Janisse Quiñones

Janisse Quiñones is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the nation’s largest publicly-owned water and power utility. She leads the organization of nearly 12,000 employees, delivering water and power to the four million residents of Los Angeles.

Ms. Quiñones has over 25 years of leadership experience as a senior executive in utility and engineering industries and joined LADWP from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), where she first served as Senior Vice President of Gas Engineering and then as Senior Vice President of Electric Operations. In the latter, she oversaw electrical system operations and the power generation fleet, as well as the management of electrical assets that support the California Independent System Operator.

Prior to PG&E, Ms. Quiñones served as the Vice President of Gas Systems Engineering for National Grid, where she managed the engineering and design of natural gas distribution, transmission and infrastructure projects for National Grid’s U.S. territory, and oversaw various meter compliance, design and construction projects.

Ms. Quiñones’ experience also includes serving in the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), both full-time and in the reserves, from 2004-2025. She is a retired USCG Commander and previously served as Deputy, Planning and Incident Management. She also has held prior key leadership roles at Cobra Energy, including Vice President of Operations, responsible for the restoration and reconstruction projects of the transmission and distribution electrical systems in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. She also held several leadership roles at San Diego Gas & Electric, including Director of Design, Planning, Construction and Vegetation Management.

Ms. Quiñones was born and raised in Caguas, Puerto Rico, and attended the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Campus, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (Magna Cum Laude). She holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Advanced Studies in International Relations and is a licensed Professional Engineer in five states. She is a proud wife and mom of five and a 14-year-old puppy.

CA Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris

Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris proudly represents California’s 73rd Assembly District – the cities of Costa Mesa, Irvine and Tustin.

Cottie Petrie-Norris is a businesswoman, mom, and community leader who was elected to the State Assembly in 2018. In the Assembly, Cottie has worked to secure millions of dollars in funding for projects across Orange County and has passed important legislation to protect the California coast, improve access to healthcare, keep our children and communities safe, and help local veterans and small businesses.

Cottie serves as the Chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Utilities and Energy. Additionally, she serves on the Assembly’s committees for Budget; Economic Development, Growth, and Household Impact; Insurance; and, Privacy and Consumer Protection. She also serves on the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies.

Assemblywoman Petrie-Norris has been named “Legislator of the Year” by the California Life Sciences Association, the California Family Business Association and the California PACE Association. She received the Watershed Champion Award for her work to preserve clean drinking water and habitat, and the Sierra Club’s Political Leadership Award for her work on climate resilience. She also received the TechNet’s Champion of Innovation Award for her advocacy to create jobs and fuel economic growth.

Cottie and her husband, Colin, are the proud parents of two sons, Dylan and Hayden, and their rescue dog, Flounder.

David Libatique

David Libatique is the Deputy Executive Director of Stakeholder Engagement for the Port of Los Angeles, a position that oversees and manages all communications on behalf of America’s Port® via the Community Relations, Creative Services, Media Relations and Strategic Communications, Trade Development, and Workforce and Government Affairs divisions.

In this role, Libatique works with diverse stakeholders, including local communities, organized labor, beneficial cargo owners, terminal operators, international customers, shipping and cruise lines, railroads, the trucking industry, media, and regulatory agencies to advance the Port’s goals and initiatives. He also interacts on a broader scale with an array of local, regional, statewide, and national elected officials and stakeholders.

Working alongside Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, Libatique helped to spearhead the Logistics Victory Los Angeles (LoVLA) COVID-19 response effort in March 2020 to assist in getting critical personal protective equipment (PPE) into the hands of healthcare workers. Throughout the pandemic, Libatique worked to build relationships with public and private sector partners and further guide the initiative’s efforts.

Libatique first joined the Port in January 2011 as Senior Director of Government Affairs, where he led the Port’s intergovernmental advocacy at a critical time of increasing engagement with local, regional, state, federal, and even transnational and international levels of government.

Prior to joining the Port, Libatique served as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Director of Energy Policy, where he was responsible for advancing the Mayor’s environmental policies at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Before assuming that role, he served as the Mayor’s Senior Policy Analyst and acted as a liaison with the Port of Los Angeles, where he advanced priority initiatives, including the Clean Air Action Plan and Clean Truck Program.

Before joining the Villaraigosa Administration, Libatique served as Senior Deputy for Los Angeles City Councilmember Martin Ludlow, where he led policy development and legislative strategies to reform the City’s gang prevention and intervention efforts.

