BOARD OF DIRECTORS
John Kelly
LEAN Board of Directors, Chairman
mGrid Business Unit Manager, Wunderlich-Malec
John has 30 years of experience in electric, natural gas, and power industries. His responsibilities and experience include: Comprehensive Electric System Evaluation, Electric and Energy System R&D, Energy System Modeling, Registered Engineer, Electricity Markets & Restructuring Research, Packaged Power Systems Development, Microgrid Concept Design Development, Master Energy Planning, and Strategic Electric Policy Development.
Mr. Kelly's experience also includes developing campus and city scale microgrid concepts, designs and prototypes that demonstrate the art-of-the-possible in terms of cost reduction, conservation, environmental protection, and resiliency. He also developed innovative sustainable energy plans and designs for industrial facilities, large multi-use developments, and municipal utilities. He is author/co-author of more than 30 research papers and articles on energy technology, electricity reliability, markets, pricing, smart grid cost/benefit and state policy reform best practices.
John has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois Chicago, Certificate in Environmental Engineer, Illinois Institute of Technology, Graduate Studies in Electricity Restructuring, Illinois Institute of Technology, was awarded 2 patents and published several papers throughout his career. One patent is for mGrid, Wunderlich Malec’s microgrid control and analysis system. He is Founder and past Treasurer of the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.
He is the Chairman of LEAN Energy’s Board of Directors, and a beacon of knowledge.
To a large degree, John’s career path was guided by the fact that both his children have asthma, and are deeply affected by poor air quality. For decades he’s been working to create a more sustainable and cleaner energy system—really reducing the toxins and particulate matter in power emissions—by focusing on outcomes rather than technology.
Mike Gordon
LEAN Board of Directors
CEO and Co-Founder, Joule Assets
A founder of two global energy companies, Mike Gordon is considered the father of the Energy Reduction Asset class, a “founding father” of the demand response industry, a critical player in expanding and enhancing the CCA market, and a key architect of new financing solutions for the energy efficiency marketplace.
Recognized as a City & State Reports Social Responsibility honoree; and honored twice for his leadership by LEAN Energy US, Mike also frequently serves as counsel to U.S. and European governmental bodies and regulators, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the European Commission, and the United Nations' Conference of Parties on Climate Change.
In 2000, Mike founded ConsumerPowerline (CPower), generally recognized as the first demand response aggregator in the U.S. Specializing in end users in wholesale electricity markets, CPower became the largest provider of short notice demand response in the world. Previously, Mike negotiated "first of their kind" collective buying contracts for consumers in Washington DC, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts. These collective buying contracts in energy continue to save consumers in excess of $200 million each year, for the last 35 years.
In 1981, Mike was a Director at the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) for two years. Mike holds an M.A. in Public Administration from Harvard's Kennedy School, and M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.A. from the State University of New York at Binghamton.
Shawn Marshall
LEAN Board of Directors
Chief Operating Officer, Peninsula Clean Energy
Shawn Marshall is the Chief Operating Officer for Peninsula Clean Energy, which serves San Mateo County and all 20 of its cities and towns plus the City of Los Banos. Shawn is the founder of LEAN Energy US and served as its Executive Director for 11 years.
Paul Gromer
LEAN Board of Directors
CEO and Founder, Peregrine Energy Group
Paul leads Peregrine’s major consulting engagements, helping clients to solve complex energy problems and to design and implement programs to reduce energy use, costs, and emissions. He also conceived and managed the development of Peregrine Focus, Peregrine’s energy information reporting tool, which is currently collecting and reporting energy use data for over 100,000 utility accounts and tens of thousands of state, municipal, and private buildings.
Before founding Peregrine, Paul was Commissioner of Energy Resources for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where he was responsible for state energy policy and state energy programs. He was also Chairman of the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Council.
Paul is also a regulatory attorney and has represented energy companies before public utility commissions in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and New York. He holds a JD from Harvard Law School.
Jeffrey Shields
LEAN Board of Directors, Treasurer
Former General Manager, South San Joaquin irrigation District and Board Member, The Utility Reform Network (Treasurer)
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.
Jeff 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.
ADVISORY BOARD
Cody Hooven
Consultant and former
Chief Operating Officer
for San Diego Community Power
Dan Welsh
Program Director, Westchester Power
Sustainable Westchester
Rosa Cucicea
SVP - Director of Clean Energy Division
River City Bank
STAFF
Alison Elliott
Interim Executive Director
Alison has been with LEAN for 9 years. During that time, she has worked closely with LEAN's leadership and partners in assisting to launch several California CCAs and has developed a strong understanding of the energy sector and CCA history and politics across the US. She is responsible for LEAN's operational functions as well as developing and nurturing LEAN's relationships with like-minded companies and organizations nationwide.
Prior to her work at LEAN, Alison has worked for a wide range of organizations in the technology, marketing, and non-profit sectors with experience in everything from project management, administration, event management, social media strategy and web design.
Alison has a B.A. in Communications from The University of Southern California.
Claire Dépit
Director of Public Affairs
Claire Dépit is LEAN's Director of Public Policy and is responsible for engaging with federal agencies and facilitating CCA growth strategy nationally. Claire also works with Joule Community Power in New York as their Project Manager of Strategy and Federal Engagement.
