
Girish Balachandran
Chief Executive Officer
As the Chief Executive Officer of Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE), Girish Balachandran works with the elected Board to develop and implement strategies empowering the SVCE team and community achieve its ambitious decarbonization goals. He leads the passionate employees of SVCE as they creatively solve challenges to bend the carbon curve downward in the electric supply, built environment and transportation sectors.
» more Girish has more than 29 years of experience in California utilities, including serving as the General Manager of Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) and Alameda Municipal Power (AMP) and as an Assistant General Manager for the City of Palo Alto Utilities. His professional education includes a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from UCLA and a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Anna University in India. » less

Jessamyn Allen
Program Manager
Jessamyn supports the implementation of SVCE’s building decarbonization programs and is leading the development of the organization’s equity policy.
» more Jessamyn’s background is in nuclear physics and astrophysics research. She has bachelor’s degrees in physics and astrophysics from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. in physics from MIT. » less

Kevin Armstrong
Deputy Director of Administrative Services
Kevin Armstrong is the Deputy Director of Administrative Services and supports the Finance, Information Technology and Human Resources activities of SVCE. Kevin is responsible for risk management around supplier and vendor contracts, financial reporting and analysis to the Board of Directors, lenders, and credit agencies, and office administration.
» more Previously, Kevin held positions focused on sustainability, alternative transportation, green building, and renewable energy project development, with both public and private organizations around the Bay Area. Kevin recently worked for the County of Santa Clara, Vote Solar, the City of San Jose, and the DaimlerChrysler Corporation. Kevin’s early professional career was spent at Accenture, developing enterprise resource planning software. Kevin earned a BS degree in Civil / Environmental Engineering from Stanford University and dual MS degrees in City & Regional Planning and Transportation Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. » less

Don Bray
Director of Account Services and Community Relations
Don has worked closely with SVCE since its inception, leading customer engagement activities with SVCE’s major commercial and industrial accounts, and the local business community. He is responsible for account services, customer program development and integration.
» more Immediately prior to joining SVCE, Don served as Executive Director of Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Smart Energy Enterprise Development Initiative (SEEDZ), involving a regional coalition of leading business, governmental, institutional and utility stakeholders focused on advancing energy system performance and sustainability in Silicon Valley. Projects included workplace and destination electric vehicle charging infrastructure, regional power quality monitoring, distributed energy storage and community-based renewable energy programs. Don’s private sector background includes 22 years with Accenture. As a Managing Partner, he was instrumental in building and leading the firm’s business systems integration consulting practice in Silicon Valley. He also co-founded and led AltaTerra Research, a market research and consulting firm focused on clean technology solutions for the enterprise marketplace. Within the community, Don helped define and launch the Bay Area Climate Collaborative, a region-wide public-private partnership addressing regional sustainability goals. In his hometown of Los Altos, California, he serves on the City’s Environmental Commission, and is a past Chair and Vice-Chair. Don received a Masters Degree in Engineering Management from Stanford University, and Bachelor’s Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California at Davis. » less

Bena Chang
Senior Government Affairs Manager
Bena Chang is the Senior Government Affairs Manager for Silicon Valley Clean Energy, where she works on legislation and coalition building.
» more Prior to joining Silicon Valley Clean Energy, Bena was the Intergovernmental Relations Director for the City of San Jose, the 10th largest city in the United States. While at the City of San Jose, she engaged on and advocated for a vast variety of municipal policy issues at the regional, state and federal levels ranging from homelessness, pandemic mitigation and response, and clean energy. Bena was also the Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s Senior Vice President of Transportation, Housing and Health. During her more than a decade at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Bena worked on many diverse projects and programs including a successful 2008 Measure B campaign that secured operations funding for BART to Silicon Valley to tours of transit-oriented development in many communities in Silicon Valley. Bena graduated from Wellesley College with a major in English and a minor in Astronomy. » less

Jessica Cornejo
Program Specialist – Policy & Government Initiatives
Jessica supports SVCE by assisting residential, commercial, and municipal customers understand their energy usage data.
» more Prior to joining SVCE, Jessica served as an AmeriCorps Civicspark Fellow for the City of Woodland. As a Fellow she was responsible for implementing the City’s Climate Action Plan while creating a framework for reporting and analysis. Jessica holds a B.A. in Geography with a minor in Environmental Science & Policy from California State University, Long Beach. » less

Zoe Elizabeth
Deputy Director of Decarbonization and Grid Innovation
Zoe supports all customer segments. She is the key contact for Silicon Valley Transportation Electrification Clearinghouse and the Community Energy Resilience Program.
» more Zoe has over a decade of experience leading regional decarbonization and resilience initiatives. She served as Sustainability Manager for the County of Santa Clara, as Associate Director of the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability, and co-founded the California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA. Zoe has a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from UCLA where she focused on regional approached to climate action. She also earned a Leadership in Sustainability certificate from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. » less

