Wade Crowfoot

Wade Crowfoot was appointed California Secretary for Natural Resources by Governor Gavin Newsom in January 2019. Secretary Crowfoot oversees an agency of 19,000 employees charged with protecting and managing California’s diverse resources. As a member of the Governor’s cabinet, he advises the Governor on natural resources and environmental issues.

Crowfoot brings over two decades of public policy and environmental leadership to the office, with expertise in water, fisheries, climate and sustainability issues. He most recently served as chief executive officer of the Water Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropy that builds shared water solutions for communities, economy, and the environment across the American West.

Prior to joining the foundation, Crowfoot served in Governor Jerry Brown’s Administration as deputy cabinet secretary and senior advisor to the Governor. In that role he led the administration’s drought response efforts and spearheaded several of the Governor’s priority initiatives to build California’s resilience to climate change.

Crowfoot received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1996 and earned a master’s degree in public policy from the London School of Economics in 2004, where he graduated with honors.

Phoebe Wang

Investment Partner, Head of Female Founder Initiative, Amazon Climate Pledge Fund

Phoebe Wang serves as the investment partner at Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, a $2 billion venture investment fund supporting the development of sustainable technologies and services that will enable Amazon to meet its net-zero carbon goal. Her investment focus area covers climate tech companies in transportation & logistics, energy generation, storage, and utilization, buildings, manufacturing & materials, circular economy, food & agriculture, and carbon removal. She has over a decade experience in climate tech with strong passion in fighting climate change for the future generations. She was also an ex-entrepreneur and built a start-up in technology commercialization. Phoebe was the recipient to Top 10 Entrepreneur by Silicon Valley Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum (SVIEF) in 2016, Global Corporate Venturing Top Rising Star in 2020, and the US Department of Energy (DOE)’s Business C3E Award in 2022.

Phoebe is a Charterholder of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), with an MBA concentrated in Climate and Finance, and a BSc in Materials Science and Engineering. Phoebe has invested in frontier tech companies such as Glacier AI, CarbonCure, Genecis Bioindustries, ZeroAvia, Veros Systems (acquired by Baker Hughes), Ionomr, Aurora Hydrogen, Bluware, Quanterra, South 8 Technologies, Antora, Celadyne, Li Industries, Aurora Hydrogen, Connected Freight, FreeWire, Xpansiv, Zubie, and currently sit on Rocky Mountain Institute Third Derivative Corporate Advisory Board, Global Corporate Ventures Advisory Board, Counterpart Venture Council Advisory Board and Rice Alliance Energy Advisory Board. She serves as a Special Advisor to the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and Department of Energy (DOE). She is a frequent guest lecturer at Brandeis University, UC Berkeley, MIT and Rice University. In her free time, Phoebe enjoys reading, working out and practicing vipassana.

Matt Carpenter

Senior Vice President, Environmental Resources Five Point Holdings, LLC

Matt Carpenter is a proud native son of Los Angeles- a third generation Angeleno.

Carpenter currently serves as Senior Vice President of Environmental Resources at FivePoint, where he manages environmental planning, permitting and regulatory affairs. Since 2005, Carpenter has played an instrumental role in the evolution of FivePoint’s Valencia community, which is coming to life as one of the most sustainable and environmentally-innovative communities of its kind in the nation. Widely recognized as a problem-solver of environmental challenges, Carpenter has spent nearly 30 years planning and implementing significant environmental sustainability and natural resource conservation programs here in Los Angeles County and throughout California.

In 2018, Carpenter and his team at FivePoint were presented with the first-ever At-Risk Species Conservation Award by the US Fish & Wildlife Service for their ground-breaking work reintroducing the San Fernando Valley spineflower to recapture portions of its historic range.

To encourage community service and environmental stewardship in Santa Clarita, Carpenter works with the Boys and Girls Club in the City’s annual River Rally Cleanup to learn about environmental sustainability and develop appreciation for their local watershed.

In addition to actively volunteering in his community, since 2005 Carpenter has served on the Advisory Council to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences Department where he consults the faculty on curriculum development and developing workforce-ready graduates.

Mark Hillhouse

Mark Hillhouse is an Executive Director on the Wells Fargo Sustainable Finance and Advisory team. He uses a wide variety of resources to help Commercial Banking clients as they develop and execute their sustainability strategies and consider options for financing those strategies. He also speaks with clients about products, technologies, and services that will help the world decarbonize. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, he was head of Sustainable Finance for U.S. Commercial Banking at HSBC, where helped develop U.S. and global sustainability strategies and led a team that executed the U.S. strategy. Prior to HSBC, Mark held relationship management & leadership roles at Comerica Bank and GE Capital. He also served in the US Air Force.

