EPIC Symposium

David Hochschild was appointed Chair of the California Energy Commission by Governor Gavin Newsom in February 2019. He fills the environmental position on the five-member Commission where four of the five members are required by law to have professional training in specific areas - engineering or physical science, environmental protection, economics, and law. 

Chair Hochschild's career has spanned public service, environmental advocacy, and the private sector. He first got involved in the solar energy field in 2001 in San Francisco as a special assistant to Mayor Willie Brown where Chair Hochschild launched a citywide $100 million initiative to put solar panels on public buildings. He also cofounded the Vote Solar Initiative, a 60,000-member advocacy organization promoting solar policies at the local, state, and federal levels. He was executive director of a national consortium of leading solar manufacturers and worked for five years at Solaria, a solar company in Silicon Valley. From 2007 to 2008, he served as a commissioner at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. 

For his work to advance clean energy, Chair Hochschild was awarded the Sierra Club's Trailblazer Award, the American Lung Association's Clean Air Hero Award, and the U.S. Department of Energy's Million Solar Roof True Champion Award. Chair Hochschild holds a bachelor of arts from Swarthmore College and a master of public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He also was a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs. 

Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Gunda in February 2021 to serve as the Energy Commission’s public member. Gunda was later appointed to Vice Chair in September 2021. He is the lead commissioner on energy assessments.

Gunda served as manager of the Demand Analysis Office and deputy director for the Energy Commission’s Energy Assessments Division. The division forecasts and assesses energy demands and supplies. Before joining the Energy Commission, he served in a variety of capacities at the Energy Efficiency Institute at the University of California, Davis, including as the director of research, where he directed the institute’s operations and research portfolio.

He holds a master of science in mechanical and aeronautical engineering from Utah State University. Gunda is pursuing his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from UC Davis. He is a serious cricket fan and former captain of his college team. He lives with his family in Davis.

Elliot Mainzer is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Independent System Operator (ISO). The ISO is responsible for managing the flow of electricity that serves 80 percent of California and a small portion of Nevada. The CAISO also runs a real-time energy market for utilities in eight western U.S. states and conducts reliability coordinator services for most balancing authorities in the West. 

Mainzer is committed to using leading-edge policies and new technologies to accelerate California’s drive towards the reliable decarbonization of its electric power grid. He started in his new role at the ISO on September 30, 2020 following a successful 18-year career at the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) where he was at the forefront of transformational changes in the western electricity market. 

While serving as BPA’s administrator and CEO from 2013-2020, Mainzer effectively navigated the agency through a period of tremendous industry change and economic headwinds by improving the agency’s long-term cost competitiveness and financial resiliency, modernizing assets and system operations, and positioning BPA as a more responsive and agile business partner. 

In recent years, Mainzer has co-chaired the Western Electric Industry Leaders Group to support greater western market and policy coordination on such topics as resource adequacy, transmission development, and carbon accounting. He has also served as the Chair of the U.S. Entity for the Columbia River Treaty with Canada and on the boards of the Electric Power Research Institute, and the Utility Wind Integration Group. 

Steve Sloop is the President and Founder of OnTo Technology. Since 2004, the company has performed contract R&D to pioneer comprehensive methods to improve safety and efficiency in recycling lithium-ion batteries and materials. These innovations include deactivation/de-powering batteries to eliminate hazards in transportation and storage; electrolyte extraction; electrode harvesting and separation; and cathode-healing®, which is a direct method to reintroduce lithium, structure, and performance to scrap electrodes.  

Dr. Sloop has a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Oregon State University (1996), and post-doctoral experience at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (98-00) in Dr. John Kerr’s laboratory where he worked on transport properties in polymer electrolytes and in the ATD program, which was multi-laboratory/industrial collaborative team to develop diagnostic understanding of lithium-ion battery lifetime limitations. 

Jonah Steinbuck is the Director of the California Energy Commission’s Energy Research and Development Division. The division manages technology innovation and deployment programs that accelerate progress towards a clean energy economy. This includes the Electric Program Investment Charge program, which is the state’s premier clean electricity research and development program, and the Natural Gas Research and Development Program, which supports advancements in renewable gas and gas infrastructure planning.  

Steinbuck previously managed the division’s Energy Generation Research Office, leading technology innovation activities in renewable energy and sustainable transportation as well as advancements in energy-related environmental research.   

Before joining the Energy Commission, he worked on climate and clean energy policies and initiatives in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Department of Energy, the American Meteorological Society, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and the U.S. House of Representatives.   

Steinbuck holds a doctoral degree in civil and environmental engineering from Stanford University and a master’s in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. 