Anthony Eulo
Senior Manager of Public Sector Services
Anthony works directly with SVCE member jurisdictions and others on advancing decarbonization programs, projects, and policies.
» more Prior to joining SVCE, Anthony worked for decades at the City of Morgan Hill on a wide variety of environmental programs, administrative issues, and utility services. Anthony graduated from UC Davis with a B.S. degree in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning. » less

Rebecca Fang
Senior Data Analyst
Rebecca supports SVCE’s teams and programs by carrying out analyses, exploring trends and methodologies, and developing data analytics tools and platforms.
» more Rebecca holds an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University and a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Southern California. Prior to joining SVCE, Rebecca worked as an electric vehicle research fellow at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and as a student project engineer at the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County. » less

Charles Grinstead
Senior Manager of Power Resources
Charles Grinstead joined SVCE in September 2021 on the Power Resources Team. Charles has over 10 years of experience serving in energy procurement roles for agencies throughout California.
» more Charles holds a BS in Finance from Arizona State University. » less

Hannah Gustafson
Senior Energy Services Specialist
Hannah supports SVCE customer operations and deployment of strategic electrification programs for customers and member communities.
» more Prior to joining SVCE, Hannah served as a senior researcher at the California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA, where she developed data-driven tools for energy and climate planning and research. She brings nearly a decade of experience in applying data to advance energy decarbonization goals, particularly at the local level. Hannah has both an M.A. in Urban and Regional Planning and a B.A. in Geography/Environmental Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. » less

Nupur Hiremath
Manager of Community Programs
Nupur works on deploying community programs for transportation and building electrification to drive SVCE’s decarbonization initiatives.
» more Prior to SVCE, Nupur served for seven years as an Environmental Programs Manager at the City of Sunnyvale, where she led the development and implementation of the City’s Climate Action Playbook, with a focus on energy efficiency and electrification programs. She also worked for nine years on federal policy development and research on climate change impacts in urban areas at The Cadmus Group, Inc., an environmental consulting firm. Nupur holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from Davidson College and a Master of Public Administration degree from Columbia University. » less

Lisa Lai
Administrative Assistant
Lisa provides administrative support to all staff. Prior to joining SVCE, Lisa worked for the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission.
Lisa holds a B.A. in Design from the University of California, Davis.

Zakary Liske
Senior Manager of Power Operations
As the Senior Manager of Power Operations, Zak is responsible for managing the operation of SVCE’s wholesale portfolio in the CAISO market, overseeing contract implementation, coordination of financial settlement and billing activities, and development of SVCE’s enterprise software systems.
» more Prior to joining SVCE, Zak worked in public power as an analyst then supervisor in the Power Settlements department of Northern California Power Agency (NCPA) with a focus on settlement and billing in the wholesale CAISO and bilateral markets. He holds a B.A. in Economics from University of California, Davis. » less

Pamela Leonard
Communications Manager
Pamela leads the community relations activities for SVCE. She develops and executes the agency’s strategic communications plan, which is essential to developing and maintaining customer awareness and satisfaction. From media engagement to outreach events, the SVCE community relations team is here to help our customers make informed energy decisions and lower their carbon footprint.
» more Prior to joining SVCE, Pamela served as Communications Specialist for Prospect Silicon Valley where she was responsible for developing messaging, collateral, managing the website, coordinating events and social media content. Pamela worked as an account executive for Westbound Communications, a public relations agency conducting community and digital outreach, special events and marketing for the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project. Pamela also served as Director of Communications and Marketing for Orange County Coastkeeper, a clean water non-profit organization. Pamela earned bachelor’s degrees in political science and drama, with a minor in global sustainability from UC Irvine. » less

Matthew Lundy
Community Outreach Fellow
Matt supports SVCE’s outreach efforts by focusing on virtual engagement with SVCE communities through projects such as the Education Fund and the Scholarship Competition.
» more In addition to working on the SVCE team, Matt helps with Morgan Hill’s Climate Action Plan development and writes about science. He has a M.Sc. in Science Communication from Dublin City University and a B.A. in Astrophysics and Philosophy from UC Berkeley. » less

Colleen McCamy
Marketing Specialist
Colleen supports SVCE through outreach efforts in the community. She coordinates with all SVCE communities to ensure the agency is present through events, meetings, sponsorships and presentations. Along with promoting SVCE’s efforts, Colleen works on marketing outreach, helping design communication materials which are used to explain and support SVCE service and benefits.
» more Colleen joined SVCE as a Climate Corps Fellow after graduating from UC Santa Barbara with a B.A. in Environmental Science and a concentration in Anthropology and Marine Processes. She brings along experience working with outreach for the UC Carbon Neutrality Initiative and the campus Climate Action Plan, natural reserve management with the UC Natural Reserve System and environmental education with the UCSB R.E.E.F. » less

