Who's Who
The 2026 Who’s Who in Energy
The executives, advocates and environmentalists shaping New York’s energy future.
City & State presents the 2026 Who's Who in Energy. NYLCV; energyRe; Josephine Kutter
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New York is at a pivot point on energy policy. Gov. Kathy Hochul is leading the charge to scale back the state’s landmark climate change law, citing surging inflation, federal opposition to renewable power and the war in Iran that has fuel prices soaring. Meanwhile, local residents have battled projects ranging from battery storage to onshore wind power. “Put simply, something has to give,” the governor opined in a recent commentary.
Now, the governor is looking to slow down the shift away from natural gas while also embracing nuclear power. At the same time, the state remains on the forefront of clean energy investment: Reliance on solar power is increasing, a new hydropower transmission line is nearing completion and offshore wind projects are advancing despite threats from the White House.
City & State’s Who’s Who in Energy, researched and written in partnership with journalist Lon Cohen, highlights the key stakeholders who are in the middle of the high-stakes debate over New York’s energy future.
Artessa, Alicia Gené
As political headwinds from the federal government threaten offshore wind power, Alicia Gené Artessa has materialized as one of the industry’s leading advocates in New York. She works with policymakers, developers and other stakeholders to make sure offshore wind is central to the state’s clean energy future. Artessa has argued offshore wind is working, saying it’s “already delivering stable, affordable power to New York.” Earlier state legislative and government relations roles in Albany gave her a close look at the machinery shaping energy policy.
Barakat, Sana
New York City’s Local Law 97 of 2019 requires the city government to slash its own greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2030. Sana Barakat said she has the city on track. As the city’s chief decarbonization officer, Barakat oversees energy efficiency, clean energy projects and policy development. As a top official at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, she oversees a $750 million budget supplying energy to more than 80 agencies. She previously spent nearly two decades managing large, multidisciplinary capital projects for New York City agencies at the design and engineering consulting firm Arcadis.
Barrett, Didi
As electricity demand surges from artificial intelligence data centers and electrification, Assembly Member Didi Barrett is confronting New York’s energy affordability crisis. The Hudson Valley lawmaker, who chairs the Assembly Energy Committee and is the only elected official on the state Energy Planning Board, has pushed legislation requiring large energy users like data centers to shoulder more infrastructure costs. She’s also sponsoring legislation to expand the state’s distributed solar target to 20 gigawatts by 2035. Barrett emphasizes the consumer perspective, warning that “energy costs are a big part of the affordability crisis” facing residents.
Brill, Sam
Battery storage is one of the most debated pieces of New York’s clean energy transition, and Sam Brill has emerged as a visible advocate. At Brooklyn-based NineDot Energy, Brill helps steer partnerships and strategy for projects designed to stabilize the grid, expand renewable power and support New York City’s goal of cutting carbon emissions 80% by 2050. He has pushed back on critics, saying battery storage is “an essential tool” for affordable energy. He has also spearheaded community partnerships, including a workforce development program with Solar One and a green jobs initiative with the HOPE Program.
Callahan, Thomas
Behind the scenes, operating engineers have long powered New York’s infrastructure, and Thomas Callahan helps steer that workforce in the state’s changing energy economy. As head of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 15 and the New York State Conference of the IUOE, Callahan represents thousands of skilled workers across the metropolitan region, including members supporting utility projects with Con Edison. Under his leadership, Local 15 has expanded clean energy training, backed leak prone gas pipe replacement work and connected its members to major projects such as the Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line.
Case, Tria
Tria Case has helped turn CUNY campuses into proving grounds for clean energy policy. She launched Sustainable CUNY to accelerate renewable adoption and efficiency efforts across the system’s 26 institutions while securing and managing multimillion-dollar funding for energy-saving projects. Case also founded the NYC Solar Partnership and helped establish New York City’s solar and energy storage ombudsman program. She leads a Smart Distributed Generation Hub team focused on energy storage systems as well as helping implement geothermal, solar and electrical vehicle infrastructure. She also hosts CUNY TV’s “Sustainability Matters.”
