Speakers

Bill Ritter Jr. is currently the Director of the Center for the New Energy Economy (CNEE) at Colorado State University. The Center started February 1, 2011 with Ritter as the founding Director and currently the sole employee. Bill was elected as Colorado’s 41st governor in 2006 — the first Colorado-born governor in more than 35 years. Bill led Colorado forward by bringing people together to tackle some of our state’s biggest challenges. During his 4 year term, He established Colorado as a national and international leader in renewable energy by building a New Energy Economy that is creating thousands of new jobs and establishing hundreds of new companies; enacted an aggressive business-development and job-creation agenda that is focused on knowledge-based industries of the future, such as energy, aerospace, biosciences, information technology and tourism; initiated sweeping K-12 education reforms to give Colorado children the skills and knowledge they need to compete and succeed in a 21st century global economy; and, improved access to quality and affordable health care for many of the 800,000 Coloradans who lack health coverage. Bill served as Denver’s District Attorney from 1993 to January 2005. He earned a national reputation as one of the country’s most effective and innovative prosecutors, and several of his programs continue to serve as state and national models The sixth of 12 children, Bill was raised on a small farm in Arapahoe County. He was a member of the first graduating class of Gateway High School (1974), and he earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Colorado State University (1978) and his law degree from the University of Colorado (1981). Bill is married to Jeannie, and before his serving as District Attorney, he and Jeannie operated a food distribution and nutrition center in Zambia. They have four children; August, Abe, Sam, and Tally.

John Coors is the Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of CoorsTek, Inc.  Dr. Coors assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board in October of 2000, after serving as President of the company since October of 1998 and as a Director since January of 2000. Prior to assuming these positions, from January 1997 to October 1998, Dr. Coors served as the Chief Executive Officer of Golden Genesis Company, a former publicly traded subsidiary of Graphic Packaging, and a distributor and integrator of remote solar power applications.  Dr. Coors grew the company from a small start-up to the largest public solar electric integrator in the country, with sales of $32.8 million in 1997.  From July 1992 to January 1997, Dr. Coors served as President of Golden Photon, Inc., a manufacturer and developer of photovoltaic solar modules. Dr. Coors began his career with Coors Brewing Company in 1979, and held various positions of increasing responsibility within the company in areas ranging from R&D and Engineering to Project Management and Human Resources.  He left Coors Brewing Company in 1992, after having served as Vice President of Global Brewing Operations and Vice President and Plant Manager of the Memphis, Tennessee Brewery. Dr. Coors holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, a Master’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Texas and a Doctorate in Engineering from the Technical University of Munich.  He currently serves on the Colorado School of Mines Board of Governors. Recently he has established the Advantage Energy Fund LLLP for investing in businesses providing modern energy services in Kenya.

Mr. Bills is actively speaking on these topics and working on a book about emerging consumer markets, the social responsibility surrounding this evolution and the necessary development of social entrepreneurs in the creation of economic improvement. He recently addressed audiences at World Bank’s Clean Energy Week speaking on Household Energy Opportunities in conjunction with the organization’s “Energy, Development and Climate Change” conference. Mr. Bills regularly engages with business and political leaders regarding advancements in the social enterprise space. Prior to Envirofit, Ron was president and CEO of Segway and previously led several worldwide business units for Polaris Industries, Yamaha Motor Corporations and Bombardier. His career began as an engineer with Martin Marietta Aerospace.

Through its low cost solar drying for food security project, SCODE has managed to reach many people empowering them in fresh produce preservation. It is this effort that earned the organization international recognition when it scooped the energy global awards in the year 2006. Through the period 2004-2007, SCODE provided technology related support services to the Breathing Space Fund (BSF) in Kenya. BSF is a funding mechanism supported by the Shell Foundation (UK) and aims at supporting, disseminating demand driven clean energy products and services that reduce indoor air pollution in households in Kenya. Gender mainstreaming has been found to be an important factor that contributes towards the success of a project/organization. And for this, SCODE has made a conscious effort to mainstream gender in its programs and the organization as a whole. As such, SCODE is carrying out a pilot project for mainstreaming gender in its ICS project which has support from many quotas including ENERGIA International. As an organization that has been dealing with renewable energy technologies, we have curved a niche in the energy sector as a reliable contractor. As such, we are among the implementers of the Kenya National Domestic Biogas Programme (KENDBIP) whose goal is to disseminate 8,000 bio-digesters in four years SCODE is the focal point of the EATDN in Kenya. EATDN (East African Energy Technology Development Network) is a regional network comprising of NGOs, institutions of education and research, community groups, private companies, government departments etc which was established in 1998 and whose goal is to reduce poverty among communities in East Africa through use of appropriate energy technologies. The network has been building the technical capacity of members to design and implement demand-driven renewable energy projects while providing a platform for information sharing. The organization also is also an active participant in the ABC-K (Association of Biogas Contractors-Kenya): an association that brings together various parties interested in biogas technology to enable full participation of the members. SCODE produced the first chairman of this association.