Thomas Messier
Power Settlements and Compliance Analyst
Thomas conducts power settlement procedures and compliance filings under direction from the Director of Power Resources. He coordinates database systems, manages invoicing, and supports the procurement of resources.
» more Thomas graduated from Sonoma State University in the spring of 2017 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Energy Management & Design. Prior to joining SVCE, he worked as an intern in the Power Services Department at Sonoma Clean Power overseeing energy and capacity contracts, settlement details, and compliance filings. » less

Owen Milligan
Power Resources Intern
As a first-year intern, Owen assists the Power Resources Team in creation of outward-facing data visualizations, presentations, and reports.
» more Owen is entering his senior year at Concordia University Irvine, studying Finance and Business Data Analytics. He also completed a minor in Communication Studies. Owen also works with a virtual education company, assisting students in Data Analytics, Web Development, and Digital Marketing as an Academic Support Specialist. » less

Naomi Moraes
Funding and Finance Fellow
Naomi supports SVCE through research and analysis of funding and finance mechanisms surrounding future decarbonization.
» more Prior to working at SVCE, Naomi interned with SFDPW as a Student Design Trainee I. She graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Environment from the University of Michigan. » less

Peter Mustacich, PE
Energy Services Lead
Peter works on creating, implementing and evaluating programs that focus on building electrification and decarbonization. Peter has over a decade of experience in sustainability and energy efficiency.
» more A licensed Mechanical Engineer, he began at Mazzetti in HVAC design of healthcare facilities. His role soon grew to incorporate sustainable design coordination, whole-building energy modeling, greenhouse gas inventories, and LEED project management. At Commercial Energy, Peter helped strategize and grow the Energy Services division, and provided energy audits and facility improvement planning for a wide variety of clients ranging from hotels, multifamily buildings, and restaurants to large commercial and industrial facilities. Most recently Peter was with 2050 Partners, a consultant to the California IOUs, where he managed energy storage testing including residential battery systems and portable batteries powering medical devices. He was also the lead support to the IOUs for light-duty EV charging infrastructure analysis and advocacy for the CALGreen statewide building code development. » less

Sanjay Natu
Internal Operations Program Manager
Sanjay works with SVCE staff to develop and manage the annual strategic and workplan and does research on emerging clean power technologies
» more Prior to SVCE, Sanjay worked at Intel Corporation for forty years. His notable projects as the platform execution lead included IntelR CoreTM generation 5 and generation 10 processors which were the first products on 14nm and 10nm technologies. He also led Intel’s hardware platform for Apple’s first Macbook air. He was a design engineer for the industry-first digital signal processor and the industry-first automotive microcontroller. Sanjay received an MS in electrical engineering and an MS in Physics from Carnegie-Mellon University and a BS in Physics from Pune University, India. » less

Monica Padilla
Chief Operating Officer & Director of Power Resources
As the Chief Operating Officer & Director of Power Resources, Monica leads a team responsible for planning and carrying out the various energy and capacity procurement, management and reporting needs consistent with SVCE’s aggressive greenhouse gas reduction policies, portfolio cost and risk management objectives and California’s legislative and regulatory requirements.
» more Since joining SVCE in 2018, Monica and her group have negotiated and executed over one billion dollars in long-term power purchase agreements for renewable resources including six solar plus storage contracts. Monica is also leading the effort on behalf of SVCE and seven other CCAs to acquire long-duration storage to help with the integration of intermittent resources and in support of the California grid. Prior to joining SVCE, Monica worked for the City of Palo Alto Utilities for over 30 years. Monica was instrumental in developing and implementing Palo Alto’s Carbon Neutral Plan in 2013, the first carbon-neutral policy adopted for a municipal utility in California. Monica also represented Palo Alto at several joint action agencies, including the Northern California Power Agency and the Transmission Agency of Northern California and oversaw the contract with Palo Alto’s largest supplier – Western Area Power Administration. Monica has held several volunteer positions within her community of Fremont and was an active participant of Alameda County’s steering committee to form East Bay Community Energy (EBCE). Monica continues to volunteer with EBCE and currently serves on its Community Advisory Committee bringing both an energy professional and ratepayer perspective. Monica holds a B.S. in Business from California State University East Bay. » less

Peyton Parks
Energy Services Lead
Peyton supports the commercial and multi-unit dwelling customers. Feel free to contact him with questions, comments or requests for him to meet you at your location.
» more Peyton comes to Silicon Valley Clean Energy most recently from SolarCity where he served in a range of sales, account management, and technical support roles. He is most proud of having deployed over a megawatt of solar capacity in his time there. A life-long resident of the South County, Peyton attended San Jose State University and earned a B.A. in Philosophy. » less

