A new slate of officers was elected by IREC's board of directors at its recent annual meeting in California. A new board member also joins the 33-year-old national not-for-profit, broadening the scope of the organization's leadership base centered on renewable energy and energy efficiency expertise.

 

Officers for 2015-2016 are: Board Chair Larry Shirley, president, Shirley Associates; Vice Chair John Hoffner, senior solar engineer, AECOM; Secretary Brian Gallagher, Brian Gallagher Consulting; Treasurer Ken Jurman, manager, solar and wind power programs, Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy.

 

Newly elected to the IREC Board of Directors is Jacob Parks, J.D., CFE, who currently serves as associate general counsel at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. The ACFE is the world's largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training education and certification.

 

"I am excited to assume the chairmanship of IREC," Shirley said.  "Their history of fighting for consumers and ensuring that they have access to the utility grid, fair rates for their renewable energy systems, and reputable installers who are trained at quality institutions has been an invaluable contribution to the rapid growth of renewable energy."

 

"While it is with pleasure that we welcome a dynamic new slate of officers, we also wish to thank our outgoing board president, David Warner, for his many years of service to IREC, as well as former board member Jennifer Szaro," said IREC President/CEO Jane Weissman. "David and Jen, both of whom recently resigned from the IREC board due to professional commitments, will be missed personally and professionally."

 

IREC's New Officers

Chair: Larry Shirley, president, Shirley Associates

Shirley Associates provides consultative services in sustainable energy and environmental programming and philanthropy. Previously, Shirley directed operations and strategic planning initiatives for the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University; was director of The Green Economy in the North Carolina Department of Commerce; and directed the State Energy Office in North Carolina. He also served as founding executive director of the North Carolina Solar Center at North Carolina State University from 1988-2000, and was chairman of the American Solar Energy Society from 1996-97. He is a former assistant director of the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation in Winston-Salem and founded the Nonprofit Energy Management Program for the Advanced Energy Corporation. Shirley also served as director of field operations for the Center for Renewable Resources in Washington, DC. He resides in the Raleigh-Durham, NC area and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

 

Vice Chair: John Hoffner, Senior Solar Engineer, AECOM

An accomplished registered professional engineer with expertise in designing and building renewable energy systems, Hoffner leads design teams related to utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) power plants and PV on commercial buildings. He recently joined AECOM (now merged with URS) to build a solar design center of excellence in its Austin Texas office. Previously at CH2M HILL, he managed the PV design team for utility-scale PV projects in the Middle East, Canada and the U.S., and prior to that was with Conservation Services Groups (CSG), responsible for installing, operating and monitoring over 2 MW of distributed PV systems on schools, retail stores and utility sites. Hoffner also co-wrote and implemented a solar PV training program at Austin Community College, and taught classes for entry and advanced level NAPCEP training. He managed the Renewable Energy Division for the City of Austin Electric Utility (Austin Energy) from 1983 to 1996.  He also hosts a weekly green talk radio program (Shades of Green) where he lives in Austin, TX.

 

Secretary: Brian Gallagher, Brian Gallagher Consulting

An independent energy consultant, Gallagher focuses on overcoming barriers to the use of renewable energy. He is currently assisting the District of Columbia in developing their Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) and has been instrumental in the development of the Delaware SEU, a state-chartered entity charged with offering one-stop shopping for sustainable energy services, including affordable energy services for low-income families. As the Delaware Energy Office's representative before the state's Public Service Commission, he has successfully advocated for renewable energy in such areas as interconnection standards, net metering, revenue decoupling, standby charges and integrated resource planning. He has authored several net metering and renewable portfolio standards laws, as well as the regulations to implement those laws. He also spent seven years with Delaware's public utilities consumer advocate. He received a Masters in Energy and Environmental Policy from the University of Delaware. Gallagher also runs a small charitable organization that provides grants to schools for the installation of solar energy on school facilities.

 

Treasurer: Ken Jurman, Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy

Ken manages the DMME Division of Energy's solar and wind power programs. He works closely with state and local economic development agencies to promote the growth of Virginia's alternative and renewable energy industry, as well as with numerous public, private and non-profit organizations to increase the demand for renewable and innovative energy technologies. In just the past few years, Ken developed and implemented several grant and rebate programs totaling nearly $38 million to support solar and small wind installations throughout the commonwealth. Through these efforts, Virginia experienced over a seven-fold increase in solar thermal, photovoltaic and small wind power capacity. Jurman currently serves as a government sector representative on the board of directors for the Small Wind Certification Council. He also serves as staff to the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority, which was created through 2010 legislation to facilitate, coordinate, and support development of the offshore wind energy industry and supply chain in Virginia. Ken lives in Rockville, VA.

 

New Board Member

Jacob Parks, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners

The newest member of the IREC board, Jacob Parks, J.D., CFE, currently serves as associate general counsel at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). In this role, he provides day-to-day counsel within the organization and works with various departments to provide education and ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. He also serves as liaison to the ACFE Board of Regents in matters regarding the Code of Professional Ethics and Code of Professional Standards. He authored several courses for the ACFE, including a primer on fraud against nonprofit organizations. Parks gained admission to the State Bar of Texas in 2010 after graduating from Texas Tech University. He lives in Austin.

 

Other current board members include:

Carolyn Appleton, Carolyn M. Appleton, Inc.

A Certified Fund Raising Executive with more than 25 years in the nonprofit sector, Appleton's mission is to enable nonprofit organizations to attain their fundraising and public relations goals in the most efficient, thoughtful and high quality manner possible.

 

Chris Cook, Solar Grid Storage LLC

Cook is a principal with Solar Grid Storage LLC, a new company focused on placing cost effective battery solutions with solar energy projects and utilizing the batteries to provide grid benefits and services. He is both a member of the Bar of Maryland and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

 

Karl Rábago, Pace Energy & Climate Center

Currently executive director of the Pace Energy and Climate Center in White Plains, NY, Rábago chairs the board for the Center for Resource Solutions and helped create the "Green-e" certification program for renewable energy products. He is a former deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy; commissioner of the Texas Public Utility Commission; and managing director and principal of the Rocky Mountain Institute.

 

Marc Roper, Sovereign Modular

Principal of Sovereign Modular, Roper has been active in California's solar electric market since 1999. Previously, he led sales, marketing and project financing activities for solar PPA provider Tioga Energy, where her successfully developed more than 100 solar PPA projects around the U.S.

 

Carl Siegrist, Carl Siegrist Consulting, LLC

For more than 27 years, Siegrist held management positions in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and environmental, planning and regulatory affairs at Wisconsin's largest investor-owned utility, We Energies. As senior renewable energy strategist, he created and managed award-winning renewable energy development programs with a primary focus on solar power. He is currently board president of RENEW Wisconsin.

 

Jennifer Somers, formerly U.S. Department of Energy

Most recently a senior policy advisor and team lead for training and technical assistance, Somers served the DOE's offices of Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, where she planned and executed $140M in American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds to lead the largest residential energy efficiency upgrade program in the country.

 

IREC

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