Stan Tran

Senior Manager, United Airlines Ventures and Corporate Development

Stan Tran is a Senior Manager at United Airlines Ventures, a corporate venture capital fund started by United Airlines to invest in emerging companies and technologies that have potential to influence and advance travel, with a focus on sustainability concepts complementing United Airlines’ net zero emissions goal. He has also worked on the international route planning team at United, focusing on transatlantic capacity strategy and new route launches.

Prior to joining United, Stan spent 7 years on Wall Street, which includes experience as an analyst covering high yield debt for New York Life’s investment management subsidiary and investment banking at Credit Suisse. Stan received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Boston University with a minor in Political Science. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and rescue pointer mix pup where they take advantage of the varied landscapes and cuisines in Southern California when they are not traveling on United’s leading global network.

Tracy Quinn

Board Member, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Representing City of Los Angeles

Tracy Quinn is the CEO of the Santa Monica-based non-profit Heal The Bay environmental group. Quinn previously served as the California director of the California Water Urban Policy for the Natural Resources Defense Council. She’s dedicated her nearly two-decade career to ensuring safe, sufficient and affordable water for Californians, most recently focusing on the unique challenges and opportunities that face California as it adapts to a changing climate. She’s helped pass state legislation to implement long-term water resilience strategies and led efforts to develop product standards and improve building codes to conserve water.

Prior to joining NRDC, Quinn was a water resources engineer in Southern California, dealing with a wide range of water-related issues, including resources planning, infrastructure design, and stormwater regulation compliance. A registered civil engineer in California, Quinn earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural and biological engineering at Cornell University.

Current Metropolitan committee appointments: Chair − One Water and Stewardship Committee. Member − Executive Committee; Finance and Asset Management Committee; Subcommittee on Demand Management and Conservation Programs and Priorities; Subcommittee on Long-Term Regional Planning Processes and Business Modeling.

Yana Garcia

Yana Garcia was appointed California Secretary for Environmental Protection by Governor Gavin Newsom in August 2022. As Secretary, Yana oversees the state’s efforts to fight climate change, protect air and water quality, regulate pesticides and toxic substances, achieve the state’s recycling and waste reduction goals, and advance environmental justice. As a member of the Governor’s cabinet, she advises the Governor on environmental policy. Garcia is nationally recognized as a groundbreaking environmental leader who has worked hard to uplift the voices of those from disadvantaged communities.

Since 2021, Garcia has served as Special Assistant Attorney General advising California Attorney General Rob Bonta on the California Department of Justice’s legal and policy matters pertaining to the environment, land law and natural resources including climate, transportation, energy, and housing.

She was Deputy Secretary for Environmental Justice, Tribal Affairs and Border Relations at CalEPA from 2019 to 2021 and had been CalEPA’s Assistant Secretary for Environmental Justice and Tribal Affairs from 2017 to 2019. During her tenure at CalEPA, Garcia led three Environmental Justice Task Force Initiatives in the communities of Pomona, Imperial County and Stockton. She also led the program that delivered more than $1 million in Environmental Justice Small Grants to 28 organizations to combat pollution, improve health outcomes and increase public engagement in some of California’s most pollution-burdened communities.

Prior to her state service, Garcia litigated environmental cases on behalf of several client groups across the state and across the country, as an attorney at Earthjustice in the California regional office in San Francisco. Garcia was also a staff attorney at Communities for a Better Environment, serving in Huntington Park and Oakland. Her legal practice areas have focused on environmental justice issues, civil rights, land use, toxics and chemical disclosure, oil and gas extraction, and crude transport. Between 2011 and 2012, Garcia served as a legal research attorney at the San Francisco Superior Court’s Civil Division, Office of the Presiding Judge.

Prior to practicing law, Yana worked on various environmental justice and civil rights projects aimed at achieving equitable access to clean air, clean water, and sustainable food and energy systems in the states of Texas, New Mexico and Massachusetts.

Garcia holds a degree in politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a law degree from Northeastern University School of Law.

Bill Kissinger

Bill served as a member of the Governor Davis’s Energy Task Force, responsible for shaping California’s strategy in responding to the 2001 electricity crisis. He was California’s lead negotiator in the effort to renegotiate the multibillion-dollar energy contracts the state entered into in early 2001. His efforts resulted in greatly improved contract terms with future savings to the state in excess of $5 billion over the life of the contracts. In 2002, Bill was appointed by Governor Davis as a member of the California Electricity Oversight Board.

From 1997 to 2000, Bill served as special assistant to the legal adviser for the US Department of State in Washington, DC. From 2000 to 2001, he served as senior adviser for international economic policy at the White House National Economic Council.

A member of the firm’s energy industry team and hydrogen working group, Bill’s practice spans energy and environmental matters. He represents conventional and renewable energy companies, storage project developers, municipalities, and publicly owned utilities. His energy practice includes representing parties in litigation arising out of the purchase and sale of electricity as well as providing advice on regulatory matters involving the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California Energy Commission (CEC), and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Recognized by Chambers USA, Bill is described as “a wealth of knowledge and contacts” by his energy clients.

