Feb 3, 2023 10:00 AM (PST)
From California's 47th congressional
Katie is a nationally renowned leader in the fight to protect consumers, taxpayers, and middle class families. First as a consumer protection advocate and now a member of Congress, Katie has won big victories against Wall Street and stood up to pharmaceutical companies, oil and gas giants, and corporate lobbyists who cheat Californians.
People Not Pozos
Nalleli Cobo led a coalition to permanently shut down a toxic oil-drilling site in her community in March 2020, at the age of 19—an oil site that caused serious health issues for her and others. Her continued organizing against urban oil extraction has now yielded major policy movement within both the Los Angeles City Council and Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, which voted unanimously to ban new oil exploration and phase out of existing sites.
Senior Project Manager on the National Strategic Engagement team at Elevate
Maria Cecilia Quiñones Peña is a Senior Project Manager on the National Strategic Engagement team at Elevate, a nonprofit organization dedicated to designing and implementing efficiency programs that lower costs, protect the environment, and ensure the benefits of energy efficiency reach those who need them most. In this role, Ms. Quiñones Peña provides tailored services to property owners, managers, and developers, to meet their high-performance property goals. Maria leverages her expertise to evaluate and support implementation of energy and water efficiency, renewables, resiliency solutions, electrification, and decarbonization. To date, she has touched almost 400 properties representing almost 24 million square feet of space and 9,000 multifamily units. She also manages a data-driven studies analyzing the opportunity and challenges of implementing energy efficiency programs for affordable multifamily housing stock in Los Angeles, CA and in the state of Wisconsin. Additionally, Maria supports the Building Electrification Program, an innovative pilot working to electrify multifamily properties in the Midwest. Before joining Elevate, Ms. Quiñones was a Commercial Sustainability Services Project Engineer at Southface Energy Institute, where she conducted energy and water assessments on small and large commercial buildings and provided energy efficiency implementation services and general sustainability consulting. She also led the original program design and implementation for Atlanta’s largest commercial buildings benchmarking program, establishing a solid platform for the City’s first energy benchmarking ordinance.
Managing Principal at Redwood Energy
Sean Armstrong is the Managing Principal of Redwood Energy and has worked for 28 years in building electrification, designed the retrofit and new construction of more than 25,000 all-electric residences for disadvantaged populations, co-authored 7 "pocket guides" to building electrification, provided legal and technical support to building gas bans nationwide, and has received Grand Prize awards from the United Nations and the California Building Industry Association. Sean was inducted into California's Clean Energy Hall of Fame in 2022, and in 2023-2024 is working with other nations on their Net Zero goals on behalf of the U.S. State Department.
Energy Efficiency Engineer at ConEdison
Amma has earned her bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering followed by a master’s degree in Environmental Technology and Sustainability. After completing her master’s degree, Amma became a NYSERDA Clean Energy intern and hired by BlocPower as a Building Energy Analyst. There Amma worked to help upgrade buildings to be greener and healthier with Heat Pumps. Currently Amma works at Con Edison as an Energy Efficiency Engineer. At Con Edison, Amma works behind the scenes creating workbooks that will be implemented in calculating energy savings and possible incentives.
Energy Engineering Manager at the Association for Energy Affordability, Inc.
Jack Aitchison is an Energy Engineering Manager at the Association for Energy Affordability, Inc. (AEA) in Emeryville, CA. Jack has provided engineering and technical support for various comprehensive energy efficiency and decarbonization retrofits of existing multifamily buildings. Additionally, Jack is an implementor of energy efficiency multifamily rebate programs in California, including the Bay Area Multifamily Building Enhancement (BAMBE) program, the Tri-County Regional Energy Network Multifamily Energy Efficiency program, the California TECH Initiative, and the Low-Income Weatherization Program (LIWP).
CEO at Cal Solar
Sean Neman is the current CEO at Cal Solar. Prior to this, they worked for the City of Los Angeles in the Planning Department as both a Zoning and Construction Student Professional Worker and a Division of Land Student Professional Worker. Sean also interned at Casden Properties LLC as a Market Analyst and at Capital Real Estate Investments as an Investment Associate. Sean has experience in both the public and private sector, giving him a well-rounded perspective on the solar industry. Sean is a motivated individual with a passion for renewable energy and a commitment to making Cal Solar the leading solar company in California.
Assistant Director of Policy and Research at Strategic Actions for a Just Economy
Chelsea Kirk is the Assistant Director of Policy and Research at Strategic Actions for a Just Economy for their building, equity, and transit work. Chelsea’s research and policy advocacy aims to improve housing quality for tenants in Los Angeles. Much of her recent work focuses on the effort to produce equitable and effective policy responses to the twin crises of housing and climate change. She authored the report Los Angeles Building Decarbonization: Tenant Impact and Recommendations, which analyzes the impact greenhouse gas reduction policies may have on the renter population in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Building Decarbonization: Tenant Impact and Recommendations: https://www.saje.net/resources/reports/building-decarbonization/
Partner at Redwood Energy
Michael Winkler designed and lives in a remodeled Net Zero house, was part of engineering teams that designed one of the nation’s first cell phone systems and the world’s most-efficient hydrogen fuel cell, and has programmed a version of the CUAC that is more accurate with netzero developments. In addition to multiple energy credentials (EIT, CEPE, HERS, BPI), Michael is a software engineer. Michael served for 8 years on the City of Arcata Planning Commission 2 years on the City’s Energy Task Force, and is currently the Mayor of the City of Arcata.
