Keynote Speakers
Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Governor Deval Patrick was elected in November of 2006. He brings to the Governor's office a broad range of leadership experience at the top levels of business, government, and non-profits. From an early age, he has built his life on hope, and traced a trajectory from the South Side of Chicago to the U.S. Justice Department, Fortune 500 boardrooms, and now the Massachusetts State House.
Governor Patrick came to the Commonwealth at the age of 14. An excellent student despite the difficult circumstances of under-funded and often violent Chicago schools, he was awarded a scholarship to Milton Academy through A Better Chance, a Boston-based organization.
After graduating from Milton, Patrick went on to Harvard, the first in his family to attend college. He received his degree, with honors, in 1978 and spent a post-graduate year working on a United Nations youth training project in the Darfur region of Sudan. He returned to Cambridge to attend Harvard Law School in the fall of 1979.
Following law school, Patrick served as a law clerk to a federal appellate judge before joining the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. In 1986, he joined the Boston law firm of Hill & Barlow and was named partner in 1990, at the age of 34.
In 1994, President Clinton appointed Patrick Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, the nation's top civil rights post. At the Justice Department, Patrick worked on a wide range of issues, including prosecution of hate crimes and abortion clinic violence, employment discrimination, and enforcement of fair lending laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
During his tenure, Patrick led the largest criminal investigation prior to September 11th, coordinating state, local and federal agencies to investigate church burnings throughout the South in the mid-1990s.
Patrick returned to private practice in 1997 with the Boston firm of Day, Berry & Howard. That same year, he was appointed by a federal district court to serve as the first chairperson of Texaco's Equality and Fairness Task Force. Working with employees at all levels, Patrick and his Task Force examined and reformed Texaco's complex corporate employment culture, and created a model for fostering an equitable workplace. Patrick was hired by Texaco in 1999 to serve as Vice President and General Counsel leading the company's global legal affairs.
In 2001, Patrick joined The Coca-Cola Company as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. He was elected to the additional role of Corporate Secretary in 2002, and served as part of the company's senior leadership team as a member of the Executive Committee.
Governor Patrick has served on numerous charitable and corporate boards, as well as the Federal Election Reform Commission under Presidents Carter and Ford, and as Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Judicial Nominating Council by appointment of Governor Weld.
The Commonwealth's first African-American Governor, Deval Patrick came into office with a grassroots message of hope, community and hard work. By focusing on transparency and inclusion, he hopes to increase accessibility to government and encourage the civic engagement so crucial to shared progress in education, health care, economic development and other issues.
Diane and Deval Patrick have been married for over two decades and have two college-age daughters, Sarah and Katherine. The Patrick family has lived in Milton, in a house on Deval's high school paper route, for the last 17 years.
Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Massachusetts
Ian Bowles, Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs in the Deval Patrick administration, has nearly 20 years of experience in the energy and environmental sectors. He was a Director or Advisor to three clean energy technologies companies and has broad leadership experience with environmental policy. Bowles served in the Clinton Administration as Associate Director of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and as Senior Director of the Global Environmental Affairs directorate at the National Security Council.
Following his service in the Clinton Administration, Bowles held appointments as a Senior Research Fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and as Senior Advisor at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, where he oversaw the foundation's strategic analysis of energy and climate change issues.
In 2003, Bowles served as President and CEO of MassINC, a Boston-based research institute, and as Publisher of CommonWealth magazine. Earlier in his career, Bowles served for eight years in key leadership positions at Conservation International, a national environmental organization focused on biodiversity conservation. Bowles serves on the Board of Overseers of the Museum of Science and on the Governing Board of the John Adams Innovation Institute. He is co-author of Footprints in the Jungle (Oxford University Press) on the energy and natural resource industries and environmental practices.
He holds an A.B. in economics cum laude from Harvard College and a Masters degree from Oxford University, where he remains an adjunct faculty member at the graduate school of the Environment and Geography.
Under Secretary for Science, US Department of Energy
Dr. Steven E. Koonin became the Under Secretary for Science in the US Department of Energy on May 20, 2009. In that capacity, he is responsible for guiding and coordinating technical activities across the Department, overseeing its basic research activities, and providing technical advice to the Secretary of Energy. DOE activities are essential to the Administration's goals of promoting basic science, providing clean and secure energy, and enhancing nuclear security.
Prior to his government appointment, Dr. Koonin was the Chief Scientist for BP, plc. Koonin's understanding of energy trends and technologies, widely communicated to the public, underpinned BP's recent investments in alternative and renewable energy sources, including the Energy Biosciences Institute formed in collaboration with the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Dr. Koonin joined BP in 2004 following a 29-year career at the California Institute of Technology as a Professor of Theoretical Physics. He has published more than 200 scholarly papers and supervised more than 25 PhD theses in such diverse fields as nuclear and many-body theory, nuclear astrophysics, atomic and computational physics, and global environmental science. In a twenty-year teaching career, he educated hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students in advanced physics topics and authored a seminal text on Computational Physics in 1985. Koonin also served as Caltech's Provost from 1995-2004, helping to hire some 100 of the Institute's professors and forming initiatives in biology, astronomy, the earth sciences, the social sciences, and information science.
During the past 25 years, Dr. Koonin has served on numerous advisory bodies for the US Government and its national laboratories, including terms on the Defense Science Board, the CNO's Executive Panel, and the University of California President's Council on the National Laboratories. He is a member of the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations, and was a twenty-year member and former Chair of the JASON advisory group. His work in that latter capacity has included studies on stockpile stewardship, civilian biodefense, radiological terrorism, and DOD basic research.
Koonin was born in Brooklyn, NY. He holds an undergraduate degree in Physics from Caltech and a PhD in Theoretical Physics from MIT. He and his wife Laurie have been married for 34 years and have three children, Anna, Alyson, and Benjamin.
Panelists and Moderators
Director, Director of Network Operations, EnerNOC
Changing Careers: From IT to Clean Energy Panelist
Tom Atkinson is the Director of Network Operations at EnerNOC and oversees EnerNOC's Network Operations Center (NOC) and directs the NOC team, which prepares for and executes demand response events, manages a network of nearly 2,000 metering and control devices, and provides 24x7x365 customer support. During demand response events, the NOC remotely reduces electric consumption (lighting, HVAC, industrial processes, etc.) and initiates backup generation at customer sites within minutes of notification. The NOC team continuously monitors performance and assists customers in their use of PowerTrakŪ, EnerNOC's web-based energy information and analytic system.
Prior to EnerNOC, Tom spent 12 years in Tokyo, London, and New York as a software development manager for Goldman Sachs, a leading investment bank. Tom developed methods and systems for streamlining business processes for Goldman Sachs' Private Wealth Management Division, helping the company shift to an exception-based client service platform. Tom was also responsible for the development and maintenance of the company's Purchasing, Accounts Payable, Asset Management and Project Costing systems.
Tom has a degree in Computer Science from Cornell University and an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. Tom is an active member of the MIT Energy Club.
President, Alyra Renewable Energy Finance
Project Finance
Mohammed Alam is the founder and president of Alyra Renewable Energy Finance. A firm imbued with a singular focus and rich experience in renewable energy, Alyra provides financial advisory services exclusively to the renewable energy sector. The firm specializes in M&A, project finance and strategic joint venture advisory. The firm's clients include the leading renewable energy companies and institutional investors in North America and Europe. RECENT ENGAGEMENT HIGHLIGHTS ? Sole Advisor to Duke Energy's acquisition of all wind power assets of Tierra Energy, March 2007. ? Originated the $240 million Catamount Energy acquisition transaction for Duke Energy, September 2008. ? Advisor to a major strategic investor regarding potential wind power portfolio acquisitions. ? Sole advisor to a major strategic investor, regarding investments and strategic joint ventures in Solar Thermal/CSP sector. Before founding Alyra in January 2004, Mr. Alam served as vice president at Fortis Capital Corp., where he led a range of origination, structuring and restructuring of renewable and conventional power transactions. Before Fortis he worked at GE Capital, providing financial advisory services to GE's power and infrastructure investments in Latin America. Earlier, he started his finance career at Brown Brothers Harriman, focusing on emerging markets research. Mr. Alam holds a Master's degree in Public and Private Management from the Yale School of Management where he was one of three recipients in his class for the Scholastic Excellence Award. He holds a Bachelor's of Science degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts, with various scholastic and leadership honors and distinctions, including the valedictorian nomination. Mr. Alam frequently speaks at major international energy conferences and is an author of published articles for leading energy publications.
Editor, Mass High Tech
Moderator, ARRA And Beyond Panel
Doug Banks is editor of Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology, a weekly publication and daily news web site that spotlights technology entrepreneurs, early-stage companies and emerging technologies in New England. Doug joined MHT in 2005 and led a redesign of the publication in 2006. In that time, MHT has launched several new programs, a new web site and industry-specific newsletters including daily BioFlash and FinanceFlash as well as a weekly GreenFlash devoted to clean tech issues. From 2001 to 2005, Doug was associate editor of the Boston Business Journal (BBJ). He came to the BBJ from Fast Company magazine, where he had been a staff editor after an earlier stint as a reporter/editor at the BBJ in the late 1990s. Outside the newsroom, Doug is a steering committee member for the MIT Enterprise Forum Innovation Series and works closely with several other regional technology associations. He has taught journalism and writing at Emerson College and Boston University, and other colleges. He is vice president of the board of directors at Housing Families Inc., a Massachusetts nonprofit that provides housing for homeless families, and is an advisory board member of Families for Depression Awareness, a Waltham nonprofit that aims to help families recognize and cope with depressive disorders. Doug received a bachelor's degree in journalism and English literature from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master's of fine arts in nonfiction writing from the University of Pittsburgh.
