Leadership

John Anderson has 11 years’ experience working to expand interest in clean transportation and inform market adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). His efforts at CSE focus on research and analysis of EV incentive programs to help stakeholders understand program effectiveness and to share market-advancing insights with policymakers and EV industry partners. John has been a leader in developing and managing data visualization tools for EV incentive programs, most notably California’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Project. He is the author or co-author of numerous reports and articles on the EV transition. He has a bachelor’s degree in international security and conflict resolution from San Diego State University and a master's in program evaluation from Michigan State University.

David Armour has more than 30 years of experience in human resources. Dave is a true HR generalist who brings professional depth and breadth to CSE along with a solution-oriented approach and an appreciation for rapid organizational growth. Dave holds an MBA from University of San Diego and a B.A. in communications from University of California, San Diego.

Vartan Badalian is a legal, policy and industry expert with more than six years’ experience in corporate sustainability, electrification and transportation, leveraging his knowledge to help drive decarbonization. At CSE, he oversees electric vehicle (EV) programs in the eastern U.S., provides strategic direction for advancing EV policies and initiatives and supports partnerships with states, utilities and other key entities. He previously held positions with the GreenBiz Group, Climate Group and Greenspot Smart Mobility. Vartan has a Bachelor of Science in sustainable energy management from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and a J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School. He is licensed to practice law in the state of New York.

Jae Berg has over a decade of experience leading programs that expand access to clean energy technologies. As Director of DER and Transportation Programs, she oversees the design and execution of incentive programs aimed at driving market transformation and ensuring equitable access to distributed solar, energy storage, electric vehicles and EV charging. Jae holds a Master of Architecture from the Newschool of Architecture and Design and a B.A. in architecture from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Andrew Chesser has spent his professional career in the operations and management field. At CSE, he oversees transportation-based incentive programs and their operational teams. Prior to joining CSE, he spent 15 years in the front office of Minor League Baseball, most recently serving as president & general manager of a Houston Astros farm team.

Kara Crohn has 24 years of experience working with organizations and clients to direct research studies, visualize ideas and data, evaluate behavior change programs, facilitate strategic planning and train research professionals. At CSE, she oversees energy research, evaluation and visual analytics teams. Her expertise spans multiple sectors, including energy, technology, education and the arts. Since 2009, she Kara focused on clean energy, energy efficiency and distributed energy resources. She holds a B. A. in sociology from Hamilton College and a Ph.D. in program evaluation from UCLA.

Mark Federle has an extensive executive sales management background in the climate technology start-up environment. Prior to joining CSE, he worked at companies spanning multiple verticals including e-mobility, smart grid sensing and monitoring, photovoltaics, distributed generation and retail energy. At CSE, he leads business development, including outreach to governments, utilities and businesses on using the Caret software platform to plan and optimize the deployment of EV charging infrastructure and to design EV incentive programs. Mark has a B.A. from Colby College and an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.

Rocky Fernandez brings two decades of organizing and policy experience to the Center for Sustainable Energy, with a focus on clean energy and transportation. Prior to joining CSE, he worked for 13+ years for the California Legislature and held roles with nonprofits Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) and the Clean Energy Project. Rocky was elected to the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District Board of Directors, serving two terms as board president. He has a B.A. in political science and mass communications from the University of California, Berkeley.

John Gartner has been researching and evaluating transformative energy and digital technologies for more than 30 years, including the last 12 years focusing on sustainable mobility and transportation electrification. He oversees all CSE transportation programs, providing strategic direction and leadership on EV and EV infrastructure incentive programs, research efforts and consulting throughout the nation. John has an M.S. in education from Arcadia University and a B.A. in statistics from Temple University.

Karen Glitman has more than 30 years of policy advocacy and public service experience, advancing energy justice and tackling climate change by accelerating access to clean, affordable and efficient energy for all. She leads CSE efforts to uncover new opportunities to support entities around the nation in meeting a shared goal of decarbonization. Prior to joining CSE, she spent seven years at the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, serving in roles including director of Efficiency Vermont, director of transportation efficiency and director of strategy, policy and public affairs.

Lawrence Goldenhersh is a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur-turned nonprofit leader with extensive experience in the sustainability and environmental sectors. Prior to becoming president of CSE in late 2017, Larry ran Enviance, a leading environmental technology company that he founded in 1999. Before Enviance, Larry was a partner at Irell & Manella, a Los Angeles law firm of more than 150 lawyers, where he served on the management committee and specialized in complex commercial litigation.

Margaret Ho oversees CSE’s IT operations, including cybersecurity. Margaret has served in leadership roles in multiple industries, including software development, insurance and auto markets, sports and events management and fundraising. Her experience brings depth and breadth to CSE’s business process optimization and a solution-oriented approach to enable scale for rapid organizational growth. Margaret has B.S. in mathematics/computer science from UCLA and is a certified Scrum Product Owner and Scrum Master.

Brooke Hunter has a decade of legal education and experience in corporate law. At CSE, she oversees a range of legal operations primarily related to contract management and corporate compliance. Brooke began her career as a transactional and litigation attorney, followed by several years managing a private law office. Brooke has a J.D. from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and a B.A. from Boston University. She is licensed to practice law in Washington and Hawaiʻi. 

Brooke is not licensed to practice law in the State of California.

Andrea Letzring has 20 years’ experience developing and managing technology products from ideation through launch and end of life. At CSE, she oversees corporate-level information systems and controls, collaborating with department leaders, program managers and project management officers to reduce implementation risk. Previously, Andrea worked at several technology companies, including serving as director of product management at Vector Solutions. Andrea has an MBA from the University of San Diego.

Vaasha Lutchman has worked for over a decade in electric vehicle and clean energy technologies specializing in process improvement design and program implementation. At CSE, she manages the development of resources for dealerships to sell electric vehicles (EVs) nationwide.

