LEAN benefits from a broad network of CCA and energy market experts and welcomes the perspectives of others around the country.

LEAN’s staff, board of directors, partners, and consultants:

LEAN STAFF

Shawn E. Marshall, Co-Founder, Executive Director

Shawn Marshall is the founder and executive director of LEAN Energy US, a mission-based organization that supports the expansion and competitive success of clean energy community choice aggregation (CCA) programs. LEAN provides a national hub for resources and expertise and works in partnership with a range of organizations.

In 2007, Marshall began serving on the task force that ultimately formed the Marin Energy Authority, a joint powers agency that runs the first CCA in the state of California and the first clean energy CCA in the country. From 2009 to early 2012, she served on MEA’s founding board as the agency’s vice chair. She remains active in Marin’s CCA expansion efforts.

In addition to her work in energy aggregation, Marshall serves on the Mill Valley City Council and was the city’s mayor in 2008. Prior to elected life, Shawn worked for a decade in public policy in Washington DC and served in management positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She holds leadership positions on several state and regional policy boards in California. She earned a B.A. from the University of California at Davis and received additional training at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington DC.

Melissa Edeburn, Communications & Administrative Coordinator

Melissa Edeburn is a communications specialist. Most recently, she was managing editor at PoliPointPress and a consultant to the World Bank and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University. A writer and editor, she has worked with think tanks and other organizations to translate the findings and highlight the policy relevance of academic research to a range of audiences.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Daniel Douglass, Esq., Director, LEAN Board of Directors; Principal, Douglass & Liddell, P.C.

Dan Douglass specializes in energy law issues, serving producers, marketers and end-users in the natural gas, electricity and independent power industries. He has been a champion for CCA on behalf of Marin Energy Authority and others at the California Public Utilities Commission, where IOU anti-competitive activities are a persistent point of vigilance. His specialty is regulatory and transactional work for energy service providers, generation owners, community choice aggregators and large consumers of electricity and natural gas.  Douglass founded the Direct Access Alliance, and represents the Alliance for Retail Energy Markets. Douglass formerly spent more than a third of his career in energy industry management positions at utility, pipeline, marketing and independent power companies.   He holds a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law, an M.B.A. from the UCLA Graduate School of Management, and an undergraduate degree in political science from the same university.

John Kelly, Chairman, LEAN Board of Directors; Executive Director, Galvin Electricity Initiative, Inc.

John Kelly has played a strong role in the development of CCA in the state of Illinois, and in the start-up of LEAN Energy’s commitment to national CCA expansion and success.  Kelly is leading research into improved electricity governance models and the development of innovative Perfect Power prototypes – – including microgrids – – that will stimulate investment and innovation.  Kelly has provided consulting services to the electric and natural gas industries for 30 years, focusing on innovative sustainable energy plans and designs for cities, multi-use developments, and commercial buildings.  Co-founder of Endurant Energy and Intelligent Power Partners, Kelly has been a featured speaker on sustainable development, smart grids, utility restructuring and energy markets. He received a degree of Bachelor of Science in Energy Engineering from the University of Illinois, Chicago and a certificate in Environmental Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Jeff Shields, Treasurer, LEAN Board of Directors; General Manager, South San Joaquin Irrigation District

Before becoming SSJID General Manager in 2004, Jeff was a consultant on electric utility asset acquisitions, transmission permitting, and wind generation projects in the Pacific Northwest. Since 1982, he has been involved in the formation and expansion of six community-owned electric utilities and has managed water and electric utilities in California and Oregon. Jeff has served on the board of the Northwest Public Power Council, the Northwest Energy Coalition, the California-Oregon Transmission Project, the California Special Districts Risk Management Authority, and the American Samoa Power Authority. He currently serves as Treasurer of the Board for The Utility Reform Network (TURN). A graduate of California State University, Humboldt, Jeff is the recipient of American Public Power Association’s Hobart Award, the Northwest Energy Coalition’s Headwaters Award, and the California Public/Private Venture Council’s “Best and Brightest” award.

Shawn Marshall, Secretary, LEAN Board of Directors

Margaret T. Downey, LEAN Board of Directors; Administrator, Cape Light Compact

Margaret is assistant county administrator for Barnstable County in Massachusetts and administrator for the Cape Light Compact, the state’s first municipal aggregator. As administrator, she is responsible for the management and direction of the Compact’s electric power supply aggregation program and energy efficiency programs. She represents the Compact on its sister organization, the Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative. Formerly, Margaret served as SEPA/public affairs manager for the city of Issaquah in Washington. She earned her masters of public administration from the University of Washington at Seattle and holds a graduate certificate in management from Harvard University Extension School.

Scott Blaising, LEAN Regulatory Counsel; Principal, Braun Blaising, McLaughlin & Smith P.C.

Scott serves as regulatory counsel for LEAN, as co-counsel for LEAN’s California CCA Regulatory Alliance (in the California Public Utilities Commission’s rulemaking on a CCA code of conduct), as regulatory counsel for the California Municipal Utilities Association, and as special counsel for numerous public agencies on energy matters. He has been involved in regulatory and legislative efforts to promote and implement competitive retail service options like CCA and community aggregation (a form of direct access service). Scott represented the San Joaquin Valley Power Authority (SJVPA), the first public agency in California to submit a CCA implementation plan, and he negotiated a settlement with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) that includes a code of conduct governing PG&E’s marketing efforts against SJVPA’s CCA program. He was responsible for drafting various sections of SB 790, including the expanded definition of which public agencies may implement CCA programs, and for drafting new Public Utilities Code section 707, which provides guidance to the CPUC for establishment of a CCA code of conduct.

