EPIC Forum: Innovative Technologies to Accelerate MHD Vehicle Electrification

In April 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Patty Monahan to be one of the five commissioners on the California Energy Commission. She serves in the Energy Commission’s Science/Engineering position and is the lead commissioner on transportation. She has dedicated her career toward advancing clean energy technologies and cutting harmful pollution, with a focus on equity. Before joining the Energy Commission, she served as the transportation program director at the Energy Foundation, where she guided campaigns across the United States that advanced electric transportation and more efficient vehicles. She worked for the Union of Concerned Scientists in several roles, including director of the California office and deputy director of clean vehicles. She also worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and several energy-related consulting firms.

Commissioner Monahan received a bachelor of science degree from UC Berkeley and holds a master’s degree in energy analysis and policy from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Liane Randolph has spent most of her career in public service, specializing in environmental law and policy, effective administration, and a commitment to transparency and public process. She was appointed Chair of the California Air Resources Board by Governor Gavin Newsom in December 2020. Starting in 2015, Randolph served six years as a Commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission and managed numerous decisions on energy efficiency, integrated energy resource planning, and regulation of transportation network companies, as well as spearheading significant Commission policy reforms.  

Prior to the PUC, Randolph served from 2011 to 2014 as Deputy Secretary and General Counsel at the California Natural Resources Agency, where she worked on a wide variety of legal and policy issues, including work on the Klamath Dam Removal agreement, CEQA guidelines, and the Agency’s first Tribal Consultation Policy. Randolph’s first role with the State was as Chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission from 2003 to 2007. Her work at the state level builds on experience with local government that she gained while practicing municipal law as a contract City Attorney for the Cities of San Leandro and Suisun City. Randolph earned a juris doctor degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. 

With over 36 years of engineering experience Rey has been with the California Energy Commission (CEC) for 14 years, supporting transportation research and leading a team that has contributed in countless efforts to advance vehicle technologies beneficial to California’s clean energy goals. Rey’s previous engineering experience in the private sector includes product manufacturing, testing, and validation that was instrumental in developing the CEC’s transportation research agenda.

Adrian Tylim is responsible for driving the US and America’s market at Blue Solutions, a Bolloré company. He has broad experience with renewable energy technologies as an engineer, designer, project and business developer. He was part of NASA’s space station solar power module team, worked on various California wind energy projects, and was responsible for business development for a leading German solar engineering firm. As a sustainability champion, he designed a solution to eliminate landfills and economically produce renewable energy from waste. He also teaches MBA students Sustainable Business Strategies. He earned a MS in Energy Systems Engineering from the University of Arizona and a BS in Applied Physics from California State University.

Dr. AK Srouji is an expert in electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices. He serves as Romeo Power’s Chief Technology Officer, directing all technical activities, including product development, technology roadmap and IP strategy. He is highly dedicated to developing electrochemical systems in order to replace incumbent combustion technology, one after the other. Prior to joining Romeo Power, AK was developing advanced battery models, battery cells and systems at Robert Bosch’s Research & Technology Center in Silicon Valley. Throughout his energy technology career, he has successfully brought to market multiple lithium-ion and fuel cell programs funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. 

AK holds a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, and a PhD in Energy & Mineral Engineering with a focus on electrochemistry from The Pennsylvania State University.

Andrew Papson is an Advisor in the eMobility group of Southern California Edison, dedicated to accelerating the deployment electric trucks and buses. His work in the Charge Ready Transport program contributes to SCE's goal of building deploying over 200,000 EV trucks and buses by 2030. 

Andrew's role focuses on building partnerships with industry and agency stakeholders in truck and bus sectors. Through coordination with public sector partners, establishing industry working groups, and participating in industry events, Andrew is a conduit for engaging stakeholders in how to partner on large EV infrastructure projects and socializing information on technology and market readiness.   

Andrew has deep experience in electric vehicles, truck and bus fleet operations, and the environmental impacts of transportation. His career has included transit fleet management, environmental consulting and clean transportation nonprofit work.

Dr. Elena Krieger is the Director of Research at the energy science and policy research institute Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE). She joined PSE in 2013 to launch the organization’s clean energy practice area, and now oversees its scientific research efforts. Her current work focuses on accelerating the transition to clean energy resources, and developing transition pathways that realize health, environment, equity, and resilience co- benefits. She simultaneously works closely with community organizations, non-profits, policymakers, regulators, and other stakeholders to use science to inform energy policy.  

