Bill brings 20 years of engineering experience including systems engineering, power distribution, and expertise in vehicle electrification and batteries. He leads Evolectric’s technical strategy and sales, product development, and program management efforts; and provides subject matter expertise across all facets of electric drive systems, including battery, powertrain, and electrical architecture. He holds six patents in the electrified automotive sector, and has held leadership positions at IndiEV, Romeo Power, and Faraday Future as well as serving as technical project lead for Airbus, Gulfstream, and Boeing while at Moog Aerospace. Bill has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from CSULB and is chair of the College of Engineering’s Zero Emissions Workforce Advisory Group.

Dr. Joanne Brasch leads projects at the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) that promote extended producer responsibility (EPR) and Product Stewardship in the textiles and clothing industry, including products such as carpet, mattresses, packaging, and fashion goods. With over 10 years of academic work experience, Joanne has held lecturer and research appointments at UC Davis, CSU Sacramento (CSUS), and Donghua University in Shanghai, China. Her topics of interest include supply chain sustainability, global markets and trade, EPR, and diffusion of innovation. Previously, Joanne was the Sustainability Researcher for the UC Davis Health System, where her efforts led to a systematic, cost-saving reduction of waste. Joanne has spoken at events including the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference, International Society for Industrial Ecology, American Reusable Textiles Association, Practice Greenhealth, and the Center for Environmental Health. She has received multiple CSUS Faculty Research Awards and Jastro-Shields Graduate Student Research Awards for her research. She has a PhD in Industrial Economics and Environmental Analysis from the University of California, Davis, where she also got a Master’s in Textile Science and a Bachelor’s in International Agricultural Development. All three degrees focused on global industrial systems for food and fibers.

Mark is responsible for the establishment of sub-regional funding allocations for the 30 member agencies of the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments under the Los Angeles County’s Measure M program, and represents the San Gabriel Valley on Metro’s Measure M and Long Range Transportation Plan Advisory Policy Council. He oversees all project implementation for programs including the Alameda Corridor-East program, which has been cited as a national model for addressing the impacts of freight rail traffic on local communities. Mark has been a practicing civil engineer in local government for more than 35 years, including 11 years in Long Beach. He was inducted into UCI’s Engineering Hall of Fame in 2017.

Sona Coffee is a sustainability professional who works with local governments to help transform cities into environmentally sustainable communities. She started her environmental public service career as the Environmental Manager for the City of Manhattan Beach, and her current work as Environmental Administrator for the City of Irvine is leading climate action efforts in Orange County. Sona earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Price School of Policy at USC, with an emphasis in environmental policy. She also volunteers on the Sustainable City Commission for her hometown of Long Beach.  

Debarshi Das is a climate technology executive with over 16 years of experience in global renewable energy and innovative zero emissions power products. He brings industry leadership in onshore and offshore wind energy, solar photovoltaics, battery energy storage, and building energy efficiency that span residential, commercial, and utility sectors. In addition to being the Founder & CEO of ONYX Power and the Executive Vice President of ConSol, he previously held management positions at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, Romeo Power Technology, SunEdison, AREVA Wind, Clipper Windpower, and Procter & Gamble. Debarshi holds an MBA in International Management from the Arizona State University Thunderbird School of Global Management and a BS in Chemical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.

Debbie is responsible for the global development and implementation of environment, health, and safety programs as well as sustainability strategy. Debbie brings over 30 years of experience across the pharmaceutical, petrochemical and refining industries.  Prior to joining Takeda in 2015, Debbie served as the Head of Environment, Health, Safety and Business Continuity for Novartis Group; and held a variety of roles for Amgen, Inc., Sunoco Inc., Ashland Chemical Company, and Texas Instruments.  She graduated from Northeastern University with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and has received an MBA from California State University. 

In her current position since 2014, Holli is responsible for developing and implementing campus sustainability practices and programs; and engaging students, faculty, and staff in those efforts. She also plays a lead role in guiding the work of the Presidential Commission on Sustainability. Holli’s previous positions include Policy Analyst for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Office of Budget and Innovation; Student Program Director at the environmental education non-profit Sustainable Works; and Project Assistant at the City of Santa Monica’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment. Holli has a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA, and a BFA in Photography from Santa Fe University of Art and Design. 