Christian, Rory
At City & State’s recent Energy Infrastructure Summit, Rory Christian challenged industry leaders to rethink what’s possible for the power grid. As chair of the state Public Service Commission, which regulates New York’s electric, gas, water and telecommunications utilities, he said that “uncertainty is unacceptable” for customers facing outages and rising costs, while arguing that aging infrastructure is a major driver of higher bills. Christian began his career as an engineer at KeySpan and later worked at Exelon before overseeing a multibillion-dollar utility portfolio at the New York City Housing Authority.
Chu, Sammy
With growing strains on the energy system alongside new development and artificial intelligence-driven demand, Sammy Chu is pushing for a fundamental shift in how Long Island powers itself. He built one of the state’s largest community-distributed generation portfolios, delivering monthly savings to ratepayers while expanding solar and storage capacity. Chu has become a proponent for the urgency of grid modernization, saying, “We have to transition the grid.” Chu also helped launch Babylon’s Long Island Green Homes program, an early model to do residential clean energy financing.
Cohen, Marc
Marc Cohen helps shepherd large energy infrastructure projects through New York’s regulatory landscape. The O’Donnell & Associates vice president handles government affairs tied to battery storage developments planned across upstate New York, aiming to ease pressure on the electric grid and help integrate more renewable power for Grid Connected Infrastructure, a battery energy storage developer. The work requires coordination with state regulators, municipal leaders and local stakeholders to move proposals through approvals and into construction. Cohen previously served as chief of staff at the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce.
Constantinople, Anthony
For more than two decades, Anthony Constantinople has helped navigate the politics and policy behind some of New York’s most complicated energy and land use decisions. At Constantinople & Vallone Consulting, he advises developers and institutions working to build major clean energy projects, including utility-scale battery storage and other large infrastructure. Constantinople’s work often focuses on aligning public policy goals with local concerns so proposals move from concept to completion. Those efforts recently earned him a Robust Community Partnerships Award from NY-BEST, the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium.
DeLair, Kris
For nearly two decades, Kris DeLair has represented the companies that deliver heating fuel to communities across New York state. As executive director of the Empire State Energy Association, she advocates for more than 700 largely family-owned businesses serving about 1.4 million homes and employers statewide. DeLair has pushed to expand biodiesel and renewable diesel within New York’s fuel mix, weighing in on debates over school bus electrification, grid strain and rising energy costs. She’s consistent in her message that climate policy must also work in reality.
Depew, Dan
As infrastructure and energy projects reshape the Hudson Valley, Dan Depew ensures contractors have a say. In 2026, Depew became CEO and executive director of the Construction Contractors Association of the Hudson Valley, succeeding longtime leader Alan Seidman at the helm of an industry organization representing builders and suppliers involved in major public works and energy-related developments. A former business development leader at Holt Construction and longtime Hudson Valley public official, Depew brings experience across construction, government and economic development as he works to align contractors, policymakers and project sponsors in the region.
DesRoches, Susanne
For a quarter century, Susanne DesRoches has translated New York’s climate policy into real infrastructure and building upgrades. At NYSERDA, she leads efforts to modernize the state’s building stock, overseeing programs that retrofit buildings while advancing electrification and climate resilience. Her portfolio includes the Empire Building Challenge, a partnership driving low-carbon retrofits across roughly 125 million square feet of buildings. DesRoches notes buildings are “an enormous piece of the puzzle” in meeting state climate goals. She also teaches sustainability at Columbia University while helping advance New York’s goal of completing 2 million climate-friendly homes by 2030.
Detering, Dietmar
With a doctorate in political science, Dietmar Detering brings a policy lens to his work as a nuclear power advocate at Nuclear New York just when state officials are exploring new reactors to meet rising demand and climate goals. Detering has publicly backed Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent push to develop advanced nuclear capacity, saying that “now the state is getting it.” He has also challenged long-standing safety concerns about nuclear power through published commentary, making the case that nuclear power is reliable and underutilized while often comparing its safety record favorably to fossil fuels.