Bill serves as a member of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board after being appointed by Governor Brown in 2012 and reappointed in 2016, and again appointed in 2019 by Governor Newsom.
Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Bill was a partner in the environmental practice of another international law firm.

Walker Wright

Walker Wright is the VP of Public Policy 7 Head of External Affairs for Sunrun, the largest distributed solar, energy storage, and energy services company in the United States. Over the years Walker has held numerous leadership positions in the clean energy policy space.

Previously Walker was VP of Policy for Green Charge, a leading energy storage software and development company, acquired by ENGIE (the world’s largest Independent Power Producer). At ENGIE Walker provided policy leadership to numerous subsidiaries, which included the top Public Sector energy services provider in California..

Walker was Sunrun’s Western policy lead from 2011-2016 and before that he focused on market strategy for Petra Systems, a New Jersey based smart grid solutions provider, which in 2009 signed the world’s largest distributed energy contract. He holds a BA from Princeton and an Msc from The London School of Economics and Political Sciences. Walker resides in Oakland with his family, enjoys reading history and is a volunteer coach and administrator at Oakland Soccer Club.

Rita Kampalath, Ph.D., P.E.

Chief Sustainability Officer, County of Los Angeles Chief Sustainability Office

Rita joined the County of Los Angeles’s Chief Sustainability Office in June 2017 as a Sustainability Program Director for the office. She supports development and implementation of the County’s first sustainability plan, in addition to providing policy support for other County sustainability-related initiatives. In May 2022, she was appointed Acting Chief Sustainability Officer and in August 2023 she became the official Chief Sustainability Officer. Prior to joining the County, Rita was the Science and Policy Director of the non-profit Heal the Bay where she oversaw advocacy and research projects related to water quality and water resources, and guided the development of Heal the Bay’s positions on a wide range of policy issues. Before joining Heal the Bay, Rita worked for Geosyntec Consultants on a range of water quality projects, primarily focusing on stormwater. Rita received a B.S. in chemical engineering from Columbia University, and an M.S. in chemical engineering and a Ph.D. in civil/environmental engineering from UCLA.

Nancy Skinner

A social justice advocate, clean energy and climate change trailblazer and accomplished legislator, Nancy Skinner was first elected to the state Senate in 2016 after completing three terms in the state Assembly. Senator Skinner currently serves as chair of the Senate Housing Committee and of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus, and is chair emeritus of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee.

Skinner has authored groundbreaking laws including SB 206, the Fair Pay to Play Act, making California the first state to give college athletes the right to earn money from their name, image, and likeness; SB 1421, opening up police misconduct records for the first time in 40 years; and SB 1437, overhauling California’s unjust felony murder rule. While in the Assembly, she authored AB 153, requiring Amazon and other internet retailers to collect sales tax; AB 1014, the first in the nation gun violence restraining order otherwise known as ‘red flag’ law; and AB 1930, giving college students access to federal food assistance, which has now been copied by most every state in the country. In 2021, Skinner led the successful campaign to make California the first state in nation to make free school meals available to all public school children.

Skinner began her public service in 1984 as the first student elected to the Berkeley City Council. On the council, Skinner introduced the nation’s first Styrofoam ban and co-founded an international association, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, which now includes 2,500 local and regional governments in over 125 countries. Skinner’s work at ICLEI led to the initiation of the Cities for Climate Protection program, which engaged hundreds of cities worldwide to take action to stop climate change.

Skinner is a past member of the East Bay Regional Park District board, a former small business owner, and an active advocate to increase the number of women in elected office. She served on the Board of the East Bay Women’s Political Caucus and launched the Women in Power PAC to support Democratic women running for state office.

Skinner’s Senate District includes the cities of Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Emeryville, El Sobrante, Hercules, Kensington, Oakland, Piedmont, Pinole, Richmond, Rodeo, San Leandro, and San Pablo. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley, earning both a BS and an MA.

Matt Kaczmarek

Matt Kaczmarek, Managing Director, is Head of Private Debt Sustainable Investing and head of Los Angeles for BlackRock, the world’s leading investment management firm. Matt’s team develops innovative sustainable investing solutions and oversees the consideration of financially material environmental, social, and governance factors in the team’s investment decisions. Matt is also co-chair of the firm’s global LGBTQ+ employee network. Prior to joining BlackRock, Matt held senior economic policy positions in the administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama. He received his BA from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and MA from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Mark Milius

Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer

As co-founder of Valta Energy, Mark Milius plays a pivotal role in managing the company’s daily operations. With nearly two decades of experience in the financial and energy industries, Mark has been instrumental in overseeing the remarkable growth of Valta since its inception in 2009. Before embarking on his journey with Valta, Mark served as a consultant to several commercial and residential mortgage brokerage firms. Leveraging his previous experience and achievements, he successfully scaled a mortgage banking team to become a top-performing branch with over 40 employees. Under Mark’s guidance, Valta has flourished since its first project was built in 2011. His unwavering commitment to excellence has helped shape Valta into an industry leader known for delivering exceptional results. As Co-Founder and CEO, Mark continues to steer Valta towards new horizons while ensuring that the company remains at the forefront of sustainable energy solutions.

