Amy Adams

Amy Adams is Vice President – Government Funding and Partnerships at Cummins Inc. and is focused on private-public collaboration building in the zero-emissions space. In this role, she leverages her extensive background in emerging energy solutions, including hydrogen fuel cell and electrolyzer technologies, and strategic growth and market development initiatives.

Joining Cummins in 1995, Amy is an officer of the company and has led complex businesses on three continents. Most recently she led hydrogen technology innovation as Vice President of Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies, building critical zero-emission technical capabilities and partnerships to advance the green hydrogen economy globally and accelerate technology adoption. She has also served as Vice President, Strategic Initiatives; President of Cummins Emission Solutions (CES); General Manager of the Global On-Highway business for CES; Managing Director of the Europe, Middle East and Africa Distribution Organization; and Managing Director of the Northeast/Southeast Asia Distribution Organization, among other roles. Before joining Cummins, Amy worked at Ameritech in several operational and functional management roles and, prior to that time, was an engineering co-op with General Motors.

Since 2021, Amy has served as Co-Chair of the Management Board of the Hydrogen Council, a global CEO-led initiative aimed at fostering the clean energy transition, and in 2023 was appointed to the Board of Supervisors for Suburban Propane Partners. She is also passionate about nurturing the next generation of female leaders and innovators and serves as a National Board Member for Girls Inc., a nonprofit that encourages and mentors young women as they work to navigate economic, gender and social barriers.

Amy has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Purdue University and a master’s degree in management from the J.L. Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University.

Commitment to diversity is a passion of Amy’s, reflected in her co-sponsorship of both the Cummins Women’s Affinity Group and the Cummins Powers Women partnership with Girls Inc. A lifelong learner who is committed to helping people reach their full potential, Amy values teamwork, curiosity and diverse ideas. Beginning in childhood when she participated in team sports, Amy has always found fulfillment in cheering on and coaching others. Outside of work, Amy enjoys traveling, exercising and cheering on the Purdue Boilermakers.

Bob Archuleta

Senator Bob Archuleta, a former Presidential Appointee and Pico Rivera city mayor, has dedicated his life to serving his community and his country proudly.

Elected to the California State Senate in November 2018 to represent the 30th Senate District, Archuleta represents portions of Los Angeles County and Orange County.

He currently serves as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs and sits on the following committees: Business, Professions and Economic Development; Governmental Organization; Transportation; and the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management.

In August 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Senator Archuleta to the Governor’s Military Council, which oversees more than 30 military bases in the state of California.

In 2012, Senator Archuleta was appointed by President Barack Obama to the Board of Visitors to the United States Military Academy at West Point. As part of the Board, he made recommendations on the operations of the Academy as they related to curriculum, equipment, and other matters.

Senator Archuleta has served on the Los Angeles County Military Veteran Affairs Commission; the United States Army Advisory Board for Military Recruitment; and the Los Angeles County Library Commission. He is an Army combat veteran and former paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division and served with the Montebello Police Department.

Senator Archuleta is married to his wife, Rose, has five children, and several grandchildren.

Alberto Ayala

Alberto has nearly 30 years of professional experience in industry, government, and academia. He is currently Executive Director of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District and Adjunct Professor at West Virginia University. He is also former Deputy Executive Officer of the California Air Resources Board. Trained as a mechanical engineer with B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, Davis, Alberto has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and reports.  He is a contributor to the book “Ambient Combustion Ultrafine Particles and Health” and is working on “Three Forks in the Road, the Volkswagen diesel cheating scandal,” an upcoming book about his role in the VW case.

Jeffrey Benoit

Jeff Benoit is the Vice President of Clean Energy Solutions for Power Systems Mfg., LLC, known widely in the global gas turbine power plant service industry as PSM, located in Jupiter, FL, USA.  PSM is a wholly owned subsidiary within the Hanwha Group, which is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.  In his current role, Jeff is responsible for identifying and developing new business markets – including strategic partnerships – leveraging PSM’s proven and commercially operating HyFlex™ high-hydrogen combustion system retrofit platforms.  These products will ultimately enable operational fuel flexibility from 0-100% clean hydrogen with ultra-low emissions for the existing installed fleet of OEM heavy-duty frame gas turbines.

