Meet Our Team

Aaron has been in Information Technology for 20 years and in the utility industry for the last 15 years. As Director of IT Operations at the Electric Reliability of Council of Texas (ERCOT), Aaron was responsible for the multi-data center IT operations of ERCOT’s real-time grid and market systems, deregulated retail market systems, Enterprise Data Warehouse, systems integration, and market settlement systems. In other roles at ERCOT he led business/technology alignment, IT strategy development, program financial management for the Texas Nodal Market Implementation, IT stakeholder relationship management, and the IT divisional project office.

Prior to ERCOT, Aaron was responsible for managing the relationship between IT and utility business units at Aquila, Inc., working with utility and IT leaders to ensure that IT services were aligned with business objectives and that IT was positioned to support their needs.

Phone: 202.871.7414     Email: [email protected]

Daisy Chung Senior Manager, Technical Programs Daisy joined SEPA in 2014 and has held various roles across research, industry & strategy, operations, and engagement teams. With a research background in utility renewable energy deployment at the distribution level, she leads technical engagements to steer the industry’s energy transformation, producing industry-driven outputs. Her team specializes in fostering collaboration through SEPA’s platforms, cultivating technical and learning communities supported by practitioners.

Throughout her tenure, Daisy finds the greatest satisfaction in facilitating joint efforts among stakeholders, especially connecting electric service providers and integrators, to help advance grid evolution initiatives.

Before joining SEPA, Daisy focused on process engineering and implementation in the semiconductor industry, overseeing system start-ups, qualification, standardization, and failure and root-cause analysis. Leveraging her experience in technical knowledge transfer, she utilized Six Sigma data analytics and system monitoring strategies to enhance efficiency and drive innovation.

Daisy holds a Master of Science in International Public Affairs focusing on Energy Analysis and Policy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas, with dual minors in Business Foundation and Chinese Language.

Phone: 202.559.2027     Email: [email protected]

Jared joined SEPA in 2017. In his role, he develops strategic plans for programs, products, and service offerings for utility and industry stakeholder members and clients that facilitate the integration of distributed energy resources, non-wires alternatives and microgrids onto the modern grid. Jared leads SEPA’s Microgrids Working Group and co-led D.C. Public Service Commission’s grid modernization working groups.

Prior to joining SEPA, he spent several years working as an environmental engineer and consultant for utility, municipal and commercial clients in the energy and water sectors.

He has a MS, Energy Policy and Climate from Johns Hopkins University, and a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Virginia.

Outside of business hours, Jared enjoys skiing, hiking and spending time in the great outdoors.

Phone: (202) 609-8938     Email: [email protected]

Kate works as a research manager at SEPA with a focus on utility business models and regulatory innovation. In addition, she is the staff co-lead for SEPA’s Energy Storage Working Group, and a team member of the Renovate Initiative, a collaborative effort focused on state regulatory process innovation. Previously at SEPA, she worked with the 51st State Initiative, shaping the evolution of the utility sector, and supported the engagement facilitating the D.C. Public Service Commission’s grid modernization (MEDSIS) initiative in the District.
Prior to SEPA, Kate completed her master’s degree from John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in International Relations & Economics, with a concentration in Energy, Resources & Environment. In addition, she completed a graduate consultant project for BP Global on the future of the U.S. transportation sector, as well as graduate internships at the Edison Foundation’s Institute for Electric Innovation (IEI), the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), and Fresh Energy. Prior to SAIS, she worked in Kyoto-fu, Japan for the JET Programme, and was the development manager for Milkweed Editions, an independent book publisher based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She graduated magna cum laude from Barnard College, Columbia University, with a B.A. in art history and political science. Kate has worked and lived in Japan, Italy, India, and South Africa, and is always planning her next adventure.

Phone: 202.350.4667     Email: [email protected]

Mac joined SEPA in December 2018 after having interned and worked as a research assistant on SEPA’s Utility Market Snapshots. In 2020, he supported the ideation, surveying, and analysis of results from SEPA’s Utility Transformation Challenge in which we surveyed utilities on their progress towards clean and modern. He subsequently co-authored our Utility Transformation Challenge Profile based on those results. In addition to his work on SEPA’s Utility Market Snapshots and Utility Transformation Challenge, Mac is the co-lead of SEPA’s Microgrids Working group, which convenes members for monthly calls to discuss topics related to microgrid deployments and develop deliverables aimed at overcoming barriers to deployments.

Mac holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics with a minor in sustainability from the University of Maryland, College Park. In his free time, he enjoys cooking up a storm and playing ultimate frisbee.

Phone: 202.559.2030     Email: [email protected]

Rusty joined SEPA as manager of research and industry strategy in 2020. He serves as staff leads for SEPA’s Customer Programs Working Group, is a primary contributor to SEPA’s Utility Transformation Challenge and SEPA’s Utility Carbon-Reduction Tracker, and coordinates responses to SEPA members’ research requests, among other project work.

Prior to joining SEPA, Rusty served as a policy research manager at EQ Research, where he tracked and analyzed state-level legislative and regulatory developments relevant to solar, battery storage, EVs, and other DERs for industry, non-profit, and government clients. He also served for seven years as manager of the DSIRE project — the nation’s most extensive public database of financial incentives for clean energy — at NCSU. Rusty received an M.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Rusty has traveled to 40 countries.

Phone: 202.595.1146     Email: [email protected]

Trevor joined SEPA in August 2019 after having worked as a research assistant on SEPA’s Utility Market Snapshot Series. In his role, Trevor helps support SEPA’s Utility Transformation Challenge, along with a range of other research projects, including co-leading SEPA’s Utility Carbon-Reduction Tracker.

Prior to joining SEPA, Trevor attended the University of Maryland, College Park, where he received his B.S. in Environmental Science and Policy in 2017 and his MPP in International Security and Economic Policy in 2018. In his free time, Trevor enjoys spending time outdoors, cycling, and rooting on his favorite sports teams. He is a devout University of Connecticut basketball fan.

Phone: 202.559.2028     Email: [email protected]

Ukiah joined SEPA in 2023. He oversees SEPA’s efforts to build and strengthen partnerships with foundations, state governments, and federal agencies to generate resources in support of SEPA’s mission. He is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) with over 12 years of experience in partnership building, fundraising, nonprofit management, and program implementation.

Prior to joining SEPA, Ukiah developed and secured multi-million-dollar funding partnerships for a major international climate action initiative and spent 6+ years building funding partnerships with numerous public and private sector donors in support of President Obama’s 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Solar Energy Association from 2021-23.

Ukiah holds bachelor’s degrees in Italian, French and Spanish from the University of Georgia and a Master’s of International Relations from American University.