn

Brandee Davis

At the intersection of energy, equity, and education, Brandee Davis leads with a lifelong commitment to expanding opportunity and humanizing the systems that power everyday life. She believes the clean energy transition is not only a technical challenge, but a deeply human one—shaped by access, community, and the people most impacted by the decisions we make.

Brandee is the CEO and owner of CAMI Energy, a Maryland-based energy engineering and sustainability firm advancing equitable, data-driven solutions for utilities, program implementers, and public-sector clients. CAMI Energy was founded in 2021 by her late husband, Jaymar Davis, whose career in energy efficiency and program innovation spanned more than two decades. Carrying forward CAMI’s mission is both a professional calling and a personal privilege—an opportunity to honor Jaymar’s legacy through the work that defined his life and leadership.
Grounded in diversity, equity, and inclusion, Brandee’s journey reflects a commitment to bridging systems and people. As a Teach for America alum and first-generation college graduate, she has dedicated her career to ensuring that opportunity is not limited by zip code or circumstance. Her equity work extends beyond energy into education, where she has supported transformational school models and championed pathways that empower underserved communities. Today, she brings that same lens to the energy sector, recognizing that equitable energy efficiency programs are essential to reducing energy burden, improving quality of life, and ensuring all customers benefit from sustainable solutions.

Brad Dockser

Bradford H. Dockser is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of GreenGen. Founded in 2011, GreenGen transforms and decarbonizes the built environment through innovative solutions that integrate energy, real estate, technology, and capital markets, empowering organizations to Operate in the Green®. GreenGen helps clients including Blackstone, KKR, Allianz, DWS, Starwood Capital, and AEW profitably transition to a zero-carbon world across all asset types and verticals. GreenGen’s net zero carbon strategies are developed and implemented by a global team that includes mechanical, electrical, lighting, and environmental engineers, PhDs, tradesmen, as well as real estate and capital markets experts.

Brad is a sought-after advisor and speaker on the role of sustainability in driving the profitability of real assets and investment firms. He is a Forbes contributor and has spoken at many ULI convenings around the world, as well as for events hosted by AFIRE, MIPIM, and PERE.

Throughout two decades of real estate investing, Brad was a Principal with CalPERS-backed MacFarlane Partners and the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Starwood Capital Europe and Starwood Capital Asia, overseeing operations in each region. Brad led Starwood’s strategic partnerships, acquisitions, and overall strategy in APAC and Europe for over a decade.

Brad began his career with JMB Realty, then the largest US real estate firm, and later with CRI, then the largest owner of multifamily residential properties, where he oversaw the creation of Capital Apartment Properties REIT (CAPREIT).

Brad received an A.B. cum laude in Economics and an MBA, both from Harvard University. Brad serves as a Global Governing Trustee of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and is a member of the Global Advisory Board for ULI’s Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate, which includes the ULI Greenpoint program, the Healthy Places Initiative, and ULI’s Resiliency program. He is also on the ULI Global Exchange Product Council. He previously served as the Chair of ULI’s Redevelopment and Reuse Product Council and founded ULI Washington’s Sustainability Initiative. He is a frequent speaker on issues pertaining to the clean energy transition, including for organizations such as ULI, PERE, CRETech, Harvard University, and Duke University. He is a member of The Economic Club of Washington DC, the US Green Building Council, and the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP). He previously taught as Adjunct Faculty at Johns Hopkins University’s Carey School (MBA Program). Brad is a mentor for MetaProp (NY), and a CREtech Leadership Board member. He was also Founding Director of the Greater Washington Exploratory Committee, DC’s bid committee for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

Dr. Charles Glass

Charles C. Glass, Ph.D., P.E. was reappointed by Governor Wes Moore in March 2023 as the Executive Director of the Maryland Environmental Service. He was originally appointed to the role by Governor Larry Hogan in June 2020 after serving as Deputy Secretary at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Prior to his role at DNR, Dr. Glass served as Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy Analysis and Planning, and Director of Bicycle and Pedestrian Access at the Maryland Department of Transportation.

Dr. Glass’ credentials include serving more than 30 years as a research and engineering professional in academia and the consulting engineering industries. Throughout his distinguished career, he has held important positions as a teacher, researcher, and consulting professional in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Dr. Glass is a trained Professional Environmental Engineer, with a doctorate that focused on the microbiological processes involved in wastewater treatment engineering. For 19 years he taught students how to design water and wastewater treatment plants, performed and published research on environmental engineering topics, and taught engineering economics to prepare young engineers to work in the industry.

Jill Hamilton

Jill Hamilton is the Founder and President of Sustainable Energy Strategies, Inc. (SESI), bringing over 35 years of experience in consulting for the alternative fuels sector. She is recognized as a subject matter expert with extensive knowledge in:

• Advanced alternative fuel technologies and the development of domestic clean energy infrastructure.
• Business development strategies for the biofuels and clean energy sectors, encompassing policy analysis, market research, fleet evaluations, equipment assessments, and collaborations with retailers and fleet operators.
• A deep understanding of government programs, staff, and related grant opportunities. – Management of non-profit organizations and foundations.
• Supporting Clean Cities coalitions effectively.

Ms. Hamilton’s journey in the alternative fuels arena commenced in 1988 when she joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s Biofuels Division. Between 1992 and 1997, she founded and co-managed the Alternative Fuels Hotline for Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) while overseeing its alternative fuels division. In 1997, she established Sustainable Energy Strategies, Inc. Over the past two decades, SESI has been instrumental in providing grant management and fundraising support to Clean Fuels Alliance America (formerly the National Biodiesel Board), its Foundation, and members, helping industry stakeholders secure over a billion dollars and maximize additional funding. For nearly ten years, she has served as chair of the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition and held positions on various boards. Ms. Hamilton earned her BS degree in Environmental Studies from Principia College in Elsah, Illinois.