Jeff started his professional career at General Electric, where he held progressive technical leadership roles in their Aviation, Navy Nuclear and Power Generation businesses before joining PSM as the Director and then VP of their emerging Combustion Engineering R&D organization.  Following this, Jeff brought his technical experience to other PSM leadership roles in Product Management, Product Marketing, Strategy and Business Development prior to his current business development position. Jeff, a holder of four US Patents, obtained his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University and a MS in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Serj Berelson

Serj Berelson is the Senior Manager of Policy, West for Mainspring. In over 13 years building his career in the energy industry, in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, Serj has worked on a range of key energy issues, including distributed generation, energy efficiency, and demand response with a focus on equity programs (e.g. limited-income), and energy storage. During this time he developed a knack for leveraging policy to ensure innovative energy technologies gain full value.

Prior to joining Mainspring, Serj spent more than two years as the California Efficiency + Demand Management Council’s Director of Policy & Strategy, leading regulatory and legislative advocacy efforts for energy efficiency and other distributed energy resources in regulatory and legislative arenas. Prior to that, Serj was the Manager of Energy Regulatory Affairs in the Western United States for Google Nest’s thermostat and Google Home products, with a particular focus on limited-income programs. Before that he worked on residential energy storage policy across North America as the Manager, Regulatory Strategy for Sunverge. He spent five years at Opower, leading the expansion of the company’s Home Energy Reports into low-income programs throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as developing policy around novel behavioral demand response programs in California. Serj began his career at the California Public Utilities Commission as a Graduate Student Assistant, authoring a white paper on reducing medium-term transportation carbon emissions while learning the complexities of energy regulation. Serj received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Environmental Economics from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Matthew Botill

Matthew Botill is a Division Chief at the California Air Resources Board. Matthew is responsible for overseeing several of the state’s climate programs, including the Scoping Plan, Cap-and-Trade Program, and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Matthew also serves as the agency’s policy lead for natural and working lands, including their relationship to carbon neutrality.

Don Boyajian

Don Boyajian is Lead Government Affairs Counsel at Plug Power, where he focuses on state and federal government affairs, and provides counsel on a range of regulatory and project development matters. Prior to Plug, Don served as energy and environmental counsel to the New York State Senate, where he negotiated the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Don has also served as the Regional Attorney for the northern region of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, as municipal counsel, and as a legislative assistant for Congressman Michael E. McMahon. In private practice, Don was previously an associate attorney at a multi-national law firm in the equity capital markets and leveraged finance practice groups. Don is a graduate of Cornell Law School and Colgate University.

Rick Breunesse

Rick Breunesse, business development director at Symbio North America, has 20 years of technical and commercial experience in advanced propulsion systems. He started his professional career at TNO, a Dutch research institute, in advanced emission reduction technologies, for commercial vehicles. After moving to the United States in 2011 Rick continued gaining experience in advanced propulsion technology, clean transportation, and fuel cell technology. Rick joined Symbio, a Joint-Venture between Michelin and Faurecia, in early 2022.

Rick holds a degree in economics and an engineering degree at HAN University in The Netherlands.

Thomas R. Brill

Thomas R. Brill represents clients in the energy industry, ranging from investors and developers of low/zero carbon hydrogen production facilities to developers of carbon sequestration and renewable natural gas projects and utilities implementing decarbonization policies.

Before joining Greenberg Traurig, Tom led legal, strategic planning, and policy departments at Sempra Energy, San Diego Gas & Electric, Pacific Enterprises, the Southern California Gas Company, and the American Gas Association. In these roles, he served as lead counsel in proceedings to implement state policies and legislation to introduce competition and reduce emissions in electricity and natural gas markets, developed strategies for Community Choice Aggregation, GHG and carbon reduction, electricity storage and smart grid, and more.

Tom has served as legal counsel on matters before FERC and CPUC, and lobbied before these organizations, as well as the California Legislature, Nevada legislature, and US Congress.

Patrick Charette

Patrick Charette is senior director hydrogen fueling and distribution solutions at Nikola Corporation, a global leader in zero-emissions transportation and energy supply and infrastructure solutions.

Charette joined Nikola in February 2022 and is responsible for the commercial relationship with hydrogen refueling station partners, as well as originating partnerships to support Nikola’s hydrogen infrastructure goals.

