SEPA’s Clean Energy Funders Forum

Andrew McAllister was first appointed to the California Energy Commission in 2012, and in 2022 was reappointed by Governor Newsom to a third term. Commissioner McAllister leads the areas of building decarbonization, energy efficiency and load flexibility. He has worked on the clean energy transition for well over three decades, in numerous countries partnering with counterparts ranging from tiny remote communities to large utilities. Commissioner McAllister has held various board leadership roles at the Western Interstate Energy Board, the National Association of State energy Officials, the Smart Electric Power Alliance, and Camp Kesem at UC Davis. He holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley, and B.A. from Dartmouth College. He served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer.

Engineer, problem solver, and community builder by nature – Ben has recently taken on the role as the first Director of the MI Climate Investment Hub, where he is coordinating with public and private sector partners to rapidly accelerate the development of a robust climate lending ecosystem in Michigan.

Prior to his role at the Hub, Ben spent over a dozen years at Walker-Miller Energy Service, where he supported the growth and deployment of several energy efficiency and clean energy programs and initiatives, as well as played a key role in developing strategic relationships with stakeholders across Michigan and the region.

Chief Investment Officer of Connecticut Green Bank – USA’s first full scale, state-level green bank (established 2011). Leads a team of investment professionals that develops innovative financing programs, structures capital solutions for climate impact projects, sources a variety of funds (green bonds, co-lending, crowd funding, securitization, etc.) for deployment into these programs and projects, and manages underwriting and risk matters related to these investments. Prior to joining the Green Bank, Mr. Hunter was CFO and Chief Risk Officer of Spectrum Capital, an investment banking JV with MUFG focused on commercial aircraft finance and investment in USA electric power generation.

Carrie is a Program Officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Carrie supports the U.S. climate portfolio, which aims to decarbonize the U.S. economy while building pathways to shared economic prosperity.

Carrie has spent the last three decades as an organizer, advocate, grant-maker, and strategist. She is best known for her work in designing innovative models for advocacy that reach diverse audiences, regardless of their political orientation. Previously, Carrie worked as a consultant to climate donors, as the Vice President for Public Engagement at the Energy Foundation, and as the Executive Director of Colorado Conservation Voters.

Chéri Smith (Mi’kmaq descent) is the founder and CEO of the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy, a national 501(c)(3) supporting Tribes in their pursuit of renewable energy to advance sovereignty, economic resilience, and climate protection. A 25+ year clean energy practitioner and consultant, Chéri previously led workforce development at SolarCity and Tesla, helping thousands develop careers supporting clean energy development. She serves on the Core Education Committee for RE+, North America’s largest renewable energy event, and has been recognized as a GM Prize winner, MIT Indigenous Communities Fellow and Solver, and Al Gore-trained Climate Leader. Chéri lives on Narragansett and Seminole homelands with her husband, a commercial fisherman, and is the proud mother of three grown children.

Christian Weaver serves as the Vice President of Philanthropy for GRID Alternatives and Vice President of Shinnecock Sovereign Holdings. Christian has been a leader in the non-profit industry for over 20 years. Prior to joining GRID, Christian 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, Director of Organizational Development at Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Manager of Major Gifts at the American Indian College Fund.

At his core, Christian is passionate about environmental sustainability, conservation, community development and civil rights. 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 a 2024 Environmental Justice Fellow at the University of Maryland. He currently serves as a board member for Ma’s House and the American Indian Cancer Foundation.

Christian is an involved citizen of his tribal community Shinnecock, and is also a former Google Policy Fellow, published writer visual artist, art collector, and philanthropist. He enjoys soccer, outdoor adventure, and spending time with his family in his time.

Curtis Probst is CEO of New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation (NYCEEC): a green bank that finances energy efficiency and clean energy projects in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with a focus on supporting disadvantaged communities. Before joining NYCEEC in 2018, he was a Managing Director and the Head of Sustainable Finance for RMI, a global clean energy think tank. Previously, Curtis worked in investment banking for over 24 years, most recently, as a Managing Director and the Head of Corporate Structured Finance at Goldman Sachs.

Dan Adler is Senior Advisor at Net-Zero California, supporting analysis and advocacy to deliver on California’s world-leading climate ambitions. Previously he was Deputy Director for Climate Finance at the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank), where he lead the state’s Green Bank activities. Prior to this role, he was Vice President for Policy at the Energy Foundation, a partnership of philanthropies advancing clean energy markets across the U.S., and Managing Director of the California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF) and President of CalCEF Ventures, leading the firm’s efforts to catalyze transformational investment theses across venture capital and project finance.

Dazzle is a global leader in sustainable investing with over 20 years of experience advising on sustainable investment strategies, mobilizing capital, shaping investor coalitions, and advancing climate solutions across North America, Asia, and the Middle East.
Recognized by the Biden-Harris Administration for his thought leadership, he advises some of the world’s largest institutional investors on climate-aligned strategies as a senior leader at Ceres, where he also leads efforts in Climate Investments in Emerging Markets. His career spans leadership roles at KPMG, UBS, Bank Muscat, and ICICI Bank. Dazzle also serves on the Advisory Board of Columbia University’s Sustainability Management program.

