Thomas Bartholomew, Solar for All, District Department of Energy & Environment, Washington, DC

Thomas Bartholomew is the Associate Director for Policy and Compliance at the Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE), the leading authority on energy and environmental issues affecting the District of Columbia. In his role he leads teams implementing policies and programs to decarbonize the District's energy and transportation systems equitably, including Solar for All which aims to bring the benefits of solar energy to 100,000 low to moderate income families in the District. He previously served as the Branch Chief for Renewable Energy and Clean Transportation at DOEE. Thomas held various positions at the Bureau of Land Management for over a decade. He holds a B.A. from The Ohio State University and a M.A. from Georgetown University. 

Hope Cupit, Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, Inc.

Hope Cupit is President and CEO of the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, Inc. SERCAP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on improving the quality of life for low-to-moderate income individuals living in the Southeast United States. She directs multi-state programs designed to provide safe water, sanitary water disposal, and structurally sound housing to well over a million households across its seven state service region.

Tonantzin Carmona, Senior Advisor for Policy and Implementation, US Department of Treasury

Tonantzin Carmona is the Senior Advisor for Policy and Implementation at the U.S. Department of Treasury. She is part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) implementation office and is tasked with supporting the team’s state and local government outreach efforts on the IRA green tax credits.  

Prior to this role, she was a Fellow at the Brookings Institution, Metro Program, where she led research on topics such as wealth and inequality, digital assets and financial technologies, and public finance at the intersections of racial equity. As a Fellow, Tonantzin was cited in Bloomberg Tax, Associated Press, NPR Marketplace, Quartz, Tech Crunch, and Tech Monitor. Her work has also been featured in Bloomberg, Washington Post, CNN, Politico, Axios, Fortune and Crain’s Chicago Business.

Tonantzin’s professional background also spans roles in public policy, communications, community outreach, politics and philanthropy. She has designed and implemented inclusive and equitable local government solutions to meet the needs of historically disinvested communities in Chicago. 

She holds an M.P.A from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. in political science from Northwestern University.

Daniel Fiorino, Director, Center for Environmental Policy, American University

Dan Fiorino is the founding Director of the Center for Environmental Policy and Distinguished Executive in Residence in the School of Public Affairs at American University. He is also a faculty member in the Department of Public Administration and Policy. Dan is the author or co-author of seven books and some 60 articles and book chapters. Dan joined American University in 2009 after a career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). His positions included Associate Director of the Office of Policy Analysis, Director of the Waste and Chemicals Policy Division, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Administrator for Policy, and Director of the National Environmental Performance Track.

John Morrill, Director, Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination, Fairfax County

John Morrill is the Director of the Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination for Fairfax County. He previously served as the Division Manager for Innovation & Sustainability for Fairfax County. For 20 years John was an Energy Manager for Arlington County where he co-lead the Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy (AIRE) program and lead Arlington's participation in the U.S. DOE's Better Buildings Challenge. Early in his career he held various positions at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). He holds a B.A. from Clark University and a Masters in Urban & Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia.

Michelle Moore of Groundswell, https://groundswell.org/michelle-moore/ 

Michelle Moore is the CEO of Groundswell, a 501(c)(3) that builds community power by eliminating energy burdens and increasing economic opportunity with community solar, resilience centers, residential energy efficiency, and pioneering research. Prior to joining Groundswell, Michelle served from 2009-2011 as President Obama’s Federal Chief Sustainability Officer. From 2011-2013, Michelle launched and led infrastructure project delivery as Senior Advisor to the White House Office of Management and Budget. In December 2022, she was confirmed by the U.S Senate to serve on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board of Directors. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Emory University and a Master of Arts in International Business and Policy from Georgetown University.

Dylan Reed, Senior Advisor for External Affairs, Grid Deployment Office, DOE

Dylan Reed is a Senior Advisor for External Affairs with the Grid Deployment Office (GDO) at the U.S. Department of Energy. He oversees stakeholder engagement and legislative affairs for GDO program divisions. Prior to the DOE, Dylan was a political consultant working as a member of the senior team for a bipartisan national clean energy campaign, and held various roles at the Advanced Energy Economy. Dylan holds a Master of Public Administration from George Washington University and history and political science degrees from Lebanon Valley College.