Claire has gained experience in project development in the fields of human rights and sustainability. In 2019, she co-founded and managed a decentralized waste management operation in the Netherlands that collects thousands of liters of organic waste from approximately 130 residents and local cafés and turns it into high-quality compost for community gardens.
Claire holds a B.A. (Hons) in Law and Anthropology from Utrecht University, The Netherlands. She is an Advisor to the Roosevelt Foundation and is in charge of the Global Youth Freedom Program.
Henry Herndon
Regional Market Advisor-East
Henry Herndon works at the nexus of businesses, governments, and communities to advance 21st century energy solutions. Henry played a key leadership role in founding New Hampshire's first CCA Joint Powers Agency, Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire (CPCNH) and in growing the organization's membership to 18 cities and towns representing ~20% of the state's population. In 2021, Henry organized a grassroots media and advocacy campaign to defeat legislation that would have dismantled NH's new CCA law. Henry previously worked at Clean Energy NH where he helped double the nonprofit's size, established programs and hired staff to support implementation of municipal clean energy projects, and supported regulatory interventions at the state Public Utilities Commission.
Henry has a B.A. in Political Science and an M.S. in Natural Resources from the University of New Hampshire.
Mark Pruitt
Regional Market Advisor-Central
Mark Pruitt is an adjunct professor within Northwestern's Master of Science in Energy and Sustainability (MSES) Program.
With more than 25 years of experience in the energy commodity supply and energy efficiency markets, Mark assists organizations with energy planning, project evaluation, procurement processes and contract negotiations. His current work focuses on advising communities on municipal aggregation and organizations on energy procurement issues. His experience through the electricity deregulation process in Illinois provides him with a long-range perspective on positioning, risk management and opportunity development. Prior to founding The Power Bureau, Mark served as the first Director of the Illinois Power Agency where he secured electricity supply on behalf of approximately 4.7 million residential and small commercial ratepayer accounts serviced by Commonwealth Edison and Ameren Illinois. During his tenure, the Agency not only established the hedging and procurement processes to secure energy, capacity and transmission for ratepayers; but also reviewed and negotiated agreements for renewable energy, clean coal, coal gasification, energy efficiency and demand response assets. Mark also participates in research programs at the Illinois Institute of Technology and Argonne National Lab.
Shelly Gordon-Gray
Regional Market Advisor-West
Shelly Gordon-Gray is a recent transplant from the California Bay Area. She has a 40-year volunteer career, from fundraising for NGOs to serving as a volunteer mediator. She has run her own medical marketing and PR firm for 20+ years, was named one of Silicon Valley’s Women of Influence, served on the Human Relations Commission for the city of Palo Alto, as well as the Commission on the Status of Women for Monterey County.
Shelly also served on the executive committee of the largest California chapter of the Sierra Club, which successfully advocated for Community Choice Energy in Silicon Valley and the West Bay Area. Shelly started Arizonans for Community Choice to bring much more renewable energy to our State through Community Choice Energy.
Anna Chau
Business Development and Research Intern
Anna is a business student at Binghamton University School of Management, concentrating in Marketing and Management Information Systems.
Dylan Molloy
Business Development and Research Intern
Dylan is a student at Binghamton University studying Political Science with a minor in Digital Data Studies.
Scott Blaising, Esq.
Regulatory Counsel
Principal, Braun Blaising Smith Wynne, P.C.
Scott 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). He 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 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.
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.
Susan Bierzychudek
Marketing & Communications
Green Ideals Founder & Principal
Susan is a brand strategist and communication specialist who founded Green Ideals in 2004, as a full-service marketing agency solely focused on promoting the success of mission-driven companies. The firm’s experience in the field of Community Choice is expansive.
Relying on her foundational belief in the power of emotional communication, Susan and the Green Ideals staff have either led or consulted on the marketing efforts for most of the operational Community Choice programs in California—MCE, Sonoma Clean Power, CleanPowerSF, Peninsula Clean Energy, and Redwood Coast Energy Authority. Susan has also provided guidance to several other programs in developmental stages, as part of the LEAN Energy US contracted team.
Other recent clients include non-profit environmental groups, global recycling firms, electric vehicle associations and organic food producers; former clients include Fortune 100 consumer brands, technology, and service firms.
Susan has served two terms on the Board of Directors for Environmental Forum of Marin, a local non-profit that trains advocates for the natural environment. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities from the smallest and most extraordinarily liberal liberal arts college in the country, Shimer College.
She and the Green Ideals team assist LEAN on all aspects of messaging strategy and communication design. They also provide marketing expertise for some of LEAN’s CCA consulting clients. Her office and home use 100% renewable energy, provided by MCE.
Mark Landman
Project Management Consultant
Vice Chair, Sonoma Clean Power
Mark Landman began his career as one of the first ten fire paramedics in Marin County in 1978, part of what was then a revolutionary improvement in public service provision.
Thirty-six years later, as Mayor of the City of Cotati, he helped bring forward an even more revolutionary improvement in public service provision when the Cotati City Council was the first to unanimously support CCA in Sonoma County.
Mark is a founding member of the Sonoma Clean Power Authority Board of Directors, where he has served as Vice-Chair and Chair. He also serves as Chair for the Sonoma County Mayors’ and Councilmembers’ Legislative Committee, Chair of the Russian River Watershed Association, as a director on the Sonoma County Transit Authority and the Regional Climate Protection Authority, as well as a commissioner on the Sonoma LAFCo.