Michael Winkler designed and lives in a remodeled Net Zero house, was part of engineering teams that designed one of the nation’s first cell phone systems and the world’s most-efficient hydrogen fuel cell, and has programmed a version of the CUAC that is more accurate with netzero developments. In addition to multiple energy credentials (EIT, CEPE, HERS, BPI), Michael is a software engineer. Michael served for 8 years on the City of Arcata Planning Commission 2 years on the City’s Energy Task Force, and is currently the Mayor of the City of Arcata.
Chief Resilience Officer and Climate Action Program Manager at the City of Berkeley
Katie Van Dyke is the Chief Resilience Officer and Climate Action Program Manager at the City of Berkeley. She works to advance resilient and equitable solutions that prioritize the needs of frontline and historically marginalized communities, while bringing as many benefits as possible to the community. She recently led development of the Berkeley Existing Buildings Electrification strategy, which provides a pathway for how Berkeley can equitably electrify its existing buildings as soon as possible.
Energy Modeler at Redwood Energy
Maria (she) is an advanced modeler and domestic hot water researcher with California's Title 24 software. Prior to working with Redwood Energy, Maria was with the Integral Group modeling large developments. She is a graduate of HSU's Environmental Engineering Program.
Program Manager at Stop Waste
Ben is a Program Manager at Stop Waste. Where he leads and manages administration of the Bay Area Multifamily Building Enhancement (BAMBE) program. Ben also manages the Multifamily EV Charger Pilot with the Air District. As well as, the Reuse & Repair (solar panel reuse/recycling) and Reusables grant programs and the Agency's 1,600+ acre property located at the Altamont Pass
Development Project Manager at Redwood Energy
Stephanie Becerra is our Development Project Manager. She graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Science – Energy and Climate from Humboldt State University. With a strong passion for sustainability her background includes completing a service term with AmeriCorps as an Urban Forestry and Drought Specialist, interning for Grid Alternatives as a Community Outreach Intern promoting the installment of solar power systems in under-served communities, volunteering with the San Diego River Park Foundation and San Diego River Garden. Stephanie shares the belief that sustainability means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In her spare time, she likes to volunteer at beach and community cleanups, tree planting events and learn about regenerative agriculture. She is a Farming 101 graduate from Wild Willow Farm & Education Center in her hometown San Diego
Stephanie Becerra is our Development Project Manager. She graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Science – Energy and Climate from Humboldt State University. With a strong passion for sustainability her background includes completing a service term with AmeriCorps as an Urban Forestry and Drought Specialist, interning for Grid Alternatives as a Community Outreach Intern promoting the installment of solar power systems in under-served communities, volunteering with the San Diego River Park Foundation and San Diego River Garden. Stephanie shares the belief that sustainability means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In her spare time, she likes to volunteer at beach and community cleanups, tree planting events and learn about regenerative agriculture. She is a Farming 101 graduate from Wild Willow Farm & Education Center in her hometown San Diego.
Associate Director, Midwest Market Development and Strategy at Elevate
Keith Swartz is an Associate Director, Midwest Market Development and Strategy at Elevate, a nonprofit organization that designs and implements programs that reduce costs, protect people and the environment, and ensure the benefits of the clean energy economy reach those who need them most. In this role, Keith provides engineering support for programs in the Midwest, including energy savings analysis. Prior to joining Elevate, Keith designed heating and cooling systems at an architectural/engineering firm, supported utility efficiency programs at a non-profit energy consulting organization and supported utility efficiency programs at an energy consulting company.
Co-Founder of Carbon Zero Buildings
Andy is Co-Founder and Principal at Carbon Zero Buildings, a general contractor focused on multifamily electrification retrofits. Andy or teams he has led have successfully executed over 40,000 units and $40 million in multifamily energy retrofit construction projects in California over the past 7 years. Over 2,000 units were multifamily electrification retrofits.
Founder & Principal of PS Ventures
Shane Pollin has worked in real estate ventures in the Washington Metropolitan area for over 20 years. A leader in sustainable building development, Shane curates highly functional teams with a focus on functionality and durability in the built environment. Shane has a passion for building science and understanding how buildings interact with their environments. An understanding of how heat, air, bulk water, and vapor interact within buildings is viewed as fundamental to risk mitigation. Shane brings a natural ability to simply frame and persuasively communicate complex topics. Shane has successfully led the development of an impressively broad array of projects across a range of product types.