Charette has extensive experience in operations, workforce management, business development, customer service, and compliance which contributes well to managing relationships that will be crucial to supporting Nikola’s infrastructure goals and building out the HYLA stations.

Prior to joining Nikola, Charette worked for Linde Inc. for over eight years in various roles including pipeline operations, plant operations, specialty gases, sales, and sales management. In his most recent role, Charette was responsible for managing bulk gas sales in the western region of the United States and was involved in numerous projects to safely deliver hydrogen as well as other industrial gases to align with customers’ goals of rapid growth and achieving sustainability initiatives.

Before joining Linde, Charette was an airline captain based out of New York City, New York, flying regional routes for Delta Airlines. Patrick earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Aviation from Louisiana Tech University and a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University.

Bobby Cherian

Bobby Cherian has over three decades of global experience in engineering, purchasing, and sales. His entire career has centered around the transportation industry, focusing on heavy-duty trucks. He leads Hyliion’s Government Affairs team, driving regulatory and policy efforts at the state and federal levels. In 2020, Bobby joined Hyliion as Senior Vice President of Sales and Service, and shortly after, his responsibilities were expanded to include leading the Supply Chain team. Before joining Hyliion, he spent seven years at Ford Motor Company, ten at Meritor, and 11 at Dana, where he most recently led global electrification and North America OEM sales.

Bobby earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University, a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from Oakland University.

Christine Cowsert

Christine Cowsert is the Senior Vice President of Gas Engineering, and Service Planning and Design at Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). Cowsert has been with PG&E for more than 20 years serving in various natural gas engineering, human resources, and electric operations functions. In her current role, Cowsert is responsible for near-term engineering priorities and long-term planning for the utility’s gas infrastructure, as well as gas asset and risk management. She also oversees gas and electric system planning and design.

Cowsert previously oversaw PG&E’s electric engineering and asset and risk management. Prior to 2021, she led teams that managed risk to PG&E’s gas assets, system, and business in real time and long term through asset management, integrity management, gas control, gas system planning, regulatory strategy, compliance, and innovation. This included the 24/7 operations of PG&E’s Gas Operations Center, as well as managing the PG&E’s California Gas Transmission business.

Cowsert has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of California, Berkeley and is a Registered Professional Engineer in the state of California.

Katrina Fritz

Katrina Fritz advises global Fortune 500 firms on business development, energy and environmental policy and regulation, government relations and strategic planning in distributed generation and hydrogen markets. As Executive Director of the Stationary Fuel Cell Collaborative, Katrina leads U.S. state level energy policy and market development outreach with the guidance of state agencies. She has also served as an Independent Director on the Board of Advent Technologies and an expert to the European Commission on clean energy programs. Katrina has worked as an executive at UTC Power and Plug Power in strategic planning, government relations, business development, and corporate communications. She is Vice Chair of the California Hydrogen Business Council Board of Directors and has held leadership positions in numerous clean energy trade associations and advisory boards. Katrina holds a BA degree from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

Michael J. Galvin

Michael J. Galvin is the director of waterfront and commercial real estate at the Port of Los Angeles, the nation’s leading container port. The Port of Los Angeles is a landlord seaport, covering 7500 acres of land and water, with more than 300 leaseholders.

In this role, Galvin is responsible for development and management of the Port’s LA Waterfront including commercial development opportunities, cruise passengers, commercial fueling, recreational marinas, hotels and restaurants that create public access to the Port’s expansive waterfront amenities.

Galvin also oversees the Port’s energy business and related marine terminals which support regional refinery operations, LAX aviation fuel logistics, the San Pedro Bay bunker fuel market and advancement into renewable fuels required to create the zero-emission port of the future.

Galvin holds a bachelor of arts in U.S. history from the University of California, San Diego and received his Juris Doctor from Western State College of Law in 2015. Galvin is a licensed attorney in the State of California.

Pat Griffin

Pat supports strategic planning and initiatives across all North America business functions while leading Hyzon’s global efforts in engineering. He leverages his extensive leadership experience in commercial vehicle work, finance, and engineering as he oversees commercial activities, operations, and P&L for North America.

