Anthony Brunello, California Deputy Secretary for Climate Change and Energy
Anthony J. Brunello was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in August, 2007 to serve as the Deputy Secretary for Climate Change and Energy at the California Air Resources Agency. In this capacity, he is responsible for coordinating all climate change and energy activities of a cabinet-level agency and its 24 departments, boards, commissions and conservancies and advising the agency Secretary on climate change and energy policy. Prior to joining Governor Schwarzenegger's Administration, he was Program Coordinator for International Programs within the U.S. Forest Service. Brunello has worked extensively on climate and energy-related issues developing greenhouse gas mitigation projects and analysis around the world for public- and private-sector clients, has worked as Senior Research Fellow coordinating economic analysis for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, and as a resource economist for PA Consulting.
Michael R. Peevey, President of the California Public Utilities Commission
Peevey was appointed President of the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) by Governor Gray Davis in December, 2002. As President of the PUC, Peevey is committed to protecting the public interest by promoting consumer needs, while challenging utilities to embrace new technologies and provide safe, high-quality services. He is committed to maximizing energy efficiency and demand response opportunities and ensuring that California's environment is protected. He is also a strong supporter of renewable energy and renewable procurement requirements for utilities, and is a leader in implementing California's Solar and Greenhouse Gas Initiatives. From 1995 until 2000, Peevey was President of NewEnergy Inc. Prior to that, he was President of Edison International and Southern California Edison Company, and a senior executive there beginning in 1984. He has served on the boards of numerous corporations and non-profit organizations.
Gary Ambach is the Superintendent of Demand-Side Management at Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Energy, the 6th largest electric utility in California. With more than 25 years of experience in customer relationship management within the energy industry, Ambach is responsible for the development and management of IID Energy's energy efficiency efforts. Prior to this, he was the Director of Customer Efficiency Programs at Hawaiian Electric Company.
Fred Bell serves as Executive Officer of the Building Industry Association, Desert Chapter. Members of the chapter include major builders and developers presently building in eastern Riverside and Imperial counties. He started with the Desert Chapter in 2005 as their Legislative Liaison. Prior to that he was the Vice President of Exhibitor Relations for Video Applications/WorldStage LLC, with a client list that includes Microsoft, NASCAR, NFL, and the NCAA to name a few.
Cheryl Beninga joined American River Ventures as a Venture Partner in 2006. Over the past 18 years she acquired operational management and venture capital investment experience in the software, semiconductor and mobile wireless markets. Prior to this, Cheryl built an investment portfolio of 20 companies in the mobile and wireless communications sector as a Director and Senior Investment Manager at Intel Capital.
Mark J. Berman is a Principal and Director of Product Development and Commercialization for Davis Energy Group (DEG), an energy engineering consulting firm. He has more than 25 years experience in the energy industry. He is responsible for management of DEG's participation as a provider in California and Nevada of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Homes Pilot Program. Prior to DEG, he developed lighting retrofit projects and consulted on various energy projects.
Woodrow W. Clark II, MA3, and Ph.D. is currently a Lecturer at University of California (UCR) Riverside and Los Angeles in Sustainable Development. In late 2007, Clark was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize due to his co-authorship and as a co-editor on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He became one of the first project research Directors for the Framework Convention on Climate Change which is now leading the next round of discussions for the Kyoto Accords.
Buford Crites moved to the Desert in 1976. He is a retired professor of English from the College of the Desert. He is a long-standing member of various organization such as the California Rare Fruit Growers Society, the California Native Plant Society and the Wilderness Society. Crites is very involved with the Coachella Valley community and among many other positions currently holds the post of Board Assistant to Dr. S. Roy Wilson, Governing Board, South Coast Air Quality Management District.
Justin Dunning joined ConSol in 2005 as Green Builder Partner Manager and was promoted in 2006 to Director of Green Programs. He is responsible promoting and educating the building community on green building and the California Building Industry Association's California Green Builder program. He also conducts research on incentive programs that are available for production home builders, as well as exposes the marketing benefits of green building for production home builders.
Kathleen G. Felci has worked for Desert Sands Unified School District for almost 20 years. She progressed from classroom teacher to Principal of Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School and later at Dr. Reynaldo J. Carreon, Jr. Academy. She currently is Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. While principal she was instrumental in obtaining a federal magnet grant that funded more than $1 million to the school over a 3-year period.
Mark Gaines is the Director Customer Programs for San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas Company. His organization is responsible for developing and implementing energy efficiency and demand response programs. He has worked for the Sempra Energy utilities for 24 years where he held positions in Engineering, Public Affairs, Environmental Solutions and Customer Services.