Dr. Edgar Tellez Foster is responsible for the analysis of various projects overseen by Chino Basin Watermaster, where he has been since 2016. He provides analytic expertise in issues related to groundwater quality, management, and economics of groundwater. He oversees the Operations Team, which is tasked with Judgment Administration and implementation of the Optimum Basin Management Program (OBMP). He conducts research on the economics of groundwater and energy subsidies, and has produced several academic publications involving economic modeling of aquifers in California and Mexico. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico; a Master of Science in Environmental Sciences as well as a Doctorate in Environmental and Natural Resources Economics and Policy from the University of California, Riverside. He is also part of the Water Solutions Network, a water professionals network encompassing all aspects of water management in California.

Lawrence is a Senior Policy Associate with the Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC), a national non-profit charting the course to eliminate fossil fuels in buildings, improve people’s health, and cut down on climate and air pollution. Prior to joining the BDC, he served as an environmental science educator in Yosemite National Park, a high school teacher in Austin, Texas, and a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone and Namibia. He has a Master's in International Environmental Policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan.

Holly Hill leads sustainability and ESG efforts at Zoom. She is responsible for program strategy and execution, delivering customer happiness through reporting and disclosure efforts, and ensuring cross-functional engagement on sustainability topics. Prior to Zoom, Holly held sustainability leadership roles at Southern California Edison as well as other and engineering, architectural, and consulting companies. She began her career ensuring environmental compliance at IBM. Holly is previous Chair of the USGBC-LA Board of Directors and earned an Environmental Studies Master's Degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Michele Hix leads commercial operations for Schneider Electric’s largest and most strategic customers, helping them achieve their decarbonization, digitization, and electrification goals. Her team has a rich portfolio of integrated hardware/software solutions for their customers, with a special focus on analytics powered by AI and machine learning. Prior to her current role, Michele was Schneider’s Western Region VP, responsible for sales of electrical distribution and Ecostruxure, an IoT-enabled architecture with connected products, edge control, and software. Michele has over 30 years’ experience in companies like Schneider, General Electric, and Philips Lighting. She has held various commercial leadership roles focusing on energy efficiency and resilience, IoT solutions, predictive analytics, and sustainability. Michele is passionate about coaching, mentoring and bringing new talent into the clean energy sector. She launched Schneider’s Horizon’s Network for remote young professionals, is Schneider’s Executive Sponsor for Women in Schneider Electric (WiSE), and is a member of the World 50 executive organization.

Ashley Hoover is an experienced Corporate Sustainability Director with a passion for environmental initiatives. She has worked in the nonprofit, for-profit, and public sectors. She offers support with building a career plan in the sustainability sector to support the next generation of sustainability leaders with opportunities in the field. Ashley received her Master of Science degree in Environmental Studies from California State University Fullerton in 2018.

Laurie Lombardi is a planning and finance professional specializing in long-range forecasting, grants strategies, mega-project design, and management. She has 28 years of experience, 
including 17 years in the Mass Transportation Industry in NYC and Los Angeles. 
At MTA Capital Construction, she successfully delivered the Second Avenue Subway 
Hudson Yard 7 Line extension and revitalization projects of Lower Manhattan. Laurie is currently focusing on funding initiatives, such as Measure M implementation and California’s Senate Bill 1, and project initiatives such as LA County’s Goods Movement Strategic Plan, Land Value Capture, and 2028 Olympics readiness. 

John is the Director of Global ESG at Ingram Micro, the Irvine, California-based global leader in technology and supply chain services. In this role, John manages and advances Ingram Micro’s ESG platform and programs, helping the company to meet its ESG goals and engage with its stakeholders. Prior to Ingram Micro, John led the energy management and environmental sustainability programs at AEG, the Los Angeles-based leader in live sports and entertainment. Previously, John held various roles at Southern California Edison, the law firm Ford Marrin, and at the Rocky Flats Coalition of Local Governments. John also currently serves on the Traffic and Transportation Commission for the City of Claremont, California. 