Prior to CSE, Vaasha spent six years at Tesla standing up the global delivery hub infrastructure and leading a $30 million supply chain contract. She holds a master’s in public administration from California State University Northridge and a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations and social cinematic technology from the University of Southern California. 

Sephra Ninow has over 15 years’ experience in clean energy and transportation policy. Sephra directs development of CSE’s regulatory agenda to advance its mission by coordinating individual perspectives within CSE into a consistent voice that effectively supports program goals and imparts CSE’s thought leadership. She also oversees program compliance with regulatory and legislative requirements. Sephra holds a J.D. from California Western School of Law and a B.S. in environmental sciences from University of Arizona.

Laura Rehrmann is a strategic communicator whose work raises the profile and impact of organizations. At CSE, she leads a team of marketers, writers and artists who support governments, businesses and consumers through programs that expand adoption of renewable energy, energy efficiency and electric vehicles. Laura began her career as a journalist with The Associated Press and USA Today/Gannett before joining the nonprofit sector to advance climate policy and action. She has a B.A. in journalism from Penn State University and a master’s in public relations and corporate communications from Georgetown University.

Ronnie Ricci has over 20 years of experience in high-volume recruitment across various industries, including high technology, education and international companies. At CSE, Ronnie leads the development and implementation of talent management strategies to attract and nurture top-tier talent, driving organizational success. Prior to joining CSE, Ronnie held management positions at Modern Hires, DeVry Education Group and Generation E Technologies Global. She has B.A. and M.A. degrees in cultural anthropology from San Diego State University.

Scott Shepard has over 12 years’ experience in electric vehicle research and developing transportation decarbonization solutions. At CSE, he directs research impacting policy and best practices for supporting clean transportation markets, focusing on incentive programs for light-, medium- and heavy-duty zero emissions vehicles and electric bikes. Scott previously worked as the transportation and mobility research director at Guidehouse Insights. He has an MPA from University of Colorado Denver and a B.A. degree from Colorado State University.

Gabrielle Stebbins has 15+ years of experience in renewable energy program management, policy design, regulatory processes and community outreach. At CSE, she leads the development and implementation of new distributed energy programs, supporting consumers in decarbonization. Previously, she directed a renewable energy trade association and chaired a municipal electric utility board. Gabrielle has also served on the American Public Power Association policy committee and Vermont transmission grid system planning committee. Since 2021, she has served as a Vermont state representative. She holds bachelor’s degrees in anthropology and classic violin from Rice University and a master’s in development policy from Nelson Mandela University.

James Tamerius has over 20 years’ experience in data science, specializing in the interplay of climate, energy and societal impacts. He uses geospatial analysis to provide insights into expanding adoption of renewable energy and electrified transportation. At CSE, he leads strategic initiatives across projects that require advanced data science methodologies. He previously held positions as an assistant professor at the University of Iowa and a postdoctoral research fellowship at Columbia University. James has a B.S. degree in earth science from UC Santa Cruz and a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Arizona.

Chad Taylor oversees CSE’s EV incentive programs, platform development and IT. Previously, Chad served in leadership roles in multiple industry sectors, including higher education, product and software development for insurance markets and engineering research and development. Chad earned a Ph.D. in information systems & technology from the Claremont Colleges, an MBA from San Diego State University and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, San Diego.

Lauri Walker has nearly 25 years of experience working to advance transportation programs in California through community engagement and outreach. She oversees a team of CSE equity specialists and partnerships with community-based organizations to inform the design and implementation of electric vehicle (EV) incentive programs and ensure the benefits of sustainable technologies reach disadvantaged communities.

Dan Welch has been working to advance clean transportation solutions for over 12 years, including commercial vehicle incentive and adoption programs, fuels policies and connected energy systems. He leads CSE’s efforts to accelerate low-carbon commercial vehicle and infrastructure adoption through programs operating across the nation. Previously, Dan worked at World Resources Institute, CALSTART and the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. He has an MPA from the University of Washington in environmental management and a B.A. from Connecticut College in history and French.

Jonetta White has more than a decade of experience closing complex, high-value B2B and B2G business opportunities for a variety of technology and professional service companies. At CSE, she leads the business development team responsible for guiding governments, utilities and businesses to select the center as their preferred supplier and partner for planning, implementing and optimizing decarbonization efforts. Jonetta has a B.A. in sociology from Bryn Mawr College and an M.S. in applied statistics and data analytics from the University of Kansas.

Anthony has over 25 years of legal and operating experience in the energy space. At CSE, he provides legal counsel on contracts, compliance and governance. Anthony’s previous positions include in-house counsel for Linksys, general counsel and compliance officer for two electricity providers, senior corporate attorney for an energy company, and attorney at an international law firm headquartered in Texas. Anthony is licensed to practice law in California and Texas. He has a J.D. from the University of Houston, an MBA from The University of Texas-Austin and a B.A. from Rice University.  

Andi Woodall works closely with a variety of transportation stakeholders, including government agencies and public and private utilities, to design and implement incentive programs aimed at expanding electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure in California. She brings to CSE over 15 years of experience in program design and execution in various capacities. Prior to joining CSE, Andi spent over five years in the international relations sector working on programs with the U.S. Commercial Service and the U.S. Department of State. She has a B.A. degree in English and German from Boise State University.

A Naval officer for 20 years, Evan Wright brings substantial expertise to CSE in operations, engineering, transportation/logistics and energy management for the Department of Defense. At CSE, he leads large-scale programs and technical services that accelerate the implementation of electric charging stations throughout the U.S. He holds a B.S. in economics from the U.S. Naval Academy, an MBA from the Naval Postgraduate School and was a Federal Executive Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.