Libatique has conducted extensive experience in economic research, including working as a Research Analyst at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. There, he was a part of Working Group VI of the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health that analyzed the economic impact of investment in improved health outcomes for poor and middle-income countries.

Libatique holds a bachelor of arts in economics from the University of California, Berkeley and a master of public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Brad Souza

Brad brings over 20 years of experience in the energy industry and a strong commitment to renewable energy to his role as CEO of Valta Energy. His dedication to shifting the industry from a centralized to a distributed generation model has led to nearly 200 MW of distributed renewable energy projects.

With a diverse background spanning energy efficiency, mechanical engineering, cogeneration systems, utility infrastructure, and renewable energy Brad has served a wide range of sectors, including Commercial, Industrial, Government, and Education. Brad is passionate about building high-performing teams that drive meaningful impact in the energy landscape.

Brad holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Resources Engineering from Humboldt State University and an MBA from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business

Bob Graziano

Bob Graziano oversees corporate strategy and development for the Western Region of the United States, providing advice and support to the regional leadership team and acting as a Senior Advisor to clients, prospects and colleagues. He plays a lead role on key initiatives in the region and builds alliances across JPMorgan Chase’s lines of business. Previously, Bob was the Southern California Market Manager and, before joining J.P. Morgan, Managing Director of the Family Advisory Services Group at Northern Trust.
Starting in 1986, Bob spent 18 years working with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and was named the Dodgers’ President and Chief Operating Officer, the 11th President in franchise history, in 1998. He began his career at Ernst & Young before joining the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee as Manager of Ticket Operations, and became Manager, Financial Services, at WTC Airfreight.

Among his many other affiliations, Bob is Chair of the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission and a board member and past Chair of the LA84 Foundation. He is a board member of the Los Angeles Business Council; an advisory board member of the USC Sports Business Institute Club and the Los Angeles Chargers; and a member of the Leadership Council for International Medical Corps, a global first responder to those affected by conflict, natural disaster and disease.

Bob is licensed as a CPA (inactive) and holds the Series 7, 63, 9 and 10 licenses. He earned his B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, graduating summa cum laude and receiving the University Trustees Award.

Ravi Sankaran

Senior Director, Business Development, Southwestern Power Group (SWPG)

Ravi Sankaran leads business development, origination and other commercial matters for SWPG, a developer of independent generation and transmission projects. Prior to joining SWPG full-time in 2019, he worked in various roles in both renewable and conventional energy since 2003. Ravi was a Senior Director of Power Marketing for SunEdison for 5 years where he oversaw power marketing for over 600MW of solar projects and over 1 GW of wind projects that are now in operation. Prior to SunEdison Ravi spent 4 years in wind project development with Shell Wind Energy where he initiated what has now become the 3 GW SunZia New Mexico wind project. Before Ravi entered the renewable energy sector he worked in Resource Planning for the Entergy electric utility, during which time Entergy’s mid-south territory endured unprecedented destruction from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

Ravi is President of the Del Rey Neighborhood Council in the City of Los Angeles and serves on the Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance Energy Committee and on the LADWP LA100 Advisory Group. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Virginia and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Texas at Austin.

Vibhu Kaushik

Vibhu Kaushik is a global energy, sustainability, and infrastructure executive with over two decades of leadership experience spanning cloud infrastructure, logistics real estate, and electric utilities. He currently serves as an executive at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he is the Head of Global Energy organization—overseeing Amazon’s global clean energy strategy, power generation solutions engineering, utility partnerships, and management of 33 GW+ renewables portfolio across 30+ countries.

Under his leadership, AWS has reinforced its position as the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy, while advancing energy resilience and infrastructure readiness for AI and hyperscale workloads. Beyond traditional renewables procurement, his portfolio includes strategic direct investments in next-generation technologies such as small modular nuclear reactors, carbon capture and storage, energy storage projects, and geothermal.

Previously, Vibhu served as SVP and Global Head of Energy, Utilities & Storage at Prologis, the world’s largest logistics real estate platform with over 1.2 billion square feet across 19 countries. He built and led a global team of five vice presidents across the Americas, Europe, and Asia—driving deployment of distributed energy resources, zero-emission logistics hubs, and integrated sustainability programs for global customers. He also co-led the launch of Prologis’s data center business, including the energy and location strategy to convert existing logistics warehouses into next-generation digital infrastructure.