Dewey, Richard
A common refrain is that the electrical grid needs to be upgraded to meet demand – that power needs to come from somewhere, while reliability remains a major issue. Richard Dewey is at the center of those challenges at the helm of the New York State Independent System Operator, the nonprofit that oversees the state’s grid, power markets and planning. He has warned that the grid is operating with increasingly thin margins and facing demand surges from the energy-hungry tech sector. Dewey has advocated for new lower-emission fossil fuel generation “as a bridge to that cleaner future.”
Diaz Jr., Ruben
With Albany debating how fast to push electrification, Ruben Diaz Jr. is making the case for hitting pause before bills climb further. Diaz, a former Bronx borough president, now co-chairs Natural Allies’ New York effort promoting what the organization deems an all-of-the-above energy approach. Diaz has spread that message widely, writing op-eds, speaking on panels and meeting with faith leaders. In the face of high electricity costs, he’s pushing to adjust climate timelines to protect both affordability and reliability while emphasizing that “working families feel that burden every month.”
Donohue, Gavin
While Albany relitigates how the state can decarbonize, Gavin Donohue has become the guy lawmakers call when the grid grind gets real. After helping unite energy groups last year to launch the New York Affordable Clean Power Alliance and commission a report supporting competitive electricity markets, Donohue remains a prominent voice in debates over energy costs and reliability. Donohue, who represents generators that produce about 75% of the state’s electricity, argues rising demand means every energy option must stay on the table, labeling the state’s climate goals “well-intentioned but not well planned out mandates.”
Driscoll, Justin
As New York modernizes its energy system, Justin Driscoll is steering the state’s largest public utility through a pivotal period. Driscoll leads the New York Power Authority, which generates up to a quarter of the state’s electricity and operates roughly one-third of its transmission grid. Under his leadership, NYPA has advanced transmission projects including Smart Path, Clean Path New York, and Central East Energy Connect. Gov. Kathy Hochul tasked Driscoll to lead development of at least 1 gigawatt of nuclear power upstate, part of a plan adding 5 gigawatts of nuclear capacity to strengthen grid reliability.
Duryea, Christopher
Christopher Duryea helps clients make sense of New York’s regulatory landscape, where energy policy, economic development and private investment often collide. Over the past year, his work has ranged from pushing back on policies seen as detrimental to large energy users like Nucor Steel, which helped build the new Buffalo Bills stadium, to expanding the firm’s roster of companies supporting renewable projects and keeping those investments moving forward. Duryea’s firm, Statewide Public Affairs, also brought together business and environmental interests to advance reforms to New York’s renewable energy permitting process.
Flynn, David P.
As data centers, electrification and advanced manufacturing put new pressure on New York’s power supply, David P. Flynn has emerged as a key legal strategist in the state’s energy transition. As a partner and co-leader of the Energy and Renewables Industry and the Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Practice teams at Phillips Lytle, Flynn advises developers, utilities and emerging technology firms on renewable projects, hydropower, hydrogen facilities, energy storage and large-scale digital infrastructure. He helps clients navigate the policy and permitting hurdles shaping the next generation of projects, while also weighing in publicly on the forces squeezing renewables.
Gallagher, Carrie Meek
With Long Island confronting rising energy costs and a major grid transition, Carrie Meek Gallagher took the reins at LIPA last summer, becoming the first woman to lead the utility that manages the electric grid serving about 3.3 million residents. Gallagher has argued that Long Island’s grid needs a range of power sources, asserting that energy planning must use “all the tools in your tool kit.” During her tenure, the region saw the first full year of operation for South Fork Wind and the deployment of a 100% hydrogen-fueled linear generator at the Northport Power Plant.
Grant, Jamie
Transmission projects often hinge on something less tangible than steel and wires: public trust. Jamie Grant is shaping public affairs strategy for Invenergy’s high-voltage transmission developments by coordinating communications, building coalitions and leading stakeholder outreach for major grid infrastructure while helping ensure host communities see meaningful benefits. She previously worked across environmental communications and policy consulting roles and was a fellow of the Clean Energy Leadership Institute, where she wrote about offshore wind’s role in the clean energy transition and the need to invest in coastal communities facing climate risks.