M. Duanne Andrade is the CEO of the Solar and Energy Loan Fund (SELF), the first local Green Bank in the U.S. and a nationally recognized CDFI advancing climate equity. With over 20 years of experience in mission-driven finance, Duanne has designed inclusive models to expand access to clean energy and affordable capital for underserved communities. Her leadership has helped SELF secure over $200 million in federal funds, including a $156.1 million EPA Solar for All award. She serves on several national advisory boards and holds degrees from NYU and Bolivia’s MPD Program in partnership with the Harvard Institute for International Development.

J.R. Tolbert is the Senior Director, Power at the US Energy Foundation (EF). In this role, J.R. oversees the development of organizational strategy to decarbonize the electricity sector in the United States with a focus on deploying clean energy resources to replace fossil fuel infrastructure. J.R. has nearly 20 years of experience working in the climate and clean energy space most recently spending a decade with Advanced Energy United. Among his accomplishments at United, J.R. developed the organization’s state policy program, oversaw the development of program areas in building electrification, the future of natural gas, and clean energy siting.

Jeffrey Schub is the head of Sustainability for Wells Fargo, leading the enterprise Sustainability team with responsibility for the bank’s sustainability strategy in support of our business objectives. He serves as a subject matter expert and trusted advisor to the bank’s executive leadership, and partners with the lines of business to meet client needs and deploy sustainable finance across climate, environmental, social and community impact areas. He also directs the bank’s external engagement with sustainability partners and leads the bank’s work to communicate to stakeholders the positive impact Wells Fargo has on the communities it serves. Prior to this role, he led the bank’s activity in support of its goal to deploy $500 billion of sustainable finance by 2030.

Prior to Wells Fargo, Jeff was the executive director of the Coalition for Green Capital, where he drove the formation of more than a dozen clean energy finance institutions that have mobilized more than $15 billion of clean energy investment. He advised senior policymakers and business leaders and led successful state and national policy campaigns to catalyze investment. Earlier in his career, Jeff worked for a leading solar developer, as well as in economic consulting. He has an MBA from the Yale School of Management and bachelor’s degrees in economics and public policy from Brown University.

Joe Evans is a senior social investment officer at The Kresge Foundation and a senior fellow for climate finance at the Opportunity Finance Network. At Kresge, he has spent the past five years working to ensure that new technologies and resources to improve buildings, create energy independence and resilience, and, where possible, save money are available in equal measure in communities left behind by traditional actors.
Evans started a fellowship with OFN in 2024 and join Kresge in 2014. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Southern Connecticut State University, and an eMBA from Columbia Business School.

Joel Clement, Director of the Climate Action program at The Lemelson Foundation, is a former scholar, funder, and federal executive with 25 years of experience in the climate arena, from climate and energy policy to resilience and climate philanthropy both domestic and abroad. He gained recognition as a climate whistleblower in the federal government and has testified to Congress on multiple occasions. He has contributed to and been featured in media outlets and scholarly journals worldwide and received numerous awards for championing climate action in public service and for promoting science-based public policy. A native of Maine, he is happiest when fly-fishing, paddling, or writing fiction.

Kate is Senior Program Officer at the MacArthur Foundation where she supports grantmaking and collaborations that enable solutions to climate change. With a background in philanthropy, coastal systems, and climate solutions, she is dedicated on promoting healthy and resilient communities. Prior to joining the Foundation, Kate worked in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago and at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Great Lakes restoration. Kate holds a master’s degree in Environmental Management from Duke University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Science from Smith College.

Kirsten Stasio is CEO of the Nevada Clean Energy Fund (NCEF), Nevada’s nonprofit green bank. She also serves as Acting Executive Director of the U.S. Green Bank 50 (GB 50), a nonprofit collaboration of green banks that drive investment in clean energy and inclusive climate solutions in communities across the country. Previously, Kirsten worked at a private energy investment firm. Her early career began in Washington DC where she worked to implement climate and energy policies. Kirsten also serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at Stanford University. She holds MBA and MS degrees from Stanford and a BA from UC Davis.

Laura Lightbody directs Pew’s energy modernization project, which works with policymakers to modernize the grid to meet increasing energy demand. Lightbody’s work has supported multi-state clean grid policy reforms and important federal reforms that led to historic mitigation funding, a new resilient transportation fund, a new flood insurance pricing model, and stronger infrastructure rebuilding requirements. In the private sector, her advocacy campaigns influenced legislation related to Superstorm Sandy disaster relief, the Deepwater Horizon spill, toxic chemicals management reform, and American innovation. In 2007, she played a critical role in boosting national fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks.

Melanie Allen (she/her) is a leader in climate justice philanthropy with deep experience facilitating community-based solutions that put those most affected by policy at the center of decision-making and development processes. With 15 years in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, she has expertise in community development issues across many sectors, including conservation, affordable housing, and workforce development.