Before coming to Hyzon, Pat held the position of CEO at Crane Carrier Company, an original equipment manufacturer of vocational trucks and specialty vehicles. During his tenure, he supported the company’s sale by Turnspire Capital Partners to Battle Motors, an electric vehicle technology developer.

Previously, Pat served as president of light duty truck & EV solutions and vice president of sales at Fontaine Modification, and president at Marmon-Herrington. Pat also held leadership positions with Wabash National Corporation, the largest North American producer of semi-trailers and liquid transportation systems.

Education

• MAAOM, Tusculum University
• S. in welding engineering, The Ohio State University

Jennifer Hamilton

Jennifer joined the CHBC in April 2023 as the Deputy Director. Jennifer’s hydrogen journey started in 2006 with the California Fuel Cell Partnership. She comes to the CHBC with a background in participating in and leading the development of national and international safety, codes & standards. She has also led hydrogen education and outreach to the emergency response and permitting official communities, working with the U.S. Department of Energy and the Center for Hydrogen Safety. She continues her hydrogen career with the CHBC and leading their policy initiatives. Jennifer is passionate about hydrogen and enabling this energy transformation.

Seth Harris

Seth Harris is the director of sustainability in the Americas for Emerson, assisting customers in achieving their sustainability goals while growing the company’s sustainability initiatives and sales.

In his current role, Harris leads direct sales engagement in the Americas, establishing growth programs for the company’s sales channels, identifying opportunities to expand or enhance relevant product offerings based on customer needs, and forging partnerships in new technologies or adjacent industries that promote and advance Emerson’s sustainability strategy. Harris brings expertise in upstream oil and gas industry regulatory engagement and decarbonization initiatives, and now more broadly helps Emerson and its customers improve energy use, reduce emissions and develop and deploy innovative technologies such as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage that deliver on their sustainability goals.

Since joining Emerson in 2005, Harris has worked in numerous roles, including helping customers with their digital transformation initiatives and growing the company’s software and data management business. He also held several management positions, responsible for customer sales and engagement around Emerson’s product portfolio including measurement and flow, software and valves.

Harris holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering with emphasis in bioengineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Jack Hedge

Jack Hedge is Vice President of Hydrogen Hub Development at BayoTech, where he is responsible for the development of the company’s North American hydrogen production projects. Jack leads the team that is developing relationships with host property managers, community stakeholders, regulators, and local government officials who are interested in decarbonization.

Prior to joining BayoTech, Jack served as President of Utah Inland Port Authority, where he was responsible for developing and building one of the nation’s leading sustainable intermodal logistics hubs. Jack has also worked as the Director of Cargo and Industrial Real Estate for the Port of Los Angeles where he led the development, leasing, and asset management functions of the largest container port complex in North America.

Jack received his bachelors degree in business administration and international marketing from Texas A&M University.

Michael Hoban

Michael Hoban is the general manager of hydrogen supporting the US West Coast of Chevron New Energies. In this role, he is responsible for accelerating Chevron’s lower carbon business prospects, including the commercialization of hydrogen transportation, power, industrial, and other difficult-to-abate sector opportunities.

He previously served as general manager for hydrogen at Iwatani where he was responsible for the hydrogen operations and infrastructure development in California. Prior to joining Iwatani, Michael held various engineering, operations, and project positions with Shell, including a role supporting hydrogen transportation infrastructure for Shell New Energies.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, a Master of Science in Energy Systems and Policy from the University of Iceland, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California at Berkeley Haas School of Business.

Dr. Aaron Katzenstein

Dr. Aaron Katzenstein is the Deputy Executive Officer of the Technology Advancement Office.  The Technology Advancement Office oversees several mobile source incentive programs, technology review, and development and commercialization of clean air technologies.

He began his career at South Coast AQMD in 2003 where he worked in the laboratory prior to his role as the Climate and Energy Supervisor in Planning and Rules.  He later became an Acting Planning Manager for Area Sources and most recently was the Laboratory and Source Test Manager. He has been heavily involved in numerous Multiple Air Toxics Exposure Studies, Air Quality Management Plans, policy development, research projects, air quality studies, and technology/infrastructure projects.

Dr. Katzenstein received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry with a minor in Physics from the University of Redlands.  He graduated with a M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemistry with a focus on Atmospheric Chemistry from the University of California Irvine where he studied regional and global air quality.