Dr. Sharon Kramer is a marine biologist and Principal at H. T. Harvey & Associates with more than 30 years of experience in the ecology of marine, estuarine, and freshwater ecosystems—including over a dozen years as a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  

Kramer leads environmental permitting efforts, environmental effect assessments and research, and planning and feasibility studies for H. T. Harvey’s marine renewable energy projects. Kramer has a Ph.D. in marine biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, a M.S. in zoology from the University of Hawai‘i, and a B.A. in aquatic biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. 

Steve Black is a leader in energy, environmental and natural resources policy with more than 25 years of experience as an environmental and energy lawyer and in the state and federal governments. Black helps public and private organizations navigate the political and public policy worlds in Washington, D.C. and in Western state capitals to achieve timely and cost-effective results with positive environmental outcomes. 

Black served as Counselor to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, where he played a key role on almost all energy and public lands issues facing the United States. Steve led the Department’s efforts to stand up for the first time a renewable energy program, best exemplified by the western solar plan and the successful permitting of 41 utility-scale renewable energy projects and more than 1,600 miles of transmission lines on public lands. 

Black joined the Department from Secretary Salazar’s Senate staff, where he was responsible for all of Senator Salazar’s energy, environment, and natural resources legislation, including the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the Renewable Energy provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Before moving to Washington, Mr. Black was Deputy Attorney General for Natural Resources and the Environment in the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and prior to that he was a partner at Holland & Hart, LLP, in Denver, where he practiced environmental law. 

Black earned his J.D. (1989) and his bachelor of arts degree (1982) from the University of California at Berkeley. Steve has two adult children and lives in Boulder, Colorado. 

Tenley Dalstrom works at New Energy Nexus as the Director of the CalTestBed Initiative, a CEC-funded clean energy testbed ecosystem providing entrepreneurs access to more than 70 world-class testing facilities throughout CA. Previously, she served as the Director of the national Solar Ready Vets Program and supported a number of U.S. Department of Energy initiatives including the Clean Energy Education and Empowerment Program, Smart Grid Investment Grants, and more than 10 technology peer reviews.  

Dalstrom spent more than five years overseas working on multi-lateral clean energy and sustainability projects and has dedicated her career to advancing the global clean energy transition to achieve greater social, economic, and environmental justice. She seeks to expand opportunities for underserved and underrepresented communities through supporting clean energy access, workforce development, and entrepreneurship. 

Rod Colwell is a seasoned corporate executive specializing in clean energy, critical minerals and commercial property development. Colwell combines thirty years of experience to lead CTR’s Hell’s Kitchen Lithium and Power project in Imperial Valley, California. These world-scale facilities will set new environmental standards for the delivery of battery-grade lithium products and baseload renewable power. Colwell was appointed commissioner to the California Blue-Ribbon Lithium Valley Commission in 2020 and is deeply committed to building a resilient lithium battery supply chain in the United States. His leadership and vision is focused on sustainable and competitive minerals supply and clean energy solutions for the future. 

Dr. Mi is the Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at San Diego State University. He is a Fellow of IEEE and SAE. He was previously a faculty member at the University of Michigan-Dearborn from 2001 to 2015, and an Electrical Engineer with General Electric from 2000 to 2001. He also served as the CTO of 1Power Solutions from 2008 to 2011.    

Dr. Mi has won numerous awards, including the “Distinguished Teaching Award” and “Distinguished Research Award” from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, IEEE Region 4 “Outstanding Engineer Award,” IEEE Southeastern Michigan Section “Outstanding Professional Award,” and SAE “Environmental Excellence in Transportation (E2T) Award.” He is the recipient of three Best Paper Awards from IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. In 2019, he received the Inaugural IEEE Power Electronics Emerging Technology Award. Dr. Mi is the 2022 recipient of the Albert W. Johnson Research Lectureship and distinguished professor, SDSU’s highest research honor. Dr. Mi has published five books, 206 journal papers, 126 conference papers, and more than 20 issued and pending patents. He served as Editor-in-Chief, Area Editor, Guest Editor, and Associate Editor of multiple IEEE Transactions and served as the General Chair of over ten IEEE international conferences. 

Mateo Jaramillo is co-founder and CEO of Form Energy. He was formerly Vice President of Products and Programs for Tesla’s stationary energy storage program, an effort he started. In that role, he was responsible for Tesla Energy’s product line and business model definition, as well as global policy and business development. Jaramillo joined Tesla in 2009 as the Director of Powertrain Business Development, serving as commercial lead on over $100M in new development and $500M in production contracts signed for electric powertrain sales. Prior to Tesla, Jaramillo was Chief Operating Officer and part of the founding team at Gaia Power Technologies, a pioneering distributed energy storage firm. 

