VIRGINIA CLEAN ENERGY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and Executive Director, Center for Climate Protection
Ann co-founded the Center for Climate Protection in 2001. With over 25 years in community leadership, education and fundraising, she has been a sustainability planner for the County of Marin, commentator for TomPaine.com, human sexuality instructor at Humboldt State University, and real estate broker. She has a Masters in Public Health Administration and Planning from the University of California, Berkeley.
Katherine Kulik is from the greater Boston area and graduated from Harvard College in 2015, with a concentration in the History of Science and secondary in Earth and Planetary Sciences. She traded in pre-med for data science, and now works as an analyst for a boutique quantitative investment firm. She has also been involved with the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative and is interested in all things energy, environment, and data. Additionally, she loves long-distance bicycling, short-distance running, hosting through District Trivia, and exploring DC's rooftop and restaurant scene.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Ken Hughes is a member of the Board of Directors of Virginia Clean Energy. He has been a staff attorney with District of Columbia Public Service Commission since 1997, where he is the legal case manager for the District's Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard and Standard Offer Service programs. Prior to that, Ken served as an Administrative Judge with the D.C. Office of Employee Appeals. In the mid-1980s, Ken served as Mayor Barry's Ward One Program Coordinator in the D.C. Office of Community Services. He has also focused on local community concerns as Chairman of the Adams Morgan Advisory Neighborhood Commission in Washington, D.C. and as Vice Chairman of the Ballston/Virginia Square Civic Association in Arlington, Virginia. He has an MBA from Georgetown University as well as a JD from George Washington University and is a member of the District of Columbia and Virginia State Bar Associations.
Lily Hahn studies Atmospheric Sciences as a graduate student at the University of Washington. She graduated from Yale with a B.S. in Geology & Geophysics, and has investigated atmosphere-ocean-ice interactions through research internships at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of Oslo. She looks forward to applying her research experience and background in solar planning and outreach towards assessing environmental benefits of Community Choice Aggregation in Arlington, VA.
Mike Sandler is an energy and sustainability professional. In 2001 he co-founded the Center for Climate Protection, based in Sonoma County, CA. From 2004-2006 he was a Planning Commissioner for the City of Sebastopol, CA. He helped 9 cities quantify and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as the first full-time Climate Protection Program Manager for the newly formed Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority, where he participated in the formation of Sonoma Clean Power. Since moving to Virginia in 2013 he has been active in energy and environmental issues. He has a Master's in Urban Planning from UCLA.
Mikael Matossian is a technical associate working in Tetra Tech's international energy services unit. Prior to moving to Washington, DC, he worked on climate action plan reporting and greenhouse gas inventorying for the City of Santa Monica, CA and solar PV and energy efficiency system design at the United Nations Development Programme in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is fascinated by the intersection of technology and policy in the energy space, and is excited about mapping out pathways to community choice aggregation in Arlington, VA. Mikael holds a Master of Science degree in Energy Science, Technology and Policy from Carnegie Mellon University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Technology Officer
- Co - Founder
- Senior Systems Architect at Wärtsilä - Greensmith
Morris Meyer is the senior systems architect at Wärtsilä-Greensmith and has designed and commissioned hybrid solar with storage system for Tucson Electric Power and the nation's reference energy storage research platform for EPRI at LGE-KU in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Mr. Meyer has worked for Steve Jobs at NeXT and with Marconi Award winner Paul Baran at Com21. He recently received a Master in Renewable Energy and Sustainability Systems from Penn State, and holds a Bachelor's in Computer and Electrical Engineering from Purdue University. He helped author 2018 HB 1590 to expand Community Choice Energy Aggregation in Virginia with patron Delegate Alfonso Lopez, and is the co-founder of Virginia Clean Energy.