Hired as a Community Relations Coordinator for a major U.S. organic vegetable producer, Jessica's role served as a bridge between the corporate office and production farms, and influenced the company's sustainability model. She co-founded DISH-SF, and as Director of Special Events, she provided the vision for events and educated attendees about sustainability and production. Currently, she is Director of Sustainability at Metric Designworks, where she helps customers create a sustainability framework for electronic products, with oversight from concept design through production of the final device. She also supervises factory production and ensures compliance of the end-product to sustainability standards.

At Caltrans, Alben Phung prepares environmental documents and analyses following CEQA/NEPA processes. He is also involved with coastal permits, climate change reviews, sea level rise analysis, community and equity studies, and public outreach. Before joining the state service, Alben graduated from CSULB with an Environmental Science and Policy Degree as a Distinguished Undergraduate. He then went on to serve as an Agriculture and Environment Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia. Shortly after his return, Alben earned his Masters of Urban and Regional Planning degree from California Polytechnic State University, Pomona. 

John has led Sony Pictures Entertainment’s global sustainability department since 2009. The department is focused on driving value for the company through sustainable practices, primarily by integrating stewardship into the corporate culture, product marketing, and the company’s operations.  He previously spent 11 years consulting in a variety of sectors including technology, food and beverage, transportation, energy, and education. In 2007, he served as Environmental Director and eco-spokesperson for Live Earth, a worldwide campaign to drive action to solve the climate crisis. John is a graduate of Brown University and has a Master in Business Administration from Duke University, with a focus on social entrepreneurship. 

Claudia Ramirez has a robust background in preparing complex deliverables such as annual sustainability reports, technical reports, and data analysis. Her commitment to sustainability is evident through her career journey, including projects ranging from GHG accounting, ESG reporting, and corporate communications to energy efficiency programs and grants to assist the local homeless population. Claudia brings a multidisciplinary approach to her work, combining her analytical skills with a commitment to environmental advocacy. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Environmental Science & Policy from CSULB. 

Penny oversees a staff dedicated to the conservation of protected species and habitats including sea turtles, abalone, marine mammals, and essential fish habitats along the California coast. She has worked for NOAA Fisheries for 30 years, focused on the conservation of protected marine species and habitats under the Endangered Species Act, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Penny and her staff are responsible for the analyses and minimization or mitigation of the impacts of major marine activities in the area including fisheries, aquaculture, and coastal development and restoration.

Clay is the energy market sector leader and a senior project manager at P2S. He has 30 years of experience in project development, renewable energy development, water/wastewater, engineering, environmental, and real estate development business. He provides integrated solutions to municipal, state, local, and federal government clients as well as private industry, ports, utilities, developers, and manufacturers. Clay’s primary focus is in the alternative and renewable energy arena working with new technology development, energy efficiency and storage, and microgrid development. He is focused on developing legislative and policy initiatives to facilitate the growth of renewable energy technologies for environmental projects and air-quality emission reduction.

In her role as Sustainability Specialist at CSULB, Nanci supports the creation of new programs, conducts education and outreach, coordinates events, gathers data for the annual greenhouse gas inventory and Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS) report, and supports students. Nanci previously conducted environmental education in the nonprofit sector and worked as an environmental science educator in Yosemite National Park, where she worked on the Zero Landfill Initiative project. Nanci joined TreePeople, a nonprofit based in Los Angeles County, as the Waste Management Youth Leadership Coordinator. Through this role, she supported middle and high schools throughout the county to adopt waste management systems, integrate community gardens, and raise awareness about sustainability issues. Nanci is a graduate of the Master of Science in Sustainability Management and Policy program.

Pamela Weinstein brings a wealth of knowledge from 28 years as an elementary and middle school English teacher with Long Beach Unified. At Schneider Electric, Pamela integrates her passion for education with her commitment to sustainability. A resident of Long Beach, she is dedicated to imparting knowledge and equipping the next generation to build a more sustainable world.