Greene, Lindsay
Since 1801, the Brooklyn Navy Yard has been rooted in manufacturing. Under Lindsay Greene, the historic campus is evolving into a test bed for the clean energy economy of the future. Greene oversees a 300-acre waterfront campus that is home to more than 550 businesses while advancing energy efficiency upgrades and rethinking its cogeneration plant, one of the city’s largest steam producers. Through Yard Labs, she has backed pilots from electrification and carbon-cutting startups, while collaborating with the New York City Housing Authority on a green retrofit showroom and pursuing large-scale battery storage for the site.
Guidice, Pat
While New York debates how to expand its power supply while maintaining grid reliability, Pat Guidice is making sure utility workers are not treated as an afterthought. He leads one of Long Island’s largest private sector energy unions – representing workers at National Grid and PSEG Long Island – and chairs the New York State Utility Labor Council, giving him a voice in debates affecting thousands of workers statewide. A 40-year IBEW member who has held union leadership roles since 2002, he’s an advocate for practical energy policy that ties climate goals to workforce expertise, system resilience and middle-class jobs.
Hagen, Bonnie Eskow
Bonnie Eskow Hagen has spent decades helping building owners rethink how energy is used across the built environment. As the principal of Bright Energy Services, Hagen leads projects that cut emissions and lower operating costs for commercial and industrial properties. Her team has analyzed millions of square feet of building space to identify efficiency opportunities, implementing upgrades ranging from lighting and HVAC improvements to electric vehicle charging and renewable systems. The former chief operating officer at an HVAC company has also contributed to developing LEED certification exams.
Hansen, Kevin
Political sentiment over offshore wind has pushed projects from on again to off again and back on again. Amid this turmoil, Kevin Hansen is helping shape New York’s clean energy future at Ørsted, the developer behind South Fork Wind, the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, and Sunrise Wind, expected to power about 600,000 Long Island homes. A former policy official at Empire State Development, Hansen brings an insider’s understanding of Albany. Last fall, he was promoted from a government affairs role focused on New York to one covering the entire Northeast U.S. for Ørsted.
Harckham, Pete
After a brutal winter drove utility bills higher across New York, state Sen. Pete Harckham doubled down on his fight for energy affordability. Harckham paired his long support for solar, wind and geothermal with an aggressive push against rising utility costs, including opposition to proposed utility rate hikes. In 2026, the prolific lawmaker introduced a dozen solar bills, including the Accelerate Solar for Affordable Power Act, to expand distributed solar, and measures to boost residential tax credits and advance solar canopies at SUNY and Metropolitan Transportation Authority parking lots.
Haxhillari, Eglantina
Eglantina Haxhillari has become a prominent voice in New York state’s evolving energy debate, working on policy and advocacy in Albany and at the local level. Haxhillari advises clients – such as the Energy Coalition of New York – on legislative and budget priorities while helping shape strategies around affordability and access to power for businesses and ratepayers. She recently worked with a coalition of industry leaders and stakeholders to advocate for a pause on the state All-Electric Building Act, which was put on hold in December amid a pending legal challenge.
Hems, Kendra
Kendra Hems has influenced policy decisions in New York around freight, fuel costs and emissions rules. The longtime leader of the Trucking Association of New York has pushed for incentive-backed strategies to help fleets adopt cleaner trucks, while supporting lower-emission options like renewable diesel, battery electric and hydrogen-powered trucks. Hems also served on the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act Transportation Advisory Panel, where she helped shape emissions policies tied to the day-to-day demands of commercial trucking. She strongly opposed the implementation of congestion pricing in Manhattan.