Michaela Pippin
Communications Specialist
Michaela supports SVCE community relations through marketing, messaging and development. She works with all departments to address the needs that will advance the agency’s goals and increase public awareness.
» more Michaela joined SVCE after graduating from California State University, Fullerton with a B.A. in Public Relations and Public Administration. She brings communications experience from freelance work with Algalita, a non-profit committed to solving the plastic pollution crisis. Additional experience includes her work with Think Together, a non-profit dedicated to changing the odds for kids, and work with local campaign management while in Orange County. » less

Andrea Pizano
Board Clerk/Executive Assistant
Andrea supports the SVCE Board of Directors and board committees, keeps SVCE records and supports the CEO. Most recently, Andrea was a senior staff assistant for the City of Sunnyvale, reporting to the environmental programs manager.
» more Andrea earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from San Jose State University. » less

Amrit Singh
Chief Financial Officer/Director of Administrative Services
Amrit oversees and leads the finance, information technology and human resources activities of SVCE. Amrit brings two decades of experience in the California Energy Markets with extensive experience in managing risks of complex energy procurement portfolios as well as in energy regulation, rate design, and commodity portfolio management.
» more Amrit’s prior experiences include serving as Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Senior Director, Market and Credit Risk Management and Senior Director, Revenue Requirements and Rates. Amrit also worked at startup companies and provided strategic consulting in areas of risk management and utility operations. Amrit has an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BS in Managerial Economics from the University of California, Davis. » less

Beth Trenchard
Interim Communications Manager
Beth assists the Energy Services and Community Relations team while Pamela Leonard is on leave. Beth executes the agency’s strategic communications plan to grow customer awareness and satisfaction with SVCE’sservices and help our customers make informed energy decisions and lower their carbon footprint.
» more Prior to the Interim Communications Manager role, Beth supported the Communications team to develop and launch eHub.Prior to SVCE, Beth was part of thestart-up team at Monterey Bay Community Power (now Central Coast Community Power) focused on programs, ran operations for a renewable start-up, was the executive director for a health services nonprofit, served on two school boards, and worked at Apple, Oracle and GE primarily in product marketing and finance roles. » less

Demarie Weber
Regulatory & Compliance Manager
Demarie leads efforts in the development of compliance processes and supports SVCE with regulatory filings.
» more Demarie has over nine years of experience in the energy industry serving in various roles of increasing responsibility. Immediately prior to SVCE, she worked for PG&E’s energy procurement division as a Senior Risk and Compliance Analyst where she helped to streamline and mature compliance programs. Demarie has also worked on regulatory and compliance management for the City and County of San Francisco. Demarie holds a Master of Public Affairs from USF, BA in Economics with a minor in Politics from UCSC, and Product Management Certificate from Product School, Inc. » less

Oren Weiner
Power Resources Manager
As a Power Resources Manager of Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE), Oren Weiner is responsible for assessing SVCE’s overall energy needs, developing and implementing strategies to achieve SVCE’s energy portfolio and risk management goals.
» more Oren has over 14 years of experience in the energy industry serving in various energy procurement roles of increasing responsibility. Oren is joining SVCE from the City of Pasadena where he worked on procuring zero carbon resources, Integrated Resource Planning efforts, and various regulatory support activities. Oren holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Central Florida. » less

Maren Wenzel
Senior Manager of Energy Policy & Regulatory Coordination
As the Power Resources Planner, Maren works to ensure the resources procured by SVCE meet the organization’s greenhouse gas reduction goals as well as the reliability and policy objectives of the state.
» more Maren has worked on decarbonization and resource planning efforts for utilities across the US since 2015. Immediately prior to SVCE, she worked for PG&E where she focused on electricity system forecasting, including for the Integrated Resource Plan and SB100 Joint Agency efforts. She holds a B.A in International Relations from Mills College and an M.A in International Affairs, with a focus on Energy, Resources and the Environment, from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. » less

Justin Zagunis
Director of Decarbonization and Grid Innovation Programs
Justin works with the team to plan and design a platform and portfolio of programs to achieve SVCE’s mission of deep decarbonization. He leads efforts in developing, deploying and evaluating innovative programs and technologies related to mobility, the built environment and grid integration and innovation.
» more Prior to SVCE, Justin worked at City of Palo Alto Utilities on demand side management program design, management and evaluation. Justin has a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from California Polytechnic State University and a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from Stanford University. » less

Nikolas Zanotto
Management Analyst
Nik supports SVCE by performing IT support services for the agency and its departments. He performs a variety of professional and technical level information technology support duties in support of SVCE’S network infrastructure, hardware and software, website and communication systems.
» more Nik brings over 20 years of IT experience. He has worked for a large Silicon Valley tech company for the past 16 years performing many different roles, most recently as IT manager. Nik earned his bachelor’s degree from San Jose State University. » less
To contact a member of our staff email: info@svcleanenergy.org or call
408-721-5301.
More team members will be added soon. We are hiring Join our Team!

