Whit Fulton is a recognized executive, entrepreneur, market analyst, and speaker who has spent his 25 year career at the leading edge of how we produce, deliver, and transact Clean Energy. Whit founded and currently serves as CEO of ConnectDER, a technology company that creates products that simplify grid integration for Solar and other distributed energy resources.

In prior roles, Whit honed his analysis, negotiation and product development skills through a series of senior managerial positions in energy analytics and gridtech startups, including ICF International and Gridpoint. He has built complex power dispatch models to simulate market conditions for multiple global markets, negotiated enterprise licensing agreements with multinational strategic vendors, and deployed new gridtech products with utilities across the US.

In addition to holding multiple patents, Whit has a B.A. from Reed College, and an M.A. from Johns Hopkins University.

Jason Salfi is cofounder and CEO of Dimensional Energy, a revolutionary company that makes sustainable fuels and products from carbon dioxide and renewable energy.

Salfi has served as an Innovation Advisor for New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

In 1997 Salfi founded Comet Skateboards, a founding B Corporation he licensed in 2014.

His experience as a manufacturer led him to consult on product design standards and acquisition strategy, building profitable and regenerative business models for a market-leading fortune 500 company from 2015-2017 before founding Dimensional Energy. 

He has a BS in Natural Resources Management from Cornell University.

Mark Kelly has served his country as a U.S. Navy combat pilot, a NASA astronaut, and now as a U.S. Senator for Arizona. He is an independent leader who came to the Senate to serve Arizona’s working families, not corporate special interests. 

As a Navy pilot, he made multiple deployments on the aircraft carrier USS Midway and flew 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm. He has logged more than 5,000 flight hours in more than 50 different aircraft and has over 375 carrier landings. Senator Kelly retired from the Navy with the rank of Captain. 

In 1996, he was selected as an astronaut in the same NASA class as his identical twin brother Scott. All in all, Senator Kelly has spent more than 50 days in space — traveling over 20 million miles. He retired from NASA in 2011 after commanding Space Shuttle Endeavour on its final flight. 

Now, Senator Kelly has embarked on his next mission — serving as a U.S. Senator for Arizona, in the seat once held by Senator John McCain. After being sworn in on December 2, 2020, Senator Kelly went right to work helping Arizona get through the COVID-19 pandemic. He helped pass the American Rescue Plan, which put shots in arms and direct relief in the pockets of Arizonans. 

Senator Kelly has broken through Washington gridlock to deliver real results for Arizonans. In his first year, he played a key role in shaping and passing the historic bipartisan infrastructure law, which is improving Arizona’s roads, bridges, water systems, ports of entry, high-speed internet access, wildfire response, and much more. 

He’s taking on Washington corruption by introducing bold proposals to ban stock trading by members of Congress and put an end to corporate PACs. He is leading the effort to bring more transparency and accountability to Washington. 

Senator Kelly also worked on a bipartisan basis to secure the Senate passage of a $52 billion deal that’ll increase domestic microchip manufacturing to create high-paying Arizona jobs, strengthen supply chains to lower costs, and bolster national security. Additionally, he helped negotiate a landmark deal to drive down prescription drug prices and lower out-of-pocket costs for seniors. Senator Kelly’s focus remains on working with both Republicans and Democrats to create good-paying jobs, cut taxes for middle-class families, and lower costs for Arizonans. 

Senator Kelly serves on the Armed Services, Environment and Public Works, Intelligence, Aging, and Joint Economic Committees. 

Senator Kelly is married to former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, and they live in Tucson. Senator Kelly has two daughters: Claire, a graduate of Arizona State University, and Claudia, who lives in Tucson and is a student at the University of Arizona. His favorite hobbies include spending time with family (especially his baby granddaughter Sage!), going to the gym, riding his bike around Tucson with Gabby, hiking, and exploring Arizona’s outdoors. 

Mitch Landrieu is a public servant, lawyer, author, and nonprofit leader. Landrieu most recently served as a senior advisor to President Biden and the Infrastructure Coordinator at the White House, responsible for the implementation of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In that role, he oversaw the most significant and comprehensive investments in American infrastructure in generations that led to over 40,000 new projects in two years encompassing roads, bridges, rail, ports, airports, transit, clean water, clean energy and high-speed internet.

A former two-term mayor of New Orleans, Landrieu led the recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill and the removal of four Confederate monuments, for which he received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. He previously served two terms as lieutenant governor of Louisiana and 16 years as a state legislator. 