Nick Scherer is an energy analyst with a wide range of experience in energy & sustainability including energy efficiency, demand response, energy management, deregulated energy markets, renewable & distributed generation, and emerging technologies. He graduated with a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan and an MS in Engineering Management with a concentration in Energy Systems from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is supporting Virginia Clean Energy as a research analyst.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor at the George Washington University
- President of the Stella Group, Ltd
- President, the Stella Group
Scott Sklar is President of The Stella Group, Ltd. (based in Arlington, VA) , a strategic technology optimization and policy firm for clean distributed energy users and companies since 2000. Prior to running The Stella Group, Ltd , he served for 15 years concurrently as Executive Director of both the Solar Energy Industries Association and National Biomass Industries Association,, and three years prior served as Political Director of the Solar Lobby founded by the big nine environmental groups. Prior to joining The Lobby, he served 3 years at the National Center for Appropriate Technology as alternatively RD&D and Washington Directors. Scott served for nine years as an energy and military aide to Senator Jacob K Javits (NY) and was cofounder of the Congressional Solar Coalition - the group that drove the early 1970's legislation for renewables. Scott Sklar is Chair of the Steering Committee of the Sustainable Energy Coalition and serves on the (non-profit) Boards of Directors of, the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, and The Solar Foundation. Sklar was also appointed in April 2007 thru Dec 2009 onto National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy & Technology (NACEPT) of USEPA and on November 4, 2010 the Secretary of Commerce approved Sklar's appointment to the Department of Commerce Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee (RE&EEAC) as Vice Chairman which was extended through June 2018.
Sklar is an Adjunct Professor at the George Washington University (GWU) teaching three unique interdisciplinary sustainable energy courses, and in 2012, Sklar was appointed as an Affiliated Professor with CATIE, a sustainable energy graduate university based in Costa Rica. Scott Sklar, the Group's founder and president, lives in a solar/geothermal home in Arlington, Virginia, and a zero-energy solar/wind/fuel cell office building in Virginia. His coauthored book, A Consumer Guide to Solar Energy, was re-released for its third printing, his coauthored "The Forbidden Fuel" was updated and re-released by University of NE Press in 2010. Sklar's peer-reviewed article in zero energy buildings was published in Springer Journals in October 2014. On June 19, 2014, Scott Sklar was awarded the prestigious The Charles Greeley Abbot Award by the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and on April 26, 2014 was awarded the Green Patriot Award by George Mason University in Virginia
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Co - Founder
- Executive Director
- Sustainable Energy Expert
Silvia Zinetti is co-founder and Executive Director of Virginia Clean Energy. She also serves on the board of Directors as the President. Silvia is a sustainable energy expert with a background in European Public Affairs and international business development and management. Silvia contributed to the implementation and execution of several renewable energy and energy efficiency projects co-funded by international organizations, including the World Bank, the European Commission, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). From 2011 to 2015 she was Deputy Member of the European Economic and Social Committees (EESC) in Brussels, where she provided policy recommendations to the European Institutions on sustainable energy, transport, and industry. Among others, she specializes in alternative business models for cities and local governments wishing to shift towards more sustainable energy, and achieve efficiency, resiliency, and sustainability.
In 2015 she co-founded and chaired a local group in Southern California to promote a Climate Action Plan with 100% clean energy goal and increased energy efficiency targets for the City of Oceanside, and provided technical and policy advice to City Council members and staff for the establishment of a Community Choice Aggregation program. In September 2017 Silvia relocated to Washington D.C. area. She recently obtained the title of Certified Energy Procurement Professional (CEP) with the Association of Energy Engineers, and a professional certificate on Energy Innovation and Emerging Technology from Stanford University. Silvia holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency from the Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin, a Master's Degree in international business and management studies from the InHolland University of Applied Sciences, and a Bachelor's Degree in international business from the University of Bergamo.
Silvia Zinetti is a sustainable energy expert and has worked on several international projects on renewable energy and energy efficiency. Among others, she specializes in alternative business models for counties, cities and local governments wishing to shift towards more sustainable energy, and achieve efficiency, resiliency, and sustainability. Silvia recently obtained the title of Certified Energy Procurement Professional (CEP) with the Association of Energy Engineers, and a professional certificate on Energy Innovation and Emerging Technologies from Stanford University. She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency from the Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin. Silvia is co-founder and President of Virginia Clean Energy.