Amrit Singh
Chief Financial Officer/Director of Administrative Services
Amrit oversees and leads the finance, information technology and human resources activities of SVCE. Amrit brings two decades of experience in the California Energy Markets with extensive experience in managing risks of complex energy procurement portfolios as well as in energy regulation, rate design, and commodity portfolio management.
» more Amrit’s prior experiences include serving as Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Senior Director, Market and Credit Risk Management and Senior Director, Revenue Requirements and Rates. Amrit also worked at startup companies and provided strategic consulting in areas of risk management and utility operations. Amrit has an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BS in Managerial Economics from the University of California, Davis. » less

Kevin Armstrong
Deputy Director of Administrative Services
Kevin Armstrong is the Deputy Director of Administrative Services and supports the Finance, Information Technology and Human Resources activities of SVCE. Kevin is responsible for risk management around supplier and vendor contracts, financial reporting and analysis to the Board of Directors, lenders, and credit agencies, and office administration.
» more Previously, Kevin held positions focused on sustainability, alternative transportation, green building, and renewable energy project development, with both public and private organizations around the Bay Area. Kevin recently worked for the County of Santa Clara, Vote Solar, the City of San Jose, and the DaimlerChrysler Corporation. Kevin’s early professional career was spent at Accenture, developing enterprise resource planning software. Kevin earned a BS degree in Civil / Environmental Engineering from Stanford University and dual MS degrees in City & Regional Planning and Transportation Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. » less

Lisa Lai
Administrative Assistant
Lisa provides administrative support to all staff. Prior to joining SVCE, Lisa worked for the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission.
Lisa holds a B.A. in Design from the University of California, Davis.

Sanjay Natu
Internal Operations Program Manager
Sanjay works with SVCE staff to develop and manage the annual strategic and workplan and does research on emerging clean power technologies
» more Prior to SVCE, Sanjay worked at Intel Corporation for forty years. His notable projects as the platform execution lead included IntelR CoreTM generation 5 and generation 10 processors which were the first products on 14nm and 10nm technologies. He also led Intel’s hardware platform for Apple’s first Macbook air. He was a design engineer for the industry-first digital signal processor and the industry-first automotive microcontroller. Sanjay received an MS in electrical engineering and an MS in Physics from Carnegie-Mellon University and a BS in Physics from Pune University, India. » less

Andrea Pizano
Board Clerk/Executive Assistant
Andrea supports the SVCE Board of Directors and board committees, keeps SVCE records and supports the CEO. Most recently, Andrea was a senior staff assistant for the City of Sunnyvale, reporting to the environmental programs manager.
» more Andrea earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from San Jose State University. » less

Nikolas Zanotto
Management Analyst
Nik supports SVCE by performing IT support services for the agency and its departments. He performs a variety of professional and technical level information technology support duties in support of SVCE’S network infrastructure, hardware and software, website and communication systems.
» more Nik brings over 20 years of IT experience. He has worked for a large Silicon Valley tech company for the past 16 years performing many different roles, most recently as IT manager. Nik earned his bachelor’s degree from San Jose State University. » less
To contact a member of our staff email: info@svcleanenergy.org or call
408-721-5301.
More team members will be added soon. We are hiring Join our Team!

Don Bray
Director of Account Services & Community Relations
Don has worked closely with SVCE since its inception, leading customer engagement activities with SVCE’s major commercial and industrial accounts, and the local business community. He is responsible for account services, customer program development and integration.
» more Immediately prior to joining SVCE, Don served as Executive Director of Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Smart Energy Enterprise Development Initiative (SEEDZ), involving a regional coalition of leading business, governmental, institutional and utility stakeholders focused on advancing energy system performance and sustainability in Silicon Valley. Projects included workplace and destination electric vehicle charging infrastructure, regional power quality monitoring, distributed energy storage and community-based renewable energy programs. Don’s private sector background includes 22 years with Accenture. As a Managing Partner, he was instrumental in building and leading the firm’s business systems integration consulting practice in Silicon Valley. He also co-founded and led AltaTerra Research, a market research and consulting firm focused on clean technology solutions for the enterprise marketplace. Within the community, Don helped define and launch the Bay Area Climate Collaborative, a region-wide public-private partnership addressing regional sustainability goals. In his hometown of Los Altos, California, he serves on the City’s Environmental Commission, and is a past Chair and Vice-Chair. Don received a Masters Degree in Engineering Management from Stanford University, and Bachelor’s Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California at Davis. » less