Prior to co-founding the Hive Fund in 2019, Melanie launched the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation’s Energy Equity portfolio and managed the organization’s relationships and grantmaking in South Carolina. She is co-chair of Grantmakers for Southern Progress and currently serves on the board of the Environmental Grantmakers Association. Melanie is a native of Greensboro, North Carolina and now lives in Durham.

Nick is Managing Director of Investments at ImpactAssets Capital Partners, responsible for sourcing, due diligence and investment management, across impact themes and asset classes. His most rewarding work is collaborating with motivated clients to design and deploy tailored investment portfolios that achieve financial goals and address systemic social and environmental problems. Previously, Nick was on the investment teams at AiiM Partners and Factor[e] Ventures, where he sourced and led private debt and equity investments delivering positive environmental and social change. He also worked as a Financial Fellow at Project Drawdown, where he focused on financialand impact modeling of climate solutions and mobilizing climate-friendly capital. Nick holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UCLA with a BA in Economics and International Studies and a minor in Environmental systems.

Nicole Steele is a nationally recognized leader with over 20 years’ experience in clean energy, focusing on equitable deployment and workforce development. She recently joined Amalgamated Bank as the Director of Climate Policy where she is leading the bank’s climate policy strategy. Prior to joining Amalgamated, she was instrumental in the development of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) programs including the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF), Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA), and Solar for All (SFA) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and worked in partnership with the U.S. Treasury on the Inflation Reduction Act’s solar tax credits including the Low-Income Communities Bonus Tax Credit. She was also the Program Manager of the Workforce and Equitable Access Team in the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the head of the National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP) that created the Community Power Accelerator and many other initiatives that developed solutions for the rapid deployment of clean energy with true meaningful benefits. Prior to joining the federal government, she was the founding executive director of GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic, policy director at the Alliance to Save Energy, and ran the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program for Loudoun County Virginia. She started her career in affordable housing, community and land-use planning, and grassroots advocacy. She is an AmeriCorps alumni and passionate supporter of community service.  

Peter is a dynamic leader, advocate, and strategist who brings to Invest in Our Future 30 years of experience building coalitions, guiding complex organizations, and overseeing successful programs. Most recently, Peter provided strategic planning, campaign development and executive coaching support to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Open Society Foundations and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), among others. He played key roles in several major cross-organization collaborations, including the Social & Economic Justice Leaders Project (SEJ)—a scenario-planning operation that catalyzed the Democracy Defense Coalition to protect the integrity of the 2020 elections-and Real Recovery Now-which united labor, climate, care and immigration groups to advocate for federal legislation addressing shared goals. Peter was previously the Senior Advisor to the President and Secretary-Treasurer for the SEIU, managing long-term planning projects and partnerships across the wider progressive movement. Additionally, Peter served as SEIU’s Chief of Staff and, before that, as Government Relations Director from 2011 to 2016, leading the union’s legislative, policy and issue campaign work. From 2004 through 2010, Peter was at 32BJ SEIU-a local representing 120,000 workers on the east coast-first as Political Director and later as Chief of Staff.

Rachel Gold is a senior principal in RMI’s Carbon-Free Electricity practice. Her team’s work advances implementation of state policies that support the rapid transition to an affordable, resilient, and low-carbon electricity system. Rachel has led efforts with PUCs, consumer advocates and utilities to advance affordability, responses to load growth, energy efficiency and customer engagement. Before RMI, Rachel was the utilities program director at ACEEE, and has worked at Opower, the California Public Utilities Commission, and the National Park Service.

Rekha Rao is the Senior Initiative Director, U.S. Electricity for Climate Imperative. Rekha is a clean energy policy expert with over 15 years of experience in state and federal regulatory and legislative policy. Most recently at PG&E, she led a policy team responsible for developing and coordinating state and federal renewable and climate policy and strategy across the organization and collaborating with key stakeholders, such as other investor-owned utilities, environmental organizations, and labor unions.

Rekha has led legislative and regulatory policy development for a number of different organizations in the private and non-profit sector, including at Grid Alternatives. She spent a number of years doing policy and legal work for two energy law firms in Washington D.C., where she advised clients on energy project development, facilitated interactions between clients and relevant federal regulatory agencies, and assisted clients with federal legislative communications and advocacy.

Rekha has a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles in political science and Spanish, and graduated with a law degree from American University, Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. A native of Southern California, she now lives in the
Bay Area with her husband, daughter, and giant labradoodle.

Rose McKinney-James is the former CEO for the Corporation for Solar Technology and Renewable Resources (CSTRR), a former Commissioner with the Nevada Public Service Commission, and Nevada’s first Director of the Department of Business and Industry. She is the Managing Principal of Energy Works LLC and McKinney-James & Associates. Her firms provide consulting and advocacy in public affairs, clean energy policy, and sustainable development. She is a Member of the Board of Directors of MGM Resorts International, MGM Detroit, Toyota Financial Savings Bank. She is the former Board Chair for the US Energy Foundation and the American Association for Blacks in Energy (AABE).