Ava Richardson, Director of Sustainability, City of Baltimore

Ava has over a decade of experience leading public health initiatives, advocating for environmental policies, and managing programs designed to address social, racial inequities and environmental justice. She previously served as the Sustainability Manager and a Food Matters Technical Advisor in the office, where she led the implementation of special projects, supported the Commission on Sustainability, and helped to pilot new sustainability programming such as the Farmer’s Market-based food scrap collection pilot. During her time with the city, Ava also served as the ReCAST Project Director at the Baltimore City Health Department, advancing efforts to address decades of trauma in west Baltimore. She holds a BS in Biology from Frostburg State University, an MPH from Morgan State University, and is currently obtaining a Doctorate of Public Health with a focus on environmental health and engineering from The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Ed Saltzberg, Security and Sustainability Forum Executive Director, George Washington University Research Professor

Ed Saltzberg, Ph.D is the cofounder and Executive Director of the Security and Sustainability Forum™ where global leaders convene to educate sustainability decision-makers, practitioners, and citizens on addressing the impacts to society from the degradation of natural systems. Ed is also the Director of Professional Education in the Environmental and Energy Management Institute at George Washington University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science.  Previously, he was a corporate officer at Battelle Memorial Institute and Science Applications International Corporation and a partner in two environmental consulting firms sold to public companies. He holds a Ph.D in Environmental Science from The University of Virginia. 

Lacey Shaver of World Resources Institute

Lacey Shaver is the Senior Manager of City Clean Energy within World Resources Institute's U.S. Energy Program. She designs and manages technical assistance and capacity-building programs for cities, counties, school districts, community-based organizations, and universities to help them make progress towards their climate and clean energy goals. Prior to WRI, Lacey managed education and outreach for the LEED for Cities and Communities program at the U.S. Green Building Council. She also has served in roles at The Nature Conservancy and Greenpeace. Lacey holds a BA in International Studies from the University of Mississippi and a MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University.

Esther Sosa, Special Advisor for Policy, IRA Implementation, US EPA

Esther Sosa is Special Advisor for Policy at the U.S Environmental Protection Agency focused on IRA Implementation. Prior to the EPA, Ester was Manager of Advocacy and Partnerships at the Environmental Defense Fund. Previously, she was a Climate Policy Fellow at the Aspen Institute and also worked at the Mayor’s Office of New York City. She currently advises the NYC Offshore Wind Advisory Council Ecosystem Fund. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and Economics from Bowdoin College and a Master’s in Environmental Studies from Yale University, School of Environmental Studies. 

Raksha Vasudevan, PhD: Senior Program Manager, ICMA - International City/County Management Association

Raksha Vasudevan, PhD is a Senior Program Manager for the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). She is currently an adjunct professor at Hunter College in New York teaching courses on urban planning. She previously was a Dr. Bruce S. Goldberg Postdoctoral Scholar in Youth Wellbeing at Columbia University’s Teachers College. She holds a Ph.D. in International Planning from The University of Texas at Austin, as well as a Master of Urban Planning from Virginia Tech University.

Chris Weaver, Vice President of Philanthropy, Grid Alternatives

Chris Weaver serves as the Vice President of Philanthropy for GRID Alternatives, the nation’s largest nonprofit installer of clean energy technologies. Prior to this role, he led grantmaking programs for the Tribal Solar Accelerator Fund, a GRID tribal-led philanthropic grantmaking program. Before joining GRID, Weaver served as Associate Vice President of Major and Institutional Giving at the U.S. Soccer Foundation, Vice President of Development for the National Congress of American Indians, and more. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Valdosta State University, a Master’s in Indigenous Law from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, and is currently pursuing a second Master’s in Sustainable Leadership from Arizona State University.