Dr. Krieger’s recent and ongoing research areas include solar + storage resilience hubs; integration of health, equity, and environmental metrics into state-level deep decarbonization strategies; sociodemographic trends of solar adoption; and identification of opportunities to replace peaker power plants with energy storage. She is a member of the Disadvantaged Communities Advisory Group to the California Energy Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission, and a member of the National Academies’ New Voices in Science, Engineering and Medicine Program 2021 Cohort. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering from Princeton, where her research focused on optimizing energy storage in renewable systems and holds an AB in Physics and Astronomy & Astrophysics from Harvard. 

Jesse Bennett is a Research Engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado and has worked extensively on the intersection of the utility industry and transportation, supporting fleet electrification and research on the impact EV charging will have on the grid. Jesse studied electrical engineering at Bucknell University and prior to his current position at NREL, served as a standards and specifications engineer at Duquesne Light, the electric distribution utility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Golden is a renewables-focused chemist with a background in applied molecular design. She earned her doctorate researching the design of materials for organic photovoltaics and organic light-emitting diodes. Today, she leverages her experience to solve materials problems in batteries, with the goal of accelerating the electrification of transportation and enabling the deployment of renewables on the grid.

Jigar is the Manager for Distributed Energy and Grid Services at Electrify America. Jigar is responsible for optimizing Electrify America’s energy portfolio, including managing rate structures, leveraging energy storage to manage exposure to demand charges, engaging with utilities and wholesale energy markets, as well as addressing vehicle-grid integration matters. Jigar has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering, with a minor in Business, from Cornell University, and a Master of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University. Prior to his role at Electrify America, Jigar was a Principal Consultant within the Energy and Utilities Practice at West Monroe Partners, where he advised utility clients on smart grid modernization topics, including rate structures and the use of energy storage to defer utility distribution investments. 

Previous to this, Jigar was a Senior Researcher at Envision Energy focused on wind farm (plant level) controls and analytics to lower the levelized cost of renewable energy, and an Edison Engineer at General Electric Global Research focused on wind turbine control systems and distributed energy resource (“DER”) controls, including for electric vehicle fleet charging to minimize demand charge costs. Jigar has publications in prominent scientific journals including IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid and Wind Energy Science and has five filed patent applications on topics spanning electric vehicle charging, electric grid congestion, and wind energy control systems.

John Thomas joined TA in March 2021, bringing over 30 years of blended experience in product engineering, operations and executive leadership to the company. His vast career experience includes time at Tesla Motors where he was selected to be the first Head of the Model S program and General Manager of its Michigan and future factory operations. John later founded and ran his own startup called ALTe Powertrain Technologies for over 5 years. Forbes magazine selected his startup to receive the “America’s Most Promising Companies” award. John also has served as a C level consultant for several client firms in the electric vehicle, vehicle to grid, charging infrastructure and cleantech industries based in China, the USA, Australia and the EU. John joins TravelCenters of America after serving most previously as Vice President, Operations at Toyoda Gosei.

John holds bachelor’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration from Lawrence Technological University, in addition to an MBA from Eastern Michigan University. He also has certifications in Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma. John was selected by Ernst & Young as one of the “EV100” a designation given to the most significant contributors to the global EV industry in 2012.  

In his free time, John likes to stay fit by riding road and mountain bikes, playing golf, enjoying the outdoors and sharing quality time with his family. Additionally, John enjoys learning every day with a focus on sustainable solutions for the human race, while also indulging his Fast & Furious car enthusiasm—in a responsible way.

Jonathan Weisgall is Vice President for Legislative and Regulatory Affairs for Berkshire Hathaway Energy, formerly MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company. He also serves as chairman of the board of directors of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies and president of the Geothermal Energy Association.

He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he has taught a seminar on energy issues since 1990, and he has also guest lectured on energy issues at Stanford Law School and the Johns Hopkins Environmental Science and Policy Program. Mr. Weisgall graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia College and from Stanford Law School, where he served on the Board of Editors of Stanford Law Review. He previously practiced law in Washington, D.C. at Covington & Burling, has written law review articles for Wisconsin Law Review and University of San Francisco Law Review, and has published articles in Legal Times, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Foreign Policy, SAIS Review, and The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Joseph Gottlieb is the chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Rhombus Energy Solutions, where he leads the team developing next-generation power technologies for Rhombus EV chargers. Gottlieb is an expert in battery technology and BMS design; he holds 5 patents in different power control system areas. Prior to Rhombus, Gottlieb founded Flux Power, Inc., a lithium battery management technology company, and had executive and senior engineering positions at a variety of power and transportation-related companies. Joseph received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Northern Illinois University in Electrical Engineering. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with top honors.