Luz M. Rivas

Luz M. Rivas was born in Los Angeles to an immigrant family and grew up in the Northeast San Fernando Valley. She attended LA Unified schools before earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from MIT and a master’s of education from Harvard. Luz built her career at the intersection of engineering and education before entering public service. She worked as an electrical design engineer at Motorola before founding DIY Girls, a nonprofit that provides enrichment programs focused on encouraging young girls to pursue careers in science, engineering, and technology. In 2016, she was appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti to the Los Angeles Board of Public Works.

Luz was elected and sworn into the California State Assembly in June 2018. She served as the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources and currently serves on the Assembly Committees on Communications & Conveyance; Public Employment and Retirement; Revenue and Taxation; and Water, Parks, and Wildlife.

During Luz’s time in the Assembly, her priority has been to uplift and empower underrepresented communities. She has been extraordinarily successful as a leader in delivering substantive policy, such as reforming the state’s response to homelessness, providing universal school meals to all K-12 students, creating the California Youth Empowerment Commission to increase youth civic engagement, and advocating for environmental justice. Luz believes it is her highest honor to represent the community she grew up in.

Henrik Holland

Global Head of Prologis Mobility

Henrik Holland is the Senior Vice President and Global Head of Prologis Mobility, where he leads the company’s growth business in the emerging Mobility industry. He oversees Prologis’ Electric Vehicle (EV) charging offerings, uniquely positioning the company to deliver leading solutions at depots, workplaces, and charging hubs. During his tenure with Prologis, the company has delivered some of the most innovative charging projects in the logistics industry. This includes the largest heavy duty charging depot in the United States, enabled by a first-of-its-kind proprietary microgrid solution.

Prior to joining Prologis in 2021, Henrik served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Shell Greenlots, responsible for overseeing the company’s operations, project engineering, delivery, and end-to-end customer support. With an extensive 18-year tenure at Shell, Henrik held various commercial and operational roles. Before his role as COO, he led Shell New Energies’ Electric Mobility Corporate Development efforts, including the acquisition of Greenlots. Henrik also founded Shell’s Connected Energy group, driving business development and product strategy, resulting in a strong pipeline of customer-sited distributed energy projects and the deployment of Shell’s first on-site solar project in the United States.

Henrik is actively involved in the electrification industry. He serves on the Electric Vehicle Working Group (EVWG) established by the U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. He is a CALSTART board member and contributes to the Investor Advisory Board at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). His past affiliations include mentoring startups through Techstars, membership of the Northeast Clean Energy Council (NECEC) board, the Greentown Labs advisory board and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Investments Working Group.

Henrik holds a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Business Administration and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

Funmi Williamson

Funmi Williamson is senior vice president of Customer Service and chief customer officer at Southern California Edison. She is responsible for overseeing the company’s customer products and services, business and residential customer account management, customer billing and credit, and contact center operations. Before joining SCE, Williamson was chief customer officer at PECO, an Exelon company that serves Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania, where she led initiatives to improve customer satisfaction while growing self-service options, plus other efforts that lower costs.

Previously, she was chief commercial risk officer at Exelon Corporation, where she built a best-in-class risk organization and led the development of a new, disciplined risk-taking framework.

Williamson has been named “One of Corporate America’s Most Powerful Women” by Black Enterprise and to the “Top 100 Women in Business” list by the National Women’s Conference.

Williamson has served for several organizations, including on the boards of the Urban Affairs Coalition, the Pennsylvania Conference for Women, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the Executive Committee of the Ronald McDonald House of Baltimore.

She earned a Master of Business Administration from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Science in accounting from the Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria.

Eduardo Garcia

Eduardo Garcia represents California’s 36th Assembly District, which includes Imperial County and cities and communities in Riverside County and San Bernardino County. Elected in 2014, Garcia presides as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy, overseeing critical issues such as ensuring energy stability, affordability, and safety and California’s groundbreaking efforts to decarbonize its electrical grid. He serves on the Assembly Committees on Budget; Budget Subcommittee 3; Communications and Conveyance; Governmental Organization; and Human Services. Assemblymember Garcia is an Ex Officio Member of the California Air Resources Board. He chairs the newly established Assembly Select Committee on California’s Lithium Economy and previously chaired the Assembly Committees on Water, Parks, and Wildlife; and Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy.

