The SEPA Member Experience

Courtney Galatioto is the Vice President of Membership at the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA), a prominent educational nonprofit with 1,100+ members nationwide. With over a decade of experience in the energy sector, Courtney plays a pivotal role in steering SEPA’s strategic initiatives, shaping the membership program to drive engagement, retention, and growth aligned with SEPA’s mission. She collaborates closely with members, ensuring tailored solutions and delivering value through research and programs.

Courtney previously held key roles in business development and member relations at the Alliance to Save Energy and served as a policy fellow in North Carolina. She holds a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in energy and climate change and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

Phone: 202.857.0898     Email: [email protected]

Charisse joined SEPA in 2013. As director of member services, she leads all administrative components of membership. She’s accountable for developing and implementing procedures to ensure accuracy of membership records including member engagement, trends, and overall integrity. Prior to SEPA, Charisse served as Membership & Sponsorship Account Manager for the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA). She also held the position of Membership Specialist for the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).

Charisse brings more than 20 years of membership services experience to SEPA.

Phone: 202.857.0898     Email: [email protected]

Sarah Gott is the Director of Utility Engagement at the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA), bringing over 20 years of experience in strategic relationship management, including 15 years in the utility industry. She excels at building impactful partnerships that drive results and create value.

In her role at SEPA, Sarah leads efforts to deepen relationships with utility members, foster engagement, and develop value-driven solutions that align with SEPA’s mission and utility member needs.

Prior to joining SEPA, Sarah worked for Evergy, an electric utility company, managing stakeholder relationships to advance strategic initiatives and support regulatory goals. Before that, she was the Vice Director and Director of Board Programs at the Financial Research Institute (FRI) at the University of Missouri, where she significantly expanded membership and developed new offerings to engage stakeholders across utilities, corporations, and state agencies.

Sarah resides in Columbia, Missouri, with her husband and children.

Jennifer joined SEPA in June 2022 and works to enhance the membership experience of SEPA’s corporate partners.

Coming from a Chamber of Commerce background, Jennifer has a wide range of knowledge in membership, sponsorships, and events and is committed to ensuring that members get the most out of their investments.

Jennifer has two sons, 13 and 7, and lives in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas.

Fatima joined SEPA in April of 2022. In her role, she’s responsible for providing superior member experience and customer service, including supporting the SEPA Membership team renewal and retention process. A graduate of William Paterson University, Fatima received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and English. She has years of experience in various customer service roles and experience as a freelance writer for numerous publications and organizations.

Veronica excitedly joined SEPA in October 2023 as an associate on the Membership Services team. On the membership team, Veronica tracks important data relating to membership engagement, and encourages members to take advantage of SEPA’s educational workshops. Veronica is passionate about environmental conservation and has worked as a Communications Manager, Environmental Educator, Outreach Associate, and a Litigation Support Analyst.

Her love for community and sustainability began when she interned at the Appalachian State University Office of Sustainability as an Sustainability Ambassador in 2018. The combination of studying public relations and working in sustainability has allowed her to perform meaningful work in various industries. In previous positions, she collaborated on projects relating to renewable energy, zero waste, outdoor recreation, and native plants of local ecotype.

Veronica is a lover of the outdoors, live music, and secondhand shopping. She can be found tending to her herb/pollinator garden in Richmond, Virginia, or dancing in the mountains to “This Must Be the Place” by the Talking Heads.

Denise joined SEPA in May 2023. With 25 years of customer service, she finds a meaningful purpose in helping people help the world. Prior to joining SEPA, she spent the last two years at a biotechnology research company working as a transformation, strategy, and continuous process improvement consultant in Quality and Regulatory. She has five years of utility experience working with distributed energy resources and operations at Tucson Electric Power, where she worked to inspect solar and battery storage systems. That led her to be a part of a process to harmonize utility standards locally and statewide in Arizona. She has served in financial and project management roles for different industries such as government, non-profit, corporate, and construction.

Denise has a Bachelor of Organizational Management and a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Arizona Global Campus.

Denise lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her daughter and mother. She enjoys a work-life balance with health and wellness activities. In her free time, she practices as a licensed massage therapist for family and friends. Her new hobby is learning how to conquer her fear of heights at the rock-climbing gym.