Tom Jacobs

Tom Jacobs is the Director of the Center for Advanced Transportation Technology at Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Pamela Kelly

Committee Member

Pam Kelly has more than 25 years of experience in the public finance industry providing investment banking and advisory services to the government and not-for-profit sectors. She has significant experience evaluating and implementing financing plans structured with various funding and credit sources and has a particular interest in economic and community development initiatives. She has advised clients in the State of Maryland and nationally on tax-exempt and taxable financings utilizing general obligation and revenue bonds, appropriation and lease structures, tax credits, energy performance contracts, tax increment districts and community development authorities.

Ms. Kelly is a registered Municipal Advisor, serves on the board of the Maryland Women in Public Finance and is a member of Maryland Government Finance Officers Association, Maryland Economic Development Association and Maryland Association of Counties. She received her undergraduate degree from Towson University and lives in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Cindy McCabe

Cindy McCabe is the Senior Director of Renewable Energy at the Montgomery County Green Bank.

Dr. Nandini Mouli

Dr. Nandini Mouli has extensive experience originating and managing all aspects of clean energy businesses. A serious entrepreneur with expertise in building new businesses, directing and consulting for public and private sectors, she has demonstrated superior leadership skills and an impressive ability to attract high energy-progressive clients and has undertaken design-and-build projects utilizing industry best practices. As the Principal of eSai LLC, she manages business development, funding and implementation of clean energy projects for public/private sector clients.

Some of Dr. Mouli’s other accomplishments:

• Inventor: 49 US and International patents in chemical and energy fields: Recently issued: US9777204 B2, (Oct.3,’17), US 8668791 (Mar.’14); US 8663494 (Mar.’04); US 8535555 (Sep.’13); US 8529786 (Sep.’13); 8,383,004 B2 & US 8394386 (Jan.’14),8529786 (Sep.’13),US 8946846(Jul ’13),US 8101094(Jan.’12), US 80718 (Jan.’12).
• Author: Over 10 technical papers on carbon abatement, climate change, green buildings, Distributed Energy Services and Microgrids.
• Board-of-Directors: National Council on Women in Energy and Environmental Leadership (CWEEL), Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), Angstroms Inc., HACSI and an honorary advisor to the Maryland Clean Energy Center (2017-to-date).
• President: Association of Energy Engineers – Baltimore.
• Board-of-Trustees: UHJT, HTA and GBT and Advisor for Inter-Faith Coalition on Climate Change
• Moderator: Panel discussions on Microgrid and Energy Storage (Nov.’17), many clean energy and “You be the Chemist” National competitions
• Education: Ph.D., Six Sigma Black Belt, DOE-Superior Energy Performance, Certified Climate Leadership Professional, Rapid Marketing Assessment/Rapid Value Assessment Certifications

Chris Nihan

Kerry E. O'Neill

Kerry E. O’Neill is the Chief Executive Officer of Inclusive Prosperity Capital, Inc., a nonprofit clean energy financing organization that was spun out of the Connecticut Green Bank in 2018 to scale up impact for underserved communities and underinvested markets across the country. IPC works at the intersection of community development, clean energy finance, and climate impact using a suite of standardized products. In addition to its direct investments, IPC operates as national infrastructure for the community clean energy finance sector. Through platforms, programs, and partnerships, IPC supports community lenders, green banks, credit unions, state agencies, and other mission-driven financial institutions seeking to deploy capital into clean energy markets. Prior to joining IPC, Ms. O’Neill led the residential energy financing programs and low-income initiatives at the Connecticut Green Bank, a state entity that works with private-sector investors to create low-cost, long-term sustainable financing for clean energy to maximize the use of public funds. Her work at IPC and the Connecticut Green Bank has given her keen insight into the institutional challenges – and opportunities – associated with resilient and clean energy investing for underserved communities.

Tom Peterson

Tom Peterson serves as the President and CEO of the Center for Climate Strategies (CCS). Since founding CCS in 2004, he has directed more than 100 high impact projects and bilateral cooperation initiatives at the local, state, and national levels in the US, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. This includes policy research on multi objective solutions to climate change as well as consensus-based policy planning and assessment processes resulting in the development and implementation of sector level climate change mitigation and adaptation approaches. In addition, Tom serves an Adjunct Professor and Lecturer at the Johns Hopkins’ University Energy Policy and Climate program and as an Adjunct Professor in the Environmental Science and Policy Department at George Mason University. He also is Chair of the City of Fairfax Environmental Sustainability Committee. Tom has authored many studies on public policy decision procedures innovations. He previously served as a Senior White House Advisor, Legislative Fellow to US Senator Joe Lieberman, Economist with the US EPA, and Vice President of DSL Capital Corporation. He holds a BS in Biology from the College of William and Mary, an MS in Environmental Management from Duke University, and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Benjamin Rupert

Ben Rupert brings more than 15 years of experience developing, creatively financing, and implementing clean energy projects and programs to the Maryland Clean Energy Center. He has spent significant time working in both the public and private sectors, and has unique experience developing collaborative procurement solutions to implement cost effective clean energy projects. He has provided technical support and leadership for a wide array of energy projects, including energy efficiency, combined heat and power, microgrid, energy storage, and renewable energy systems including solar, wind, renewable natural gas (RNG), and biomass.

Beyond technical energy expertise, Ben holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Policy. He has significant experience developing and implementing climate and energy policy at the state and local levels, and has served as a building codes and standards advisor for the States of Washington and California. He is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM), has served on the board of directors for the Association of Energy Engineer’s National Capital Chapter since 2016, and is a past president of the organizations Pacific Northwest Chapter.