Jaramillo serves on the Board of Directors for the American Clean Power Association, the leading federation of renewable energy companies expediting the advancement of clean energy as the dominant power source in America. Jaramillo earned his A.B. in Economics from Harvard and a masters in theology from Yale Divinity School. 

Tristan de Frondeville is CEO of SkyCentrics, a leader in open standards, grid-interactive smart building solutions that include the CTA-2045 EcoPort, OpenADR, and Volttron. He has more than 20 years of experience in software and hardware engineering management, including at Apple, and SRI International.  

de Frondeville is on the Consumer Technology Association committee managing the CTA-2045 EcoPort standard and leads the Advanced Water Heater Initiative sub-committee on connectivity and on commercial water heaters. He is working with NEEA, Energy Star, and National Laboratories on regulatory and policy initiatives, where his main focus is enabling Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (GEBs) that orchestrate electric loads to lower grid costs, decrease carbon emissions and increase the use of renewable energy. 

Robert Hart performs research and model development of energy-efficient windows and window attachments within the Windows and Envelope Materials Group. His recent work includes the development and experimental analysis of highly insulating "super windows", shading systems, and vacuum glazing. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University with concentrations in heat transfer and fluid dynamics. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of California, and a LEED AP. 

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.

Patricia K. Poppe is the Chief Executive Officer of San Francisco-based PG&E Corporation. 

Poppe joined PG&E in January 2021 after five years as President and CEO of CMS Energy and its principal subsidiary, Consumers Energy, where she focused on connecting the utility more closely with its customers and adapting lean operating system principles throughout the business. In her decade-long career with the Michigan company, she also served as Senior Vice President of Distribution Operations, Engineering and Transmission; Vice President of Customer Experience, Rates and Regulation; and Vice President of Customer Operations. 

Previously, Poppe served as a Power Plant Director at DTE Energy. Prior to joining DTE Energy, Poppe held a variety of plant management positions in the automotive industry. 

Poppe is a member of the Board of Directors for Whirlpool Corporation, Associated Electric & Gas Insurance Services Limited, Edison Electric Institute, Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, American Gas Association, Electric Power Research Institute and the California Chamber of Commerce. 

Poppe earned a master's degree in management from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and received a bachelor's degree and master's degree in industrial engineering from Purdue University. 

Michael Firenze, LEED AP; DBIA; MAS AESE; is a Principal Investigator with Indian Energy, and has over 25 years of heavy civil, industrial, and commercial design-build project management experience, specifically in advanced sustainable systems and critical infrastructures. As a senior project leader and corporate executive, Firenze’s responsibilities have varied in a wide range of corporate functions, from Senior Project Manager to Program Lead responsible for the development and execution of over $1B of facilities, infrastructure, and installations locally since 2005. A few of the core competencies that Firenze has developed through his experience building and developing cutting-edge facilities and advanced systems for the Department of Defense include business development, cost analysis, budget management, third-party finance, performance guarantees, technology development and integration, scheduling, quality control, safety, reporting, and compliance. 

Beginning in 2013 Firenze served as Principal Investigator for the United States Marine Corps and California Energy Commission to identify advanced microgrid technologies for demonstration in what is known as the Camp Pendleton FractalGrid Demonstration Project and Fractal Grid Initiative. Out of this, Firenze helped found an organization called CleanSpark to develop a highly advanced software and control platform to help lead the way in solving the energy security and resiliency challenges that the Department of Defense faces. 

Currently, Firenze acts as Principal Investigator for the Rapid Integration & Commercialization Unit (RICU) at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, as well as for the similar unit, the Viejas Commercialization Center (VCC) at the Viejas Nation in east county San Diego. This role acts as the technical and research lead for the program that supports with an acute focus on commercialization and deployment of Long Duration Energy Storage, stationary storage and microgrid system development & implementation, and energy systems of systems. 

Firenze has a master’s degree in Architecture-based Enterprise Systems Engineering from UCSD, a B.A. in Economics from San Diego State University, and has taken various credentialed programs in Corporate Finance, Land Management, and Commercial Real Estate Development from The University of San Diego. He was one of the initial LEED Accredited Professionals through the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and has been certified through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Certificate Course in Construction Quality Management. 

Mike Gravely is the Team Lead and Senior Electrical Engineer for the Energy Systems Research Branch at the California Energy Commission. His team is managing over $300 million in microgrid, energy storage and related energy research and demonstration projects. In this role, he oversees the full spectrum of research activities to improve the California electric grid including assessing future energy storage needs for California and addressing the grid related issues associated with integrating higher concentrations of renewables.  