Founding Director, Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center (MTTC)
New England Clean Energy Cluster Panel Moderator
Dr. Abigail Barrow is the Founding Director of the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center (MTTC). She is responsible for the overall management of the MTTC and the development of its programs. Prior to joining the MTTC, Dr. Barrow served as managing director of William J. von Liebig Center at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). The von Liebig Center was created in 2001 to support the commercialization of research being performed in the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering. She has also served as a member of the board of directors of the Center for the Commercialization of Advanced Technologies Consortium (CCAT), which assisted in the identification and commercialization of technologies in the area of crisis and consequence management and received more than $25 million in federal funding from the Office of Naval Research. Dr. Barrow worked in a variety of roles at UCSD CONNECT from 1990 to 2001. At CONNECT, she developed and expanded many of its programs to support early-stage company formation and technology commercialization. The CONNECT program is now internationally recognized and has been successfully replicated in other regions of North America and in Europe. Dr. Barrow is on the board and is Chair of the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment (MOITI) and is on the board of the National Collegiate Inventors and innovators Alliance (NCIIA). In addition, she is a Fellow of the Beyster Institute at the Rady School of Management at UCSD. Dr. Barrow received her Ph.D. from the Science Studies Unit and a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Edinburgh.
Principal,CRA's Energy and Environmental Practice
Energy Storage Panelist
Richard Baxter is a member of CRA's Energy and Environmental Practice. Mr. Baxter specializes in providing advisory services for private equity and investment banks. Prior to joining CRA, he was a senior member of the equity research team for Ardour Capital, a boutique investment bank focusing exclusively on alternative energy resources and energy technology; he also worked as a senior member of the investment banking team for the same firm. Before that, he was the director of member affairs at the Energy Storage Council where he was involved in raising the visibility of energy storage technologies for federal and state government officials. Prior to that, he was an economist with Standard & Poor's DRI Energy Group where he managed numerous analytical modeling efforts concerning power sector asset valuation and commodity price forecasts. An accomplished speaker and thought leader in the energy industry, Mr. Baxter has authored many reports and articles, and he is the author of Energy Storage: A Nontechnical Guide.
CEO, CellTech Power
Portable Power Panelist
Mr. Bentley is responsible for company management, business development, strategic relationships and investments. He has over 15 years of leadership experience in the fuel cell industry and 30 years of experience including development of military and high technology products. For ten years he was a Vice President and energy consultant for Arthur D. Little, now TIAX. He has founded four fuel cell ventures, all of which are operating today or have been acquired. The 5th Conference on Clean Energy: Financing & Partnering for Emerging Businesses 26 Biographies Mr. Bentley's broad functional experience includes military and computer product engineering, technical sales, marketing and business development and general management. He has a B.S.M.E. M.S.M.E. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Director of Marketing, Nuvera Fuel Cells
Motive Power Panelist
Mr. Block is responsible for managing OEM/partner relationships for commercial and industrial hydrogen customers in the Americas. Previously, Mr. Block was an Engineer and Program Manager with Epyx Corporation, a spin-off company of Arthur D. Little, Inc., where he helped lead product development initiatives for small-scale PEM fuel cell power systems. Prior to that, he was a consultant for Arthur D. Little's Energy Technology Group. Gus was also a Fulbright scholar in Sri Lanka, where he was engaged in the design and construction of a wind-powered electrolyser for on-site hydrogen production. Gus holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, and a degree in Humanities from Brandeis University.
Director, Customer Advocacy, Ounce Labs - an IBM Company
Moderator, Smart Grid Panel
Mr. Bochman is the Director of Customer Advocacy at Ounce Labs, an IBM company whose software helps companies reduce the risks and costs associated with security and compliance concerns. Mr. Bochman also founded and runs the Smart Grid Security Blog that tracks the thinking on how to best secure the emerging smart grid. Mr. Bochman also founded and runs the DOD Energy Blog that tracks and finds solutions to the energy challenges facing the US Department of Defense. Mr. Bochman has an MA in Environmental Management from Harvard University, and a BS from the United States Air Force Academy.
President, Massachusetts Hydrogen Coalition
Massachusetts Clean Energy ? Backup Power Panelist
Mr. Bradshaw is a senior executive who helps organizations define and implement high performance strategies. Mr. Bradshaw has focused most of his career in the energy industry, spanning electric and gas utility strategies, renewable energy, energy services, and energy management. Mr. Bradshaw is the Interim CEO of Hy9 Corporation, a hydrogen generation and purification company. Mr. Bradshaw also founded and is President of the Masachusetts Hydrogen Coalition, focused on building jobs and investment in the hydrogen and fuel cell industry. Mr. Bradshaw also co-founded the New England Clean Energy Council, an industry association focused on significantly accelerating the devlopment of the clean energy economy in New England. He also co-hosts the annual Conference on Clean Energy, a multi-day regional conference focused on addressing the commercial interests of companies in the clean energy cluster. Illustrative consulting engagements include: developing a near term market and business plan for an advanced membrane technology company; developing the commercialization strategy for an innovative emissions control process coupled with low cost hydrogen generation; and realigning the product and market focus of an advanced energy storage technology company. Mr. Bradshaw has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College with a major in engineering, and an MBA from Babson College.
Product Marketing Manager, Plug Power
Motive Power Panelist
Mr. Brower is responsible for developing, planning, and implementing strategic marketing and tactical plans for assigned products/markets at Plug Power. Previously, Mr. Brower had several positions at Raymond Corporation a fork lift truck manufacturer. Mr. Brower has an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a degree in Criminal Justice from SUNY College at Brockport.
Executive Director, Ocean Renewable Energy Group
Fundy Bay Case Study Panelist
Chris is a marine scientist and leader in development of Canada's ocean economy. He has a Bsc from Wales, a PhD from Newfoundland, and has worked in France, Newfoundland and British Columbia.
Trained in biology, he worked in aquaculture and seafood industry development as a leader in research, education and consulting.
In recent years he has worked to cluster BC's ocean technology sector and to create Ocean Industries BC as an industry association to focus on economic opportunities from British Columbia's "maritime" activity.
Since 2004, he has focused on building an alliance of industry, governments and utilities to ensure that Canada is a leading player in the emerging renewable ocean energy opportunity. The 120-member Ocean Renewable Energy Group has succeeded in attracting government and utility attention toward this important resource. Chris now serves as Executive Director for this national association.
Workforce Development Program Director at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
Energy Careers Panelist
Marybeth Campbell has ten years experience combined in government, public policy, public education and project management in the energy sector. She is currently the Workforce Development Program Director at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center working with higher education, vocational schools, and community based nonprofits to develop training and workforce capacity that supports the Commonwealth's growing clean energy industry. She most recently served as the Public Education Manager for Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust where she oversaw two education initiatives that funded projects to increase awareness among teachers, students and the public about the benefits of clean energy. Prior to joining the Trust, Marybeth worked as a senior research analyst for the Massachusetts House of Representatives Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. She has a BA in Political Science from Providence College.
Principal, Brattle Group
Energy Careers Panelist
Judy Chang is an economist with a background in electrical engineering. She has expertise in the analysis of electricity power markets and advises clients on the financial and regulatory issues relating to renewable energy investment and procurement decisions. She has authored numerous expert reports for clients and submitted expert testimony before the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regarding electricity market design issues. Ms. Chang's recent work includes evaluating the potential impact of integrating renewable energy onto power systems. Accordingly, she has designed a model that estimates the operational impact of variable resources on a grid. She also has recently worked with a major transmission company in analyzing how overlaying extra-high voltage transmission infrastructure could enable the interconnection of additional renewable energy and thereby reduce carbon emissions. She has worked with the two major Connecticut utilities in analyzing the New England renewable energy market as an essential part of their 10-year system planning process. In addition, Ms. Chang has been assisting developers to assess the risks associated with market dynamics including renewable energy credit markets and transmission access. In litigation settings, Ms. Chang has estimated damages resulting from project cancellations and contract disputes. In regulatory settings, she has analyzed market design issues related to capacity, energy, and ancillary services markets. She has led consultants and client teams in performing market power analyses for the purpose of market-based rate proposals and other rate/tariff design issues. She also applies her expertise in transmission system planning, particularly as it pertains to renewable energy development, congestion management, and transmission rate-making processes. Ms. Chang has authored a number of articles and reports and presented at a variety of industry conferences. She recently spent two years in India, where she worked with the International Finance Corporation assisting companies in evaluating and financing renewable energy investments. She is also the founding director of the non-profit association New England Women in Energy and the Environment.