Earlier in his career, Vibhu spent 16 years in the utility sector, including senior executive roles at Southern California Edison (SCE)—one of the largest electric utilities in the U.S.—where he led major initiatives across power generation, energy procurement, grid modernization, and asset management. He pioneered the industry’s first hybrid gas turbine + battery storage project, now recognized globally as a model for low-carbon flexible generation. He was named one of Public Utilities Fortnightly’s “Top Forty Innovators” in 2017 and led SCE’s Tier I Gold Prize-winning submission to the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2019 Innovation Challenge to modernize the nation’s electric grid.

Vibhu holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manitoba, and a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. He is also a licensed Professional Engineer.

A strategic and collaborative leader, Vibhu is passionate about building global energy and infrastructure platforms that are intelligent, sustainable, and scalable—unlocking long-term value for customers, shareholders, and society.

Lauren Sanchez

Lauren Sanchez has over a decade of experience in tackling the climate crisis from government, academic and non-profit roles at the global, national and local levels. She currently serves as Governor Newsom’s Senior Advisor for Climate and most recently served as Senior Advisor to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, she was deputy secretary for climate policy and intergovernmental relations at the California Environmental Protection Agency and international policy director at the California Air Resources Board from 2017 to 2021. She was a climate negotiator at the U.S. Department of State from 2015 to 2017, serving on the Paris Agreement negotiation team. Sanchez is a Fulbright Scholar and earned a Master of Environmental Management degree from Yale University. She lives in Oakland, tries to spend as much time as possible wandering the Sierra Mountains, and enjoys trying all of the Bay Area’s greatest tacos while perfecting her Selena karaoke.

Hilary Norton

Hilary Norton’s career spans over 32 years in government, urban development, and transportation. Throughout Hilary’s professional life, she has worked to uplift women, increase safety and improve economic opportunity.

Hilary was one of Governor Gavin Newsom first appointees to the California Transportation Commission in September 2019 and was reappointed to a second term in February 2023. Hilary was elected Vice Chair of the CTC in 2020 and Chair in August 2020 and re-elected in January 2021. As CTC Commissioner, Hilary has implemented the Governor’s vision to transform the transportation sector to from diesel to zero emissions, create new transportation investment vision for California and empower equity-based investment – such as the California Action Plan for Transportation and Infrastructure (CAPTI) and the Equity Advisory Committee (EAC), and CTC’s SB 671 report to move California’s freight corridors to hydrogen and electric power. As one of 13 CTC Commissioners, Hilary works with CTC Commission staff led by CTC Executive Director Tanisha Taylor, Governor Gavin Newsom, the state legislature, the Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) and staff, and the Director of Caltrans and staff to invest over $8 billion annually in SB1 gas tax funds in transformative infrastructure investments to improve mobility, promote sustainability, create equitable access to jobs and housing, and bolster California’s economy.

Hilary is also Executive Director of FASTLinkDTLA TMO, where she works with businesses, independent contractors, visitors, and greater Downtown Los Angeles community members to facilitate use of transit, microtransit, paratransit and active transportation in order to reduce single occupant driving by 75% by 2030. FASTLinkDTLA promotes women owned mobility systems, and supports mobility options that improve lives at all income levels and provide mobility for all, such as Metro’s Express Lanes and rail network, Butterfli WAV system, the Los Angeles Streetcar, the Olympic Festival Trail, and ensuring that Downtown Los Angeles’ mobility and sidewalk infrastructure support people of all travel abilities.

Hilary holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Wellesley College.

Sandy Sanchez

Sandy Sanchez has over 20 years of experience in the real estate and community development industry. Sandy has held various roles such as Director of Pre-Development at O&S Holdings, Project Manager at DR Horton, and Director of Government Affairs at Building Industry Association. Currently, they serve as the Vice President of Policy at Five Point Holdings, leading policy development, community engagement, and government relations efforts. Sandy also holds leadership positions, such as Chair of the Board at Los Angeles County Business Federation – BizFed. Their expertise lies in aligning community interests with corporate goals and formulating public policies for large-scale projects.

Sandy Sanchez holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Mount Saint Mary’s University. Sandy also completed an Executive Development program in Management Development from the University of Southern California, and received a Light Construction Development Management (LCDM) Certification from UC Irvine.

Charles Yawson

Vice President, Renewable Energy Investments, GAF Energy

Charles Yawson is part of the renewable energy investment team at GAF Energy, where he helps structure and execute tax equity investments in commercial solar projects. With more than 18 years’ experience in energy finance, he supports initiatives to deploy investment capital into solar projects and GAF Energy’s collaborations with housing partners to install Timberline Solar® on manufactured homes. He previously closed over 700 MW of wind transactions at HSH Nordbank, structured renewable financings at Fortis Capital, and began his career in the investment banking division of Credit Suisse. Charles earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Yale University.