Perry Rosensweig

Perry Rosensweig is Director, Public Sector with CPower, www.cpowerenergy.com, a leading demand response Curtailment Service Provider (CSP) for Maryland and the nation. In his role, Mr. Rosensweig develops and executes master service agreements (MSAs) and other kinds of contractual arrangements with state and local governments. This allows CPower to pay significant revenues to both public and private sector organizations with no out-of-pocket costs. These organizations often use demand response funds for energy upgrades, other capital costs, and operating expenses. Demand response facilitated by CPower helps avoid blackouts, boosts the supply of renewable energy, and increases electrification levels throughout the grid. His 25+ year energy management career also includes working for energy service companies (ESCOs) and a photovoltaic manufacturer. Mr. Rosensweig holds a juris doctorate from Tulane Law School, earned designation as a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) through the Association of Energy Engineers, and is a proud resident of the state of Maryland.

Craig Schultz

Craig Schultz is a Senior Advisor for Renewable Energy and Energy Resilience at the consulting firm ICF with 30 years of industry experience, including 23 years at ICF. Craig leads consulting projects ranging from market assessments and feasibility analyses to project selection, policy reviews, transaction structuring, negotiation, and implementation. He has led several renewable energy potential studies for electric utilities, forecasting the effects of changing project economics on long-term renewable energy deployment. He is based in Montgomery County, Maryland and has been active with solar transactional work in the state since 2008, including supporting several municipal and state government agencies in the Washington, DC area in advancing their solar programs. Craig received his MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Wesleyan University.

Nick Silbergeld

Nick Silbergeld is a senior director at HASI, a leading investor in sustainable infrastructure assets, leading the credit investments team. He is responsible for overseeing the origination, structuring, and execution of transactions, with a focus on the firm’s energy-efficiency investments and securitization platform.

Prior to joining HASI, Mr. Silbergeld worked at Calvert Impact Capital, where he managed investments across various sectors, and previously at J.P. Morgan in the commercial mortgage securities group. He has participated in the Maryland Department of the Environment’s Building Energy Transition Implementation Task Force and serves on the Advisory Council of the Maryland Clean Energy Center. Mr. Silbergeld holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Denison University and a certificate in Clean Energy Finance from Yale University.

Kathleen Spees

Dr. Kathleen Spees is a Principal at The Brattle Group with expertise in wholesale electricity markets design and carbon policies. Her expertise focuses on environmental policy and wholesale electricity market design, economic analysis, and modeling. For RTO market operators she supports implementation and development of wholesale markets including energy, ancillary services, capacity, FTRs, clean energy attribute markets, and integration of emerging technologies. She supports regulators, NGOs, and utilities to develop GHG reduction policy alternatives, conduct power sector and economy-wide modeling of GHG abatement pathways, and assess benefits/costs in the context of policy reforms for clean energy transition. For energy-intensive companies pursuing net zero commitments, Dr. Spees offers economic advice for designing internal GHG pricing and abatement incentive programs, estimating fleet-wide GHG abatement cost curves, identifying least-cost pathways to net zero, designing internal GHG pricing and incentive programs, and conducting due diligence analysis of GHG-abatement investments. Dr. Spees earned her PhD in Engineering and Public Policy within the Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Center and her MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. She earned her BS in Physics and Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University.

Anmol Vanamali

Anmol Vanamali is a sustainable finance expert with almost 20 years of experience working in climate, energy and infrastructure sectors with corporations, financial institutions, non-profit institutions and governments. Prior to joining MCEC, he was the Director of Innovative Climate Finance at the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) where he was responsible for institutional strategy development, transaction underwriting, interagency collaboration and external engagement related to climate finance. Prior to joining the DFC, he was the Director of Sustainable Finance at Winrock International and was responsible for designing and implementing sustainable finance solutions through partnerships with financial institutions and the private sector to achieve global sustainable development goals. Previously, he was the Financing Strategies Director with the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC), responsible for designing and implementing impact investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Prior to VEIC, he was the Director of Finance and Policy Analysis at the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) and was a leading voice in areas of global climate finance and sustainable infrastructure. Earlier in his career, Anmol was part of the Principal Investments team at Macquarie Capital that focused on private equity investments in the renewable energy sector and an Assistant Manager at Gammon Infrastructure Projects Ltd., where he financed and developed large-scale infrastructure in India. He is also currently an Adjunct Professor at the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) at Georgetown University where he teaches a course that explores the intersection of corporate sustainability and international development.  Anmol hails from India originally and has a Bachelor of Sciences degree from PSG College of technology (Coimbatore), a Masters in Business Administration from Sydenham Institute of Management (Mumbai) and a Masters in International Affairs degree from Columbia University (New York). He has business fluency in English, Spanish and Hindi and is conversational in French.

Joseph Weaver

Joseph N. Weaver is a seasoned executive, strategist, and innovator with over 34 years of experience in technology integration, AI-driven transformation, and business growth. As President & CEO of Global Design, Inc., Joseph has spearheaded the expansion of integrated marketing, data analytics, and drone-media platforms, helping organizations embrace innovation while achieving measurable business outcomes. Previously, Joseph served as a Senior Consultant at Price Waterhouse, where he directed enterprise-level system development and introduced early data modeling techniques that laid the groundwork for modern decision support systems. His career began at Monsanto, where he led database design and enterprise system development, enhancing efficiency across purchasing, accounting, and manufacturing functions. Known for blending strategic foresight with technical fluency, Joseph thrives in fractional executive roles, where organizations require immediate impact, adaptable leadership, and guidance in aligning strategy with execution.