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

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

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

In the Legislature, Garcia remains committed to ensuring all Californians have access to safe, affordable drinking water and safe parks and outdoor spaces. He joint authored SB 200, legislation that created the Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) program. This program is bringing vital water infrastructure investments to underserved areas across the state. His work on SB 5, the Prop 68 California Parks, Environment, and Water Bond Act of 2018, released $4 billion in long overdue and much-needed state resources. Garcia has already delivered nearly $60 million in Prop 68 funds to improve and build new parks throughout his district.

Before serving the State Assembly, Garcia was elected to the Coachella City Council, and at the age of 29, he became Coachella’s first elected Mayor. His vision transformed the city into a vibrant economic and cultural center.

Darcie Houck

Commissioner Darcie L. Houck was appointed to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) by Governor Gavin Newsom on Feb. 9, 2021. She formerly served as Chief Counsel for the California Energy Commission since 2019.

Commissioner Houck was an Administrative Law Judge at the CPUC from 2016 to 2019, a Partner at Fredericks Peebles & Morgan from 2005 to 2016, and Staff Counsel and Policy Advisor at the California Energy Commission from 2000 to 2005.

Commissioner Houck has expertise in matters concerning environmental equity, nuclear energy regulation, and safety policy. She has an extensive background representing Native American tribes throughout the country on matters involving energy, natural resources, land claims, and water rights, among others.

Commissioner Houck is a member of the California Indian Law Association, California Lawyers Association, Schwartz-Levi Inn of Court, Women Lead and the Association of Women in Water, Energy, and Environment. She earned a law degree from the University of California, where she also earned a Master of Science in community development.

Paul Jennings

Principal, PCS Energy

As a pioneer in deregulated telecommunications services for more than two decades, Paul Jennings is recognized as a passionate advocate for higher education, sustainability and services for individuals with learning disabilities. A highly successful entrepreneur and real estate developer, Mr. Jennings earned a bachelor of science in marketing from California State University, Northridge in 1985. He is the founding partner and chief executive officer of Public Communications Services, Inc., (PCS).

Mr. Jennings began his entrepreneurial career working his way through college by selling long-distance phone plans. He is regarded as a pioneer in the long-distance service industry that began with AT&T’s break-up in 1984. He focused on delivering telecommunication services to public agencies with significant inmate populations. His company became the third largest provider of inmate telephone services in the country. He is currently a principal of PCS Energy, the largest commercial solar provider for the City of Los Angeles. Founded in 2014, the company focuses on energy solutions for multi-family apartments.

Throughout his successful career, Mr. Jennings always believed in the power of education and the need to give back. Overcoming dyslexia, Mr. Jennings made education for students with similar challenges a priority. The Jennings Family Foundation helps to fund facilities, scholarships and student activities at the Park Century School, the CSUN David Nazarian College of Business and Economics, the Westside Children’s Center and the University of San Diego. The foundation also supports more than 20 organizations that help abused or neglected children and families that are experiencing homelessness.

Since his graduation more than 30 years ago, Mr. Jennings has remained actively involved with California State University, Northridge. His total giving to the university exceeds $2 million, with his most recent $1 million gift to create the Paul Jennings Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship. Mr. Jennings and his wife, Adrienne, are President’s Associates and Heritage Society members. In addition to financial support, he also donates his time to ensure that student entrepreneurs receive the same opportunities that he did. Mr. Jennings participates annually in the Professor for a Day event for Nazarian College and serves as a member of its Advisory Board. He is also a member of CSUN Foundation Board. A long-term member of the Young Presidents Organization, he served the organization in five chair positions. He has received CSUN’s Volunteer Service Award in 2014 and a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015.

U.S. Senator Alex Padilla

Senate Committee on the Judiciary Member

Senator Alex Padilla, a progressive problem-solver, is the first Latino elected to represent California in the U.S. Senate. The son of immigrants, Padilla grew up in the San Fernando Valley and studied Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was drawn to politics in response to California’s anti-immigrant Proposition 187. Padilla was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 1999 and the State Senate in 2006. As California’s Secretary of State, he oversaw a historic expansion of voting rights and voter participation. As United States Senator, Padilla has taken action to cut costs for families, combat the climate crisis, and help thousands of Californians secure millions of dollars owed to them by federal agencies. Padilla currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety. He is a member of the Senate Committees on Budget; Environment and Public Works; Energy and Natural Resources; Judiciary; and Rules. Padilla lives in the San Fernando Valley with his wife, Angela, and their three sons, Roman, Alex and Diego.

Marlon Boarnet

Dr. Marlon Boarnet, Professor of Public Policy and Chair of the Urban Planning & Spatial Analysis Department, is a renowned authority on urban economics, urban growth patterns, transportation, and regional science. He is an expert in transportation and land use, and has served on the National Research Council committee that authored “Driving and the Built Environment.”