Chief Executive Officer, Next Step Living
Efficiency & Energy Services Panelist
Geoff Chapin is the Founder and CEO of Next Step Living. NSL provides comprehensive assessments and upgrades to homes across New England, working with utilities, cities, and employers. The service is a one-stop shop, providing guidance and implementation of energy efficiency measures ranging from air sealing and insulation to HVAC systems, home monitoring devices, and on-site renewables. Prior to founding Next Step Living, Geoff served at the senior levels of the Bridgespan Group, a strategy consulting firm for public entities and non-profits. Clients included the Energy Foundation, The City of San Francisco, The Portland Public School District, and the Packard Foundation. Geoff led development of a rapid growth plan for the Energy Foundation and worked extensively with cities in housing, education, and service delivery. Prior to Bridgespan, Geoff led teams at Bain & Company in the New York and San Francisco offices where he consulted for Fortune 500 clients in the consumer products, telecom, and online industries, among others. Geoff also served as a teacher at his alma mater, The Roxbury Latin School, and worked in the public housing sector at The Community Builders in Boston. He is a graduate of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and MIT's Sloan School of Management and is a Boston native.
Co-Founder, A123 Systems, Inc. and Kyocera Professor, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, MIT
University Spinout Panelist
Yet-Ming Chiang is a founder of A123 Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:AONE) which develops and manufactures advanced lithium ion batteries and battery systems for the transportation, electric grid services and consumer markets. Chiang is also Kyocera Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. He holds S.B. and Sc.D. degrees from MIT, where he has been a faculty member since 1984. His research and teaching focuses on advanced materials and their role in technologies for energy storage and generation, medical devices, "smart" structures, and micro/nano electronics. Chiang is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society and a recipient of the society's Ross Coffin Purdy, R. M. Fulrath, and F. H. Norton awards. He received in 2006 (with others at A123 Systems) the R&D 100 Award, and the R&D 100 Editor's Choice Award, for their new lithium battery technology, and the Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award (with A. Belcher and P. Hammond) for developing a virus-assembled battery. He has published about 200 scholarly articles and one widely-used textbook on ceramic materials. His record of inventorship includes 17 issued patents and about 25 pending patent applications (excluding substantially identical foreign patents and filings). Chiang is frequently invited to speak at international forums on materials science and battery technology, electric vehicles, energy issues, and entrepreneurship. Chiang also regularly provides briefings to government decision makers, and has testified before the US Senate Committee on Environment on the electrification of vehicles and its impact on oil consumption and climate change. He is a member of the National Materials Advisory Board, which advises the US Government on matters related to materials technology and government policy.
Vice President, Marketing & Military Development, Protonex Technologies
Portable Power Panelist
Mr. Cipriano has over 30 years of experience in high technology and is a successful serial entrepreneur. Mr. Cipriano has founded, successfully built, and sold three businesses. He was the founder and former CEO of both Internexsys and Affinity, and a co-founder of HealthCom. His extensive business, marketing and product development experience includes OEM and end user products for the communications, healthcare, military and clean energy markets. Mr. Cipriano has held executive positions at California Microwave, Prime, Instrumentation Labs, and PR Mallory. He is a board member of Internexsys and a founding board member of the Massachusetts Hydrogen Coalition. Mr. Cipriano received a B.S in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and attended the MIT Sloan School of Management, Executive Program.
Executive Director, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
ARRA Funding Panelistbarrow
Patrick Cloney brings to the Clean Energy Center eighteen years of experience in engineering, business, finance and government. His background in power plant operations, management, business development, and strategic planning provides a unique blend of expertise to bring to leading the organization. As an entrepreneur, Cloney has launched businesses in real estate, environmental services, and high technology. Cloney worked previously as Vice President at Susquehanna Capital Management where he managed four portfolio companies. He was also a partner at Clear Power Ventures, where he focused on early stage energy and environmental technology companies, helping them to raise funds and sharpen their business strategies. More recently, Cloney was Executive Director of the Massachusetts Office of Business Development, assisting companies seeking to locate, expand, or maintain their presence in Massachusetts. Cloney earned a BS in Marine Engineering with a concentration in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and was the recipient of the Massachusetts Maritime Alumni Award for Outstanding Student Engineer. Cloney earned his MBA with a concentration in Entrepreneurial Studies from Babson College's Olin School of Management.
President, New Fuels Alliance and Founder, REAP Coalition
Moderator, BioEnergy Panel
Brooke Coleman is the founder of the Northeast Biofuels Collaborative and president of the New Fuels Alliance, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating stakeholders about the economic and environmental benefits of non-petroleum fuel production and use. He is also the founder of the Renewable Energy Action Project (REAP), a national coalition of organizations promoting renewable energy use. Mr. Coleman has been involved with transportation fuels at the regulatory and policy making level in California and other states since 1998, first as the Clean Fuels and Climate Change Director for Bluewater Network and later at REAP. He led a national campaign to ban the gasoline additive MTBE, and currently promotes renewable fuels as a viable, near-term strategy to address petroleum dependence and global climate change. Mr. Coleman is a graduate of Wesleyan University, the Northeastern University School of Law, and is a member of the Massachusetts State Bar.
Member of the Venturing team, BP's Alternative Energy Division
Venture Capital Panelist
Issam Dairanieh has accountability for assessing emerging clean energy technologies. As a member of the Venturing team in BP's Alternative Energy Division, Issam focuses on green power generation options. He has recently spearheaded BP's effort to assess Concentrated Solar Thermal power generation as a new business opportunity. Issam's career at bp started in bp-Amoco Chemicals with assignments in product and application development as well as technical service. In 2006, Issam moved to the Technology Strategy team and is currently a member of the Venturing team. Issam has degrees in Chemical Engineering from Syracuse (BS) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (MS, Ph.D.).
Vice President, Sales and Business Development
Efficiency & Energy Services Panelist
Mr. Diehl brings close to twenty years of industry expertise across a wide variety of vertical markets and disciplines in commercial and light industrial building markets, including: new construction and retrofit building systems as well as energy services. Dan comes to Aircuity from Lutron Electronics, where he headed up New Business Development and Energy Services for the industry-leading lighting controls company over the past two years. Prior to Lutron, Dan was a partner for six years with Synergy, a Westborough. MA based energy services company, which delivers energy efficiency 'programs' primarily to the light industrial vertical market and for such clients as: Pepsi, Coors Molson, Ball Corp, Iron Mountain and Cadbury. Dan began his career with Johnson Controls, Inc. working in sales positions of increasing responsibility over an eleven year career, including Sales, Sales Management, Branch Management and Area Management. Dan has a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland and an MBA from Villanova University.
Principal, Sustainability Guild LLC
Moderator, Clean Energy Careers Panel
Ms. Dippel is Principal at the Sustainability Guild LLC. She is also a Clean Energy Jobs Training instructor at the Center for Business and Industry at the Bristol Community College. Her professional commitment focuses on sustainability innovation and entrepreneurship. Ms. Dippel is on the executive committee for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Conference and the University Clean Energy Research Day, and serves on the Board of the Southern New England Entrepreneurship Forum (SNEEF). She is an active contributor to the Clean Energy and Economic Development Working Groups with the Southeastern Massachusetts Council on Sustainability. Marina Dippel earned a Master's in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh, and a sustainability-focused MBA from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
CEO and President, Future Solar Systems, LLC
Moderator, Solar Power Panel
Mr. Dunn has a technical and business background and is an expert in the renewable energy field, particularly in photovoltaics and energy storage. He has over 35 years of experience with large companies like IBM, and Exxon and is a founder of 5 companies, and most recently, was responsible for technology transfer as the Director of NASA's NE Region Tech Transfer Center, for 15 years. He has been successful in raising capital for several recent energy start-ups, and has a solid knowledge of the solar and renewable energy marketplace. Jim has a BSEE from WPI, and is active in the Renewable Energy field and a frequent speaker at energy related conferences and events.
Principal, Green Economy
Energy Careers Panelist
Kevin Doyle is Principal of Green Economy, a private firm offering research, consulting, evaluation, training and facilitation to government, business, nonprofit and academic clients. Green Economy clients and funders include National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Pacific Services Center, Coastal Management Fellowship Program, Coral Management Fellowship Program, Coastal Services Center, Coral Reef Conservation Program, Coastal Programs Division), USDA Forest Service, New England Clean Energy Council, Jobs for the Future, National Fund for Workforce Solutions, Conservation Services Group, National Council for Science and the Environment, National Grid, NStar Gas and Electric, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Science, Texas Tech University, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources, JFYNetWorks, The Barr Foundation, Skillworks, IM Systems Group, Earth Resources Technology, The Baldwin Group, Lighthouse Consulting Group, American Samoa Coastal Management Program, Guam Coastal Management Program, and many others. Kevin is the co-author of several green careers research studies, and of four popular books about environmental careers for Island Press, including The Eco Guide to Careers That Make a Difference: Environmental Work for a Sustainable World and The Complete Guide to Environmental Careers in the 21st Century. He writes the occasional green jobs advice column for www.grist.org and speaks frequently about green careers at conferences and on college campuses. Kevin is the co-chair of the workforce development group for the New England Clean Energy Council, and co-facilitator of the Green Collar Jobs Affinity Group for the National Fund for Workforce Solutions. His work has been noted by New York Times, Boston Globe and Boston Globe Magazine, Newsweek, Forbes, E Magazine, Marketplace Money, Living on Earth, National Public Radio, Sierra, and many local and campus media outlets. Before starting Green Economy in July, 2007, Kevin was the National Director of Program Development at The Environmental Careers Organization (ECO) for fifteen years. In that role, he helped design, finance and manage paid environmental internships and fellowships that launched the careers of over 11,000 aspiring professionals, more than 25% of whom were Asian, African, Hispanic and Native Americans. Previous to his work with ECO, Kevin served as the Regional Director of ECO's Pacific Northwest office in Seattle, as the director of Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation (NEDCO) in Eugene, Oregon, and as a land use planner and community development coordinator for Kitsap County, Washington in the Seattle metro area. In 1999, Kevin was selected by the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Iowa to be honored as one of the six inaugural members of the university's Alumni Fellows award.