Howe, Atalia
Bringing climate finance into the affordable housing conversation, Atalia Howe helps channel investment toward cleaner multifamily buildings. Howe leads sustainability and market-building efforts while overseeing the $250 million Climate Friendly Homes Fund, which has backed electrification upgrades in more than 1,000 affordable units across New York state. Recent projects include a $12 million grant to electrify the 415-unit Palisade Towers in Yonkers. Howe previously helped expand CPC’s impact investing strategy and has guided its climate investment platform through shifting federal funding conditions.
Kassel, Rich
Advising leaders on emissions policy, Rich Kassel is helping cut pollution without losing sight of reliability and cost. At AJW, he helps companies developing new climate technologies, including carbon capture for buildings, floating battery storage and financing models such as Property Assessed Clean Energy. In Albany, he’s a proponent of a statewide clean fuel standard that would generate revenue to phase out dirtier trucks and expand electric vehicle charging. Kassel is also focused on advancing new decarbonization technologies in support of Local Law 97, New York City’s building emissions reduction law.
Kutter, Aisha
At the New York utility Central Hudson Gas & Electric, Aisha Kutter has spearheaded efforts on customer engagement and raising awareness about energy efficiency programs through local partnerships, such as a collaboration last year with the Mid‑Hudson Library System that lent out thermal imaging cameras for residents to identify home insulation problems. She also organized the inaugural Energy Efficiency and Electrification Summit last year, highlighting demand-side management programs while convening community and industry leaders. She started her career at the New York Power Authority analyzing load forecasts and managing peak demand programs.
Librera, Sally
Sally Librera has a 24/7 balancing act: keeping power services steady for 4.2 million customers as New York state’s load growth is becoming the new normal. She oversees National Grid’s statewide workforce of 11,000 people and is behind a push to rebuild and upgrade roughly 1,000 miles of transmission infrastructure, aimed at moving more upstate zero-emission power downstate. With artificial intelligence and data centers driving a surge in demand and a roughly 10-gigawatt queue of grid connections, Librera is also steering a five-year, $21 billion investment plan across the company’s service territory.
McCarthy, Maryann
Maryann McCarthy advises clients on legislative strategy, project permitting and economic development incentives tied to energy infrastructure, with a focus on helping them navigate the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Her recent work includes advancing renewable natural gas ventures, waste-to-energy expansion, battery storage, electric vehicle infrastructure and efforts to bring advanced nuclear power projects to New York. Previously, McCarthy spent nearly a decade representing the American Petroleum Institute in Albany during major debates over biofuels, natural gas infrastructure and the state’s clean energy transition.
McLaughlin, Jane
As New York state rewrites the rules governing how renewable projects get done, Jane McLaughlin is helping developers keep up with the ever-changing processes. She advises renewable energy companies on regulatory strategy before agencies such as the state Public Service Commission and the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Earlier roles directing legislative affairs at the DEC and serving as counsel in the state Senate gave McLaughlin an insider’s understanding of how policy decisions shape climate rules, greenhouse gas reporting requirements and the state’s broader clean energy transition.
Morales, Frank
Once Frank Morales was elected president of UWUA Local 1-2 earlier this year, he signaled an aggressive approach to defend utility workers. Morales leads the union representing roughly 8,000 members, many of them Con Edison employees. A Con Edison hire himself in 2007, Morales rose from the ranks of front-line workers into union leadership. Within hours of taking office, he authorized legal action against the major utility over alleged unpaid wages. Morales has also entered broader energy debates, backing nuclear power as a reliable, zero-emission source of electricity.
Nadeau, Edward
Edward Nadeau this year assumed the presidency of the New York State Pipe Trades Association, which represents about 25,000 skilled plumbers and pipefitters under the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry union. Joining the union as an apprentice in 1989 and rising to lead the Capital Region local, Nadeau grew Albany area membership by more than 40% while expanding apprenticeships. He backs pipeline expansion, arguing for an energy system “that works in real life, in real weather, at real prices,” while training the next generation of tradespeople to build and maintain energy infrastructure.