Jacquelin Mutter

Along with leading our One Water Planning initiative, Jacquelin is our liaison for the US Water Alliance’s One Water Council. Nationally, she applies a One Water lens to all projects and programs to foster partnerships, empower communities and ultimately drive multi-beneficial watershed-based solutions.

Jacquelin is passionate about the equitable distribution of water supplies and access to green and blue spaces. She has worked on various planning efforts, including the One Water LA 2040 Plan, Denver One Water Plan and Palo Alto One Water Plan. Currently, Jacquelin furthers our collective One Water thought leadership through in-progress Water Research Foundation publications: One Water Planning and One Water Program Management.

Her active engagement as a member of the US Water Alliance’s One Water Council, local Southern California WateReuse chapters and WRF projects furthers the industry’s One Water thought leadership by providing frameworks and tools that can be applied to all utilities types and sizes. Jacquelin is also an active member of her local communities’ Environmental & Sustainability Committee advising on local policy decisions.

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.

Tom Steyer

Tom Steyer is the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chair of Galvanize Climate Solutions, alongside Katie Hall and Secretary John Kerry.

Galvanize is a global, multi-strategy investment firm focused on the energy transition, grounded in the belief that financial returns and climate impact are inherently linked. Central to the firm’s thesis is the goal of generating outsized returns by investing in products and services that are cheaper, faster, and better.

Tom has been a professional investor for over 40 years. He began his investment career at Goldman Sachs, working with Bob Rubin in the early days of risk arbitrage, before moving west to San Francisco in 1986.

There, Tom founded Farallon Capital Management, a multi-strategy global investment firm, which he led until 2012. During his tenure, he grew the firm’s assets from $6 million to $36 billion, investing across a wide variety of strategies and asset classes. At the same time, he served as a partner and Investment Committee member at Hellman & Friedman, a multibillion-dollar private equity firm.

After stepping down from Farallon, Tom dedicated himself to climate action. He is the Co-Founder of Beneficial State Bank, a triple-bottom-line community development financial institution founded in 2007, which now manages over $1 billion in assets. He is also the Founder of NextGen America, the largest youth voter mobilization organization in American history.

Most recently, Tom was a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and, beginning in April 2020, served as Co-Chair of Governor Gavin Newsom’s Business and Jobs Recovery Task Force. He also co-chaired Vice President Joe Biden’s Climate Engagement Advisory Council to help mobilize climate-focused voters.

Toks Omishakin

Secretary of Transportation

Toks Omishakin was appointed the 4th Secretary of Transportation for the state of California by Governor Gavin Newsom in February of 2022. As Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA), he has oversight of 8 State Departments, Boards and Commissions that, combined, have more than 42,000 people and a budget that exceeds $30 billion annually. Safety, Equity, Climate Action, and Economic Prosperity—the Core Four—are the top transportation priorities established for the state. Prior to his appointment as Secretary, he was Director of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) where, as the chief executive of the department, he managed a $17.5 billion budget and more than 22,000 employees that oversee 50,000 lane miles of highways, maintain more than 20,000 bridges, provide permitting of more than 250 public-use airports, fund 3 of Amtrak’s busiest intercity rail services and provide transit support to more than 400 local and regional transit agencies. In 2020, he and the Caltrans executive team established a new strategic direction for the department prioritizing partnerships and community engagement to accomplish its goals to create a cleaner, safer, more equitable and connected transportation system for California.

Omishakin came to Caltrans following eight years as Deputy Commissioner with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). There, he successfully established environmental and multimodal local and national groundbreaking planning policies and programs, including a new Multimodal Access Grant program and new Office of Community Transportation.

Prior to that, he served as Director of Healthy Living Initiatives in the Nashville Mayor’s Office. In that capacity, he led development of Metro Nashville’s Complete Streets Policy and helped establish a more balanced approach to transportation planning and design for the city. This included spearheading the creation of two bicycle sharing programs.

In 2019, Omishakin became Chair of the Council on Active Transportation for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). This came after two years serving as Vice Chair as well as serving as Inaugural Chair of AASHTO’s Multimodal Task Force. He served for 10 years on the board of America Walks and is now an emeritus advisor to the national organization. He also serves on boards at the Mineta Transportation Institute, Veloz and has advised the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis through its Transportation Council Board. In work with institutions, he serves on the advisory board at Tennessee Tech University for Civil and Environmental Engineering and at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Institute for Transportation studies.