Co-Founder, Millville Partners, Inc.
Efficiency & Energy Services Panelist
Helen Fairman is Co-Founder of Millville Partners, Inc., offering strategic marketing consulting and program development to grow the clean economy. Millville Partners serves clients in the sustainable building and clean energy industries, with expertise in translating complex technical ideas and services into lay terms. With Millville Partners Co-Founder Laura Bartsch, Helen also serves as Co-Executive Director of REBN, the Renewable Energy Business Network; Co-Network Director of the Clean Economy Network; Co-Director of the New England Clean Energy Council's Clean Energy Fellowship (2008 and 2009); and Co-Director of the Governor's Clean Energy Challenge. Helen and Laura are also members of the Progressive Business Leaders Network.
Helen entered the world of energy efficiency and sustainable building in 2004 as Marketing Manager at Cimetrics Inc., a supplier of advanced building automation products and services. Prior to Cimetrics, she was Director of Product Development at Boston Warehouse and Store Designer at Crate & Barrel. Helen graduated from Harvard with honors in Visual and Environmental Studies.
Chief Executive Officer, Planar Energy Devices
Energy Storage Panelist
Scott Faris is a serial entrepreneur with almost two decades of operating, venture-financing and commercialization experience, involving more than 20 start-up and emerging-growth technology companies. As founder and CEO of Planar Energy Devices, a spinout of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, he is responsible for establishing and executing the company vision and direction across all functional areas, including business strategy, product development, and sales and marketing. Mr. Faris had been chairman and CEO of Waveguide Solutions, a developer of planar lightwave circuit and microsystem products that was a spinout of the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. He also was a founding director and COO of Ocean Optics, a precision-optical-component and fiber-optic-instrument spinout of the University of South Florida with a proprietary technology to pattern thin-film filters. Mr. Faris was previously a partner with Corporate IP Ventures (formerly MetaTech Ventures), an early-stage venture fund that commercialized defense technologies. He also was a founding director and the Chief Operating Officer at Ocean Optics, a precision-optical-component and fiber-optic-instrument company. Mr. Faris was the founder and CEO of Enterprise Corporation, a technology accelerator that raised more than $50 million in capital for new and existing technology firms through a private investment forum. He also has served as director of the Florida Seed Capital Fund and as director of Technology Commercialization at the Center for Microelectronics Research.
CEO and Founder, Plankton Power
BioEnergy Panelist
Mr. Felix founded Plankton as an integrated supply chain management company to provide biodiesel that would be competitively priced with oil and has led the company to develop a unique integrated algae biorefining business. Previously, as Founder and President of Wellfleet Group, he supplied consulting services to large fuel users to integrate biodiesel into their operations. From 1998-2007, he served as General Manager of Petroleum, at Cambridge Viscosity where he worked with the world's major oil and oil field service companies in exploration and production. In 1994, he founded and served as Executive Vice President of AVSG, a compressed natural gas company, and developed (at the time) the largest CNG station in the country, at Logan Airport. From 1983 until 1994, Mr. Felix served variously as in house consultant to the World Bank for Energy Efficiency and Cogeneration and consulted to and worked in the electric utility industry. He received degrees in Economics, Political Science and Biology from the University of Vermont and partial completion of requirements for an MBA at Babson.
Member, Advanced Technology Ventures
ARRA Funding Panelist
Andrew joined ATV in 2007 and focuses on investments in clean technology companies in the firm's Waltham, MA office. He represents the firm on the boards of AltaRock Energy and Solar Junction, and is an observer on the boards of Rive Technology and Wakonda Technologies. Andrew co-leads the Renewable Energy Business Network (www.rebn.org), and also co-leads the New England Clean Energy Council's Clean Energy Fellowship Program (www.necec.org). Previously, Andrew was a director at Idealab in Pasadena, CA, where he evaluated energy and clean technologies for possible investment and company creation. Prior to Idealab, Andrew was a Partner at Clean Edge, a strategic consulting practice for the cleantech sector and senior manager of Business Development & Strategy at Zambeel, Inc. Andrew also spent five years at The White House in a variety of positions including Personal Aide to President Clinton and Senior Advisor to the Special Envoy for the Americas where he worked with Congress to design trade legislation and assisted U.S. companies in gaining access to Latin American markets. Andrew holds an M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.A. from Middlebury College.
Founder, Terawatt Ventures
Seed Funding Panelist
Mark Goodman is launching an early-stage cleantech fund called Terawatt Ventures focusing on smart grid, energy efficiency, energy storage, and water treatment. Mark co-founded Brookline Venture Partners in 2004 and was responsible for all aspects of deal sourcing, due diligence, fundraising, and portfolio company strategy. He serves on the board of Volicon Inc., and managed portfolio investments including GenuOne (acquired by OpSec Security Group), Acme Packet (APKT), Circle Lending (acquired by Virgin Money USA), and Consumer United. Mark is a member of the Clean Energy Venture Group and Environmental Entrepreneurs, and has been a Mentor and Judge for the MIT Ignite Clean Energy competition. Mark worked at First Chicago Corporation from 1989 to 1992 where he rotated through syndications and asset sales, high yield securities, commercial real estate disposition, and foreign exchange options while completing an MBA at Kellogg in the evenings. As a corporate banking associate in New York, Mark was responsible for credit analysis of securities and commodities firms. Mark holds a BA in Economics and Philosophy from Emory University where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, and an MA and PhD in Philosophy from Boston College.
Founder, President, and CEO, World Energy Alternatives
BioEnergy Panelist
Gene Gebolys has guided World Energy to be a global leader in biodiesel. A champion of biodiesel in the U.S. and internationally, he has provided continuing leadership to the National Biodiesel Board since 1996, serving on its governing council and as Chair of its Regulatory Committee. Mr. Gebolys holds degrees from Harvard University and Ohio State University in Economics, Business Management, and Public Policy.
President and CEO, IST Energy
Combined Heat & Power Panelist
Mr. Haber is President and CEO of IST Energy, the developer of the GEM, a portable & on-site clean waste-to-energy system.
Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & Design, University of Bath
International Carbon Management Panelist
Gary Hawley is the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & Design at the University of Bath, Professor of Automotive Engineering and the Director of the Powertrain & Vehicle Research Centre. He also holds the prestigious Medlock Chair of Engineering in recognition of, "excellent academic research and its application to industry". Gary joined the academic staff of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1995 after careers with both the National Coal Board and the Royal Navy. During service as a commissioned officer he was appointed on exchange with the United States Navy and served at the United States Naval Academy. He has published extensively on various aspects of diesel engineering, thermal management of heat engines, computational approaches to predicting engine performance and the use of alternative fuels for road transport. He is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Renewable Transport Fuels Group and sits on the scientific committee of the Canadian AUTO21 Network Centre of Excellence.
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer, Bandgap Engineering
Solar Power Panelist
Chris brings to Bandgap over fifteen years of leadership experience in operations, finance, marketing and business development at both Fortune 500 companies and entrepreneurial startups. Prior to Bandgap Chris was SVP Operations at eCredit, a credit risk management and collections software company that was acquired by Fidelity Ventures. Chris is a graduate of McGill University and earned his MBA at Harvard Business School.
Vice President, Beijing Songzhihui
International Carbon Management Panelist
Graduated from China Northeastern University of Finance and Economics in 1982, Guan started his career with China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation and promoted to be the manager of the public relation division in a very short two year time. Later on, Guan worked for Hughes electronic international for over 10 years stationed at Washington DC as the director of business development. Before Guan joined Songzhihui, he was the President of Banyu Investment Co, of Japan. His experience covered international business management, sales and marketing, international business development and government relationship. At his current position, he is responsible for Songzhihui's development strategy, oversea partnership, technology transfer and localization as well as investment planning. He has intensive knowledge about China energy policy and market.
Founder and President, Grounded Power
Smart Grid Panelist
Carl Gustin, Founder and President, has more than 30 years of energy-related experience. As a senior vice president at Boston Edison and NSTAR he led the design and implementation of award winning energy efficiency and demand response programs. He previously served as a senior executive at the US Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the US Synthetic Fuels Corp. in Washington, DC. and more recently was the founder of a regional energy trade association.
