Northeast Solar & Storage Forum 2020

Alicia Barton was appointed president and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) on June 26, 2017. NYSERDA is a public benefit corporation that advances innovative energy solutions to improve New York State’s economy and environment.

Ms. Barton has held public and private sector leadership roles advancing clean energy projects and companies for over a decade. Immediately prior to her appointment, Ms. Barton served as co-chair of the Energy and Cleantech Practice at Foley Hoag, LLP, a global law firm based in Boston, where her practice focused on representation of clean energy companies in emerging market areas such as offshore wind and energy storage. Ms. Barton’s other private sector work included serving as chief of operations of the Global Utility business unit at SunEdison where she led teams working on utility-scale wind and solar projects.
Prior to her work in the private sector, Barton served as chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), a publicly supported agency that funds and accelerates the development of the clean energy sector. As CEO, Ms. Barton led all of MassCEC’s investments, project finance, partnerships, and commercial operations across a range of clean energy technologies, and helped make the state a national leader in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and deployment of clean technologies.
Prior to serving as CEO of MassCEC, Ms. Barton was the Deputy Commissioner for Policy and Planning for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP); Assistant Secretary for Environmental Review and Director of the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) office; and Deputy General Counsel at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA). She began her career at Foley Hoag as an associate in the firm’s environmental practice.

Ms. Barton currently serves on boards of several organizations, including Greentown Labs, the Environmental League of Massachusetts, Efficiency Forward, and the Advisory Board for the New England Women in Energy and Environment (NEWIEE).

Ms. Barton earned a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources from The Ohio State University and a juris doctor degree from Boston College Law School.

Suparna Kadam is a Business Development Director with EnterSolar focused on providing enterprise clients with comprehensive solar and storage solutions with a compelling, long-term ROI. EnterSolar is a leading national commercial solar & storage developer.

With over 15 year in the solar industry, she has worked throughout the solar value chain at solar module, electronics and mounting manufacturers and within commercial and residential sales and business development.  As a cofounder of a microinverter startup built from technology concept to commercial sales, she’s led the efforts to make solar cheaper and simpler for customers.  After raising Series A venture funding and reaching sales targets, she sold the company to SunEdison, a Fortune 500 company, for over 3x valuation. She continued developing new technologies and markets for SunEdison’s Technology and Residential divisions.

Suparna holds an MS in Chemical Engineering and MBA from MIT and a B.S. Chemical Engineering from Cornell University.

Angela Monroe is a Senior Analyst with the Maine Public Utilities Commission with nearly three decades of experience in energy policy and utility regulation. Ms. Monroe has worked on the front-lines of energy policy and regulation during extensive transformations of Maine’s electric industry.  She has served as senior member of the Maine Public Utilities Commission staff for over twenty-five years, as well as serving as the Director and Deputy Director of the Maine Governor’s Energy Office under two different Maine Governors between 2016 and 2019.  Ms. Monroe is a native of South Thomaston, Maine and received her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maine in 1988.

Matt Hankey is the Co-Founder, President & CEO of New Energy Equity, LLC. Under Matt’s leadership New Energy Equity has installed more than 165 renewable energy installations in 11 different states, totaling more than $440,000,000 in total transactional value and was ranked by Solar Power World in 2019 as the 36th largest solar company in the United States and as the 491st fastest-growing company in the US by Inc. Magazine. Prior to NEE, Matt held senior management positions with two Mid-Atlantic renewable energy companies where he was responsible for the management of the development and implementation of renewable energy projects within each companies footprint. Prior to entering into the renewable energy industry in 2010, Matt worked in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and corporate finance with M&T Investment Banking Group in Baltimore, MD where he assisted in the execution of multiple corporate finance transactions totaling over $430 million in enterprise value. He received his BS in Finance, Magna Cum Laude, from Ohio State University.

Roger Kranenburg joined Eversource in 2017. Roger is responsible for developing the Company’s long-term clean energy and growth strategy and policies along with the transportation electrification and battery storage initiatives.
Prior to joining Eversource, Mr. Kranenburg was with IHS Markit (formerly CERA or Cambridge Energy Research Associates) advising the top electric utilities and power sector owners/operators and suppliers in North America, Europe, and globally on electric power sector transformation, investment and operations. In addition, in his innovation and technology role, he led the application of data analytics to power sector data and information.
Prior to IHS Markit, he was at the Edison Electric Institute where he led strategy, policy development, analysis, and advocacy for the electric utility industry in the areas of energy supply and taxation. At the Edison Electric Institute, he was instrumental in the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the making permanent of the Bush-era tax cuts on dividends.
Earlier in his career, he led the development and deployment of wireless telecommunications infrastructure JVs in multiple European countries at Teligent. Prior to Teligent at Siemens (formerly Ansaldo-Finmeccanica), he led the development and deployment of automation and power electronics systems targeted in the power generation and other heavy-industry sectors. He has done research and published in the areas of high-temperature superconductors, high-performance electric drive systems and high frequency telecommunications.

Chris is a seasoned energy and manufacturing executive with more than 20 years’ international experience in various leadership roles, from solar power to making sugar in the Panamanian interior. He has more than 10 years in renewable energy, both wind and solar, and is passionate about the legacy we leave for our grandchildren.  Chris has been directly involved in the construction of solar projects in 11 states, as well as ongoing asset management of over 400 solar farms.  His passion is continuous improvement and creating cultures of operational athleticism.

He is a mechanical engineer by training, a Florida PE, and is currently finishing his MBA at Clarkson. In his spare time he enjoys hiking, paddling, furniture making, and craft cider, and is a New York State licensed guide. He lives in New York’s Capital region with his three children.

Rudolph Wynter oversees businesses with an asset base of $4.5 billion, including one of the largest electric transmission networks in the northeast.  He is leading the transformation of that network into a highly intelligent, resilient system that will meet customers’ long-term needs and enable the clean energy future.

He also oversees the company’s regulated energy storage assets and opportunities, including the development of New England’s first large-scale battery energy storage system on the island of Nantucket.  Mr. Wynter also is responsible for the company’s generation fleet, which provides 4,000 megawatts of electricity to more than a million Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) customers. He oversees National Grid’s energy procurement activities, including a portfolio of natural gas and power supply agreements that total $5 billion annually.  As customers and policymakers increasingly want electricity from lower-carbon energy sources, his team will play a critical role in that transition, while ensuring that energy supplies continue to be reliable and affordable for all customers. Previously Mr. Wynter was senior vice president of US Shared Services, and during his more than 25-year tenure at National Grid and its legacy companies has held positions of responsibility in Customer Operations, Strategic Planning, Engineering, and Operations. 

He is a member of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Gas Association, and the Edison Electric Institute. 

Mr. Wynter serves on the boards of Ascendant Group Limited, and the Brooklyn Historical Society.

He earned his Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from Pratt Institute, an MBA from Fordham University, and has completed an executive development program at Harvard University.

John brings extensive financial experience as well as deep expertise in the clean tech sector to Safari Energy. In 2003, John joined Eagle Capital Partners, a premier, value-oriented investment fund serving endowments, family offices and high net worth individuals.  At Eagle, John played a key role analyzing and investing in bankruptcy re-emergences, spin-offs and other special situation investments. In addition he helped grow fund assets from $100 million to over $1 billion. Previously, John was an equity analyst with Merrill Lynch. John provides leading solutions in solar project finance to Safari Energy’s portfolio of public and private real estate clients, and oversees the company’s client development efforts. John holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.