Mr. Patrick Nyoike is the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy, a position he has held since January 2003 to date. He has steered the Ministry through reforms under Sessional Paper No. 4 of 2004 which are aimed at facilitating provision of clean, sustainable, affordable, reliable and secure energy services at least cost while protecting the environment.

In this regard, Mr. Nyoike has the onerous task of ensuring that more power is generated, power transmission and distribution network reinforced, extension of national grid and increasing efficiency in energy conservation in order to address the country’s energy requirements.
Mr. Nyoike has been instrumental in initiating investigations by the East African Community (EAC) into the potential for a natural gas pipeline system that could supply natural gas to power generation facilities in Tanzania and Kenya.

Mr. Nyoike, an Economist, is a career civil servant who served in various capacities in the Ministries of Finance and Planning between 1971 and 1994 before being seconded to the Ministry of Energy for the period 1994 to 2003. He is married with four children.

Dr. Bryan Willson is co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Solix Biofuels, a developer of large-scale production systems for algae-based biofuels.  He is also a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University (CSU) and has worked for over 25 years to develop large scale solutions for global energy needs.  In June 2009, he was named among the “Scientific American 10” – individuals who have made significant contributions to “guiding science to serve humanity” on a global basis.  Willson is a founding Director of CSU’s Clean Energy Supercluster, Founder and Director of CSU’s Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory; and co-Founder of Envirofit International.  Willson received his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in 1988, the same year he joined the CSU faculty.  He is the Principal or Co-Principal Investigator on over $30 million in funded research; has funded over 350 graduate and undergraduate students; and is author or co-author of over 200 journal papers, conference proceedings, or technical reports.

Matt Baker was appointed as a Commissioner of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission on January 15, 2008 by Gov. Bill Ritter, Jr., and was confirmed January 28, 2008. Prior to joining the Commission, Matt served as the Executive Director of Environment Colorado, where he was the architect of Colorado’s Renewable Energy ballot initiative, Amendment 37. Matt was a leader in efforts to double Colorado’s renewable energy goals, implement policies to greatly expand utility energy efficiency programs and promote state goals to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, he was a leader on state transportation policy initiatives, including the successful build out of the Denver metro-area’s light rail system. Previous to joining the Commission, Matt served as the vice-chair of the Transit Alliance. He was appointed by then-Governor Bill Owens to the Colorado Pollution Prevention Partnership, and was vice-chair of the Interwest Energy Alliance.   Matt has a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University.

Ron Benioff serves as Manager of International Programs for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). In this capacity he directs the lab’s work to conduct renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development activities, deployment programs, and energy analysis initiatives with other countries and international institutions.  This includes work on biofuels, buildings, geothermal, solar, vehicles, wind and ocean technologies, assessments, policies, and programs with over 50 countries and various institutions around the world. Ron is leading several international climate and clean energy initiatives including the Clean Energy Solutions Center and the Coordinated Low Emissions Assistance Network (CLEAN). Prior to joining NREL in 1997, he worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 11 years on climate change and waste management issues.

Mr. Bills is actively speaking on these topics and working on a book about emerging consumer markets, the social responsibility surrounding this evolution and the necessary development of social entrepreneurs in the creation of economic improvement. He recently addressed audiences at World Bank’s Clean Energy Week speaking on Household Energy Opportunities in conjunction with the organization’s “Energy, Development and Climate Change” conference. Mr. Bills regularly engages with business and political leaders regarding advancements in the social enterprise space. Prior to Envirofit, Ron was president and CEO of Segway and previously led several worldwide business units for Polaris Industries, Yamaha Motor Corporations and Bombardier. His career began as an engineer with Martin Marietta Aerospace.