In October of 2020, Omishakin was appointed to then-President-elect Biden-Harris Transportation Transition Team. In December of 2020 he was recognized with the Excellence in Leadership award by the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) NorCal and named Person of the Year by the California Transportation Foundation (CTF) in May of 2021.

Sammy Roth

Sammy Roth is the climate columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He writes the weekly Boiling Point newsletter and hosts the Boiling Point podcast, both of which focus on clean energy solutions. He previously reported for the Desert Sun and USA Today, where he covered renewable energy and public lands. He grew up in Westwood and would very much like to see the Dodgers win the World Series again.

Stephanie Wiggins

Chief Executive Officer

Stephanie Wiggins is the CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), the lead transportation planning, programming, financing, and construction agency for LA County and the US’s second busiest transit agency. As CEO, Wiggins leads an agency with 12,000 employees, an annual budget of $9 billion and a $26 billion capital program. Ms. Wiggins is the first woman – and first African American woman – to lead Metro.

At Metro, Wiggins has led massive investments to improve the transit customer experience, expanding safety programs, fare discounts, and implementing the nation’s largest transit ambassador program. She has also overseen a massive expansion of the Metro system, connecting it to new destinations in south LA and downtown LA. Ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Wiggins is also leading the delivery of dozens of projects that will leave a legacy of permanent transit improvements for LA County’s residents.

Before joining Metro as CEO in June 2021, Wiggins served as the CEO of Metrolink and the Deputy CEO of Metro, where she assisted the CEO in achieving strategic public transportation objectives, including the passage of a permanent half-cent sales tax to support transit.

Wiggins is a graduate of Whittier College and holds an MBA from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.

Rick Umoff

California Market Lead – Vineyard Offshore

Rick Umoff oversees the development of Vineyard Offshore’s 2 gigawatt offshore wind lease area west of Humboldt Bay in Northern California.

Rick leads the company’s efforts to advance key infrastructure and engage state policymakers, community partners, and Tribal nations to build an offshore wind industry that delivers broad benefits to California.

Prior to joining Vineyard Offshore, Rick spent over a decade at the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), where he helped grow and defend solar markets throughout the United States. He holds a JD from the University of San Francisco and a BA from UC Santa Cruz. Rick is based in San Francisco.

Richard Katz

President

Richard Katz is a longtime public servant and state policymaker with specific expertise in the areas of water, transportation, land use, and energy.

Katz served in the California State Assembly representing the North and East San Fernando Valley from 1980 until 1996. For 10 years, he served as Chair of the powerful Assembly Transportation Committee. During his tenure, he authored Proposition 111, a 10-year Transportation Blueprint passed by the voters, and created the Congestion Management Plan, requiring cities and counties to measure and mitigate impacts of land use decisions on their streets, highways and transit systems. He wrote the legislation that created the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, merging the Southern California Rapid Transit District with the LA County Transportation Commission, which became the current day Metro.

Richard was California’s lead negotiator for the landmark Colorado River Agreement between the State of California, the Federal Government, four California Water Agencies, and the six Colorado River Basin States, furthering his expertise as a negotiator on issues of statewide significance. Katz had already played a pivotal role in renegotiating $30 billion worth of California’s Energy contracts and developing California’s Transportation Blueprint for the 21st Century, which the voters approved as Proposition 111 in 1990.

After leaving the State Assembly, Mr. Katz was appointed to the State Water Resources Control Board, confirmed by the Senate and served for six years, occupying the water quality seat. In Jan. of 2003, Governor Davis appointed him as his Senior Advisor on Energy and Water issues.

Shortly after his election in June of 2005, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed Richard to serve with him on the Governing Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. After the horrific Metrolink accident in 2008, Mayor Villaraigosa appointed him to the Metrolink Board, where he served as Chair from 2011-2013.

Richard is the owner of a successful public policy and government relations firm based in Los Angeles, Richard Katz Consulting (RKC), Inc. RKC offers a wide variety of services, including strategic advice, message development, negotiations/mediation and government relations strategies. RKC brings a vast knowledge of all levels of government and has guided numerous clients through the maze of both bureaucratic and regulatory concerns.

Michael Backstrom

Michael Backstrom is senior vice president of Regulatory Affairs for Southern California Edison, one of the nation’s largest electric utilities. He is responsible at the national and state levels for the company’s regulatory strategy, advocacy, and operations. This includes regulatory case management, environmental policy, pricing and rate design, tariffs, and cost recovery, among others.