Pamela Leonard
Communications Manager
Pamela leads the community relations activities for SVCE. She develops and executes the agency’s strategic communications plan, which is essential to developing and maintaining customer awareness and satisfaction. From media engagement to outreach events, the SVCE community relations team is here to help our customers make informed energy decisions and lower their carbon footprint.
» more Prior to joining SVCE, Pamela served as Communications Specialist for Prospect Silicon Valley where she was responsible for developing messaging, collateral, managing the website, coordinating events and social media content. Pamela worked as an account executive for Westbound Communications, a public relations agency conducting community and digital outreach, special events and marketing for the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project. Pamela also served as Director of Communications and Marketing for Orange County Coastkeeper, a clean water non-profit organization. Pamela earned bachelor’s degrees in political science and drama, with a minor in global sustainability from UC Irvine. » less

Matthew Lundy
Community Outreach Fellow
Matt supports SVCE’s outreach efforts by focusing on virtual engagement with SVCE communities through projects such as the Education Fund and the Scholarship Competition.
» more In addition to working on the SVCE team, Matt helps with Morgan Hill’s Climate Action Plan development and writes about science. He has a M.Sc. in Science Communication from Dublin City University and a B.A. in Astrophysics and Philosophy from UC Berkeley. » less

Colleen McCamy
Marketing Specialist
Colleen supports SVCE through outreach efforts in the community. She coordinates with all SVCE communities to ensure the agency is present through events, meetings, sponsorships and presentations. Along with promoting SVCE’s efforts, Colleen works on marketing outreach, helping design communication materials which are used to explain and support SVCE service and benefits.
» more Colleen joined SVCE as a Climate Corps Fellow after graduating from UC Santa Barbara with a B.A. in Environmental Science and a concentration in Anthropology and Marine Processes. She brings along experience working with outreach for the UC Carbon Neutrality Initiative and the campus Climate Action Plan, natural reserve management with the UC Natural Reserve System and environmental education with the UCSB R.E.E.F. » less

Peter Mustacich, PE
Energy Services Lead
Peter works on creating, implementing and evaluating programs that focus on building electrification and decarbonization. He has over a decade of experience in sustainability and energy efficiency.
» more A licensed Mechanical Engineer, he began at Mazzetti in HVAC design of healthcare facilities. His role soon grew to incorporate sustainable design coordination, whole-building energy modeling, greenhouse gas inventories, and LEED project management. At Commercial Energy, Peter helped strategize and grow the Energy Services division, and provided energy audits and facility improvement planning for a wide variety of clients ranging from hotels, multifamily buildings, and restaurants to large commercial and industrial facilities. Most recently Peter was with 2050 Partners, a consultant to the California IOUs, where he managed energy storage testing including residential battery systems and portable batteries powering medical devices. He was also the lead support to the IOUs for light-duty EV charging infrastructure analysis and advocacy for the CALGreen statewide building code development. » less

Peyton Parks
Energy Services Lead
Peyton supports the commercial and multi-unit dwelling customers. Feel free to contact him with questions, comments or requests for him to meet you at your location.
» more Peyton comes to Silicon Valley Clean Energy most recently from SolarCity where he served in a range of sales, account management, and technical support roles. He is most proud of having deployed over a megawatt of solar capacity in his time there. A life-long resident of the South County, Peyton attended San Jose State University and earned a B.A. in Philosophy. » less

Michaela Pippin
Communications Specialist
Michaela supports SVCE community relations through marketing, messaging and development. She works with all departments to address the needs that will advance the agency’s goals and increase public awareness.
» more Michaela joined SVCE after graduating from California State University, Fullerton with a B.A. in Public Relations and Public Administration. » less

Beth Trenchard
Interim Communications Manager
Beth assists the Energy Services and Community Relations team while Pamela Leonard is on leave. Beth executes the agency’s strategic communications plan to grow customer awareness and satisfaction with SVCE’sservices and help our customers make informed energy decisions and lower their carbon footprint.
» more Prior to the Interim Communications Manager role, Beth supported the Communications team to develop and launch eHub.Prior to SVCE, Beth was part of thestart-up team at Monterey Bay Community Power (now Central Coast Community Power) focused on programs, ran operations for a renewable start-up, was the executive director for a health services nonprofit, served on two school boards, and worked at Apple, Oracle and GE primarily in product marketing and finance roles. » less
To contact a member of our staff email: info@svcleanenergy.org or call
408-721-5301.
More team members will be added soon. We are hiring Join our Team!