Bert Wilson

Eli Allen

Eli Allen is a Senior Program Director for Civicworks.

Puala Bahler

Paula Bahler is a Workforce Development Manager at IEC Chesapeake.

Daniel Bresette

Daniel Bresette serves as President of the Environmental and Energy Study Institute in Washington, D.C.—a non-profit education and policy organization. Before joining EESI, Daniel served as the Vice President of Policy at the Alliance to Save Energy, which also involved leading the Energy-Efficient Codes Coalition as its Executive Director. Previously, Daniel was the Maryland Energy Administration’s Senior Energy Policy Manager and oversaw a diverse portfolio of state energy efficiency financing initiatives. He has provided expert testimony to Congress, the Maryland General Assembly, and other regulatory agencies on energy efficiency topics, presented at national conferences, and served on a range of national committees and work groups. Previously, he worked in the strategy practice at Booz Allen Hamilton. He began his career with U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-VT).

Benjamin Burdick

Ben Burdick serves as the Managing Director of the District of Columbia Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU), which VEIC administers on behalf of the Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE).

Over his 14-year tenure, Ben has held several roles at the DCSEU, including Director of Marketing, Communications, and Strategy, and Director of Operations. Ben’s experience in leadership roles across the DCSEU has equipped him with a unique depth of understanding of the program and the city’s climate and energy needs. His experience also informs his vision for the program’s future.

As Managing Director, Ben Burdick leads the DCSEU’s strategic direction and long-term goals, supporting the organization’s commitment to making energy efficiency and clean energy more accessible to everyone in the District and building upon the $2 billion in lifetime cost savings that have been delivered to District residents and businesses through incentives and efficiency upgrades since 2011.

Holly Carr

Holly Carr is a Product Manager with the U.S. Green Building Council.

Kim Coble

Kim Coble joined Maryland LCV in 2019 after two years as the chief operating officer at US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment. Prior to her role at US SIF, Kim worked at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, including eight years as the Maryland executive director and then six years as vice president of environmental protection and restoration, where she oversaw CBF’s policy, outreach and restoration work throughout the watershed.

Kim holds a master’s of science in public health. She currently is co-chair of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change. Kim was selected as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women in 2015, appointed as an Admiral of the Chesapeake Bay, served as the valedictorian of her Leadership Maryland class, and was a member of the State Ethics Commission from 2015 to 2019. Kim lives in Annapolis with her husband and two dogs and enjoys spending time at her 120-year-old cabin in the Adirondacks.

Jamie DeMarco

Jamie DeMarco has more than a decade of experience advocating in Annapolis and a proven track record of success.

In 2017, Jamie co-founded the Maryland Clean Energy Jobs Initiative, a non-profit with the sole mission of passing the Maryland Clean Energy Jobs Act of 2019. He played a leading role in designing the two-year campaign strategy, executing that strategy, and successfully passing the Clean Energy Jobs Act of 2019.

Jamie lead a coalition to advocate for, and eventually pass, the Climate Solutions Now Act, Maryland’s landmark climate legislation which requires the state to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2045. Jamie also helped pass legislation in Maryland to ban fracking, invest in offshore wind, require agencies to consider the climate impacts of their decisions, and more.

In addition to his victories in Annapolis, Jamie has had an impact in states across the country and at the federal level. He spent 18 months as a lead grassroots advocate working to pass the Inflation Reduction Act. He helped pass the Clean Energy DC Act of 2018, which at the time was the strongest clean energy legislation in the country, and played a supportive role in the passage of the New York Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019.

Jamie knows how to get things done in Annapolis and is ready to work with you for a better Maryland.

Cora Dickson

Cora Dickson founded Solar Policy Associates (SPA) in 2025 after a 24-year career with the U.S. Department of Commerce. In this role, Ms. Dickson currently specializes in state/local solar policies, particularly with regards to solar deployment in rural areas. In addition, SPA provides strategic advising for solar-related trade and investment. In her previous role as a solar industry expert in the International Trade Administration, she travelled around the country to visit American manufacturing sites and travelled globally to collaborate with other countries on solar supply chain policies. Ms. Dickson was also a key person in the federal policymaking process to develop trade policies that leveled the playing field for American-made solar products. Additionally, she led export promotion initiatives that gave U.S. companies access to international opportunities for renewable energy products and services. She lives in Rock Hall, Maryland, a small town on the Chesapeake Bay, where in 2014 she founded Eastern Shore Rabbit Rescue and Education Center, a nonprofit organization that finds homes for abandoned pet rabbits.

Hon. John Conger

John Conger is Director Emeritus of the Center for Climate and Security, Senior Advisor to the Council on Strategic Risks, and Senior US Advisor to the International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS).

Mr. Conger previously served as Director and Senior Policy Advisor with the Center for Climate and Security, and as the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).  As principal deputy comptroller, he assisted the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) in the performance of his or her duties, provided advice to the Secretary of Defense on all budgetary and financial matters, including the development and execution of the DoD’s annual budget of over $500 billion, and oversaw the DoD’s efforts to achieve audit readiness.

Prior to his service as Deputy Comptroller, Mr. Conger oversaw energy, installations and environmental policy throughout DoD in three different positions: as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations and Environment, as Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations & Environment, and as Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations & Environment from 2009 to 2015.  In this role, Mr. Conger oversaw a vast portfolio that included base closure, energy security, climate change, and management of $850 billion in real property.