His research focuses on land use and transportation; links between land use and travel behavior and associated implications for public health and greenhouse gas emissions; urban growth patterns; and the economic impacts of transportation infrastructure.

Marlon Boarnet has published extensively in leading journals such as Regional Science and Urban Economics, Environment and Behavior, Urban Studies, Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Planning Education and Research, National Tax Journal, and Journal of the American Planning Association and is also co-author of Travel by Design: The Influence of Urban Form on Travel (Oxford University Press, 2001).

For twelve years, Dr. Boarnet co-edited the Journal of Regional Science, is an associate editor of the Journal of the American Planning Association, and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Planning Literature, Journal of Transport and Land Use, Transport Policy, and previously on Papers in Regional Science.

In recognition for lifetime scholarly achievement, Dr. Boarnet is fellow of both the Regional Science Association International and the Weimer School of the Homer Hoyt Institute for Real Estate. He serves as vice-president/president-elect of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (2017-2019).

He has been an Executive Committee Member for the National Center for Sustainable Transportation since 2014 and has acted as principal investigator on over 1.8 million dollars of funded research, supported by agencies that include the U.S. and California Departments of Transportation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the California Policy Research Center, the California Air Resources Board, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Ryan Pfaff

EVP, GRID- AND DISTRIBUTION-SCALE POWER EDF RENEWABLES, NORTH AMERICA

Ryan Pfaff leads EDF Renewables’ Grid- and Distribution-Scale Power activities in North America across multiple technologies, including solar, on- and offshore wind, energy storage, and hydrogen. With over 25 years of international renewable energy and finance experience, he has played a key role in the commercialization of over 12 GW of renewable generation facilities globally.

Prior to joining EDF Renewables in 2012, Mr. Pfaff served in a variety of roles with the AES Corporation over the course of seven years, most recently VP & Head of Global Wind Development. Other AES roles included, VP – North America Business Development, Managing Director – Renewable Generation, and serving on AES’ Global Development Steering Committee.

Mr. Pfaff began his energy career in 1997 with privately-held IPP SeaWest Windpower, where he was a key member of the management team responsible for the turnaround and sale of SeaWest to AES in 2005. Prior to joining the energy industry, Mr. Pfaff worked in commercial banking with Credit Suisse First Boston and Union Bank of California (now US Bank).

Mr. Pfaff holds a B.S. in Business Administration, concentration in Finance, from San Diego State University. He serves on both the Board and Executive Committee of the Solar Energy Industries Association, as well as Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, an EDFR/Shell joint venture.

Cary Kottler

Chief Development Officer

Mr. Kottler serves as the Chief Development Officer of Pattern Energy. In this role, he oversees Pattern’s business development activities, encompassing the wind, solar, transmission, storage and green fuels sectors. These efforts include the creation and evaluation of new growth opportunities as well as advancing Pattern’s development pipeline through all phases of development, commercialization and into construction.

Prior to joining Pattern, Mr. Kottler served as executive vice president of Clean Line Energy. He held a number of roles at Clean Line across the development, commercial and legal sectors, with responsibilities encompassing project development, state and federal permitting processes, FERC matters, corporate compliance, financing arrangements and commercial agreements.

Previously, Mr. Kottler was a corporate attorney for Vinson & Elkins, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, project development and private equity investments in the energy and power sector, both domestically and internationally.

H. David Nahai

David Nahai serves as Chair of the Los Angeles Business Council.

He is the President of David Nahai Consulting Services, Inc., which specializes in the renewable energy, energy efficiency, and water sectors. He is also President of David Nahai Associates, Inc., a law firm specializing in real estate and sustainability transactional matters. A leading expert in water, renewable energy, and real estate matters, Mr. Nahai previously served as the General Manager and Commission President of the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power. Mr. Nahai is also the former Chair of the L.A. Regional Water Quality Control Board, and former Senior Advisor to the Clinton Climate Initiative. He was reappointed to the Water Board by Governor Newsom in 2021 and is presently its Vice Chair. Additionally, he currently serves as Chair of the LAUSD Business Advisory Council, and as a Board Member of the UCLA Luskin Center, Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, Climate Resolve and LAANE. Mr. Nahai holds graduate and post-graduate degrees from the London School of Economics and UC Berkeley.

Carol Folt

Dr. Carol L. Folt is the twelfth president of USC and holds the Robert C. Packard President’s Chair.

She is a collaborative academic leader and a life scientist with faculty appointments in marine and environmental biology, civil and environmental engineering, and preventive medicine.

President Folt always puts students first and is committed to the pursuit of academic excellence and innovation throughout the university. She has set an ambitious course for USC, especially with regard to enhancing access and affordability, promoting sustainability, and building a culture of trust and accountability. Her leadership during the pandemic has drawn praise for its focus on protecting both the USC campus and the broader Los Angeles community, and for supporting the rapid development of novel and effective remote teaching strategies.