Monica Padilla
Chief Operating Officer & Director of Power Resources
As Chief Operating Officer & Director of Power Resources, Monica leads a team responsible for planning and carrying out the various energy and capacity procurement, management and reporting needs consistent with SVCE’s aggressive greenhouse gas reduction policies, portfolio cost and risk management objectives and California’s legislative and regulatory requirements.
» more Since joining SVCE in 2018, Monica and her group have negotiated and executed over one billion dollars in long-term power purchase agreements for renewable resources including six solar plus storage contracts. Monica is also leading the effort on behalf of SVCE and seven other CCAs to acquire long-duration storage to help with the integration of intermittent resources and in support of the California grid. Prior to joining SVCE, Monica worked for the City of Palo Alto Utilities for over 30 years. Monica was instrumental in developing and implementing Palo Alto’s Carbon Neutral Plan in 2013, the first carbon-neutral policy adopted for a municipal utility in California. Monica also represented Palo Alto at several joint action agencies, including the Northern California Power Agency and the Transmission Agency of Northern California and oversaw the contract with Palo Alto’s largest supplier – Western Area Power Administration. Monica has held several volunteer positions within her community of Fremont and was an active participant of Alameda County’s steering committee to form East Bay Community Energy (EBCE). Monica continues to volunteer with EBCE and currently serves on its Community Advisory Committee bringing both an energy professional and ratepayer perspective. Monica holds a B.S. in Business from California State University East Bay. » less

Charles Grinstead
Senior Manager of Power Resources
Charles Grinstead joined SVCE in September 2021 on the Power Resources Team. Charles has over 10 years of experience serving in energy procurement roles for agencies throughout California.
» more Charles holds a BS in Finance from Arizona State University. » less

Zakary Liske
Senior Manager of Power Operations
As the Senior Manager of Power Operations, Zak is responsible for managing the operation of SVCE’s wholesale portfolio in the CAISO market, overseeing contract implementation, coordination of financial settlement and billing activities, and development of SVCE’s enterprise software systems.
» more Prior to joining SVCE, Zak worked in public power as an analyst then supervisor in the Power Settlements department of Northern California Power Agency (NCPA) with a focus on settlement and billing in the wholesale CAISO and bilateral markets. He holds a B.A. in Economics from University of California, Davis. » less

Thomas Messier
Power Settlements and Compliance Analyst
Thomas conducts power settlement procedures and compliance filings under direction from the Director of Power Resources. He coordinates database systems, manages invoicing, and supports the procurement of resources.
» more Thomas graduated from Sonoma State University in the spring of 2017 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Energy Management & Design. Prior to joining SVCE, he worked as an intern in the Power Services Department at Sonoma Clean Power overseeing energy and capacity contracts, settlement details, and compliance filings. » less

Owen Milligan
Power Resources Intern
As a first-year intern, Owen assists the Power Resources Team in creation of outward-facing data visualizations, presentations, and reports.
» more Owen is entering his senior year at Concordia University Irvine, studying Finance and Business Data Analytics. He also completed a minor in Communication Studies. Owen also works with a virtual education company, assisting students in Data Analytics, Web Development, and Digital Marketing as an Academic Support Specialist. » less

Demarie Weber
Regulatory & Compliance Manager
Demarie leads efforts in the development of compliance processes and supports SVCE with regulatory filings.
» more Demarie has over nine years of experience in the energy industry serving in various roles of increasing responsibility. Immediately prior to SVCE, she worked for PG&E’s energy procurement division as a Senior Risk and Compliance Analyst where she helped to streamline and mature compliance programs. Demarie has also worked on regulatory and compliance management for the City and County of San Francisco. Demarie holds a Master of Public Affairs from USF, BA in Economics with a minor in Politics from UCSC, and Product Management Certificate from Product School, Inc. » less

Oren Weiner
Power Resources Manager
As a Power Resources Manager of Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE), Oren Weiner is responsible for assessing SVCE’s overall energy needs, developing and implementing strategies to achieve SVCE’s energy portfolio and risk management goals.
» more Oren has over 14 years of experience in the energy industry serving in various energy procurement roles of increasing responsibility. Oren is joining SVCE from the City of Pasadena where he worked on procuring zero-carbon resources, Integrated Resource Planning efforts, and various regulatory support activities. Oren holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Central Florida. » less

Maren Wenzel
Senior Manager of Energy Policy & Regulatory Coordination
As the Senior Manager of Energy Policy & Regulatory Coordination, Maren works to ensure the resources procured by SVCE meet the organization’s greenhouse gas reduction goals as well as the reliability and policy objectives of the state.
» more Maren has worked on decarbonization and resource planning efforts for utilities across the US since 2015. Immediately prior to SVCE, she worked for PG&E where she focused on electricity system forecasting, including for the Integrated Resource Plan and SB100 Joint Agency efforts. She holds a B.A in International Relations from Mills College and an M.A in International Affairs, with a focus on Energy, Resources and the Environment, from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. » less
To contact a member of our staff email: info@svcleanenergy.org or call
408-721-5301.
More team members will be added soon. We are hiring Join our Team!