Backstrom joined SCE in 2005 as an attorney in the legal department, responsible for regulatory proceedings before the California Public Utilities Commission. He has held several leadership positions, including vice president of Regulatory Policy, managing director of Energy and Environmental Policy, director of Customer Experience and director of the Office of the CEO at Edison International. In addition, he was a manager of federal policy in SCE’s Washington, D.C. office.

Previously, Backstrom was an associate in the Los Angeles office of Howrey LLP, where his practice focused on commercial litigation.

Backstrom serves as chair of the Board of the Alliance for Transportation Electrification. He is also a member of the Market Advisory Board for the California Heat Pump Partnership, as well as the Financial Research Institute’s Advisory Board. Additionally, Backstrom is part of the Leadership Group for the Los Angeles Clean Tech Incubator’s Transportation Electrification Partnership.

Backstrom earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Pepperdine University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California.

Megan Creecy Herman

President of Prologis’ U.S. West Region, leading a team of 220+
people and overseeing 265+ million square feet of logistics and industrial assets across key
high-growth markets, including Greater Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, San Francisco,
Seattle, Portland, Denver, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Central Valley, and Vancouver.

Megan is responsible for all aspects of business activities in the region, including the
acquisition, development and operation of Prologis’s extensive portfolio. This role involves
driving growth initiatives, ensuring operational efficiency, and maintaining strong
relationships with customers, investors, and local stakeholders to meet the region’s
business goals. Under her leadership, Prologis has maintained its market leadership and
continues to grow its footprint in West Coast hubs critical to supporting global logistics and
supply chain operations.

Megan has more than 20 years of experience in the industrial sector. She holds a B.S. from
Arizona State University and an M.B.A. from the University of Arizona. She was the first
female and youngest Chairman of NAIOP Arizona in 2014, earning the NAIOP National
Chairman of the Year award. In 2022, she was named one of GlobeSt.com’s Commercial
Real Estate Industry’s Best Bosses.

Kelsi Doran

Senior Director, Sustainability and Purpose Strategy, Cisco

Kelsi Doran leads strategy for Cisco’s People, Policy, and Purpose office. Her team is responsible for leading the development and execution of strategic initiatives that drive Cisco’s commitment to purpose. This includes driving action toward Cisco’s goal to reach net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its value chain by 2040, as well as developing strategies to advance key priorities across talent, digital development, and social impact in alignment with the company’s business objectives and long-term goals. Most recently, her work has focused on the intersection of AI and resilience, including developing strategies to mitigate potential negative impacts and maximize the value of AI adoption for people and the planet. In 2023, Kelsi let a cross-functional effort to develop Cisco’s next generation environmental sustainability strategy, the Plan for Possible, which prioritizes clean energy adoption, circular business models, and investing in resilient ecosystems.

Over her tenure at Cisco, Kelsi has held strategy roles across partner, product marketing, and engineering. Prior to joining the Chief Sustainability Office, Kelsi built the strategy and product management foundation for Cisco’s Engineering Sustainability Office, the team responsible for leading Cisco’s product sustainability vision and roadmap.

Kelsi is passionate about achieving as a team and believes collective action is key to realizing a sustainable and inclusive future. She has a track record for delivering strategic, high-impact programs across organizations and several years’ experience in consulting, product marketing, and go-to-market strategy. Kelsi is a graduate of the Carlson School of Business, University of Minnesota and lives in Dana Point, California with her husband Carl, their cat Zoey, and their dog Archie.

Dan Patry

A California native, Dan has close to 20 years of experience in the energy sector with time spent in the utility sector and renewables industry in the State and the broader West. He has experience in agency relations, government affairs, policy analysis and strategic planning and currently manages AES’ state advocacy in California, the Western US and Hawaii. Dan has a BA from the University of California, Davis and an MPA from the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs.

Beong-Soo Kim

As interim president of the University of Southern California, Beong-Soo (“Beong”) Kim leads one of the world’s top private research universities — home to 23 schools; more than 46,000 students; 4,700 faculty; 500,000 alumni; and Keck Medicine of USC, one of California’s leading academic health systems — all united by a mission to advance knowledge and transform lives.

Since his appointment as interim president, Kim has brought a highly collaborative approach to his focus on academic excellence, student outcomes, and pioneering research. He is a passionate advocate for open dialogue, and has championed USC’s commitment to intellectual diversity, non-discrimination, and academic freedom.