Before his appointment at DoD, Mr. Conger served for 12 years on legislative staffs in the U.S. Congress, including as Professional Staff for the House International Relations Committee.  Previously, Mr. Conger was employed in the private sector as an aerospace engineer and defense analyst supporting the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Mr. Conger holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.A. in Science, Technology and Public Policy from the George Washington University. He is also President of Conger Strategies and Solutions, LLC, and a non-resident senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Michelle Cross

Michelle joined ReliabilityFirst (RF) in 2021 and is responsible RF’s external outreach and communications activities, including outreach to registered entities, state public utility commissions, and state legislatures on key reliability and security topics. In this role, she leads a dedicated team of Operation and Planning Engineers, Cyber Security Experts, Policy Analysts and Communication Specialists.

Prior to joining RF, Michelle was at American Electric Power for 12 years in various positions, including both generation and distribution operations. She also has a background in industrial control system operations with Rockwell Automation and Anheuser Busch.

Sade Dennis

Sade Dennis is the Director of Market Transformation and Development at the  U.S.Green Building Council.

Courtney Fasca

Ms. Fasca joined ReliabilityFirst (RF) in 2021 as an auditor in the Compliance Monitoring – Operations and Planning Department before transitioning to the External Affairs and Entity Engagement teams in late 2024.

In addition to three years of auditing experience with ReliabilityFirst, Ms. Fasca has over five years of RTO/ISO operations and compliance experience, working side-by-side (and virtually) with operations, compliance teams, planning, and various engineers to maintain and improve RTO/ISO operations.

Ms. Fasca was a representative on the Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC) Taskforce on Coordination of Operation (CO-12), helping to develop the regional Summer and Winter Assessments.
She also served as a member of the NERC Reliability Assessment Subcommittee (RAS) where she performed a similar role in preparing the NERC Summer and Winter Reliability Assessments.

Ms. Fasca has served as the ISO New England Generation Outage Coordinator and Fuel Security Analyst.

She has experience with the PJM control room dispatch and compliance departments.

Ms. Fasca graduated from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Minor in English.

Ellen Flowers-Fields

Flowers-Fields has more than 30 years of progressive professional experience in the field of workforce development and human capital management – the last nine of which have been with CSM. Throughout her career she has acquired and managed more than $100 million in support of various economic and community development initiatives.

Her other roles have included: acting assistant secretary, and deputy assistant secretary of the Division of Workforce Development & Adult Learning at the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation (now the Maryland Department of Labor); regional director of economic development at the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland; and executive director for Southern Maryland Works. In her role with Southern Maryland Works, Flowers-Fields led the effort to establish the region’s first One Stop workforce service delivery system and Workforce Investment Board under the Federal Workforce Investment Act.

Flowers-Fields is pursuing her master’s degree in Public Administration from Old Dominion University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Pace University in New York and certification from the International Business Innovation Association in Business Incubation Management. She is credentialed as a Global Career Development Facilitator from the Center for Credentialing and Education. Flowers-Fields is a 2009 graduate of the inaugural class of Leadership Southern Maryland and a 2016 League for Innovation in the Community College Excellence Award recipient. She is also an entrepreneur and a self-published author.

Her current affiliations include a gubernatorial appointment as vice chair of Maryland’s Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) – which serves as Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies. She is also a member of the American Association of Community College’s Economic & Workforce Development Commission; an executive board member for the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland; a member of the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals and of the Maryland Economic Development Association. Previously, she served as a board member on the Maryland Broadband Coordination Board; as past board chair for Bethel House Inc.; and as treasurer for the Community Foundation of Southern Maryland.

Tunde Gbotosh

Tunde Gbotosho advises utilities and energy organizations on AI strategy, capital program delivery, and decarbonization, translating emerging technology into measurable outcomes across some of the most complex infrastructure programs in the country. As a Senior Manager at Motive Power, a utility capital consulting firm, he leads AI integration and digital transformation both for major investor-owned utility clients and across the firm itself; building the tools, workflows, and adoption frameworks that define how a modern utility practice operates in an AI-first environment. He has seen that AI creates durable value in utilities when it’s treated as organizational transformation, not technology deployment.

His recent work includes supporting the deployment of production-grade AI tools for utility capital programs, reducing analysis cycles from hours to under 30 seconds.

Tunde also supports the National Public Utilities Council (NPUC), an executive benchmarking program tracking decarbonization performance across the 47 largest U.S. investor-owned utilities, equipping utility leadership with the intelligence needed to plan and lead in a rapidly evolving energy landscape.

He holds a B.A. in Statistics from the University of Virginia and a Credential of Readiness from Harvard Business School.

Larry Goldenhersch

Lawrence Goldenhersh is a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur-turned nonprofit leader with extensive experience in the sustainability and environmental sectors. Prior to becoming president of CSE in late 2017, Larry ran Enviance, a leading environmental technology company that he founded in 1999. Before Enviance, Larry was a partner at Irell & Manella, a Los Angeles law firm of more than 150 lawyers, where he served on the management committee and specialized in complex commercial litigation.

Michael Hindle

Michael Hindle is the founder and principal of Passive to POSITIVE, a Building Enclosure and Energy Efficiency consulting firm specializing in PASSIVE HOUSE, Zero Energy, Low Carbon, and Resilient Design. He is also co-founder and principal of Common Ecology, a regenerative and permaculture-based design company, focused on regenerative community redevelopment projects.

Michael was trained formally as an artist and was a practicing artist and educator at the college level for 12 years. He began his inquiry into sustainable architecture as a member of an Architecture Design Studio faculty at Miami University of Ohio in 2003. While teaching painting and drawing at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD, he began working with Brennan + Company Architects in Baltimore, researching ways to deepen the firm’s commitment to environmental practice. He turned his attention to architecture full time in 2008, focused on sustainability and climate change impacts. Michael became one of the nation’s first Certified Passive House Consultants (CPHC) in late 2009. He has consulted on Passive House, zero-energy, and Living Building Challenge projects that include single-family and multi-family residential, mixed-use, and small commercial projects from Washington DC to New Hampshire. He has experience in both new construction and retrofits, and is committed to low toxicity, low Global Warming Potential, and carbon sequestering building methods.