Tung Le

Tung Le is the Executive Director of the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association (CAPCOA).  In this role, he and his team work to support and advocate for California’s 35 air districts as they implement and enforce the Federal and California Clean Air Acts to protect public health and the environment from the impacts of air pollution and climate change.  Tung began his air quality career at the San Joaquin Valley APCD, serving in various roles related to permitting, planning, and air toxics, and later served as a Manager at the California Air Resources Board, working on issues related to energy, criteria pollutants, and climate pollutants before joining CAPCOA.

Bill Magavern

Bill joined CCA in 2012. Bill has more than 30 years of experience advocating for environmental and public interest causes. He has authored numerous reports and articles on energy and environmental issues and testifies frequently before the State Legislature, Air Resources Board, and other agencies. From 2000-2011, he represented Sierra Club California on a variety of environmental issues and was honored in 2003 with the Mary Ferguson Award for outstanding service and in 2011 with the John Zierold Award for outstanding legislative advocacy. Bill was named a winner of the 2022 Haagen-Smit Award and a Clean Air Champion in 2007 by the Central Valley Air Quality Coalition. Bill received his A.B. in American Civilization, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Brown University and his J.D. magna cum laude, from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School.

Barbara S. de Marigny

Barbara focuses her practice on tax structuring for transactions, with a particular emphasis on the taxation of climate and clean energy initiatives, such as the section 45Q federal tax credit for carbon capture, use and sequestration (“CCUS”), tax incentives for hydrogen energy such as new section 45V, alternative fuel vehicles and carbon pricing proposals. She is a frequent speaker and author on clean energy tax incentive topics, including the provision of comments and testimony to the IRS on the proposed section 45Q regulations and regularly advises clients on credit-maximizing structures. She also works extensively with federal income tax issues arising in partnership, joint venture and alternative investment structures, including the use of partnership structures for strategic acquisitions by corporate groups, in IPOs, securities offerings and for tax equity financing. Her practice has an energy industry concentration, including all aspects of the energy industry, upstream, midstream, and downstream, oil field services, petrochemicals and alternative energy.

Neil Navin

Neil Navin is Chief Clean Fuels Officer for Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), a Sempra Energy regulated California utility. He oversees SoCalGas’ comprehensive portfolio of clean energy strategies, innovations and projects to support the utility’s role as a long-term leader enabling California’s clean energy future. Navin’s focus is on delivering tangible innovations and projects in new and growing markets, including renewable natural gas, hydrogen and fuel cells, all of which are aligned to SoCalGas’ mission, strategy and sustainability plan.

Previously, Navin was vice president of construction for SoCalGas and SDG&E.

Since joining SoCalGas in 2014, Navin has served in a number of increasingly responsible management positions, including vice president of gas transmission and storage for SoCalGas and SDG&E. Prior to that, Navin held project management positions with the Fluor and Parsons companies. His previous experience included work on sulfur recovery, gas compression processing, oil and gas production, refining, pipeline engineering, chemical weapons destruction, biogas treatment, fuel cell power generation, and petrochemical plant projects throughout the United States, Middle East and Europe.

Navin sits on the boards of Operations Technology Development, NFP, Housing Works and Friends of Ballona Wetlands. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from McGill University in Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Josh Newman

State Senator Josh Newman represents the 29th Senate District, which is comprised of portions of Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino Counties.

Senator Newman is Chair of the Senate’s Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response. He also serves on the Senate’s committees on Business & Professions; Budget & Fiscal Review; Budget Subcommittee 5 on Corrections, Public Safety, Judiciary, Labor and Transportation; Elections; Labor, Public Employment & Retirement; Transportation; and Veterans Affairs.

Senator Newman is a former United States Army officer, businessperson and veterans’ advocate, and lives in Fullerton with his wife and daughter.

Blanca Pacheco

Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco was elected to the California State Assembly in November of 2022 to represent the 64th Assembly District.

Assemblymember Pacheco was elected to serve to the Downey City Council in 2016, and served two terms as Mayor, in 2020 and 2022. She previously served as President of the League of California Cities Los Angeles Division and was the first elected official from Downey to serve in this position. Blanca is a former Chair of the Housing, Community, and Economic Development Policy Committee and served on the League of California Cities’ State Board as an at-large director.