Nilsen, Patricia
Patricia Nilsen knows her utilities from the inside out. She joined NYSEG in 1992 and moved through roles in customer service, communications, public affairs and emergency preparedness before becoming the first woman to lead NYSEG and RG&E, two Avangrid subsidiaries that serve more than 1.2 million electric and 579,000 natural gas customers across much of upstate New York. Along with the day-to-day work of strengthening grid resilience and overseeing upgrades that limit outage spread, she has also pushed digital tools that allow customers to track their energy use.
O’Leary, Katie
Katie O’Leary represents energy and telecommunications clients who need a hand in navigating Albany, drawing on her experience advising two governors on climate and environmental priorities. She has shaped legislation and budget proposals while coordinating across agencies on efforts ranging from grid expansion to resiliency work along Lake Ontario. Her work spans core clean energy priorities like electric vehicle infrastructure, transmission buildout and integrating new renewables. O’Leary’s earlier state Senate roles have strengthened her ability to help turn complex policy into law.
Ortega, Daniel
While Albany weighs a proposed moratorium on large-scale data centers, Daniel Ortega has emerged as a vocal critic, warning the move could jeopardize jobs. Ortega leads New Yorkers for Affordable Energy, which he helped found, while also directing community affairs for the Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative. In those roles, he works across labor, business and government to shape debates around affordability and infrastructure development. Over the past year, Ortega helped organize opposition to the NY HEAT Act, raising concerns about its impact on energy costs and reliability for ratepayers.
Parker, Kevin
As the longtime chair of the state Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee, state Sen. Kevin Parker is at the center of New York’s debate over energy affordability, grid reliability and decarbonization. He has backed legislation advancing renewable energy, electric storage deployment to help reach the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, including a bill to spur new battery storage projects through property tax abatements. He also pushed to require data centers to bring new clean energy online. Parker has questioned nuclear power development, calling it “not the optimal answer” to rising energy demand and costs.
Plummer, Clint
Until it was recently sold, Clint Plummer ran operations at the Ravenswood Generating Station in Queens while heading up Rise Light & Power, an LS Power subsidiary. In February, Plummer took on a larger role at LS Power leading the development of the next generation of power infrastructure to meet surging demand driven by artificial intelligence and data centers. Earlier in his career, at Deepwater Wind, he helped shape the nation’s first offshore wind projects, including at the Block Island Wind Farm and South Fork Wind.
Pollicino, David
David Pollicino spends his days studying how energy systems use power and figuring out how to make them more efficient. At the national engineering and design consulting company IMEG, he oversees project planning, energy surveys and the development of conservation and renewable energy measures across efficiency upgrades, solar and battery storage. Pollicino previously was energy services director at Cameron Engineering before the Long Island firm merged into IMEG. He has also managed carbon and energy reporting for New York City agencies and helped clients comply with the city’s Local Law 97.
Popa, Laura
Turning climate policy into something that actually occurs inside mechanical rooms and boiler plants is the challenge Laura Popa has taken on. Popa leads New York City’s first dedicated Bureau of Sustainability and drives the implementation of Local Law 97, the landmark measure targeting emissions from the city’s largest buildings. In 2025, she guided the law’s first reporting year with more than 90% engagement from building owners. A longtime architect of environmental policy in city government, Popa now helps steer the building sector toward cleaner, more efficient energy systems.
Porto, Michael
At the start of the year, Michael Porto embarked on a new chapter in his career by joining Orenda, a Brooklyn-based battery energy storage developer focused on grid resilience and sustainability in local communities through renewable energy projects. He held similar roles in the energy sector, including nearly three years at Invenergy, where he spearheaded offshore wind external affairs, and six and a half years at Con Edison, where he handled government relations for New York City and worked on the modernization of the utility’s Clean Energy Commitment.
Proulx, Travis
Tapped to turn a university into a workforce engine, Travis Proulx is building one of the state’s most ambitious green jobs pipelines in the Bronx. He is leading Fordham’s Bronx Green Jobs Center, a workforce hub with CUNY, SUNY and industry partners preparing residents for careers in solar, electrification and electrical vehicle infrastructure. Backed in part by a $1.4 million New York Power Authority award, the effort draws on Proulx’s energy experience, including securing EV charging investments at SUNY and leading advocacy campaigns supporting the state’s climate law and fracking ban.