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
Seed Funding Panelist
Karl serves as the Director of Cluster Development for the Massachusetts Clean Energy - working to increase the job and economic development potential of the clean energy industry in Massachusetts through investments in early-stage companies, and forming partnerships and alliances with industry, universities and clean energy organizations. He also conducts the clean energy research activities for the MassCEC.
He has over 17 years experience in clean energy technology. Prior to joining the MassCEC, Karl was the Economic Development Officer for the Renewable Energy Trust. He also founded a startup technology company and has worked throughout his career with emerging and advanced energy technologies with Arthur D. Little, the Yankee Group and Honeywell. His work has taken him to Europe, the Far East and South America. Karl was an officer in the US Air Force and holds an MBA from Babson College and a BS in electrical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
President & CEO, Ambient
Smart Grid Panelist
Mr. Joyce leads the organization. He has over 25 years experience as a senior executive working with international utilities and financial industries. Mr. Joyce has held senior positions with companies such as ABB, Price Waterhouse and Citicorp. He has extensive international experience in business development, consulting and financial markets. From November 2000 through August 2001, Mr. Joyce was the Chief Operating Officer of the Company. In September 2001, Mr. Joyce assumed the leadership of the Company. Prior to joining Ambient, Mr. Joyce served as Senior Vice President of ABB Financial Services Inc. while also serving as President of Financial Consulting - The Americas, where he led the global energy consulting practice within ABB Financial Services. A CPA in the United States, Mr. Joyce holds an MBA from the Stern School of Business, New York University, where he majored in Finance and International Business. Mr. Joyce is a founding member of the Universal Powerline Association (UPA). He is also active in the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) and GridWise Alliance.
Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics Acadia University
Fundy Bay Case Study Panelist
Dr. Richard Karsten is an associate professor of Mathematics at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. He has a BMath from the University of Waterloo and a PhD. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Alberta. He spent three years as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining Acadia in 2001. He early research focused on fluid dynamics and oceanography, in particular, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. In recent years, Dr. Karsten and his colleagues at Acadia have been working on examining tidal power in the Bay of Fundy. Their work resulted in the first published assessment of in-stream tidal power in the Minas Passage based on a theoretical estimate of extractable energy and a numerical simulation of in-stream turbines. He has also publications examining the tidal resonance in Hudson Strait and the coupling of resonant shallow basins with the Atlantic Ocean. He has given numerous conference and public presentations on tidal power.
Founder and Principal, Independence Wind
Wind Power Panelist
Angus King was Governor of Maine from 1995 to 2003. Elected in his first run for public office in 1994, he was re-elected in 1998 by one of the largest margins of victory in Maine history. In 2007, Angus co-founded Independence Wind, an wind development company based in Maine. In 2009, Angus joined the professional team of Leaders LLC, an investment banking firm, focused on mergers and acquisitions. Earlier, Angus founded and was President of Northeast Energy Management, Inc., an energy development company. He is currently a Distinguished Lecturer at Bowdoin College and a Visiting Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University . Governor King is a graduate of Dartmouth College and The University of Virginia Law Schoolvolpe.
Co-founder and the CFO, EnergyClimate Solutions
Efficiency & Energy Services Panelist
David Kopans is a co-founder and the Chief Financial Officer for EnergyClimate Solutions. He has been Head of Finance/CFO for two publicly traded companies and is a serial entrepreneur who has started, run, and advised software, hardware, biotech and clean energy companies.
Earlier, Mr. Kopans co-founded Value Added Energy Information Systems (VAEIS) in 2003, a company that quickly became the leading provider of metering and monitoring services to the renewable energy marketplace. In 2005, VAEIS merged with Fat Spaniel Technologies and David was appointed Director of Business Development and Regulatory Affairs. Mr. Kopans received his BA degree in Economics and Public Policy from Brown University and an MBA degree with honors in Finance and Accounting from NYU.
Co-Founder and Chief Scientist, Qteros and Professor of Microbiology and Co-Director of TIMBR
University Spinout Panelist
Susan Leschine is a Founder and Chief Scientist at Qteros, a biofuels technology company headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts. She is also Professor of Microbiology and Co-Director of TIMBR, The Institute for Massachusetts Biofuels Research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dr. Leschine earned a Bachelor's Degree in Biology and a Ph.D. in Biophysics and Microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh. She conducted postdoctoral research at UMass Amherst on microbial communities that decompose plant biomass. Dr. Leschine is acknowledged as a leading authority on the biology and diversity of cellulose-digesting microbes, their role in the global carbon and nitrogen cycles, and their industrial applications. She was named a Top Ten Woman in Cleantech by Earth2Tech, and a 2009 "Woman to Watch" by Mass High Tech. The goal of her research is to harness the natural diversity of the microbial world for energy solutions. Presently, research in Dr. Leschine's laboratory at UMass Amherst involves studies of bacteria that directly convert non-food biomass into fuels and other products, research that has formed the basis for Qteros' Q Microbe? single-step cellulosic conversion technology.
Founder, former CEO and member of the Board of Directors, Black Duck Software
Seed Funding Panelist
Doug Levin is the founder, former CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Black Duck Software, serving in these roles since December 2002. Previously, Levin was CEO of MessageMachines (acquired by NMS Communications in 2002) and X-Collaboration (acquired by Progress Software in 2000) - two VC-backed companies based in Boston. In addition he served in management roles for eight years at Microsoft Corporation. Levin's expertise is in startup formation and pre-IPO executive management, finance, software development, marketing and sales. Levin has an advanced degree in International Economics from the College d'Europe in Bruges, Belgium and a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was awarded 2007 CEO of the Year by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council.
Professor and Chair, Department of Management and Marketing, University of Massachusetts, Boston
International Panel Moderator
David L. Levy is Chair of the Department of Management and Marketing and Director of the Center for Sustainable Enterprise and Regional Competitiveness at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He received his doctorate from Harvard Business School. His research examines corporate strategic responses to climate change and the growth of the renewable energy business sector in the New England region. He has published and lectured widely on these topics, and recently started a blog, ClimateInc.org, on business and climate change.
Partner, Virgin Green Fund
Venture Capital Panelist
Evan Lovell is a Founding Partner of the Virgin Green Fund ("VGF") a private equity fund focused on growth capital investments in the renewable energy and resource efficiency sectors. Prior to founding VGF Mr. Lovell was a private equity investor with TPG Growth, a $1.5 billion private equity fund focused on growth capital, LBO and late stage venture investing in North America and Asia. At TPG he was a Principal focusing on consumer product, retail and cleantech related investments.
Prior to joining TPG Growth, Evan was a Partner with Aqua International, a TPG fund focused on the cleantech sector where he led over $250 million of equity investments globally. Prior to joining Aqua in 1998, Evan was Director of International Development for Culligan Water Technologies (1994-1998).
Mr. Lovell serves on the board of DTX Oil, Duratherm Inc. and Seven Seas Water.
Director of Business Development, 1366 Technologies
Solar Energy Panelistt
Craig Lund is Director of Business Development for 1366 Technologies.Craig Lund is Director of Business Development for 1366 Technologies. Craig brings over 8 years of experience in traditional energy markets, economic policy, and entrepreneurship. Previously Craig worked for Endeavor as a strategic advisor assisting early-stage ventures in Latin America and participated in Highland Capital's entrepreneurship program. Prior to that he worked in energy and power finance for Deutsche Bank where he was involved in capital raising and strategic initiatives for large, public power and utility clients. Craig also spent most of 2004 in Iraq as an economic advisor for the US Department of Defense and received a civilian services achievement award for his efforts. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelors Degree in Economics from Dartmouth.
Senior Commercial Lender, TDBank
Project Finance Panel
Meg McIsaac is a senior commercial lender with TDBank. In this role, Meg sources new business opportunities for the Bank focusing on family owned or closely held private business with over $20MM in annual revenue. She has been in commercial banking for 24 years, specializing in commercial and industrial financing. An alternative energy advocate, Meg has been directed to create viable financing programs for smaller wind and solar projects, primarily for community and private use. TDBank is committed to developing an expertise in this growth market. Meg has been involved in several wind and solar financing projects to date and currently is working with equity sponsors on projects totaling 10-12Mw, scheduled to begin over the next 18 months. Meg began her career at Bank of Boston before moving to New York to work in syndicated leverage leasing at Fuji Bank. Upon returning to Boston, Meg worked for USTrust/Citizens Bank, Mellon Bank and has been with TDBank since 2006. She graduated from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio and the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Pennsylvania.
Nova Scotia Manager, Oceans Limited
Fundy Bay Case Study Panelist
Since first coming to Canada in 1975, Simon Melrose has worked in the field of applied ocean science. During this time he has been Senior Oceanographer and Environmental Coordinator for Petro-Canada's offshore operations, Director of Operations for the Weather Network and Vice President of Operations with Maclaren Plansearch, SNC Lavalin. Presently, Mr. Melrose is the Nova Scotia manager for Oceans Ltd, Canada's largest marine weather and oceanographic company, providing site specific forecasting to most of the offshore operations here and in Newfoundland and Labrador. Mr. Melrose is also chairman of the board of the Ecology Action Centre and a member of Solar Nova Scotia. He is actively involved in renewable energy development and lives off-grid in Musquodoboit Harbour.