In 2014, Michael founded Passive to POSITIVE. Since its founding in 2014, the company has achieved an impressive range of firsts and ground breaking projects: Weinberg Commons, in Washington DC, was the first Certified Passive House Retrofit apartment building in the country, and won the PHIUS 2017 Affordable Project of the year award; The Old Hopkins Rd. House in Clarksville, MD, won 2018 “Source-Energy Zero” project of the year from PHIUS; The Studio for High-Performance Design and Construction, in Newton, MA, is one of the first Passive House retrofit and positive energy office buildings in the country; and Gilford Village Knolls III, the first multi-family Passive House in New Hampshire, and the Dallas Street Passive House in Baltimore, has won numerous AIA design awards.

Michael is a former president of the Passive House Alliance and served on the Board of Directors of the Passive House Institute/US. He received his MFA from Indiana University, Bloomington, and his CPHC designation through the Passive House Institute/US (PHIUS), located in Chicago, Illinois.

He lives with his wife and business partner, Architect, Carri Beer, and 3 kids in a mid-century modern, deep energy retrofit, near net-zero home on a permaculture inspired lot in Catonsville, MD.

Diane Holder

Ms. Holder, Vice President, Engineering & Strategic Engagement, is responsible for RF’s outreach to utilities, government officials and the public, as well as for RF’s engineering and event analysis work. In this role, she leads the External Affairs, Entity Engagement, Engineering & System Performance, and Operational Analysis & Awareness teams.

Joanne Ivancic

Joanne Ivancic serves as Executive Director of Advanced Biofuels USA, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to promoting the understanding, development and use of advanced biofuels in the US and around the world as an immediate solution to mitigate climate change. She has lived and worked in the Washington area for nearly 50 years. She graduated from George Washington University National Law Center, worked on Capitol Hill and has served as a lobbyist for an enzyme development company working to convert agricultural waste into value-added advanced biofuels. On Capitol Hill and with executive and international agencies and organizations, she promotes advanced biofuels research, production and use. She has observed the development of advanced biofuels research and financing for about 20 years. In April 2008 she co-founded Advanced Biofuels USA to fill a gap in public understanding and perception about biofuels, to emphasize the potential of truly renewable sustainable “next generation” or “advanced” biofuels.

Dr. Masica Jordan

Dr. Masica Jordan Alston is a nationally recognized clean energy strategist, entrepreneur, and behavioral health leader whose work sits at the intersection of equity, workforce, economic mobility, and environmental justice. She earned her B.S. in Sociology and M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Bowie State University, completed her Doctorate of Education in counseling/psychology, and holds an MIT certificate in Participatory Design and Applications.

A dynamic business consultant and CEO of Apexx Adams Transportation and Clean Energy, Dr. Jordan Alston has helped shape high-impact initiatives that expand access, ownership, and opportunity in historically marginalized communities. Her leadership has been featured in TIME Magazine, highlighted by CNN’s Lisa Ling, and amplified through appearances with Roland Martin, FOX media, and other major platforms.

She is the architect of an EV franchising model designed to create ownership pathways for BIPOC and marginalized communities in an industry where women and people of color remain drastically underrepresented. She has also contributed to major federal clean energy project designs, including NEVI and Solar for All, and helped launch Maryland’s pioneering Cybersecurity in Clean Energy registered apprenticeship program.

Dr. Jordan Alston is also a sought-after keynote speaker who has addressed national and regional audiences on clean energy, environmental justice, workforce development, and economic inclusion. Her work continues to move communities from access to ownership and from conversation to measurable transformation.

Arnold Kee

Arnold Kee is the Director of Education Data at the US Green Building Council. While serving both as a data analyst and program director, he is leading efforts to align LEED strategies with green workforce development needs. Internal efforts include connecting O*NET defined occupational skills with LEED tactics, conducting roundtables with industry experts, and developing new training certificates to be issued by USGBC and several education partners. He has more than 25 years of education policy experience having worked with other non-profit organizations such as the Institute for Higher Education Policy and the American Association of Community Colleges. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Tufts University and is a LEED Green Associate.

Faith Klareich

Faith Klareich is the Founder of Maryland Data Center Analysis Group.

Catherine Lewis

Ms. Lewis joined Reliability First (RF) as an Energy Policy Analyst in the External Affairs department in 2024. In this role, she contributes to expanding state outreach efforts and examining federal policies related to the Bulk Power System.​

Prior to attaining her current position, Ms. Lewis served as a Regulatory Policy Coordinator Intern at RF. During this time, she worked on various research assignments that congregated state energy policy portfolios. ​
Ms. Lewis originally began her career in biological and environmental sciences and has leveraged this background to guide her analysis of emerging energy technologies and clean energy goals. ​

In 2024, Ms. Lewis earned her Master of Public Affairs from the Indiana University O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, concentrating in environmental policy and natural resource management with a particular emphasis on the energy sector. She previously graduated with her Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin in 2021.​

Kevin Lucas

Kevin Lucas is SEIA’s Vice President of Policy Analysis. In this role, he focuses on cross-cutting policy issues that are shaping the energy transition. Kevin’s team of subject matter experts focus on topics such as cybersecurity, virtual power plants, rate design, long-term resource planning, distribution system planning, grid reliability, and interconnection reform at the state, regional, and federal level.

He also works with other State Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, and Congressional Affairs team members providing technical support for policy and regulatory issues across the country. Prior to joining SEIA, Kevin worked at the Alliance to Save Energy, a non-profit focused on implementing technology-neutral energy efficiency policies and programs. Before that, Kevin was Director of Policy for the Maryland Energy Administration, focused on efforts including renewable energy, energy efficiency, and greenhouse gas reduction.