Landrieu is the founder of the racial- and economic-equity initiative E Pluribus Unum. Landrieu penned a New York Times bestseller, In the Shadow of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History, in which he recounts his personal journey confronting the issue of race and institutional racism that still plagues America. A past president of the US Conference of Mayors, he was named the 2015 Governing Magazine Public Official of the Year.  He currently serves as co-chair of the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign.  He and his wife Cheryl live in New Orleans, where they raised their five children.

Heather Boushey is a member of President Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers and Chief Economist to the Investing in America Cabinet. She is one of the nation’s most influential voices on economic policy and a leading economist who focuses on the intersection between economic inequality, growth, and public policy.

Heather is co-founder of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, where she was President and CEO from 2013 - 2020. She previously served as chief economist for Secretary Clinton’s 2016 transition team and as an economist for the Center for American Progress, the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, the Center for Economic and Policy Research, and the Economic Policy Institute.

Blaise Caudill is a third generation Arizonan with family roots in Bisbee and a contagious passion for his beloved state. Through his past work with nonprofits, government, and within the energy industry, Blaise finds joy in building consensus and activating solutions to complex community issues. Most recently, Blaise served as a Senior Analyst with Southwest Gas, advancing sustainable molecular energy solutions within the State’s energy portfolio. A graduate of Northern Arizona University (2013) and Arizona State University (MPA, 2017), Blaise is excited to bring a collaborative spirit to partnerships throughout the state he loves so much.

Stephen Roe Lewis was raised in Sacaton, "Gu-u-Ki", on the Gila River Indian Community. His father is the late Rodney Lewis and mother Willardene Lewis. Mr. Lewis has a son, Daniel currently attending Arizona State University.

Mr. Lewis is in his fourth term serving as Governor of the Community, having previously served as Lt. Governor. Prior to serving in elected leadership, Governor Lewis served the Community as a member of the Board of Directors for the Gila River Healthcare Corporation, as a Gaming Commissioner for the Gila River Gaming Commission, and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Gila River Telecommunications, Inc.

Stephen Roe Lewis graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor's of Science and pursued graduate studies at John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Governor Lewis currently oversees the implementation of the Community's Water Settlement of 2004 (at that time the largest water settlement of its kind in United States history). Governor Lewis advocates for renewable and green technologies guided by O'odham agricultural history and cultural teachings. Governor Lewis's vision is to support a new generation of Community member agriculturalists with the goal of promoting and protecting the Community's shudag (water) and agricultural development.

During his tenure as Governor of the Gila River Indian Community, Governor Lewis has brought innovative solutions to long-standing issues that will create long-term gains for the Gila River Indian Community One of these projects, Management Aquifer Recharge sites, brings together the need for access to water while restoring the return of the Community's riparian area which is vital for farming and the return of wildlife to the Community. Governor Lewis also oversaw the development of the Solar-Over-Canal project which is the first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.  The Community broke ground on this project in 2023 and will generate power and reduce evaporation thereby conserving water.  Bringing back the Gila River and water conservation projects, are critical to the culture and identify of the Gila River Indian Community, and have been  key milestones during Governor Lewis' Administration and one that will lay the foundation for future projects across the Community.

In addition, Governor Lewis' innovation can be seen in his approach to providing educational opportunities for the youth of the Gila River Indian Community. The Community was the first tribal community in the Nation to utilize the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to create a program that revolutionized how infrastructure is constructed and maintained throughout Indian Country. This program, the Section 105(1) program was utilized for education construction in the Community, and the Community is working to expand the uses of the program to other infrastructure in the Community and throughout Indian Country.

Governor Lewis has also prioritized the Community's Veterans and youth by working to establish the Community's first Veteran's and Family Services Department.  In 2023, the Community received accreditation as a Veterans Service Organization, only the second to receive such accreditation in Indian Country. Governor Lewis has also committed resources to protect the Community's children by advocating for the protection of the Indian Child Welfare Act both at home and nationally.

Governor Lewis serves as President of the Arizona State University's American Indian Policy Institute Board of Directors, on the Executive Board for the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA), and on the Board of Trustees for the Heard Museum of Phoenix.

These projects illustrate the commitment that Governor Lewis has to respecting the history and culture of the community while providing for a brighter future for all of the Community's citizens.

Governor Lewis serves as the President of the Arizona State University's American Indian Policy Institute Board of Directors, on the Executive Board for the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA), and on the Board of Trustees for the Heard Museum of Phoenix.