President, Sirius Integrator
Portable Power Panelist
Mr. Merlino is the President of Sirius Integrator, a distributor of energy products and solutions including the line of fuel cells from Smart Fuel Cells, Fuel Cells For Remote Backup Power. Mr. Merlino was formerly in product management at Tyco Fire & Security and Sun Microsystems.p>
Founder and Executive Managing Director, CEVG
Seed Funding Panelist
David S. Miller, Ph.D. is a founder and Executive Managing Director of CEVG. He is on the board of directors or advisory board of several clean energy companies, and is a volunteer mentor to others at MIT's Venture Mentoring Service. He is also a research affiliate at MIT's Sloan School of Management. David is a New England chapter leader of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), a national community of business people who believe in protecting the environment while building economic prosperity (www.e2.org). David co-founded EPrime, which is a forum for clean energy entrepreneurs to network and support each other's enterprises. He is a founding member of the MIT Enterprise Forum's Energy Special Interest Group where he currently manages the mentor program for the IGNITE Clean Energy Business Plan Competition. David was a board member of New England Energy and Environmental Funders, which educated investors interested in energy and environmental companies, and was an advisory board member of the New England Clean Energy Council. David received his BS and MS in Computer Science and Engineering from MIT, and completed his doctorate at MIT's Lab for Energy and the Environment where he studied the utilization of distributed generation and energy efficiency measures. His dissertation examined the impact of a variety of management and investment strategies and public policy initiatives on the success of new clean energy ventures.
Director, Marine Renewable Energy Center (MREC)
Research Center Directors Panelist
John is the founding Director of the Marine Renewable Energy Center (MREC). He has 25 years of experience in technology commercialization in a variety of high technology businesses including Polaroid and GTE, has been President of two companies, and led a startup, Micro Magnetics, that transitioned an advanced materials sensor from university demonstration to Beta ready tool in 11 months. He has a BS degreee in Engineering from the United States Military Academy, West Point, an MS in engineering degree from the University of Washington; and an MBA degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. John is active in the New England Clean Energy Council, oyUniversity of Massachusetts Clean Energy Working Group, and sits on the boards of several nonprofit organizations. He actively employs his own renewable energy rowing whale boats.
Chair of the Northeast Combined Heat and Power Initiativebr />Moderator, Combined Heat & Power Panel
Dr. Mitchell holds a PHD in Natural Resources and Earth Systems Science from the University of New Hampshire. He is also an attorney with a Master's Degree in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School and serves as the Chair of the Northeast Combined Heat and Power Initiative, a regional association promoting all aspects of CHP and serves as President of the NH Sustainable Energy Association. Clay has taught Environmental Law and Policy and the University of New Hampshire and Plymouth State University and lectures throughout the region on energy matters. His private work includes energy system design, financing and installation. His current projects include the installation of the largest solar array in the state and the first Capstone Microturbine installation for New Hampshire.
Sentech, Inc.
Motive Power Panelist
Mr. Moreland is employed at Sentech, a clean energy and energy efficiency consulting company, where he is responsible for providing support to the U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program's market transformation of fuel cells and hydrogen infrastructure. Mr. Moreland's career features 30+ years of experience in external relations, financial management, program/project management, and M&A with Ford Motor Company, MTI MicroFuel Cells, and Sentech. He serves or has served on the Boards of the NYS Workforce Investment Board, New Energy New York (2007 chair) and the US Fuel Cell Council.
Director and Officer, President, Fundy Tidal Inc.
Fundy Bay Case Study Panelist
Fundy Tidal Inc. founder and president Dana Morin is an active participant in the creation and growth of community economic development investment funds and renewable energy initiatives in Nova Scotia. He was the founding president of the network of the eight community investment funds collectively referred to as the "Scotian WindFields" and the Sustainable Islands Community Economic Development Investment Fund. Dana was also a founding director and management of Scotian WindFields Inc., DaoPower Canada Corporation, Wind Driven Inc., Wind Horse Power Ltd. and Fourth Generation Capital Corporation (4G) which specializes in carbon credit and emissions trading.
Professor and Director of the Center for Renewable Energy Technology, Northeastern University
Center Directors Panelist
Sanjeev Mukerjee is a professor of Chemistry at Northeastern University and Director of the Northeastern University Center for Renewable Energy Technology. Dr. Mukerjee's areas of expertise include: Electrocatalysis - Understanding Electrocatalytic Pathways in Complex Reaction Centers; Intercalation Compounds - Understanding charge compensation in complex structures as a function of intercalation; In situ Synchrotron Spectroscopy - Development of New Methodologies for X-ray Absorption and Scattering Methods; and Fundamental Understanding of Transport Phenomenon in Polymer Electrolytes. He received his MS and M.Tech degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology and his PhD in Chemistry from Texas A&M University.
Commercial Manager, OpenHydro Group Ltd.
Fundy Bay Case Study Panelist
OpenHydro Group Ltd. is an Irish energy technology company whose business is the design and manufacture of marine turbines for generating renewable energy from tidal streams. Since joining OpenHydro Nick has been involved across the business including managing grid connection of the EMEC Research Structure and with the development and delivery of the company's first deployment vehicle, the OpenHydro Installer and the first subsea base, also located at EMEC. Nick currently holds the position of commercial manager within the company and has primary responsibility for delivering the first 10m unit which is due for deployment later this year in the Bay of Fundy in a project being developed in partnership with Nova Scotia Power, as well as looking after OpenHydro's future projects. Prior to joining the company Nick was employed by E.ON UK and was integral in setting up their Marine Renewables business unit which was a direct progression of his role as an offshore wind developer, also with E.ON UK. Nick has a Masters degree in subsea engineering and a first degree in Oceanography. He holds a commercial diving qualification and sits on the Society for Underwater Technology's Marine Renewable Energy Committee.
President, Trenergi Corp.
Combined Heat & Power Panelist
Mr. Myers co-founded and is leading Trenergi, a manufacturer of global distributed energy micro combined head and power (microCHP) systems based on high temperature PEM fuel cell technology. Prior to Trenergi, Mr. Myers was Director of Marketing at Nuvera Fuel Cells and the Global Market Leader for the company's PowerTap Hydrogen Generation product line. Earlier, Mr. Myers was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Iwaki Americas, an international manufacturer of fluid and air-handling pumps. Charlie holds an Executive MBA from Saint Mary's of Moraga, Moraga, California, and a BS degree.
MIT Technology Licensing Officer
University Spinout Panel Moderator
Christopher Noble is MIT's Licensing Officer for energy technology. He previously worked for twenty-five years in energy and technology companies ranging from the Fortune 500 (Schlumberger, Analog Devices) to startups (Philsar). Chris has raised and negotiated VC financings and served on the Board of several private companies. He has lived and worked in South America and Europe and is fluent in French and Spanish. Chris's non-profit activities currently include serving on the Board of Design That Matters, a product design company focused on the health and education needs of the poor in developing countries. He previously was the Founding Director of the New England Region of Future Scientists and Engineers of America.
Vice President, Venrock
Venture Capital Panelist
Matthew Nordan is a vice president at Venrock, a premier venture capital firm originally established as the venture arm of the Rockefeller family. He focuses on breakthrough energy, environmental, and materials technologies from the firm's Cambridge, MA office. Prior to Venrock, Matthew was president of Lux Research, an advisory services firm for science-driven innovation that he co-founded in 2004. Under Matthew's leadership, the Lux Research analyst team became a globally recognized authority on the business and economic impact of emerging technologies, advising corporations, start-ups, financial institutions, and governments. Before Lux, Matthew held a variety of senior management positions at emerging technology advisor Forrester Research in the U.S. and Europe. Matthew has testified before the U.S. Congress four times on emerging technology issues, advised the Committee to Review the National Nanotechnology Initiative of the National Academies, and been an invited speaker at universities including Harvard, MIT, and Columbia. He is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies and has advised the OECD on technology development for energy and environmental applications. A regular speaker at technology conferences, Matthew has been frequently cited by news outlets including CNBC, ABC News, The Economist, and Newsweek. Matthew is a summa cum laude graduate of Yale University, where he conducted cognitive neuroscience research on the neural pathways mediating emotion and memory.
Member, Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, P.C.
Moderator Venture Capital Panel
Jerry O'Connor has a wide-ranging business law practice that focuses on corporate finance transactions, mergers and acquisitions, securities law and intellectual property matters. He represents clients in a variety of industries, including clean energy technology and renewable energy, software and information technology, manufacturing, venture capital and professional services. Jerry's practice has a particular focus on advising early stage clean energy technology companies in all aspects of their formation and growth, including negotiating and carrying out angel and vc financings, strategic alliances and joint venture agreements. Jerry is active in several renewable energy industry groups, and serves as Clerk of the Massachusetts Hydrogen Coalition and of the New England Clean Energy Council. Jerry is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and of Northeastern University School of Law.
Senior VP for Energy and Clean Technology, ML Strategies, LLC
Carbon Management Panelist
David advises energy and technology companies on emerging public policies and devises strategies that will expand their markets and accelerate their growth. As Massachusetts Commissioner of Energy Resources from 1995 to 2007, he was responsible for implementing the state's first-ever Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard and directed the state's $125 million/yr. energy efficiency incentive program. He also represented the state in the development of the first-ever, multi-state agreement to "cap and trade" carbon emissions from power plants. In the 1990's he led the state's historic deregulation of the electric industry which for the first time enabled companies and consumers to choose their electricity supplier. David received his Masters in Public Administration from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and his undergraduate degree from Middlebury College in Vermont.