Sanchez, Kenneth
Running one of Manhattan’s busiest buildings means thinking constantly about power, efficiency and resilience. Kenneth Sanchez oversees operations at the 3.4-million-square-foot Javits Center convention complex that hosts major events around the clock. Sanchez helped steer sustainability work tied to the facility’s $1.5 billion expansion, which earned LEED Gold certification. He has also expanded rooftop solar generation and is leading the activation of a battery energy storage system capable of storing 3.5 megawatts of energy and supplying a large share of the building’s power.
Sauber, Justin
Getting renewable power from remote sources to dense cities is often a transmission challenge. As CEO of Transmission Developers, Justin Sauber is guiding construction of the Champlain Hudson Power Express, a 339-mile line designed to deliver 1,250 megawatts of hydropower from Quebec to Queens – enough to power more than a million homes. Expected to be fully operational this spring, the project is expected to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 3.9 million metric tons annually. Sauber also oversaw remediation at an Astoria converter station, a former oil storage site.
Schade, Philip J.
With more than three decades in the field, Philip J. Schade has helped turn energy from a side offering into a pillar of H2M’s business. Schade, who was recently promoted from energy market director to chief market director overseeing all of the consulting and design firm’s markets, has guided projects spanning electric distribution, natural gas systems, storage, renewables and efficiency, while assisting utilities on capital upgrades and compliance. He has weighed in on electrification and grid modernization on Long Island, focusing on easing system strain while advancing storm hardening and other resiliency measures.
Scott, Jenille
Jenille Scott is building alliances linking labor, climate advocates and front-line communities to renewable energy and building decarbonization. She pushed for passage of the Climate Change Superfund Act of 2024 and advocated for a $200 million investment in thermal energy networks at SUNY campuses. In New York City, she helped advance solar requirements for public buildings and oversaw a report calling to electrify schools, expand clean energy upgrades and create green jobs. She warns that slowing federal support makes state action and investments more urgent.
Shavitz, Ian A.
Energy projects rarely move forward without clearing a labyrinth of environmental reviews and permits, and Ian A. Shavitz has spent years helping navigate that terrain. Shavitz leads the Environment and Energy Practice Team at his firm, advising developers, investors, municipalities and tribal governments on regulatory strategy, project approvals and complex transactions. Over more than two decades, he has helped secure federal, state and local approvals for generation and transmission facilities, including projects on tribal lands, while also providing pro bono counsel to a consortium of Westchester County governments on clean energy issues.
Stalnecker, Nicholas Charles
Buffalo native Nicholas Charles Stalnecker first designed gas pipelines before shifting to advocating for major energy projects. A civil engineer who started out at National Fuel Gas, Stalnecker later moved into government affairs, immersing himself in New York state’s energy policy. Stalnecker joined Williams this year, advocating for the company just as Albany’s focus turns toward improving energy delivery infrastructure. The shifting policy winds reinforce the company’s role in building major new pipelines – including the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline, whose groundbreaking in Brooklyn this month was attended by top Trump administration officials.
Tahmaz, Nash
Nash Tahmaz is focused on expanding the infrastructure to support clean energy development by boosting energyRe’s transmission portfolio amid the company’s strategic pivot away from offshore wind. He brings more than two decades of experience in offshore wind and grid development to his work, along with managing partnerships with regulators, grid operators and financial institutions. Tahmaz’s background includes work on Hywind Scotland and Leading Light Wind, a stalled 2.4-gigawatt New Jersey project. The company has been active in transmission procurement in New York, New England and Los Angeles.
Tighe, Julie
Julie Tighe has steered one of New York’s most influential advocacy groups through a period of major climate policy wins. Under her leadership, the organization has backed measures shaping the state’s energy transition, from emissions mandates to renewable project approvals and building electrification, while playing a leading role in the passage of the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act. Tighe has also defended offshore wind development amid federal pushback. Earlier, at the state Department of Environmental Conservation, she helped advance environmental laws still shaping the state’s climate agenda.