Linda Gaines is an Environmental Scientist/Systems Analyst in Argonne National Laboratory’s Energy Systems division, where she examines energy use and the flow of materials and processes in the energy production cycle. She has written a series of handbooks assessing energy and material flows in petroleum refining, organic chemicals, and copper industries that provided background for studies of technical and institutional issues involved in recycling energy-intensive materials. Dr. Gaines has also examined the costs and impacts on energy use and the environment of production and recycling of advanced-design automobiles, trucks, trains, and batteries. More recently, her research has focused on analyzing process options for recycling of lithium-ion batteries.

Morgan Caswell is the Manager of Air Quality Practices for the Port of Long Beach—the second busiest container seaport in the U.S. She leads the implementation of the San Pedro Bay 2017 Clean Air Action Plan Update, which includes aggressive zero-emissions goals for cargo handling equipment and heavy duty trucks, and bold new strategies to clean up ship emissions. Morgan is also responsible for ensuring the success of the Ports major air quality programs, including ship incentive programs and over $75 million in grant-funded technology advancement projects. Morgan holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Public Health from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Muffi Ghadiali is Founder and CEO of Electriphi, Inc a developer of EV fleet and energy management solutions. In his prior role, Mr. Ghadiali was Senior Director at ChargePoint and led product management for hardware and software for DC Fast Charging Solutions, focusing on high-speed DC charging infrastructure design and deployment. Mr. Ghadiali is an experienced product management leader, with previous roles at Amazon, OUYA, HP, and Synaptics. He is an adjunct lecturer at Stanford CSU and has received an MPhil in computer engineering.

Natasha Contreras is SDG&E’s Electric Vehicle Customer Engagement Manager, focused on generating awareness about the benefits of driving electric and building a pipeline of customers to participate in SDG&E’s infrastructure programs. Natasha’s team manages all the marketing, education and outreach efforts for SDG&E’s Clean Transportation programs, as well as engagement with stakeholders in the region to drive collaboration and innovation. Natasha is a San Diego native and holds a BS in Marketing and Communications from San Diego State University, as well as a master’s in project management from the University of Wisconsin. She has worked at SDG&E since 2009.

Scott Fisher is Vice President of Fleets & OEMs at Greenlots where he helps fleet and OEM customers navigate their electrification journeys. Previously, Scott led Greenlots' eastern region market development efforts, focusing on building Greenlots’ business with governments, utilities, and automakers. Having spent more than 15 years prior to Greenlots at NRG Energy and Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) in market development, operations and strategy roles, Scott has a wealth of experience in scaling energy and electric transportation technologies. He received his MBA in Strategy and Finance from Yale School of Management and a BA in International Studies from Vassar College.

Scott is currently the head of fleet charging infrastructure sales for North America for ChargePoint. He has a dedicated team of EV charging experts reporting to him who help fleets, OEMs, fleet management companies, and others understand charging requirements and recommend the hardware and software configurations that best supports their needs.  Scott, in this function, has worked with many fleets that required effective power management to reduce infrastructure and energy costs. Scott has been at ChargePoint for over 11 years and has held many different positions including head of Eastern sales, Head of Europe, Head of Sales Operations. He lives outside of Boston, MA with his family.

Tim Shannon was the first school Transportation Director to deploy the largest fleet of electric buses in the nation. Shannon is the recipient of several awards for promoting improved air quality through clean vehicles, collaborating with local, state agencies, a leader in adopting advanced technology, and expanding the knowledge of other school districts and the public. He serves as a Chair on the Leadership Committee for the National Association for Pupil Transportation, a member of the Electric Vehicle School Transportation Coalition and a member of the Student Pupil Transportation Advisory Committee overseen by the California Highway Patrol to advocate for Tim's 20 years as the President of profitable business in a photography lab assisted in building the foundation for his advanced technology knowledge.

Troy is the Director of Process Improvement at DHE. He’s responsible for overseeing our transportation management system (TMS) and the ancillary applications that integrate with it. A big part of his day-to-day is data analytics and supporting operations of just about every department with challenges that relate to our TMS. He is also responsible for product and vendor review of hardware and software products that show potential value to our industry. A few examples include the smartphone our drivers use and telematic devices inside the trucks that communicate a lot of data, GPS locations and time dates. Another big part of his responsibility is to be the point of contact for new projects like Volvo LIGHTS and integrating these other products and vendors we’re trying to bring into our environment.
 

PG&E has developed several electric vehicle programs to support California’s ambitious climate and air quality goals. Today, Yen Tran, a PG&E Customer Onboarding Specialist, will be presenting on the PG&E EV Fleet Program. In her various roles at PG&E, she has supported Vegetation Management, New Business customers and now several of PG&E’s EV programs.