Business Development Manager, Dantherm Power
Backup Power Panelist
Tom Ollila is the Business Development Manager for Dantherm Power, a leading supplier of Fuel Cell backup power systems. He is responsible for growing the company's backup power business in North America. He has been in the renewable and Fuel Cell industry for over eight years and has worked for Plug Power, Parker Hannifin and GE.
Vice President, Business Development, Active Power, Inc.
Backup Power Panelist
Martin Olsen serves as the company's vice president of Business Development. In this role, Olsen leads all global business development activities to help grow Active Power's product and sales distribution channels. Olsen brings more than 11 years of global marketing, product marketing and development to Active Power. He served as director of the Data Center Group for Wright Line LLC, a Worcester, Mass. based data center infrastructure firm prior to joining Active Power in early 2007. Prior to that, Olsen worked in the United States and several years overseas working in Munich and Singapore, where he led the product marketing and business development charter for APC-MGE. A U.S. patent holder, Olsen received his bachelor's of science in Marketing from the International Business College at Kolding, Denmark. In addition to his degree, he also earned diplomas in Logistics and International Business Law from the International Business College at Kolding, Denmark.
Associate Director, Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center
Executive Committee Chair and Investor Advisory Board Co-Chair
Dr. Linda Plano is the Associate Director of the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center (MTTC). In this role, she assists in the development and implementation of MTTC programs. Her focus is on recruiting and coaching early stage entrepreneurs for these programs with the goal of facilitating the commercialization of their technologies. Dr. Plano works with inventors in all high tech sectors from life sciences to information technology and has coached over 200 entrepreneurs and inventors in preparation for their presentations to investors at the MTTC, many of whom have gone on to found companies, several of which have raised millions of dollars in venture funding. Dr. Plano is committed to the development of the Clean Energy custer in Massachusetts and the region. She has co-chaired the Conference on Clean Energy: Financing and Partnering for Emerging Businesses, held jointly with the Massachusetts Hydrogen Coalition,since its inception in 2005. As a volunteer, she co-founded the Energy Special Interest Group at the MIT Enterprise Forum and served as chair for its highly successful Ignite Clean Energy Business Plan Competition which has provided mentoring and networking opportunities to over 100 teams in its first four years as well as more than half a million dollars in cash and prizes to the winners. Dr. Plano serves on the Governing Board for the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust, as well as on the Boards of Directors of the New England Clean Energy Council, the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge and the Global MIT Enterprise Forum. Dr. Plano has been involved in business and product development throughout her career in positions ranging from Vice President for New Business Development at MicroNetworks Corporation, Group Head at both Kobe Steel's Electronic Materials Center and Sarnoff Corporation. She earned a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University and B.S. in Physics from MIT.
Associate Director, UMass Wind Energy Center
Center Directors Panelist
Patrick Quinlan is currently the Associate Director of the UMass Wind Energy Center He has been actively involved in wind power, clean technology development, and technology transfer since 1982. In the early 1980's he worked at Southern California Edison and AeroVironment Inc. on wind turbine test projects and early wind farm development. At AeroVironment, he also managed business development for their electric vehicle introductions. As a consultant to Western Area Power Administration, he worked with individual electric cooperatives and municipal utilities on renewable energy projects and planning. Later, in Washington DC, Patrick served as a Congressional Fellow working for the Ranking Member of the House Science Committee, then as the ASME White House Technology Fellow supporting the Presidential Science Advisor at the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Patrick also worked for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the Washington office, serving the Federal wind energy, solar energy, geothermal, and hydrogen technology programs. In Massachusetts, at Second Wind Inc., Patrick managed business development of wind farm monitoring and sodar instrumentation products. Patrick holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts (wind energy program), an M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin (Solar Energy Laboratory), and a Professional Engineering license in mechanical engineering in California.
Co-Founder & CEO, Baystate Biofuels, LLC
BioEnergy Panelist
Prior to launching Baystate Biofuels, Dr. Blair "Jesse" Ellyn Reich worked for BASF in their inorganics and sustainable marketing division. Jesse satisfies his passion for teaching as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. He received a bachelor's degree from Bates College and a doctorate in chemistry from Texas A&M.
Managing Director, DanePartners
Clean Energy Careers Panelist
Matthew has more than 10 years of retained search and executive recruiting experience, currently as Managing Director of DanePartners, and on the executive recruiting team at Cognizant, a global IT consulting leader. Matthew's past experiences include a global retained search firm, a small boutique, and as the Director of Recruiting at a high-growth startup. Matthew founded DanePartners to focus on recruiting for energy & cleantech companies. He serves on the steering committee for several clean energy organizations including the TiE Energy & Cleantech Special Interest Group, The MIT Enterprise Forum's Energy Special Interest Group, the Ignite Clean Energy (ICE) Business Plan Competition, and the MTTC's Conference on Clean Energy. Please visit www.danepartners.com for more info.
Communications Director, Cape Wind
Wind Power Panelist
At Cape Wind, Mark's primary responsibilities are media relations and community outreach. Prior to taking this position with Cape Wind in January of 2002, Mark was a Director of HealthLink, a Salem-based citizens advocacy organization working to reduce harmful fossil fuel power plant emissions. Mark received a BA in Political Science from the George Washington University.
Senior Vice President & Co-Chair, Innovation Task Force, New England Clean Energy Council
ARRA and Beyond: Federal and State Government Funding for Clean Tech Panelist
Peter is Senior Vice President of the New England Clean Energy Council and leads the Council's Energy Innovation Consortia project and other innovation-stage initiatives, including the Council's Clean Energy Fellowship Program. The Council focuses on accelerating New England's clean energy economy and building a world-class cluster of clean energy companies. The Council represents nearly 150 member clean energy companies, venture investors, major financial institutions, local universities and colleges, industry associations, area utilities, labor and large commercial end-users. Peter has many years of venture, entrepreneurial, executive and deal experience across the cleantech venture market. Previously, Peter was part of the Flagship Ventures team, a leading seed and early stage venture capital firm in Cambridge Massachusetts, and founder of Allegro Strategy, a consultant, advisor and interim executive with early-stage cleantech start-ups. Peter has been in early-stage deal or executive roles with a number of cleantech companies, including Mascoma, Planar Energy Devices, Ze-gen, Novomer, Boston-Power, and Mechanology. Peter is actively involved in a range of leading cleantech and entrepreneurial organizations, including the National Renewable Energy Lab's VC Advisory Board, catalyst to MIT Deshpande Center solar and energy storage MIT projects, Co-Chair of the New England Clean Energy Council's Innovation Task Force, and a Board member of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge.
Chief Technical Officer, 1366 Technologies
University Spinout Panelist
Dr. Emanuel Sachs is the Chief Technical Officer of 1366 Technologies, a silicon photovoltaics company based in Lexington, Massachusetts. As the CTO, Dr. Sachs leads the company in its mission to produce the world's most cost-effective and commercially viable solar cells. Dr. Sachs is a Fred Fort Flowers and Daniel Fort Flowers Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT and specializes in the design of high-efficiency manufacturing processes. Prior to joining the MIT faculty, Dr. Sachs spent seven years working in the photovoltaics industry. He's the inventor of "String Ribbon", a ribbon crystal growth process for making low cost substrates for solar cells, which is now being commercialized by Evergreen Solar, Inc. of Marlboro, MA. Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Sachs also co-invented Three Dimensional Printing, a manufacturing process for the creation of 3D parts (directly from a computer model) in layers. 3D Printing is now being commercialized in fields-of-use, including appearance models, ceramic molds for castings, direct metal tooling, end-use metal parts, medical devices and pharmaceuticals. Dr. Sachs has received a number of prestigious awards over the years, as well. Together with co-workers, Dr. Sachs was awarded an R&D 100 award in 1994 for his work on 3D Printing. He has received several best paper awards. Dr. Sachs was also selected as a Hertz Foundation Fellow and earned the Hertz Foundation Doctoral Thesis Prize in 1983 for his work on String Ribbon. Dr. Sachs holds B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. Currently, his sole research focus is on PV and he supervises a growing PV research group at MIT. The group is currently pursuing projects in wafer fabrication, surface texturing for light trapping, metallization, and light trapping at the module design level.
President and CEO, Amperion, Inc.
Smart Grid Panelist
Nachum is responsible for the strategic direction of the company and the running of its business operations. He is a serial entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in computer networking and communications. Nachum was co-founder and VP Engineering of two networking startups that successfully sold. Prior to his position at Amperion, Nachum was Chief Operating Officer of Mintera Optical Networks, a pioneer in development of 40Gbps optical transport products. Prior to Mintera, Nachum served as Executive Vice President of Technical Operations at Sitara Networks, delivering Quality of Service (QoS) products to large enterprise and service provider customers. During his period the company grew from a technology November 12 & 13, 2009 Hynes Convention Center ? Boston, MA Biographies 41 start-up into a high gross margin, revenue-producing business, serving major enterprise and telecommunications carriers worldwide. Nachum holds an MSEE degree from Northeastern University in Massachusetts and a BSEE degree, cum laude from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. He is a member of the MIT Enterprise Forum, MassNetComms, American Technion Society, Northeastern University Alumni Association and IEEE.