Mark Pruitt, CCA Program Director, IL CCA Network; Principal, The Power Bureau

Mark Pruitt is working with LEAN and the Galvin Electricity Initiative as the lead energy consultant for the IL CCA Network. After serving as the first Director of the Illinois Power Agency from 2008-2011, Pruitt then formed The Power Bureau and joined the Galvin Center at the IL Institute of Technology, where he is directing the newly formed IL CCA Network in partnership with LEAN Energy. During his tenure at the Il Power Agency, Mark negotiated billions in energy contracts on behalf of Illinois’ residential and small commercial ratepayers.  The IPA secured over $1.6 billion in energy cost savings for customers through strategic procurement planning and processes. Pruitt’s prior work included aggregating state and municipal governments and energy project development for federal clients.  Pruitt received a B.A. degree from Bradley University, and an M.B.A. from the University of Illinois.

Stuart L. Smits, LEAN Advisory & Business Planning Partner; Chief Executive Officer, Citizen Green Energy

Stuart Smits has been assisting LEAN on strategic and sustainable growth planning for the organization. Smits brings over three decades of expertise as an attorney in complex business, real estate, and environmental nexus issues. Co-founder of what became the largest commercial real estate law firm in the Central Valley, Smits is a lifelong conservationist, Surfrider Foundation member, and active participant in energy policy, financial initiatives, and natural resource real estate projects in California, Nevada, and Mexico. In 2009, Smits founded Citizen Green Energy to guide businesses through the maze of complex renewable energy initiatives and assist them in transitioning to the new energy economy. He holds a BA degree in History & Political Science from Tulane University, and a Law Degree from Case Western School of Law.

CONSULTANTS

Susan Bierzychudek, LEAN Marketing & Communications; Founder & Principal, Green Ideals Group

Susan Bierzychudek is assisting on all aspects of LEAN’s online resource and design outreach to new CCA communities, including State Network portals launched to serve LEAN’s member networks such as the Illinois CCA Network. Bierzychudek founded Green Ideals in 2004, a full-service branding and communication design agency for socially responsible companies. At Green Ideals, Bierzychudek specializes in brand strategy, design, and marketing communications for B2B and B2C clients. She leads with a unique focus on emotionally driven communication––the intelligent blending of insightful strategies with inspiring design that unifies messaging and develops lasting audience connections. Bierzychudek is committed to making sustainable brands memorable––brands that are making a difference in the way people think, live, work and play. Former clients of the group members include Fortune 500 consumer brands, technology, and service firms.

Kirby Dusel, LEAN Technical Consultant; Principal Consultant with Paradigm Energy Consulting

Kirby Dusel is providing LEAN with technical advice on a range of issues, including standards and guidelines for CCA procurement for use by new CCA communities. A certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Six Sigma practitioner, Dusel currently serves as a lead technical advisor to the Marin Energy Authority, as well as to other clientele engaged in California’s competitive energy markets. He brings thirteen years of experience in the electric utility industry administering Statewide power purchase contracts, managing utility-scale procurement, managing database development, and analyzing and reengineering business processes. Dusel also testifies and regularly provides strategic advisory services on regulatory proceedings before the CPUC. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Managerial Economics from the University of California at Davis.

Greg Klatt, LEAN National CCA Regulatory Tracker & Reporter; Attorney, Douglass & Liddell

Greg Klatt produces a regulatory memo for LEAN’s CCA News & Notes as well as regulatory bulletins and action alerts. Before joining Douglass & Liddell as an energy attorney, Greg was an associate at Jones Day and at White & Case. He has represented municipal utilities, retail service providers, wholesale marketers, independent producers, project developers, technology solutions companies, and commercial customers in a range of regulatory and transactional matters. His expertise includes energy industry restructuring, competitive energy markets, energy procurement/contracting, utility ratemaking, and regulatory compliance planning. Greg received his law degree from the University of California’s Berkeley School of Law.

Cynthia Wooten, LEAN Development Consultant and Project Manager; Principal, LumenX Consulting, Inc.

Cynthia  Wooten identifies and helps secure funding for LEAN Energy in the form of corporate sponsorships, public sector partnerships, foundation grants, nonprofit alliances, and association affiliates.

As principal of LumenX Consulting, Inc., Wooten designs and structures energy efficiency and demand-response programs for cities, counties, state agencies, and investor-owned utilities. During her tenure with Navigant Consulting, Inc., she initiated the first California Community Choice Aggregation demonstration project funded by the California Energy Commission through the Local Government Commission, enrolling 20 cities and county participants. The California Public Utilities Commission provided significant funding for CALeep, a statewide program she started to create the road map and steps for local governments  to develop energy efficiency plans and measures within their jurisdictions.

Wooten has been an elected official for 24 years, serving on a school board and city council and in the state legislature (term limited out of office). She holds an M.A. (interdisciplinary) from the University of Oregon and attended the Harvard University JFK School of Government.