In 2020, the Energy Commission awarded over $100 million in state funds and vendor cost-share investments to over 25 new grants to complete research and demonstration projects with new and emerging energy storage technologies. One key area of this research is focused on understanding the capability and value of long duration energy storage solutions (from 10 hours to 100+ hours) to assist California in transitioning to the goal of 100 percent zero-carbon resources by December 31, 2045. His team received $140M in funding in the FY 2022/2023 State Budget for the fielding of non-lithium-ion long duration energy storage (LDES) technologies and will receive another $240M in July 2023. This funding represents the largest investment in field demonstrations for the commercialization advancement of emerging non-lithium-ion LDES in the Nation. 

Gravely has a BSEE from the Virginia Military Institute and an MSEE from California State University at Sacramento. Prior to the Energy Commission, Gravely served in executive positions in the Federal Government and private industry including addressing the business challenges of a startup energy storage company. Gravely also serves as the Military Advisor to Chair Hochschild of the California Energy Commission. As Military Advisor he leverages his over 22 years of military service to coordinate Energy Commission activities with the Department of Defense bases in California. 

Jason Anderson is President and CEO of Cleantech San Diego, a business organization that positions the greater San Diego region as a global leader in the cleantech economy. Cleantech San Diego’s members include more than 120 businesses, universities, governments, and nonprofits committed to advancing sustainable solutions for the benefit of the economy, the environment and all members of the community. 

Before joining Cleantech San Diego in 2010, Anderson was Vice President of Business Development for the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC). Prior to joining EDC, Anderson lived in Austin, Texas, where he worked in the State Capitol as Legislative Director for Texas State Senator Frank Madla. 

Anderson holds a degree in Corporate Communications from the University of Texas in Austin. 

Anderson serves on the boards of the San Diego Urban Sustainability Coalition, CONNECT, the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative and Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization. In 2021, Anderson was named by the San Diego Business Journal as one of San Diego’s LGBTQ+ Leaders of Influence. 

Meghan Duff is a Manager with a focus on R&D Projects at the Association for Energy Affordability. She specializes in energy efficiency technical assistance, and both construction and research project management. At AEA, Duff both manages and contributes to several CEC EPIC-funded research studies, all of which are evaluating pathways to scale decarbonization retrofits of multifamily buildings. Duff is also a member of the ABC Collaborative Team under DOE’s Advanced Building Construction Initiative. She is a certified Passive House Consultant, GreenPoint Rater, and BPI Buildin. 

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. 

Alice Reynolds was appointed to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) as President by Governor Gavin Newsom on November 22, 2021, effective December 31, 2021. She was confirmed as a CPUC Commissioner by the State Senate on August 17, 2022. 

Prior to her appointment, President Reynolds served for three years as Governor Gavin Newsom’s senior advisor for energy. From 2011 to January 2019, she served in the administration of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., most recently as the Governor’s senior advisor for climate, the environment and energy and previously as chief counsel and deputy secretary for law enforcement at the California Environmental Protection Agency. During her time at CalEPA, she coordinated statewide multi-agency environmental enforcement actions and led the creation of the agency’s environmental justice task force and refinery safety task force. President Reynolds began her public service career in 2002, serving approximately 10 years as a deputy attorney general in the California Attorney General’s Office, where she litigated cases involving protection of public trust lands, coastal resources and public access, and other environmental issues. Prior to entering public service, President Reynolds was a lawyer in private practice in San Francisco. 

President Reynolds holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and a juris doctor degree from Santa Clara University School of Law where she graduated magna cum laude. 

Dr. Arne Jacobson is Director of the Schatz Energy Research Center and Professor in the Environmental Resources Engineering Department at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt). Dr. Jacobson has a Ph.D. from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley, a master’s degree in Environmental Resources Engineering from Humboldt State University, and a bachelor's degree in Physics from Earlham College. His areas of research interest include renewable energy technology deployment, solar and wind power, energy policy, and access to energy in off-grid areas of Africa and Asia. He has led a team engaged in multiple projects related to the feasibility of offshore wind resource development on California’s north coast, including the publication of 30 reports on the topic over the past two years.    

As the director of the Schatz Center, Dr. Jacobson leads a team of about 45 faculty, staff, and students engaged in research related to clean and renewable energy. Since joining the university in 2005, he has been awarded grants and contracts totaling over $20 million in areas related to renewable energy technology, solar and wind power, off-grid energy access, and energy policy. Dr. Jacobson is a recipient of the 2015 Wang Family Excellence Award, which is the most prestigious award given to faculty and staff members of the California State University. During a sabbatical year in 2010/11, he served as a senior advisor in the Office of Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy. He was a member of a team that received the Secretary's Achievement Award in 2012 from U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Stephen Chu.  

