New director adds business, investment and governance expertise
San Diego, CA (Oct. 28, 2026 ) — Finance executive Onay Payne has joined the Board of Directors of the national nonprofit Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE), bringing more than 25 years of experience in institutional investing, risk management and governance.
Throughout her career, Payne has helped organizations manage major investments, weigh risk and opportunity, and deploy capital in ways that connect financial performance with broader social and environmental goals. Most recently, Payne served as senior managing director and portfolio manager at Manulife Investment Management. Earlier, she was an equity partner and managing director at Clarion Partners, where she served as a fiduciary advisor for $10 billion in real estate assets.
"Onay understands how thoughtful strategies can accelerate investment that meets larger societal goals while managing risk," said CSE President Lawrence Goldenhersh. "Her appointment strengthens CSE's focus on combining public incentives with private capital to accelerate and scale the delivery of clean energy projects. I'm excited to add Onay's financial experience and equity focus to our accomplished board of leaders in clean energy, finance and public policy."
The appointment comes as CSE continues expanding its work with public agencies, utilities and community partners to design and implement clean energy and transportation electrification programs across the country.
“One of the reasons I was drawn to join CSE is that it sits at the intersection of infrastructure, capital, policy and equity,” Payne said. “Clean energy and transportation electrification are about more than protecting the environment. They are increasingly important to local economic development and global competitiveness. But the transition will only succeed if the benefits are broadly shared and the barriers to adoption are thoughtfully addressed.”
Payne, based in New York, currently serves as an independent advisor and investor and is a member of the inaugural cohort of executive fellows at Leaders in Tech, a leadership development accelerator. She also serves on multiple nonprofit boards and investment committees focused on equitable capital deployment and leadership, including Mission Driven Finance’s CARE Access Real Estate Fund. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history and literature from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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More on CSE’s Board of Directors
About Center for Sustainable Energy
Center for Sustainable Energy® (CSE) is a national nonprofit that accelerates adoption of clean transportation and distributed energy through effective and equitable program design and administration. Governments, utilities and the private sector trust CSE for its data-driven and software-enabled approach, deep domain expertise and customer-focused team.