The daughter of a nurse and public school bus driver Blanca Pacheco grew up in a working-class community. She graduated from UCLA, receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a Specialization in Chicano/a Studies in 1998. After that, she went on to Loyola Law School, and has been a practicing attorney since 2003.

Tanya Peacock

Tanya Peacock is Managing Director at EcoEngineers, an international clean energy consulting firm with deep expertise in carbon life-cycle analysis. Based in Los Angeles, Tanya is responsible for expanding EcoEngineers’ energy transition practice in California. She is simultaneously leading the fast-growing hydrogen sector.

A well-known clean energy champion, Tanya currently serves as chairperson of the California Hydrogen Business Council. She has held board and leadership roles at the American Biogas Council, Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas, California Stationary Fuel Cell Collaborative, among others. Additionally, she is an expert in California’s cap-and-trade program and played a key role in the development of policies to support the production and use of clean energy in California.

Prior to joining EcoEngineers, Tanya led the California Policy and Government Affairs team at Bloom Energy focusing on decarbonization pathways, clean hydrogen opportunities, and distributed energy policy priorities. Before that, she led rates and policy teams at Sempra Energy and its subsidiary, SoCalGas.

Tanya earned a Master of Regional Planning degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and a Bachelor of Arts from Mills College in Oakland, California. She is a current board member at the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters.

Lori Pepper

Lori Pepper was appointed the Deputy Secretary for Innovative Mobility Solutions by Governor Newsom in August 2019 at the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). In this position, she focuses on applying technology and best practices to the transportation ecosystem to ease mobility for people, goods, and services throughout the state. She works with partners at CalSTA-led departments and across state entities on policy related to connected and automated vehicles, ZEV infrastructure, broadband deployment, advanced air mobility, moving research to technology deployment, among other issues.

Prior to her appointment, Lori worked in Washington, DC as the Senior Federal Policy Specialist for Honda North America, Inc. where her portfolio focused on technology and innovation. This included connected and automated vehicles, robotics and artificial intelligence, intellectual property, and spectrum issues.

Lori also served on Capitol Hill for 10 years in various capacities. She began her federal career as a Legislative Assistant in the office of former Rep. Albert Wynn (MD) and then became Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for former Rep. Baron Hill (IN) where she successfully led the office’s efforts to raise federal fuel efficiency standards included in the Energy Independence & Security Act. Lori also served on the Science and Technology Committee as Director of Policy & Outreach under former Chairman Bart Gordon (TN) where she helped shepherd the reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act. For her final two years on Capitol Hill, Lori served as a Policy Advisor and Deputy Floor Director for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA) where she was the Speaker’s advisor on issues related to small business, agriculture, and veterans, as well as her liaison to the moderate Blue Dog Coalition.

Lori started her career in her home state of Maryland as Legislative Assistant for former State Delegate Paul Carlson.

Tim Sasseen

Tim started work with Ballard over 20 years ago, leading the engine control software development team for the first Mercedes fuel cell buses that were deployed in public service across seven European cities.  Tim has served in Ballard’s Field Service team in Europe, coordinating field operations where these buses were delivered and deployed, and leading the Electrical Engineering design team for Ballard’s 6^th generation of fuel cell module.  Outside of Ballard, Tim has worked extensively in wind energy, where his teams designed mid-sized wind turbines, megawatt-scale power systems, and advanced power converters.

Tim earned his MBA at UCSD while working in microgrid design and renewable generation project development, before returning to Ballard in 2018 for his present position, where he directs Ballard’s market development and public affairs for North America.  In addition to the MBA, Tim has earned Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in electrical engineering from Michigan Technological University.

Thiemo Schalk

Thiemo Schalk holds a master’s degree in Political Sciences from the Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich. He serves at the Sacramento office as the BMW Group representative with his broad expertise regarding electromobility, sustainability, and circular economy. He is in great favor of revolutionizing mobility: equitable, zero-emission, congestion-free, and high-quality for everybody.