CEO, Solaya Energy
Project Finance Panelist
Sumul Shah is the Chief Executive Officer of Solaya Energy, a vertically integrated renewable energy company that develops, constructs, and operates power projects throughout the world. With expertise in the areas of wind, solar, fuel cell, and geothermal power, Solaya is developing 630MW of renewable energy projects in India, Brazil, and the United States. Locally we are developing over 50MW of wind projects with a focus on community scaled or behind the meter projects. Sumul also is the President and Founder of Lumus Construction, a full service construction and facilities management company that focuses on major historic restoration work, government facilities, and other highly complex projects. Earlier this year at the White House, President Barrack Obama awarded Sumul the "2009 Business Person of the Year" award for Massachusetts and first runner up nationally in recognition of his business accomplishments and his contributions to the community. Sumul holds a Sc.B. in Civil Engineering from Brown University and a S.M. in Construction Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Member, Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, P.C.
Moderator, Seed Investment Panel
Jeff practices securities and general corporate law, focusing on start-ups and developing companies in high technology industries, including clean energy technology, medical devices, software and biotechnology. He has extensive experience representing start-ups, developing companies and investment and venture capital firms in connection with private placements, seed and venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property licensing, initial and secondary public offerings, public company compliance work, and executive employment matters. Before joining Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, Jeff was an associate with Bingham Dana, LLP, Boston. Jeff graduated magna cum laude from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and earned an A.M. in history from Brown University. He graduated from Cornell Law School in 1992.
General Manager, Carbon Management
Fundy Bay Case Study Panelist
Started with NSPI in 1978 involved initially with the design and construction of coal generating units and then their operation. Came to head office in 1992 and progressed through the organization eventually leading the power production team, the engineering and environmental team and currently focused on the transformation of the company to one that has a much more balanced portfolio of prime energy sources from one that is carbon intensive. He is the executive sponsor of NSPI's in stream tidal demonstration project. Currently chairs the Air Issues Committee of the Canadian Electricity Association and the Canadian Sub-committee of IEC's TC114 dedicated to create standards for marine energy worldwide. James is a professional engineer.
Partner, Bingham McCutchen LLP
Moderator, Backup Power Panel
John Utzschneider focuses primarily on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance, inlcuding debt restructurings. He serves as deputy chair of the firm's Corporate Area and co-chair of the firm's Corporate, M&A and Securities Practice Group and the Energy Industry Group and is a member of the Management Committee at Bingham. John has represented both private and public companies, equity and debt financing sources and underwriters in mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, private and public offerings, and restructurings. He also represents public companies and boards of directors on securities, corporate governance and related matters. He has been named to various peer-reviewed "best lawyer" lists in various categories, including the Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Lawdragon 3000's "Leading Lawyers in America," and the Lawdragon "500 Dealmakers in America 2007." John received his Juris Doctor degree from the New York University School of Law and his Artis Baccalaureate degree from Dartmouth College.
President and CEO, Enel North America
Wind Panelist
President and CEO of Enel North America, Inc. since 2005, Mr. Volpe has been responsible for the introduction of geothermal activities into the Company's U.S. portfolio, as well as the expansion of wind and hydropower projects. Mr. Volpe worked previously in Corporate Strategy at Enel S.p.A. Prior to joining Enel, Mr. Volpe was a senior consultant at Bain & Company in Italy where he served clients in various industries (luxury goods, financial services, postal services, ICT companies) focusing on strategy, business planning and organization. He was previously a manager at Decathlon Logistics in Marseilles, France. Mr. Volpe holds an MBA from Columbia University's Graduate School of Business and graduated cum laude in Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering from Politecnico of Milan, Italy.
Associate, Foley Hoag
Moderator, Financing Renewable Energy Projects in New England Panel
Adam Wade is a member of the Business Department's Energy Technology & Renewables group. His business, corporate and project finance experience includes broad-based experience serving the needs of renewable energy companies in their development and financing of wind, solar and geothermal projects, including drafting and negotiating operation and maintenance agreements, natural gas and wood fuel supply agreements and off-take agreements such as renewable energy credit sales agreements and residential and commercial solar power purchase agreements.
In the wind industry, Adam has had significant experience representing the world's largest wind turbine manufacturer in turbine supply, warranty and service arrangements for transactions with developers active in North America. His project finance experience includes negotiation and documentation of credit and security documents for natural gas baseload and peaking facilities, project agreements for cogeneration facilities as well as documentation of project financings using the 'equity-flip' structure for wind and solar projects involving investment tax credits and production tax credits.
Adam also has experience in general corporate counseling, business formation, mergers and acquisitions and formations of joint ventures. In his mergers and acquisitions practice, he has advised numerous clients in analysis of transactions and preparation of filings with the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, necessary for compliance with the premerger notification reporting requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.
Associate Director for Research Liaison and Development, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Moderator, Center Directors Panel
Loren Walker is a market-oriented scientific and technical communications professional. He is currently the Associate Director for Research Liaison and Economic Development at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he also serves as staff director for the university's clean energy research initiative. Loren specializes in research, analysis and translation of technical concepts into accessible, compelling, and persuasive language. Core competency areas include: residential energy efficiency technology, practices and policy; university-led clean energy research; and regional technology-based economic development. Loren earned a B.S. degree from Roanoke College in 1995 and a M.S. from Portland State University in 2000, both in Biology. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Western Mass Green Consortium and is a member of the National Association of Science Writers and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Executive Director, Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust
Project Finance Panelist
Carter Wall is the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust. In this role she oversees the implementation of the Trust's programs in renewable energy development. Her background is in energy finance. Prior to joining the Trust, Carter was the Executive Vice President of PowerOptions, an energy supply program of the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority. Carter has also served on planning teams for large-scale developments with significant energy infrastructure and sustainable development components, such as Harvard University's Allston campus and the City of Chicago's expansion of Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Carter has an AB from Bryn Mawr College and an MPP from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. She lives in Leverett, MA.
Senior Advisor for Clean Energy Technology, MA Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs
Wind Power Panelist
Greg Watson is Senior Advisor for Clean Energy Technology within the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and Vice President for Sustainable Development with the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. He serves as the administration's point of contact for the clean energy entrepreneurial community. As MTC Vice President for Sustainable Development and Renewable Energy, Mr. Watson is also directing the Cape & Islands Offshore Wind Public Outreach Initiative and MTC's Offshore Wind Energy Collaborative (OWC). Greg comes to us from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, where he most recently served as Vice President for Sustainable Development and Renewable Energy. In that capacity, he directed the Cape & Islands Offshore Wind Public Outreach Initiative and MTC's Offshore Wind Energy Collaborative (OWC). From 1995 to 1999 he served as Executive Director of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative. Prior to that he has been with: Second Nature as its Director of Educational Programs; The Nature Conservancy's Eastern Regional Office as its Director; and Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture as Commissioner. Prior to that, Greg was the Executive Director of the New Alchemy Institute. In 1983, he was appointed Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology within the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Affairs, a post he held until 1989. From 1983 through 1986 he also served as Deputy Director of the Massachusetts Centers of Excellence Corporation. He became the first Director of the Massachusetts Office of Science and Technology in 1986. Greg serves on the board of directors of Ocean Arks International and the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture. He attended Tufts University where he majored in Civil Engineering. He also developed a self-directed program in Environmental Design Science at Campus-Free College in Boston.
Vice President of Energy Development, Minas Basin Pulp & Power
Fundy Bay Case Study Panelist
John Woods is currently the Vice President of Energy Development at Minas Basin Pulp & Power, a company with a decades-old history of sustainable development in Nova Scotia. In this role, Mr. Woods is able to move past merely talking about the possibilities of renewable energies, to focus on making them a reality. As an electrical engineer, Mr. Woods has spent most of his career in the energy industry. He has been employed as a distribution and transmission engineer with Nova Scotia Power, has acted as a consulting engineer, and is the former Executive Director of the Electricity Consumers Alliance of Nova Scotia (ECANS). He was also a project coordinator of wind energy projects with Ventus Energy (presently known as Suez Energy).
Founder and CEO, Solectria Renewables
Solar Power Panelist
Mr. James Worden is the CEO and co-founder of Solectria Renewables, LLC, a Lawrence based photovoltaics inverter company that designs, produces and distributes products for residential, commercial and utility scale applications. Mr. Worden has been instrumental in the design of the company's inverters from 13kW to 500kW and grown the business from a niche player to an international renewable market supplier. Prior to Solectria Renewables, Mr. Worden co-founded Solectria Corp. in 1989, an internationally recognized developer and manufacturer of electric & hybrid vehicles and components, and served as CEO until 2005. Mr. Worden has over 23 years experience designing and building solar photovoltaic systems, including inverters, maximum power trackers, PV modules, arrays and complete photovoltaic systems. Mr. Worden is a graduate of MIT.
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