President Folt previously served as chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She began her career as a university leader at Dartmouth, serving as a dean, provost, and was the first woman to serve as president while mentoring students, continuing to publish extensively, and leading several major centers focused on the environment and human health. As a distinguished scientist,

President Folt’s pioneering research on the effects of dietary mercury and arsenic on human and ecosystem health led to numerous national and global policy changes and consumption advisories. President Folt earned her bachelor’s degree in aquatic biology and a master’s degree in biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her doctorate in ecology from the University of California, Davis.

Joe Nye, PE, PMP

Southern California Water Business Group Manager

Joe manages HDR’s Southern California Water Business Group. He is overseeing the growth and best business approach to win and secure contracts in the area. Throughout his career, Joe has successfully built highly motivated teams that are committed to serving our clients and communities. Joe excels in interacting with clients to understand problems and implement solutions. He has also delivered large Water/Wastewater programs and projects of all sizes and complexity to meet client’s expectations for schedule, budget, and quality. His hands-on, collaborative approach, coupled with a drive and vision for managing project risks provide strong leadership to allow for success at all levels.

Jason Barrett

Jason believes using the sun’s energy is key to keeping the planet safe for future generations. Prior to his sales and commercial tax equity roles at GAF Energy, he served as Chief Commercial Officer of Sol-Wind as well as a founding partner of Paladin Strategic Partners and has an extensive background in structured finance and asset management with senior positions at firms including Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Fannie Mae, Morgan Stanley and the Hartford Insurance Group. He has a BBA in Finance and International Business from Howard University where he was a Trustee and ITT Hartford Scholar and an MBA from Cornell University where he was a Robert Toigo Fellow. His favorite roof is the one on the Westmont Industries Distribution Center at the Port of LA, which has 50,000 solar panels on it (that he led the financing for).

Gene Seroka

Executive Director

Gene Seroka is the Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest container port in North America. Confirmed by Los Angeles City Council in June 2014, the Port has experienced a series of historic, record-breaking performances since his appointment.

As Executive Director, Seroka interacts with a wide range of stakeholders, including Port customers around the globe, industry partners, elected and appointed officials at all levels, business leaders and local residents. A respected global trade expert, Seroka has advocated for rules-based trade agreements that benefit American exporters and manufacturers.

Since the pandemic-induced buying surge generated by American consumers in the second half of 2020, the Port of Los Angeles has eclipsed multiple monthly cargo records and recorded eight out of 10 highest-performing quarters in its 115-year history. The Port set two new milestones for the Western Hemisphere in June 2021 as the first port to process 10 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in a 12-month period and in May 2021 the first port to process 1 million TEUs in a single month.

Seroka has distinguished himself as a leader throughout his illustrious career in shipping, global logistics and executive management. He received the esteemed Stanley T. Olafson Award from the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce in 2023, recognizing his work in the world trade industry and leadership of the nation’s busiest container port. The Containerization & Intermodal Institute named Seroka the 2021 recipient of the Connie Award, one the most coveted honors in the maritime industry. Lloyd’s List has recognized Seroka as the preeminent source on the supply chain, which earned him a spot in the 2021 Top 100 most influential people in shipping. Also in 2021, the Inland Empire Economic Partnership honored Seroka with its Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing decades of leadership and accomplishments in the supply chain, logistics and maritime industry. Seroka has been named one of the most influential people in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal and featured on the LA500 list each year since 2016.

In 2020, Supply Chain Dive named Seroka Executive of the Year for his leadership throughout the pandemic. Throughout the pandemic, Seroka—who lived in China during the 2002-2004 SARS epidemic—led the Port’s response to the global health crisis, keeping cargo flowing as an essential service to the nation. In March 2020, former Mayor Eric Garcetti named Seroka the Chief Logistics Officer for the City of Los Angeles, while concurrently serving as the Port’s Executive Director.

As chief of America’s top port, he is responsible for managing a $2 billion budget, advancing major capital projects, growing trade volume and promoting innovative, sustainable practices that strengthen the region’s economy. Under his direction, the Port has taken a leadership role in adopting cutting-edge technologies to improve the reliability, predictability and efficiency of the flow of cargo across global seaborne trade. In 2017, Seroka oversaw the Port’s launch of the first-of-its-kind digital information portal, Port Optimizer™, and has championed for ports around the world to share critical supply chain data and analytics.

While serving as Executive Director, Seroka has been appointed to serve on four federal committees to enhance the speed and efficiency of cargo movement and supply chain optimization, including the U.S. Department of Commerce Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness, U.S. Maritime Administration Marine Transportation System National Advisory Committee, Federal Maritime Commission Supply Chain Innovation Team and U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation’s former Port Performance Freight Statistics Working Group. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors for the California Association of Port Authorities, American Association of Port Authorities and Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority.