Dr. Yuxin Wu is a Staff Scientist and the Geophysics Department Head in the Earth & Environmental Sciences Area (EESA) at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). He received his PhD in applied geophysics from Rutgers University and has worked at LBNL since 2008. Dr. Wu’s research group is focused on the development and application of novel sensing and measurement technologies to energy and environmental related challenges. He is the principal investigator of multiple Federal, State and industry sponsored projects on renewal energy and resilient infrastructures, such as smart sensing technologies for offshore wind, energy storage reservoirs, and transmission pipelines.

Abder Elandaloussi is an engineering manager at Southern California Edison in the Grid Technology Innovation team. He focuses on Transmission and Distribution innovation to modernize the electric grid and prepare it best for all the challenges ahead. His team’s areas of interest for innovation include: digital twin, machine learning, situational awareness, advanced sensors, advanced distribution applications, microgrids, and blockchain.  

Elandaloussi and his team are always looking for collaboration with partners to advance the state of the electric grid through development and testing of pre-market technology. They collaborate to demonstrate cutting edge technologies and their effectiveness to address utility needs.  

He has over 11 years of experience in the electric utility industry, he holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Kansas State University and an MBA from the University of Kansas. He is a registered Professional Engineer in California and Kansas.   

Emily Higbee is the Research Director at Redwood Energy with a degree in environmental engineering and more than six years’ experience in building electrification. Higbee is the project manager for Redwood’s EPIC project on the load flexibility of central heat pump water heaters and is a lead author of Redwood Energy’s electrification guide series for single family to commercial buildings.  

Dr. Zheng Chen is an Associate Professor in Department of NanoEngineering and Program of Chemical Engineering at UC San Diego. His research group has been focusing on energy storage and conversion materials as well as green processes, including battery chemistries for extreme temperatures, high energy cathodes, silicon/Li anodes, solid-state batteries and battery recycling and future manufacturing processes. He has published over 110 journal papers and holds 10 patents, with a total citation of 11000 times. 

Dr. Chen has received the NASA’s 2018 Early Career Faculty Award, the LG Chem Global Battery Innovation Contest (BIC) Award in 2018, and the 2018 ACF PRF New Investigator Award. He has been selected as a Scialog Fellow in Advanced Energy Storage by Research Corporation and as a participant of 2019 China-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium (CAFOE), National Academy of Engineering. He has been also recognized as a 2018 Emerging Investigator of Journal of Materials Chemistry C., 2020 Chem. Comm. Emerging Investigator and 2021 Nanoscale Emerging Investigator 

Dr. Henry C. McKoy, Jr. is the inaugural Director of the Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) at the United States Department of Energy. He a seasoned professional in business, community and economic development, policy, government, finance, energy, philanthropy and the academic worlds.  Prior to the Department of Energy, Dr. McKoy served on the faculty at North Carolina Central University School of Business where he led the entrepreneurship program, with additional academic appointments at Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Harvard University.  He is a former senior banking executive, successful entrepreneur, and former Assistant Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Commerce.  Dr. McKoy has been a Fellow of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC-Chapel Hill, an affiliated faculty of the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, as well as an Aspen Institute Scholar. He holds degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School (B.S.), Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment (M.S.), and UNC-Chapel Hill’s Department of City and Regional Planning (PhD). 

Dan Winters is the vice president of communications and public affairs at BHE Renewables, a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Winters and his team develop and deliver strategies to explain how BHE Renewables delivers sustainable energy solutions with its nationwide solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric projects, and renewable energy and mineral development efforts. Those include 10 geothermal plants and a lithium recovery demonstration facility in Imperial Valley, California. Winters previously spent nearly two decades as a TV news anchor and investigative reporter. 

Dr. Sanjiv Malhotra is the founder and CEO of Sparkz—the battery start-up reinventing the energy supply chain.  

Dr. Malhotra has been a leader in the energy sector for nearly three decades as a founder, investor and executive. Most recently, he served as the inaugural director for the Energy Investor Center at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), serving under both Democratic and Republican administrations.  

At DOE, he led the Obama Administration’s initiative to boost public-private partnerships to accelerate the commercialization of technologies developed in national research centers like Oak Ridge National Labs.  

Dr. Malhotra was recruited to the Department of Energy after a successful exit of Oorja Protonics—the world leader in methanol fuel cells—which he founded and led as CEO for 10 years. Oorja raised $50 million in equity financing from leading VCs such as Sequoia, DAG Ventures, Artis Capital and others during his tenure. He boosted Oorja’s revenue and profitability growth, while expanding operations globally in Japan, China, South Africa, Mexico, and India.  

Oorja was acquired in 2014 by the Private Equity firm MinXing Growth Fund.  

As an investor and consultant, Dr. Malhotra has worked at leading venture capital firms, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers as an advisor on clean energy and advanced materials.  

Earlier in his career, Dr. Malhotra led the engineering and product development team at H Power, a pioneer in hydrogen fuel cells. As part of the management team, he managed the successful IPO, which raised more than $100 million in August 2000 as well as the sale of H Power to Plug Power.  

He began his career as a post-doctoral fellow at the renowned Lawrence Berkeley National Labs on electrochemical storage systems. Dr. Malhotra has authored seven patents and more than 40 publications in various fields of energy storage technology and materials. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering and an M.B.A from University of Iowa.

Education and Training
Doctor in Chemistry (1981), University of Padova, Italy
Post-doctoral Research Fellow (1982-1984), Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy 

Research and Professional Experience Principal Scientist, SUVENCO LLC (2019-present)

Consultant to Materials Research LLC and Principal Investigator of California Energy Commission project on pilot-scale demonstration of lithium recovery from geothermal brines. 

Consultant to ExSorbtion Inc. on the recovery of lithium from oilfield and salar brines using selective sorbent technology previously developed at SRI International. Optimized sorbent composition and demonstrated its operation at laboratory scale. 

Senior Staff Scientist, SRI International (1986-2019) 

Led project funded by the California Energy Commission on the development of new hybrid sorbents for the selective recovery of lithium from geothermal brines. Two patents were filed on the technology developed. 

Tested application of the hybrid sorbents for the extraction of lithium from oilfield brines. 

Principal investigator of project funded by the Department of Energy Geothermal Technology Office that led to the development of lithium imprinted polymers for the selective extraction of lithium from brines. 

Developed chemical sensors of interest to the intelligence community based on chemical imprinted polymer. 

Led multiple projects on the development of high energy density lithium rechargeable batteries, including battery fabrication and prototyping. 

Co-inventor of patents related to lithium battery technology, including nonflammable liquid electrolytes, single-ion conductor polymer electrolytes, and high-power high-energy density lithium rechargeable batteries. 

Co-investigator on several projects on developing polymer membranes for direct methanol fuels and PEM fuels. 

Chemist, Blaschim SpA, Milan, Italy (1985) 

Preparation and quality control of intermediates for the pharmaceutical industry. 

Publications 

Thirty-seven professional publications and patents. 

Good is the engineering manager for UC Davis' Center for Water-Energy Efficiency. He has a background in project management, waterway debris management, water system operations, and software development. His current research focus includes the impact of electricity rates on water utility operations, optimization and automation of water distribution networks, real-time data visualization, and the development of technologies to improve regional water resource and energy management. Good holds a M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Davis. 

Barham is the CEO of Community Energy Labs (CEL) a woman-owned and led energy technology company with a mission to enable affordable decarbonization of community buildings by 2030. CEL's core AI-powered clean building control platform was a regional winner of CleanTech Open's 2020 international accelerator, an overall winner in the 2020 Madrona Venture Labs Go Vertical challenge, a 2021 impel+ building innovator, EPRI Incubate Energy 2021 cohort member and 2021 U.S. Department of Energy SBIR awardee. CEL emerged from the non-profit PECI as a nimble social enterprise with a suite of grid-edge and community-centric IT approaches to climate adaptation, local empowerment and clean energy. CEL brings nearly $1.5M in intellectual property value, market research and project development work funded by and performed at PECI between 2016 and 2019.  

CEL’s executive team have track records that span 20 years from startups to organizations as large as Southern California Edison, NASA and Southern Company. In 2019, while at PECI, the team won the Smart Electric Power Alliance’s Visionary of the Year award for developing scalable community approaches to energy projects and technology deployment. 

Davoud Zamani is the CEO & Co-Founder of ALD Technical Solutions. ALD Technical Solutions, a cleantech women owned enterprise is commercializing a patented novel technology that will structurally strengthen grid lines by using advanced hybrid composite materials. ALD’s Composite WiRe Wrap increases ampacity, the power capacity of existing grid lines, and extends lifespan while also addressing thermal sagging, with NO downtime and 1/10 total cost compared to other technologies. This is a key requirement for achieving safe, resilient, and reliable 100% renewable energy goals. 

Prior to founding ALD, Zamani was Global Business Development Leader for one of the JV of Dow Chemical for US and Europe. Zamani earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering and Material Science from University of Arizona and a master of science in Nano Polymer Engineering and Composite Materials. 

Jonathan Tan, CEO & Co-Founder of Coreshell Technologies: Coreshell is unlocking the true capacity and economics of batteries by solving battery degradation with their low-cost nanolayer electrode coating technology. Previous to starting Coreshell, Tran spent 15+ years as a Technical Business Development Leader scaling products from R&D to full commercialization in the polymer membrane industry. 

Virginia Irwin Klausmeier is the Founder and CEO of Sylvatex, Inc. Sylvatex or SVX powers the future with cost and climate friendly transportation & energy solutions enabled by their proprietary and IP protected technology. Klausmeier completed the Executive Program at Singularity University and previously earned a B.S. in Chemistry and Economics and an M.S. in Engineering at the University of Oregon. Klausmeier has spoken at numerous domestic and international events focused on green energy solutions and been featured in a number of publications. Prior to co-founding Sylvatex, she managed clinical and biomechanical research for a Fortune 500 medical device company. Sylvatex has won numerous awards and funding at industry conferences and venture funding competitions and has collaborated with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LNBL) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Klausmeier is active on the board of multiple non-governmental organizations, All Raise, Alliance of Chief Executives, Astia, Silicon Valley Leadership Group and is actively working on the commercialization of SVX while growing her family of two little boys with her partner, Ryan. 

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. 

Proven leader with nearly two decades of experience in the energy industry including senior management positions. Specializes in creating and implementing customized solutions for clients in regulated and deregulated markets that incorporate both technological and non-technological components. 

Cain White is the Director of Commercial Product Management for Mitsubishi Electric Trane US (METUS). He is responsible for all commercial products in the US, Caribbean, and parts of Latin America. This includes VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow), DOAS (Dedicated Outside Air Systems), ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilators) and HPWH (Heat Pump Water Heaters). He has worked in the HVAC industry for 26 years. 

Ram Narayanamurthy is the manager of the Emerging Technologies Program. He joins DOE with more than two decades of experience in development and deployment of building technologies. His accomplishments include development of the first production built zero energy community, decarbonized solutions for retrofits in affordable housing communities, and smart energy communities. His research work extends to identification of technologies that overcome infrastructure and cost barriers to decarbonization retrofits, such as low power heat pumps and heat pump water heaters that can help scale deployments.  

Narayanamurthy has also worked extensively with state organizations such as the California Energy Commission, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and cities to advance building decarbonization. He brings experience in working with many large homebuilders, affordable housing developers, HVAC manufacturers, and utilities to assist in scaling emerging technologies. Prior to DOE, he led the Buildings Program at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and as CTOs for startups in energy storage and residential solar. Narayanamurthy holds a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Pennsylvania State University and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology and holds 27 patents. 

As CEO and co-founder of Smartville, Dr. Antoni Tong leads technology development and commercialization of its low-cost and scalable second-life battery energy storage solution. He has extensive expertise in lithium battery management, control, and their integration with the utility grid, distributed renewable resources and electrified transportation. Prior to Smartville, He worked as a research scientist at UC San Diego and served as lead investigator for multiple energy storage research projects funded by DoE, NSF and California Energy Commission. 

Colin W. Boone leads the Worldwide Sales team at Invinity Energy Systems. Prior to joining Avalon Battery in 2019, Boone held senior sales leadership positions with high-technology companies Savvius, Centrigram, as well as 16 years with Microsoft Corporation where he developed and led Microsoft’s Health and Life Sciences midmarket sales team in the U.S.  

Boone graduated from the University of California – Los Angeles. 

With 30+ years of electrical industry experience, William (“Will”) K. Mao was appointed Chief Commercial Officer of Eos in July 2022. Prior to joining Eos, Mao served as VP of Sales & Marketing with Hitachi Energy and Global VP with Hitachi ABB Power Grids. From 2008 to 2013, Mao was VP and head of ABB U.S. Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals business unit. Prior to ABB, he had senior management, overseas joint venture director roles as division manager and international business unit manager with Powell Industries (Nasdaq: POWL). Mao started his professional career with Westinghouse Electric’s well-known graduate engineering / sales training program. He is deeply involved in the local community and serves as executive board member and a formal president of the Houston Tennis Association, one of the largest 501(c)3 community tennis associations (CTA) overseeing leagues, tournaments, and Houston’s underserved schools after hour programs through USTA NJTL Foundation.  

Mao is passionate about the digital and energy transition. Mao has led product launches in digital power transformers and green substation initiatives. He holds an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University. Mao was born in Taiwan and immigrated to the U.S. with his family in 1976. A long-time Texan, he and his wife have two children. 