Kim first joined USC in 2020 as its senior vice president and general counsel. In that role, he helped the university navigate unprecedented changes in higher education, accelerate investment in research and innovation, and expand USC’s impact in the community.

Prior to USC, Kim held senior roles at Kaiser Permanente, was a partner at an international law firm, and served in the U.S. Department of Justice as a highly-regarded federal prosecutor. He has lectured and taught widely on a variety of subjects related to higher education, academic freedom, health care, and athletics.

The son of Korean immigrants who attended graduate school at USC, Kim was born and raised in the Los Angeles area. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard College, his master’s degree from the London School of Economics, and his law degree from Harvard Law School.

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.

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.

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.

Mary Leslie

President, LABC

Mary was elected to serve as chair of the Board of Trustees of California Independent System Operator, a nonprofit that is the only independent electricity grid operator in the West, coordinating the distribution of energy resources for 80% of California and part of Nevada. She was also named to Mayor Karen Bass’s transition advisory team.

Ms. Leslie has served as LABC President since 2001, growing the council into one of the most prominent business organizations in the region, working closely with leaders from business, government and the non-profit sectors to enact policies and programs to strengthen Los Angeles’ economic competitiveness and quality of life. Under her leadership, she launched the LABC Institute in 2010 as the 501 (c) 3 research and education arm, attracting local and national funding. Both organizations operate with the core mission, focused on creating cutting edge policy strategies to reduce the region’s housing affordability gap, increase sustainable development, promote international trade, and expand high-paying workforce opportunities.

Ms. Leslie currently serves on the LA Sustainability Leadership Council, LA Cleantech Incubator Board of Directors, Los Angeles Conservation Corporation Board of Directors, UCLA Advisory Committee for the Luskin Center for Innovation, and is a member of the Pacific Council of International Policy. She previously served as a Commissioner on the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Board, Advisory Committees of L.A. Family Housing the California Women’s Law Center and the LA2028 Olympic Bid Committee.

In her previous role as Deputy Mayor for the City of Los Angeles under Mayor Richard Riordan, Ms. Leslie was responsible for the Mayor’s Business Development programs. Prior to joining the Riordan Administration, she was Deputy Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), where she oversaw the Northridge Earthquake relief dollars for Los Angeles as part of her portfolio of lending and education programs for SBA Director Erskine Bowles. She also served as the Executive Director of the California Economic Development Commission, overseeing policy development and trade missions for California business. Ms. Leslie was also President Clinton’s California Finance Director in his successful 1992 race for President.

Ms. Leslie received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Santa Clara, holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California, and attended the Executive Management Program at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Arash Daghighian

Vice President of Operations, Ford E.C. Inc

Arash Daghighian has been an active member of Ford E.C. since 1997 and worked both in the field and in the office on a full scale of levels. Arash is responsible for all oversight and direct onsite management of any given project. In addition, Arash is actively involved with project estimating and outside public relations with subcontractors and new clients. He has a degree from University of California Los Angeles and has completed over 80 million dollars in construction projects.

Greg Mahdesian

Gregory Mahdesian currently serves as the Head of Partnerships and Government Affairs at Servicon since March 2024 and previously held the position of Director of Corporate Affairs and Communications within the same company. Additionally, Gregory is an Advisory Board Member at Climate Resolve since January 2023 and has been the Chairman of Blue Neighbors PAC since November 2017. Earlier in his career, Gregory worked as a Communications Manager at Servicon Systems Inc. Gregory earned a Bachelor’s degree in Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics from the University of Southern California, where studies took place from August 2006 to May 2010.

Lindsey P. Horvath

Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on November 8, 2022 and assumed office on December 5, 2022, after serving as a City Councilmember and the longest consecutivelyserving Mayor for the City of West Hollywood. Supervisor Horvath’s career has been defined by tackling the hardest problems, building diverse coalitions, and delivering results for her community.

Supervisor Horvath’s commitment to serving others was shaped by her family and faith, which instilled in her a strong work ethic and made her a tireless advocate in addressing the complex problems facing Angelenos throughout LA County. Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath made history as the youngest woman to ever be elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. She is the first millennial, and currently the only renter to serve on the Board, bringing a much-needed perspective to LA County leadership. Supervisor Horvath has a long history of civic and social justice advocacy. She has spearheaded policies to make West Hollywood an “Age-Friendly Community” to better serve residents of all ages. She also led the City to become the first in the nation to impose financial sanctions on Arizona for its discriminatory, anti-immigration SB-1070 law. Supervisor Horvath created the first-ever West Hollywood Community Response Team to Domestic Violence. She has worked on a broad range of transportation and mobility issues, from her service as a Transportation Commissioner to championing Metro rail projects in the District. She initiated the West Hollywood Bicycle Task Force, and through her leadership, West Hollywood was named “The Most Walkable” city in the entire state.