Seroka’s footing in the maritime industry was established as a sales support representative at American President Lines (APL) Limited’s Cincinnati office in 1988. After several key overseas positions in China, Indonesia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, he returned to the U.S. in 2010 to become President – Americas for the shipping line in Phoenix where he managed APL’s Liner Shipping business, including 1,000 employees, and was responsible for all commercial, port terminal, intermodal, land transportation and labor activities throughout the region.

Seroka holds an MBA and Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of New Orleans.

Ret. CA Senator Fran Pavley

Fran Pavley served 29 years in elected office. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Pavley was elected the first mayor of Agoura Hills in 1982, and served 14 years in the California Assembly and the State Senate. Former State Senator Pavley authored landmark climate policies (AB 1493, AB 32, SB 32, and others) that have created a market for innovation and investment in clean energy and vehicles, which have helped clean up our air, grow the economy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As chair of the Senate’s Natural Resources and Water Committee, she was able to pass the  state’s first Sustainable Groundwater Management bill.  She also promoted policies to protect our ocean, forests, and watersheds, and adopt measures to protect our water quality. Preserving and restoring natural habitats to benefit people, wildlife, and to reduce climate impacts, continues to be top priority for former Senator Pavley. 


She is now working as the Environmental Policy Director for the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and serves on several state and local boards and committees including the Santa Monica Conservancy and Wildlife Conservation Board.

Elliot Mainzer

President and Chief Executive Officer

Elliot Mainzer is President and CEO of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) in Folsom, California. For the last 25 years, he has been a leader in helping to achieve a reliable and affordable clean energy transition by working to support innovation and creativity in renewable energy development, transmission planning, market design and regional collaboration.

Mainzer joined the CAISO on September 30, 2020 after an 18-year career at the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), including seven years as Administrator and CEO. At BPA, he led efforts to unlock the wind-energy potential of the Pacific Northwest, managed the development of BPA’s open-season model for transmission subscription and queue management, and worked to balance the needs of the Federal Columbia River Power System with the welfare of tribal nations and salmon protection.

Under Mainzer’s leadership at the CAISO, the organization has strengthened coordinated power and transmission planning with California’s regulatory agencies, integrated record-setting amounts of new power generation and the nation’s largest fleet of lithium-ion batteries, helped preserve overall system reliability during the record-setting Western heat wave of September 2022 and provided strategic leadership and direction for the CAISO’s new extended day-ahead market proposal. Mainzer’s strong background and personal commitment to regional collaboration as an essential element of a reliable and affordable clean-energy transition have been a hallmark of his leadership at the CAISO, where he has also brought renewed focus on control center modernization, stakeholder engagement and program management in support of the organization’s new 2022-2026 strategic plan.

A native of San Francisco, Mainzer has an undergraduate degree in geography from U.C. Berkeley and master’s degrees in Business Administration and Environmental Management from Yale University. He is a senior fellow of the Oregon Chapter of the American Leadership Forum, has served on the boards of the Electric Power Research Institute and the Energy Systems Integration Group, and currently serves as co-chair of the Western Electric Industry Leaders Group.

He and his wife Margaret have twin boys. Among his non-professional pursuits, Mainzer is an amateur jazz saxophonist and dedicated student of jazz theory and history.

Barbara Romero

Previously, Barbara has served the City of Los Angeles in three different capacities; as Deputy Mayor for City Services, Board of Public Works Commissioner overseeing LASAN, and as a Citywide Planning Commissioner. She spent a decade working for the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) as its Chief of Urban Projects and Watershed Planning.

Early in her career, she worked as a community organizer for the Roosevelt High School’s Healthy Start Program. She also worked for the Los Angeles Conservation Corps running a federal AmeriCorps jobs program in East Los Angeles. She founded the Girls Today, Women Tomorrow Leadership Mentoring Program, and has served on the boards of the Los Angeles River Revitalization Corporation (now River LA), the Baldwin Hills Conservancy, Los Amigos Council for Para Los Niños, Valley Presbyterian Hospital, Community Nature Connection, Hollywood Sign Trust, and Los Angeles Conservation Corps. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies.

In recognition of her work, Barbara received the “Outstanding Young Californian Award” from the California Junior Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the “Aztec Award” from the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation, the “En vironmental Justice Civic Leadership Award” from Pacoima Beautiful, “Las Mujeres Award” from From Lot to Spot, the “La Adelita” Award from Mujeres de la Tierra, the “Muxer of the Year Award” from Las Fotos Project and the “Nuevo Amanecer Mujer integral dia Internacional de la Mujer Award” from Avanca.

Barbara is a proud graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles.