Senior Project Manager, Elevate

Maria Cecilia Quiñones Peña (she/her/ella) is a Senior Project Manager at Elevate, where she focuses on creating equitable solutions to climate change that provide healthy, safe, and affordable homes for everyone.

Policy Manager, Midwest Clean Efficiency Alliance

Reine Rambert is a Policy Manager for the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance where she works to promote energy efficiency, energy equity, and sustainable economic development throughout a 13-state Midwest footprint. She works on education and advocacy efforts, as well as thought leadership and research activities on emerging issues in clean energy. She is passionate about the geopolitics of energy, film, and theater, the outdoors, iced coffee, and last but not least, her family.

Associate, Inerjys Ventures

Maya Hassa is the Associate for Inerjys Ventures, a climate tech VC practicing hands-on investing to scale early-stage companies helping to accelerate the energy transition. Maya is responsible for investment sourcing and due diligence for venture-stage technologies across many industry verticals, including clean energy, the built environment, mobility, and agriculture; as well as regular impact measurement and reporting, market analysis, and communicating with investors. Aside from technical deep dives, Maya loves getting lost in music as a DJ and editor for Also Cool Magazine.

Senior Analyst, Exelon Corporation

Pranav Rai is a Sr. Analyst at Exelon, where he works on creating new products and services. Pranav is committed to solving climate change issues by leveraging new technologies to build the next generation of businesses. Outside of work, Pranav enjoys soccer, poker, and spending time in nature.

Research & Policy Analyst at City of Chicago

Samira Hanessian is the Research and Policy Analyst for the Chicago City Council's Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy. She primarily manages the Committee's day-to-day operations, legislative agenda, land-use planning, and internship program. Samira is passionate about low- and zero-waste solutions and is imperfectly exploring new ways to modify her lifestyle. She recently eliminated plastic from her hair care routine.

Associate, Rocky Mountain Institute

Shashwat is an Associate at Rocky Mountain Institute where he works on policy advisory research into RE integration and flexibility needs for the electricity grid of the future. He pivoted from a career in the oil and gas industry to clean energy and is excited to contribute to solving the energy transition puzzle. When he is not working, Shashwat likes to hike and delve into a good history book.

Energy Justice Research Associate, Union of Concerned Scientists

Sital Sathia is an Energy Justice Research Associate for the Climate & Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. In her role, she assists with research and analysis to advance understanding of equity and justice as they are interconnected to energy technologies, policies; with a particular interest in integrating qualitative data to shape analysis and policy. Sital is an avid Marvel Cinematic Universe fan.

Senior Analyst, Corporate Strategy, Meritor., Inc

Snehal is a Senior Analyst working in the Corporate Strategy at Meritor Inc. where she works with different business units to align the electrification goals of the company. She is passionate about advancing clean mobility and is hopeful of accelerating the drive to a cleaner and greener automotive sector. Snehal loves to explore new places, cultures and meeting new people. In her free time, she is usually reading, dancing, practicing yoga, and exercising or watching movies.

Head of Marketing, Camus Energy

Steven Brisley is the Head of Marketing for Camus Energy, where he helps electric utilities (especially rural co-ops and mid-size munis) discover the benefits of Camus' grid management software. Steven is a native Hoosier, lover of all things outdoors, and a novice mountaineer. He graduated from UC Berkeley's MBA program earlier this year before returning home to Chicago with his partner Will.

MPP Candidate, University of Chicago

Sylvie is an MPP Candidate at the University of Chicago Harris School for Public Policy where she is pursuing Energy and Environmental Policy. Her background is rooted in economics and market regulation, having worked at the Wharton School and the US House of Representatives. While in the House, Sylvie accrued some notable accomplishments included sharing a potato with the Administrator of NASA and tripping over John Kerry.

Strategy Associate, CMS Energy

Tom Mathew is a Corporate Strategy Associate for CMS Energy where he leads long-term strategic planning and acts as an internal consultant on wide-ranging energy topics from technology, business models, and finance. Prior to CMS, Tom received his MBA from Michigan's Ross School of Business and spent 5 years in operations consulting. In his spare time, Tom enjoys working on his historic house in Detroit, MI along with his wife, and playing music.