Catherine Zingg serves as the Tribal Program Policy Director for GRID Alternatives and

oversees best practices, strategic development and campaign oversight for Tribal, state, and federal-level policies and initiatives. As a proud member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, Catherine centers Indigenous place-keeping in policymaking spaces. In her role, she protects and preserves the political autonomy that Tribal Nations have as sovereign nations. With over five years of working within the nexus of state and Tribal advocacy spaces, Catherine brings a diverse range of skills rooted in writing good solar policy that actively includes Tribal Nations input and building diverse coalitions across lines of power led by kin and community members.

Driven by a commitment to Tribal self-determination and sovereignty, she has worked with several different Tribal Nations in the Midwest and Southwest regions focused on strengthening Tribal-state relations, intervening within rate cases on behalf of Tribal ratepayer assistance, engaging in regulatory arenas defending the value of solar, and lending her expertise to statewide solar programs with Tribal-specific incentives for state-based Tribal Nations. The magnitude of Tribal participation in state-level policy change is clear: the stakes are high for Tribal communities in the energy transition and there is an urgent need for every state to uplift solar adoption and accessibility for Tribal Nations.

Avra is COO of Elemental Excelerator, a non-profit climate investor and impact organization with over a decade of experience investing in place-based climate technologies. An experienced entrepreneur specializing in scaling, culture-building and strategy, Avra leads Elemental’s efforts to maximize climate impact. Prior to joining Elemental, Avra was COO and GC at JUMP where she led the mobility company from its early inception to its $200MM+ sale to Uber.  In addition to her role at Elemental, Avra serves as a director and advisor for impactful organizations and ventures like Made of Air, Story Ventures, and the climate and mental health non-profit Billion Minds Institute.

Dr. Cody Friesen is a technology innovator passionate about solving the world's grandest challenges. As an entrepreneur and an academic, Friesen is a materials scientist who works to

bring technologies translationally from the lab bench through to solutions in the field.

Founder and CEO of SOURCE® Global, PBC, Friesen and his team developed the SOURCE Hydropanel, a technology that makes clean, safe drinking water from the air independent of

infrastructure. Friesen is also the founder of Fluidic Energy, an advanced battery company. He is the Fulton Engineering Professor of Innovation at Arizona State University and is a Senior Sustainability Scientist at the ASU Global Institute of Sustainability.

Friesen was named by The Aspen Institute as a 2015 Henry Crown Fellow and among the "TR35," top 35 innovators in the world under 35 years of age, by MIT’s Technology Review in 2009. He was honored with the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize in 2019 for his work

as an inventor. Friesen has led SOURCE Global to be recognized with the CES Innovation Award in 2018 and as a New Energy Pioneer by BloombergNEF in 2019. He served two terms on the US Manufacturing Council for the US Department of Commerce, as the co-chair of the Energy subcommittee. He has 88 granted US patents and many more globally. He earned a BSE in Materials Science and Engineering from Arizona State University, and a Ph.D. in the same discipline from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Steven G. Zylstra serves as president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council and SciTech Institute, roles he assumed in 2007. He is responsible for strategy, operations, finance and policy development. Zylstra is a vocal spokesman for the value technology and clean energy can provide in raising social and economic standards in Arizona and was named “Leader of the Year, Technology,” by the Arizona Capitol Times, “Most Admired Leader” by the Phoenix Business Journal and participated in the year-long Greater Phoenix Leadership Workforce Academy, coordinated by the Center for the Future of Arizona and the Aspen Institute.

From 2000 to 2007, Zylstra served as president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Technology Council and Catalyst Connection. He concurrently served as president and CEO of the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center and the Doyle Center for Manufacturing Technology. Additionally, Zylstra was president of the Pittsburgh Biomedical Development Corporation, an affiliated organization of the Pittsburgh Technology Council that invested in start-up biomedical and biotechnology companies.

He serves on numerous committees and boards including the Arizona Advisory Committee of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition; Arizona Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee; Arizona District Export Council Board; Arizona Science Center Board of Trustees; Center for the Future of Arizona’s (CFA) Development Committee; Code.org Advocacy Coalition; Common Sense Arizona Advisory Council; Greater Phoenix Chamber Cyber and IT Workforce Collaborative Advisory Boards; Maricopa Community College Workforce Development Leadership and Innovation Council; Sun Corridor Inc. Board of Directors; University of Phoenix, College of Business and IT Advisory Council; and several others.