Dr. Peter Gevorkian is president of Vector Delta Design Group, Inc., an electrical engineering and solar power design consulting firm. He was nominated for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) "2007 Renewable Energy Systems Engineering Design Award," for a lifetime of outstanding achievements and contributions in solar power design. He has also authored numerous papers and several books on solar and other energy sources.
Brian Gitt, Executive Director of Build It Green, directs green building programs and initiatives that promote healthy, energy and resource efficient buildings in California. He was instrumental in organizing and launching a network of building industry stakeholders committed to mainstreaming green building including the Public Agency Council, Builders Council, Suppliers Council, and Non-Profit Network. He is a LEED Accredited Professional and a Certified Green Building Professional.
Kay Hazen, Vice President of Desert Healthcare District, has owned and operated a public affairs consulting firm in Palm Springs, California for the last decade. Previously, she spent over 20 years in executive healthcare management, served as Vice President of Mine Reclamation Corporation, and has been an active community volunteer. She currently serves on the board of the Friends of the Desert Mountains and as a citizen representative on the CVAG energy and environment subcommittee.
Doug Hensel was appointed Assistant Deputy Director of Codes and Standards for the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) by Governor Schwarzenegger in July of 2006. From 2001 to 2006 he served as the acting State Housing Law program manager and as a District Representative for HCD. Prior to that, he was a plans examiner and building inspector for the San Joaquin County.
Mike Hodgson founded ConSol in 1981. He brings more than 20 years of experience in energy efficiency in the residential new home construction market. He led the development and implementation of ComfortWise®, ConSol's flagship product, the most successful energy efficiency program in the Western United States. He helped develop the California Community Energy Efficiency Program and recently played a key role in the creation of the California Green Builder program.
Lin Juniper is a Local Public Affairs Region Manager for Southern California Edison. Her responsibilities include managing community affairs and outreach to cities, communities and the Native American Tribes within the Coachella Valley and San Gorgonio Pass areas. Prior to SCE, she was a Vice President of Sales and Marketing for EnVinta, a strategic energy and environmental consulting practice.
Alisa Kane is the Green Building Coordinator for the City of Portland's Office of Sustainable Development. She manages the city's green building grant program, coordinates a regional sustainable development resource center, helps city facilities implement energy and resource efficiency improvements, and provides technical assistance and education to high impact green building projects. Prior to joining the city, she worked with community development organizations to develop and implement resource conservation programs.
Cynthia J. Kurtz is the Vice President for Sustainable Communities at Planning Company Associates. She previously was the Director of Public Works and Transportation and the Capital Project Manager in Pasadena, California, before assuming the role of City Manager, a position she held for ten years. Kurtz also worked as the Administrator of Transportation Planning and Finance and Transportation/City Planner in Portland, OR.
Ronald O. Loveridge has served as Riverside's Mayor since 1994 and as a councilmember since 1979. Committed to improving air quality, he is a longtime board member of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. In 2004, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Mayor Loveridge to the California Air Resources Board. In recent years, Mayor Loveridge appointed a Clean & Green Task Force and in 2007 he made sustainability the focus of his State of the City Address.
Bob Marra is the CEO of Marra Enterprises, Inc., which owns and operates Wheeler's, a market intelligence company; Marra Consulting, a marketing and public relations firm; and The Public Record, a weekly business and public affairs newspaper. Since relocating to the Coachella Valley in 1993, his affiliations have included founding member and Chairman of the Board, Coachella Valley Economic Partnership; board member, Leadership Coachella Valley; and board member, Mizell Senior Center.
Richard Moyse is the CEO of Spherion Recruiting and Staffing, a professional recruiting company serving employers throughout Coachella Valley and Riverside County. He has more than 30-years experience in all phases of employee selection and assessment. Prior experience includes managing KPMG Peat Marwick's New York and Stamford Connecticut, Executive Search Consulting Practice. He is an active member in CVEP.
Joseph A Muscat is the leader of Americas CleanTech Network. The Network is a multi-disciplinary team of professionals serving biofuel, solar, energy efficiency, geothermal, sustainability and other clean technology related companies. He is also the Americas Director of the Venture Capital Advisory Group (VCAG). Previously, he was a Managing Director of the Ernst & Young Corporate Finance LLC, based in Palo Alto.
Alan C. O'Connor, MBA is an economist in RTI's Technology, Energy, and the Environment program and has over 10 years' experience in technology economics, case study and business analysis, and survey design for federal clients, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and state and academic clients, such as the Maryland Technology Development Corporation and the North Carolina State University Industrial Extension Service.