Luke Lanciano

As Senior Director of Sustainability for The Tower Companies, Luke oversees sustainability initiatives across the company’s residential and commercial portfolio. With more than a decade of experience in property management and sustainability, he brings expertise in energy efficiency, water conservation, and sustainable building operations that advance Tower’s long legacy of environmental leadership.

Luke is a LEED® Accredited Professional (AP) for Operations and Maintenance, a Fitwel Ambassador, and a Certified Energy Manager (CEM). He currently serves on the Montgomery County Building Performance Improvement Board and is the co-chair the Sustainability Committee of the Apartment and Office Building Association (AOBA) of Metropolitan Washington. In addition, he volunteers with Rock Creek Conservancy as a Stream Team Leader, helping protect local waterways and wildlife.

Shannon McGuire

Shannon McGuire serves as the Operations Director, where she ensures the smooth business operations for VGIC with a focus on membership sales, engagement, retention, and overall satisfaction.

Shannon brings ten years of program and project management, development, operations, and communications experience in the nonprofit and government sectors. Most recently, she managed membership and business operations for the California Energy Storage Alliance and the Green Hydrogen Coalition through Strategen Consulting. Prior to this, she led the pandemic recovery efforts for the hospitality industry in North Carolina and managed the workforce development initiatives, federal grants, and scholarship program. Shannon has also previously worked at a small management consulting firm that works with federal government agencies to empower their staff to improve program operations, stakeholder engagement, and communications. She is passionate about building partnerships and engagement for ESG initiatives.

Shannon holds a Bachelor of Arts in Human Services and Social Justice and a Master of Public Administration with a focus on nonprofit management from George Washington University.

Ruth Ann Norton

Ruth Ann Norton is President & CEO of the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to advancing racial and health equity and opportunity through healthy housing. A national expert and advocate on green and healthy homes, she directs GHHI’s groundbreaking work across the United States where 65 cities, counties and states are using housing as a platform for improved health and social outcomes. Through the implementation of the GHHI comprehensive housing intervention model and its best practices Toolbox that she helped develop, cities are improving the ability of children to arrive in the classroom healthy and ready to learn and to stay in school through reduced asthma related absences.

The architect of the State of Maryland’s 99% reduction in childhood lead poisoning, Ms. Norton has developed over 45 pieces of successful healthy housing legislation that focus on reducing health disparities. Through its current feasibility and development work with healthcare partners and jurisdictions nationally, she heads a GHHI technical assistance team that is creating sustainable models for Medicaid reimbursement for preventive asthma and household injury services.

Ms. Norton serves as a member of the: EPA Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee, National Leadership Academy for the Public’s Health (NLAPH), National Council of State Housing Agencies’ National Advisory Group, Ohio Asthma Council, and Maryland Lead Poisoning Prevention Commission, and was previously a federally appointed liaison to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention. A founding member of the NEWHAB Advisory Board, she provides a leading voice to articulate the significant health and social benefits of weatherization investments through her advisory role with Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) and has authored research publications on the non-energy benefits of energy efficiency.

Ms. Norton is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leader, a Weinberg Foundation Fellow, a WE ACT Environmental and Social Justice awardee, and received the Tony Woods Award for Excellence from the Building Performance Industry in 2016 for her efforts to integrate energy efficiency upgrades with healthy homes interventions on a national scale. Under her leadership, GHHI has been awarded the HUD Secretary’s Award for Healthy Homes and the EPA’s National Environmental Leadership Award in Asthma Management for its innovative programs.

Laurel Peltier

Laurel is an energy writer and energy advocate focused on ensuring that Maryland’s 430,000 low-income families can afford their home energy bills. She is also AARP Maryland’s utility advocate. She chairs the state coalition that works with agencies and legislators to develop and implement programs that work for residential customers. Her work on residential retail choice culminated in SB1’s passing, which reformed Maryland’s retail energy choice market. She volunteers 2 hours a week in Baltimore City’s GEDCO Community HUB directly helping families manage their utility bills.

Claudia Wilson Randall

Claudia Wilson Randall is the Executive Director of the Community Development Network of Maryland.

Rebecca Rehr

Rebecca Rehr is the Director of Climate Policy and Justice at the Maryland League of Conservation Voters. She helps shape the organization’s climate and clean energy policy efforts with a focus on communities that are overburdened by a history of environmental injustice. Rebecca was previously Director of ecoAmerica’s Climate for Health Program, where she worked to build the health voice on climate action. She also serves on the Board of Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake and on the Maryland Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities.

Dr. Karen Wayland

Chair of the Board

Dr. Karen Wayland is a nationally recognized expert in energy and environmental policy, with extensive experience in government and non-profit leadership. Through her firm, kW Energy Strategies, she provides strategic consulting on grid modernization, coalition building, and communications to clean energy companies, environmental organizations, local governments, and foundations. Dr. Wayland’s prior experience includes the U.S. Department of Energy and work on energy and climate legislation for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and then-Majority Whip Senator Harry Reid. She currently serves on DOE’s Electricity Advisory Committee, chairing the Smart Grid subcommittee, and holds board positions with the Energy Futures Initiative Foundation, Keystone Policy Center, and the Center for Sustainable Energy.

Sara Westrick

Sara Westrick is the Advocacy Director for AARP Maryland and, in that role, manages a team of 40+ volunteer advocates and represents AARP before the Maryland General Assembly. She has more than 20 years of experience in foreign affairs, primarily in international humanitarian assistance for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). She is also the former Chair of the Anne Arundel County Commission for Women. She holds a master’s degree in international political economy from La Universidad de Belgrano in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a bachelor’s degree from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, where she studied International Relations and Modern Languages.