 
Zylstra holds a bachelor’s degree in automotive engineering technology from Western Michigan University. In 2011, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science in technology from the University of Advancing Technology. 

Jason received his master's in Sustainable Communities from Northern Arizona University. After graduation, he worked as a community organizer for 9 years in Texas and Arizona. Since joining Local First Arizona in 2022 as the Director of Sustainability Initiatives, Jason has worked to increase the reach and impact of Local First Arizona’s statewide sustainability programs — the Green Business Boot Camp, Green Business Certification, and Green Lending Products, which support businesses and rural communities to save money by adopting sustainable practices.

Mayor Regina Romero was elected in November of 2019, becoming the first woman and first Latina Mayor of Tucson. Raised by immigrant farmworkers in Somerton, Arizona, Regina broke barriers early on as the first member of her family to vote and first to graduate from college. Prior to being elected Mayor, Regina Romero served as Ward 1 City Council Member from 2007-2019. Mayor Romero is committed to creating Tucson as a sustainable, thriving desert city of the future through her policy priorities that include:

• Creating a Climate Resilient Tucson

• Support for Working Families including Housing Affordability

• Investing in our Infrastructure and Parks

• Robust Economic Development including Supporting Small Businesses

• Equitable Access and Investment for All

Mayor Romero is the Chair of the Latino Alliance of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Co-Chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. She is an Inaugural Member of the Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger. Mayor Romero is a member of the Climate Mayors Network a nationally recognized voice on climate action.

Mayor Romero holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Arizona and a post-graduate certificate from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Regina is married to Ruben Reyes. They have two children, Emiliano and Luciana.

Ike Irby is a climate expert working at the intersection of policy, politics, and press. 

A scientist by training, Ike served in the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Domestic Policy Advisor and Chief Climate Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris. He is an expert on climate, energy, transportation, infrastructure, and technology policy. One of Vice President Harris' longest serving advisors, Ike joined then-Senator Harris' office as a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow in 2017. 

Currently, Ike advises clients across campaigns, NGOs, philanthropy, and the private sector on climate related issues. 

Ike grew up in Colorado, began his career as a science teacher at John Burroughs School in Missouri, and holds a BA from Bowdoin College and a PhD from William & Mary. 

Ashley Santa Cruz is a seasoned public affairs and communications expert leading multiple clean energy campaigns at the local, state and federal levels in Arizona and across the nation. A consensus builder, skilled in public outreach while translating complex concepts and issues into simplified and actionable solutions. She specializes in fostering and maintaining strategic partnerships to build coalitions and broad support for community initiatives.

Melissa is Chief Growth Officer at Elemental, a global climate innovation investor and non-profit impact organization. Melissa leads Elemental’s growth strategy – developing and launching new initiatives and partnerships that further Elemental’s mission to redesign the systems at the root of climate change. She has helped guide and build the organization since 2015 incubating and launching Elemental’s 5 Year Strategy, Equity & Access track, Earthshot Ventures, and Policy Lab.

 
In addition to Elemental, Melissa is part of Emerson Collective and a founding board member of Earthshot Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund that she helped develop and spin out of Elemental. Melissa also serves as an advisor to a number of extraordinary start-ups and non-profits including enVerid and the Maui Council for the Hawaii Land Trust, which helps her stay rooted in her home community.

Kate Ringness, Chief Strategist in the Office of Policy at the Department of Energy works on Secretarial priorities and other Department-wide issues, including developing a clean energy workforce industrial strategy, creating and supporting quality jobs in clean energy, and implementing community benefit plans through the Department’s financial awards.

Prior to joining the Department of Energy, Kate’s experience in policy, law, and finance informed her work designing multifaceted energy efficiency and clean energy solutions for communities of all sizes and demographics. She also has worked extensively developing state-based roadmaps for economic development in the clean energy sector. Kate earned J.D. and LL.M. degrees from Duke University and an MPP from UC Berkeley.

John McAuliff is a Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Clean Energy Innovation & Implementation (OCEII). He joined the team from USDA, where he served as a Senior Climate Advisor managing IRA programs at the Rural Business Cooperative Service at Rural Development (RD). At RD, John redesigned the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and helped build it from a $50 million a year grant program in 2022 to a $500 million program in 2023.

Previously to joining the Biden-Harris administration he worked at a utility watchdog and in the Virginia State Legislature after getting his start in public service as a CORO fellow. He lives in Virginia and holds a BA from the University of Richmond and a Certificate in Biotechnology from Georgetown University.