Bena Chang
Senior Government Affairs Manager
Bena Chang is the Senior Government Affairs Manager for Silicon Valley Clean Energy, where she works on legislation and coalition building. Prior to joining Silicon Valley Clean Energy, Bena was the Intergovernmental Relations Director for the City of San Jose, the 10th largest city in the United States. While at the City of San Jose, she engaged on and advocated for a vast variety of municipal policy issues at the regional, state and federal levels ranging from homelessness, pandemic mitigation and response, and clean energy.
» more Bena was also the Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s Senior Vice President of Transportation, Housing and Health. During her more than a decade at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Bena worked on many diverse projects and programs including a successful 2008 Measure B campaign that secured operations funding for BART to Silicon Valley to tours of transit-oriented development in many communities in Silicon Valley. Bena graduated from Wellesley College with a major in English and a minor in Astronomy. » less
To contact a member of our staff email: info@svcleanenergy.org or call
408-721-5301.
More team members will be added soon. We are hiring Join our Team!

Justin Zagunis
Director of Decarbonization and Grid Innovation Programs
Justin works with the team to plan and design a platform and portfolio of programs to achieve SVCE’s mission of deep decarbonization. He leads efforts in developing, deploying and evaluating innovative programs and technologies related to mobility, the built environment and grid integration and innovation.
» more Prior to SVCE, Justin worked at City of Palo Alto Utilities on demand side management program design, management and evaluation. Justin has a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from California Polytechnic State University and a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from Stanford University. » less

Jessamyn Allen
Program Manager
Jessamyn supports the implementation of SVCE’s building decarbonization programs and is leading the development of the organization’s equity policy.
» more Jessamyn’s background is in nuclear physics and astrophysics research. She has bachelor’s degrees in physics and astrophysics from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. in physics from MIT. » less

Jessica Cornejo
Program Specialist – Policy & Government Initiatives
Jessica supports SVCE by assisting residential, commercial, and municipal customers understand their energy usage data.
» more Prior to joining SVCE, Jessica served as an AmeriCorps Civicspark Fellow for the City of Woodland. As a Fellow she was responsible for implementing the City’s Climate Action Plan while creating a framework for reporting and analysis. Jessica holds a B.A. in Geography with a minor in Environmental Science & Policy from California State University, Long Beach. » less

Zoe Elizabeth
Deputy Director of Energy Services
Zoe supports all customer segments. She is the key contact for Silicon Valley Transportation Electrification Clearinghouse and the Community Energy Resilience Program.
» more Zoe has over a decade of experience leading regional decarbonization and resilience initiatives. She served as Sustainability Manager for the County of Santa Clara, as Associate Director of the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability, and co-founded the California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA. Zoe has a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from UCLA where she focused on regional approached to climate action. She also earned a Leadership in Sustainability certificate from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. » less

Anthony Eulo
Senior Manager of Public Sector Services
Anthony works directly with SVCE member jurisdictions and others on advancing decarbonization programs, projects, and policies.
» more Prior to joining SVCE, Anthony worked for decades at the City of Morgan Hill on a wide variety of environmental programs, administrative issues, and utility services. Anthony graduated from UC Davis with a B.S. degree in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning. » less

Rebecca Fang
Senior Data Analyst
Rebecca supports SVCE’s teams and programs by carrying out analyses, exploring trends and methodologies, and developing data analytics tools and platforms.
» more Rebecca holds an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University and a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Southern California. Prior to joining SVCE, Rebecca worked as an electric vehicle research fellow at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and as a student project engineer at the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County. » less

Hannah Gustafson
Senior Energy Services Specialist
Hannah supports SVCE customer operations and deployment of strategic electrification programs for customers and member communities.
» more Prior to joining SVCE, Hannah served as a senior researcher at the California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA, where she developed data-driven tools for energy and climate planning and research. She brings nearly a decade of experience in applying data to advance energy decarbonization goals, particularly at the local level. Hannah has both an M.A. in Urban and Regional Planning and a B.A. in Geography/Environmental Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. » less

Nupur Hiremath
Manager of Community Programs
Nupur works on deploying community programs for transportation and building electrification to drive SVCE’s decarbonization initiatives.
» more Prior to SVCE, Nupur served for seven years as an Environmental Programs Manager at the City of Sunnyvale, where she led the development and implementation of the City’s Climate Action Playbook, with a focus on energy efficiency and electrification programs. She also worked for nine years on federal policy development and research on climate change impacts in urban areas at The Cadmus Group, Inc., an environmental consulting firm. Nupur holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from Davidson College and a Master of Public Administration degree from Columbia University. » less

Naomi Moraes
Funding and Finance Fellow
Naomi supports SVCE through research and analysis of funding and finance mechanisms surrounding future decarbonization.
» more Prior to working at SVCE, Naomi interned with SFDPW as a Student Design Trainee I. She graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Environment from the University of Michigan. » less
To contact a member of our staff email: info@svcleanenergy.org or call
408-721-5301.
More team members will be added soon. We are hiring Join our Team!