Supervisor Horvath is widely known for her leadership on women’s issues and served as a Global Coordinator for One Billion Rising, a global campaign of the V-Day movement to end violence against women and girls. She was the founding President of the Hollywood Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and previously served as President of National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC) – LA Westside. She is also a champion for LGBTQ+ rights, having served as a Board member of the Victory Fund and a founding Board member of the NOH8 Campaign. In 2009, she represented the City of West Hollywood in the National Equality March in Washington DC. She has also advocated for LGBTQ+ older adults through her work on the Board of Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE).

Supervisor Horvath served on the West Hollywood City Council for nine years, appointed in 2009, elected in 2015, and re-elected in 2019. In addition to her work as a Councilwoman and Mayor, Supervisor Horvath previously served in a number of roles, including: President of the California Contract Cities Association (CCCA); Board Member for CalCities (formerly the League of California Cities); Board Member for the National League of Cities (NLC); President of Women in Municipal Government (WIMG) for the National League of Cities; Chair of the Contract Cities Liability Trust Fund Claims Board & Oversight Committee; and Executive Committee Member and Legislative & Regulatory Chair for Clean Power Alliance of Southern California.

Supervisor Horvath received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management & Fundraising from UCLA Extension. She resides in West Hollywood with her dog, Winston.

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.

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.

Michael Dalrymple

Michael “Mick” Dalrymple brings to USC over 30 years of multi-disciplinary experience in sustainability leadership, higher education, information technology, and media. He previously served as the director of university sustainability practices at Arizona State University, developing the internal consulting service to empower the university in attaining ambitious sustainability goals, including achieving carbon neutrality in 2019 – six years ahead of schedule.

Dalrymple connects stakeholders and experts in developing integrated solutions to complex environmental, social and economic challenges and opportunities. His previous work includes formulating and executing projects that joined expert faculty researchers and students with stakeholders from various sectors (government, industry, and/or non-governmental organizations) to create domestic and international solutions related to algal biofuels, green schools, energy benchmarking, municipal tree and shade master plans, aquifer sustainability, and circular economy. Dalrymple also managed a federally-funded project for ASU with partners in the City of Phoenix and Arizona Public Service to retrofit as much of downtown Phoenix as possible for energy efficiency.

As an entrepreneur, Dalrymple co-founded an environmental building supply company and a green building architecture and consulting services firm. He is a produced feature film screenwriter with an extensive film and advertising production background. Aim high and implement.

Liz Crosson

Liz Crosson is the chief sustainability, resiliency and innovation officer for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. She is responsible for developing a district-wide sustainability and resiliency strategy that includes efforts to reduce Metropolitan’s carbon footprint and adapt to immediate climate change impacts. Crosson develops and pursues strategies, programs and policies to advance environmental outcomes that address energy use, conservation, pollution, environmental justice, and climate resilience. She also drives initiatives to foster innovation.

Crosson joined Metropolitan in March 2022 after serving as an advisor to the Los Angeles County Chief Sustainability Office and the county’s 88 cities on pressing sustainability and climate issues. She also served as Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s director of infrastructure and was the mayor’s chief policy liaison to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the five bureaus under the city’s Department of Public Works. She also previously served as the city’s deputy chief sustainability officer and the mayor’s first appointed water policy advisor.

From 2010-2015, Crosson was the executive director of Los Angeles Waterkeeper, a nonprofit organization that protects and restores waterways throughout Los Angeles County through Clean Water Act enforcement, advocacy, restoration and community action.

Crosson earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental science, policy and management from the University of California-Berkeley; a master’s degree in biology from Southern Oregon University; and a juris doctorate from Lewis & Clark Law School, where she graduated with honors, with a certificate in environmental law.

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.

Hunter Armistead

Hunter Armistead serves as the Chief Development Officer of Pattern Energy. In his role, he has the continuing responsibility for all development and origination activities and has the broad responsibility for running the Business Development day-to-day business. 

Hunter also leads all global business development, including construction, engineering, and major equipment procurement. He values the opportunities his position affords him to create new renewable energy projects that become part of the long-term energy infrastructure. Hunter holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Rice University. He is based in Houston.

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.