Collin O'Mara serves as the Clean Tech Strategist for the City of San Jose. In 2007, he was a primary architect of San Jose's Green Vision, a 15-year plan to transform Silicon Valley into a world center of clean technology innovation and demonstrate that goals of economic growth and environmental sustainability are inextricably linked. Prior to this, he was a Marshall Scholar at the University of Oxford.
Joe Norbeck, Director, Environmental Research Institute, University of California, Riverside and the former Director of the UCR College of Engineering Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT). His primary areas of research include development of air pollution control technology for both mobile and stationary sources; development and evaluation of alternative fuels for transportation; the chemical speciation of airborne toxic and particulate emissions of gasoline and diesel engines; environmental and emissions modeling; and the development of a thermal chemical process for conversion of carbonaceous matter to synthetic transportation fuels.
Jerry R. Patton is President of College of the Desert, a two-year, public community college that provides lower division academic, vocational, and basic skills education to more than 10,000 students in the Coachella Valley. Prior to his role as President, Patton served as the Assistant Superintendent/President. Patton received his Master of Business Administration degree from Missouri State University.
Craig Perkins served 25 years with the City of Santa Monica, 15 as the Director of Environmental & Public Works Management in charge of the Santa Monica Sustainable City Plan, alternative fuels, energy efficiency and green building programs, design and construction of City capital projects and integrated management of water and solid waste resources. He was recently appointed as the Executive Director of The Energy Coalition.
Stephen Phillip Pougnet, Mayor of Palm Springs, is a real estate agent for Coldwell Banker and was formerly the Vice President for the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, CO. As mayor, his issues of interest include: downtown revitalization, resource conservation (water, energy, waste and recycling), public safety, and youth and senior activities. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business from Michigan State University in 1985.
Robert Rivinius has served for 27 years as President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Building Industry Association. The main functions of the organization are governmental affairs, public affairs, member services and producing PCBC, The Premier Building Show, one of the largest trade shows in the nation. His 36-year career in organizational management includes serving as President of the Greater Los Angeles World Trade Center Association.
Jim Robbins is Executive Director of the Environmental Business Cluster (EBC) in San Jose, CA, which was the first environmental incubator in the United States. Robbins is the Founder and a Principal in Business Cluster Development and is Co-Founder of the Software Business Cluster, the first software incubator in California. He has more than 30 years experience in the fields of new business formation, technology development and management, business operations and law.
Geneva Robinson serves as the Chief of Southern Workforce Services Division for the California Employment Development Department. She directs workforce service programs in 14 counties stretching from Madera to Imperial County. Robinson has held several senior positions including: Acting Chief Deputy Director, Assistant Deputy Operations Branch, Chief Southern Unemployment Insurance Division, Southern Area Administrator and Special Assistant Employment Tax Branch.
Gene Rodrigues is the Director of Energy Efficiency for Southern California Edison Company, where he oversees SCE's Energy Efficiency, Low Income, California Solar Initiative, and Self Generation Incentive programs. Rodrigues also serves on the board of directors for the Consortium for Energy Efficiency, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the China-US Energy Efficiency Alliance and the Leadership Group for the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency.
Donald Siegel is Professor and Associate Dean of the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Riverside. He is the President of the Technology Transfer Society and editor of the Journal of Technology Transfer. He is an associate editor for the Journal of Business Venturing, the Journal of Productivity Analysis, and Academy of Management Learning & Education. His papers have appeared in leading journals and he has authored 4 books.
John Soulliere is the President and CEO of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (CVEP) a position that he has held since July 2007. Prior to CVEP John worked as the Deputy City Manager and Interim City Manager for the City of Desert Hot Springs and spent 10 years with the Mission Springs Water District (MSWD) in various capacities including, government affairs, Director of Water Resources, project management, marketing and customer service.
Carolyn M. Stark is the Assistant Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost and Executive Director at the UCR Palm Desert Graduate Center. She is responsible for oversight and coordination of UCR programs at Palm Desert. Prior to UCR, Stark held positions at Stanford University, the University of Texas at Austin, and served as CEO of the Austin Technology Council, a trade association representing emerging growth high technology companies.
Steve Weiss is currently a general partner of Medical Technology Partners (MTP), is a health care seed investing and consulting partnership assisting young entrepreneurial companies primarily in the medical device/technology markets. Weiss was one of the founders and is currently the Chairman and CEO of the North Bay Angels (NBA), an angel investor network focusing on providing entrepreneurs both the financial and mentoring to build high growth technology businesses in the North Bay.