Being with the BMW Group for over twelve years, Thiemo gathered an expertise in numerous projects around such topics and held responsibility for the BMW Group’s cooperation with the second biggest German City, Hamburg, on Car Share and Public charging infrastructure. In Germany, he served as BMW Group’s urban mobility representative on several boards like the National City Platform for Urban Mobility (PUM) and within the national Automotive Association VDA. Currently, Thiemo represents BMW of North America on the ITS-Davis Board of Advisors. Building up trustful relationships with all stakeholders, to elaborate solutions with mutual benefits is one of his focus tasks in the U.S. Western Region.

Prior to his role in California, he was engaged in various internal change projects and oftentimes part of task forces around critical issues such as Brexit and Covid-19.

Before joining the BMW Group, Thiemo started his career in a Munich-based consulting firm as a key account manager for McDonald’s Deutschland, Inc.

JuliAnne Thomas

JuliAnne Thomas, is the Director of External Affairs for Raven SR, a renewable fuels company, and has been with the company for 4 years.  She manages communications, government relations and community outreach programs for Raven’s waste-to-hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel new market development.

JuliAnne has worked as a communications and government relations strategist throughout her extensive career.  Prior to Raven SR, she founded and operated her own public relations company managing a vast array of energy, conservation, travel and tourism, and healthcare clients.  She spent 14 years in Washington, DC with MCI, Edelman Public Relations and served as the Director of Government Relations for USEC, now Centrus Energy, where she managed campaigns for the Energy Policy Act of 2005, US-Russian Megatons to Megawatts, and the American Centrifuge Project.  While at Edelman, she specialized in crisis communications, corporate relations and public affairs campaigns for Nissan North America.

JuliAnne holds a Bachelor of Arts from Iowa State University in Mass Communications & Journalism.

Gia Vacin

Gia Brazil Vacin serves as the Assistant Deputy Director, Zero-emission Vehicle (ZEV) Market Development at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz). She focuses on accelerating the ZEV market in pursuit of California’s goal of 100% ZEVs by 2035 for light-duty and 2045 for heavy-duty vehicles by coordinating state efforts, collaborating with public and private partners, tracking and expediting ZEV infrastructure in CA, and identifying opportunities for additional business engagement and growth.

Prior to her role at GO-Biz, Gia was an environmental management and strategy consultant for more than 15 years and worked with more than 70 clients across sectors to help mission-driven organizations expand their impact. Gia holds a Master of Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School at the University of California, Santa Barbara and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Biology and Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Frank Wolak

Mr. Wolak is the President and CEO of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA), representing leading international and domestic companies and organizations that are advancing innovative, clean, safe, and reliable hydrogen energy technologies.

Mr. Wolak has experience in all facets of energy including executive positions both within and outside the fuel cell and hydrogen industry, including at an international energy services company, a power development and investment company, public energy resources corporation, and as management consultant providing insight to clients in emerging technology and utility segments.

Mr. Wolak holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Western New England University and an MBA in Finance from the University of Hartford.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-wolak-71a4344/

Grant Zimmerman

Grant Zimmerman is CEO and Director of Amp Americas. He joined the company as Senior Vice President of Business Development in 2015 and assumed the role of CEO in 2016.

As CEO, Grant reimagined the company’s business model by divesting its network of CNG fueling stations and creating and executing an innovative dairy RNG development strategy. Under Grant’s leadership, Amp Americas has developed some of the largest and most productive dairy biogas-to-renewable gas facilities in the country, received the first dairy waste-to-vehicle fuel pathway certified by the US EPA and by California’s Air Resources Board (CARB). During his tenure Amp has prevented 655,000 metric tons of greenhouse emissions, equivalent to removing 120,000 cars off the road for one year.

In 2019, Grant led the successful closing of Amp Americas’ second round of private equity funding and the recapitalization of Amp’s original investments delivering nearly three times return for Amp’s private equity investors in less than two years. He subsequently raised $75 million in private equity growth capital to bring the company’s unique expertise and capability in RNG development, operations, services and marketing to other biogas producers, fleets, and their capital partners. Amp Americas now operates facilities on 12 dairies, processing waste from nearly 100,000 cows.

Prior to joining Amp Americas, Grant was an Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company in the Global Energy and Materials and Corporate Finance practices where he served clients in strategy and operations. Before McKinsey, Grant served in commercial and finance roles with Enron and the Enron bankruptcy estate.

Grant earned his MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, graduating with high honors. He also holds a MPA and BBA, Honors from the University of Texas at Austin.