Ronnie Gist

Ronnie Gist is the Associate Director of the Maryland Industrial Partnerships.

Anson Liang

Anson Liang is a clean energy entrepreneur, investor, and educator focused on distributed energy, solar, and energy storage. He is the founder of PluginSolarUS.com, an education and policy platform advancing awareness of plug-in and balcony solar in the United States, and the founder of Rowkin Energy, which is developing next-generation consumer distributed energy solutions.

Anson was a co-founder of Jackery, where he helped build the U.S. market for portable energy storage and solar products. He is also a guest lecturer at Stanford University on entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainability.

His current work focuses on expanding consumer access to renewable energy through plug-in solar, energy storage, policy innovation, and new distributed energy models.

Ben Margolis

Ben Margolis serves as the Director of the Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator, leading all facets of the organization.

Abe Silverman

Abe Silverman is an assistant research scholar with the Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI) focusing on bringing academics, business leaders, and state and federal regulators together to solve the most pressing barriers to the clean energy transition. He joined Hopkins in July 2024.

Silverman is a lawyer licensed to practice law in Maryland and Washington D.C. and received his Juris Doctor from George Washington University Law School in 2001. Before coming to Hopkins, Silverman served as the managing director of non-technical barriers to the clean energy transition at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, starting in April 2023.

Prior to his work at Columbia University, he was general counsel and executive policy counsel for the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities from May 2019 to April 2023. Prior to going into state service, Silverman was an executive at NRG Energy, Inc., leading the company’s state and federal markets policy work. Silverman also served at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Silverman facilitates the Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission (States Collaborative), which is made up of representatives from  ten states—Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont—that have come together to coordinate on transmission grid expansion efforts in coordination with the U.S. Department of Energy.

Silverman received a Bachelor of Science in environmental geology and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Maryland in 1998.

Carlos A. Romero Talamás

Dr. Carlos A. Romero-Talamás received his B.S. in Engineering Physics from the Instituto Technológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, México; a Master of Space Studies from the International Space University, in Strasbourg, France; and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Physics from Caltech in 2005. He worked as a postdoctoral scholar at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory until 2008. That year he joined the University of Maryland as a Research Scientist working on high-temperature plasma confinement and on atmospheric plasmas created by lasers and terahertz electromagnetic radiation. Since 2013 he has been at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) where he is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering. In 2014 he received the DARPA Young Faculty Award for Alternate Fusion Concepts, and in 2015 the University System of Maryland’s PROMISE AGEP Outstanding Faculty Mentor award. Romero-Talamás is the Principal Investigator of the Centrifugal Mirror Fusion Experiment and is the CEO of the Terra Fusion Energy Corporation, which he founded in 2024 to make fusion energy a commercial reality using centrifugal magnetic mirrors.

Ratnesh Tiwari

Ratnesh Tiwari is the CEO and co-founder of NextGlass, a climate technology startup developing affordable vacuum-insulated glass (VIG) to dramatically improve the energy efficiency of buildings. Under his leadership, NextGlass is advancing next-generation window technology that can significantly reduce energy loss while making high-performance insulation more accessible. The company has been supported by leading innovation programs, including Activate, the National Science Foundation (NSF), NREL, and the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute. Ratnesh is passionate about scaling practical climate solutions that accelerate the transition to more sustainable buildings.

Dr. Eric D. Wachsman

Ex Officio Board Member

Dr. Eric D Wachsman, Director of the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute, is the William L. Crentz Centennial Chair in Energy Research and a Distinguished University Professor with appointments in both the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Maryland. He received his Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from Stanford University, and his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.

Dr. Wachsman is President of The Electrochemical Society (ECS) and Editor-in-Chief of Ionics. He is a Fellow of both ECS and the American Ceramic Society; elected member of the World Academy of Ceramics; the recipient of the 2017 Carl Wagner Award from ECS; the 2014 Sir William Grove Award from the International Association for Hydrogen Energy; the 2014 Pfeil Award from The Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining; the Outstanding Invention of 2013 award from the University of Maryland Office of Technology Licensing; the 2012 Fuel Cell Seminar & Exposition Award; and the 2012 HTM Outstanding Achievement Award from ECS.

His research is focused on solid ion-conducting materials and electrocatalysts, and includes the development of solid-state batteries, solid oxide fuel cells, ion-transport membrane reactors, and solid-state gas sensors, using advanced ion conducting materials. He has more than 270 publications and 35 patents/patent applications on ionic and electronic transport in materials, and their catalytic properties, and device performance, and to date three companies have been founded based on these technologies.

Karen Zuccardi

Karen Zuccardi is the Ecosystem Director at TEDCO, where she leads initiatives designed to strengthen Maryland’s innovation ecosystem and expand access to resources, partnerships, and commercialization opportunities for entrepreneurs across the state.

Her work focuses on connecting founders with industry, government, universities, investors, and economic development organizations to help emerging technologies move from research and innovation toward real-world application and growth. She has a particular interest in sustainability, clean technology, advanced manufacturing, and other innovation-driven industries that can create both economic and societal impact.

Karen brings experience spanning the private, nonprofit, government, and entrepreneurial sectors. She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Economics from Lafayette College and a master’s degree in Public Service from the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. Her graduate work included field experience in Indonesia focused on sustainable alternatives to traditional plastic packaging, and she previously served as Chair of the Little Rock Sustainability Commission.

Karen also serves in the Maryland Air National Guard and is an active speaker and moderator on entrepreneurship, commercialization, innovation ecosystems, and economic development.