Jennifer Kaminsky currently holds the position of Manager – Electric Assets and Compliance within SDG&E’s Asset Management Department. In this role, she is responsible for the governance, strategy, audit/evaluation and reporting for key electric distribution compliance programs, including SDG&E’s Corrective Maintenance Program (CMP), third-party communication pole attachment process, CPUC incident reporting & investigation and other initiatives advancing risk-informed analysis of SDG&E’s electric inspection/maintenance practices. Kaminsky’s previous positions with SDG&E included, Principal Project Manager for Electric Transmission and Distribution Major Project, and Principal Land Planner with Environmental Services. Prior to joining SDG&E in 2016, Kaminsky worked for Burns & McDonnell, where she primarily supported large energy infrastructure construction projects in California.  Kaminsky holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Michigan and a juris doctor degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology. 

Kevin Johnson is a Principal on PG&E’s Utility Partnerships & Innovation team. Johnson has been at PG&E for more than 10 years, in roles including energy strategy and innovation, strategy integration, and customer program analytics. Prior to PG&E Johnson worked in management consulting and at a software startup. Johnson has an MBA from Dartmouth Tuck School of Business and BA from University of California Los Angeles. 

Eduardo Garcia represents California's 56th Assembly District, which includes cities and unincorporated communities in eastern Riverside County, Imperial County, and Blythe. Elected in 2014, Garcia presides as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy, overseeing critical issues such as ensuring energy stability, affordability, and safety and California’s groundbreaking efforts to decarbonize its electrical grid. He serves on the Assembly Committees on Appropriations, Communications and Conveyance, and Governmental Organization. Assemblymember Garcia is an Ex Officio Member of the California Air Resources Board and was named Chair of the newly established Assembly Select Committee on California’s Lithium Economy. He previously chaired the Assembly Committees on Water, Parks, and Wildlife; and Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy. 

During his tenure, Garcia has achieved success on legislation that would increase access to healthcare, create new parks, support small businesses, invest in broadband infrastructure, improve air and water quality, expand affordable housing, provide workforce training, and bring economic relief to underserved areas, like those in his district. He also secured historic investments for regional environmental priorities such as the Salton Sea and New River. 

Notably, Assemblymember Garcia has distinguished himself as a climate change, renewable energy, and environmental justice champion who has worked to ensure equity, improve public health, protect vulnerable communities from extreme heat, combat pollution, and create new clean energy jobs. 

In 2016, Garcia led Assembly efforts to pass SB 32 and AB 197, landmark climate change legislation that established California’s emission reduction mandate and a policy framework that prioritized climate investments for disadvantaged communities most impacted by pollution. Building upon those efforts, in 2017, Garcia authored AB 398 and AB 617, which developed a statewide climate action plan, and the Community Air Protection Program. The United States Environmental Protection Agency recognized Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia with a National Climate Leadership Award. 

Garcia’s district is a natural oasis for renewable energy development, including solar, wind, and uniquely geothermal and lithium recovery. He has dedicated his advocacy efforts to secure innovation grants and grow the education, and high-skilled workforce training needed to meet the rising green economy demand while uplifting one of the most underserved areas of the state. 

Realizing the game-changing opportunity to create a domestic lithium supply chain in the Imperial Valley region, Assemblymember Garcia established the Lithium Valley Commission (AB 1657); bringing stakeholders together for strategic planning and to guarantee community members and environmental advocates played a leading role in the development of this new industry. 

Before serving the State Assembly, Garcia was elected to the Coachella City Council, and at the age of 29, he became Coachella’s first elected Mayor. A graduate of local public schools, Garcia attended Coachella Valley High School and the University of California, Riverside. He also completed the “Senior Executives in State and Local Government” Public Administration program from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning, and Development. 

He is a proud father, husband, and life-long resident of the Coachella Valley. 

Doug Dorr is a Technical Executive with the Electric Power Research Institute. Over a twenty-eight-year career with EPRI Dorr has led many research initiatives in the power delivery and energy utilization areas. His current research focus is EPRI’s Grid Resilience and Safety for Extreme Weather and Wildfire Events Initiative. This work involves satellite image analytics, asset lifecycle testing, power system control optimization, situational awareness, and risk assessment. Dorr has led many EPRI R&D activities around testing, measurement and data acquisition, and recently facilitated EPRI’s six-year initiative on data science and analytics for distribution system optimization and grid modernization. 

Mark De Simone brings over 20 years of experience in the building industry working with Simonton since 2004. He has broad experience having held positions in Product Development, Sales, and Marketing in markets across the country. As Coastal Product Manager he developed the Simonton Stormbreaker hurricane resistant windows before serving as Marketing Manager for the West Coast. He has been responsible for developing multiple products for various Cornerstone Building Brands window brands sold through replacement and new construction channels including retail and SFI.