Trunzo, Michael
Michael Trunzo has spent decades shaping New York’s push toward lower carbon fuels through policy and advocacy. At the government affairs firm Shenker Russo & Clark, he works with clients promoting biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, while pressing to expand those policies across New York. He has helped advance measures that require biodiesel blends in heating fuel statewide and supported New York City’s shift of its heavy-duty fleet to renewable diesel while helping spur similar moves elsewhere. He also secured $50 million for Purchase College’s underground thermal energy network.
Von Oelhafen, Matthias
Matthias von Oelhafen has spent nearly three decades managing complex supply chains, including leadership roles with Heineken and Coca-Cola, while treating energy use as an operational opportunity rather than just a cost. At Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages, he has led efforts to reduce electricity consumption through more efficient manufacturing technology and lower utility use across plants and logistics. Recent company projects include a quadgeneration system at its Elmsford facility that generates electricity, heat and cooling while capturing carbon dioxide for beverage production.
Waller, Susan
With more than four decades of experience working across energy infrastructure, policy and public engagement, Susan Waller now leads the nonprofit Natural Allies. She has helped shape polling, events and policy reports aimed at persuading left-leaning leaders that natural gas can support climate goals while addressing rising energy costs. Waller has taken that message to national leadership forums, including the National Governors Association’s 2026 winter meeting. Earlier roles at Enbridge and Spectra Energy focused on stakeholder outreach and sustainability programs tied to more than 70 multimillion-dollar infrastructure expansion projects.
Walsh, Kristen
Few people understand how decisions in government ripple out to Long Island’s electrical grid like Kristen Walsh. Drawing on years advising influential U.S. senators – including roles in the Long Island regional offices for then-U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer – Walsh applies that experience to represent clients, including PSEG Long Island, and guide companies through a kinetic energy policy environment in Albany and New York City. She also works with private sector clients navigating those shifts, including advising on generation and transmission efforts with firms such as Alliance Energy Group.
Wells, Marguerite
A legal clash with Washington, D.C., has become a defining moment for New York’s renewable energy sector, and Marguerite Wells is in the middle of it. She rallied stakeholders to defend projects against federal actions that stalled development and helped overturn the administration’s attempted “wind ban” in court. Wells argues that renewables are central to easing the state’s affordability crunch. Earlier in her career, she oversaw a pipeline of 2,000 megawatts of wind, solar and battery storage projects and worked on the canceled 16-megawatt Black Oak Wind Farm in Central New York.
Wilkerson, Jamal
Jamal Wilkerson drives outreach to elected officials, community boards and local stakeholders across New York City and Westchester County while guiding public engagement for Propel NY Energy, a 90-mile transmission upgrade stretching from Eastern Long Island to Westchester County that aims to deliver offshore wind power to New York’s grid. His work has included meeting with Queens Community Board 11 as the project faces local concerns over route impacts. Earlier roles in the New York City Council, including serving as district chief of staff to the former council speaker, honed his political skills.
Yeung, Louise
As New York City recalibrates its climate agenda under the Mamdani administration, Louise Yeung has a mandate that connects climate policy to everyday life. She has linked climate change to safety, health and affordability, arguing the city must shift to “clean, reliable and affordable energy to power our city.” Previously the chief climate officer in the New York City Comptroller’s Office, she now leads the Mayor’s Office for Climate and Environmental Justice, coordinating cross-agency efforts on heat pump expansion and infrastructure projects that integrate climate, transportation and energy systems.
Zhong, Ellie
Propel NY Energy, the 90-mile transmission upgrade planned from Long Island through New York City to Westchester County, will require not just engineers and builders but also skilled communicators who can engage with local communities. Ellie Zhong leads communications and public involvement tied to the $3.26 billion project that will strengthen grid reliability and resiliency by coordinating outreach with stakeholders and supporting community engagement. Zhong, who speaks English, Mandarin and French, brings a global communications style to negotiations and community concerns shaping New York state’s energy future.
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