Michael Callahan earned a BS in civil engineering and a MSBA in sustainable business. He has studied in Venezuela and Spain and has helped design and manage energy projects in five West African countries over a period of four years. Following his work in Africa, Mike managed teams of contractors, engineers, and architects to build multi-million dollar construction projects, including the first award winning Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) recreation center in Colorado. At that time Mike became a LEED accredited professional and a licensed professional engineer. As a Sr. project leader at the National Renewable Energy Lab, Mike supports energy efficiency and renewable energy project development and finance internationally and in the US. Under the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), Mike is leading the US Department of Energy’s technical assistance for the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines to help establish the Peruvian Office of Energy Efficiency. Also under ECPA, Mike is supporting the Peace Corps Energy Poverty Alleviation Initiative in Latin America. Finally, Mike is the cofounder of PowerMundo, a social enterprise operating in Latin America to improve people’s lives and conserve nature through the deployment of renewable energy technologies.

David Cox is the Assistant Dean for Full Time MBA Programs for the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.  Dave has been teaching in the Reiman School of Finance since 1988.  He holds a Masters Degree and PhD (ABD) in Finance, and a Juris Doctorate.  He currently teaches corporate finance and international finance courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level, Sustainable Development in the Compass portion of the graduate program, and business law at the undergraduate level, and is part of the Compass Development team in the MBA program.  Since 1999, Dave has been a part of Executive training teams for First Data Corp., OMI Inc., Orica, Inc., Newmont Mining Corp, TIMET Inc., and others.

TJ is the Director of the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO). Prior to joining the GEO, TJ led policy advocacy efforts as Senior Manager in Horizon Wind Energy’s government affairs team, where he focused on promoting investment-friendly environments at the state and regional level across the eastern U.S.  Earlier, he led Horizon’s market and transmission development in New England and early stage project development efforts in the Rockies.  In that role, TJ developed projects in Kit Carson, Cheyenne, and Baca counties, and helped found, and served as co-chair of, the Colorado Renewables and Conservation Collaborative, a voluntary industry working group.  TJ has served on the boards of the Interwest Energy Alliance, the Colorado Independent Energy Association, and Renewable Energy New England.Before joining Horizon, TJ was a consultant with McKinsey’s energy practice, based in Washington DC, where he served utility and industrial clients.  He earlier worked in Calpine’s energy trading group in Houston, analyzing the performance of their fleet of natural gas-fired power plants and guiding trading strategy.  TJ started his career as an engineer for The Dow Chemical Company in engineering, operations, R&D, and business development roles. He holds a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas in Austin and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.  TJ spent two years serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Jamaica.

Roderick G. Eggert is Professor and Director of the Division of Economics and Business at the Colorado School of Mines, where he has taught since 1986.  Previously he taught at the Pennsylvania State University and held research appointments at Resources for the Future (Washington, D.C.) and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Austria).  Between 1989 and 2006, he was Editor of Resources Policy, an international journal of mineral economics and policy.  His research and teaching have focused on various aspects of mineral economics and public policy, including mineral exploration, metal demand, mining and sustainable development, mineral and metal markets, and critical minerals and materials. He received the 2010 Mineral Economics Award of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers. He chaired the National Research Council committee that wrote the 2008 book Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the US Economy (National Academies Press) and served on the study committee that prepared the 2011 report Energy Critical Elements: Securing Materials for Emerging Technologies (American Physical Society and the Materials Research Society). Professor Eggert has a B.A. in earth sciences from Dartmouth College, a M.S. in geochemistry and mineralogy from Penn State University, and a Ph.D. in mineral economics also from Penn State.

Paula Gant is senior vice president of policy and planning for the American Gas Association (AGA) with responsibility for managing the association’s policy and regulatory agenda and outreach on behalf of AGA’s 195 natural gas distribution company members. Since joining AGA in 2006, Dr. Gant has sought to advance awareness of the important role that natural gas utilities serve in meeting the needs of a clean energy economy – now and for decades to come. Natural gas utilities and their customers have increased the efficiency of energy use in homes and buildings by 39% since 1970. This success has reduced greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining the comfort and productivity of American homes and businesses. Previously, Paula worked for Duke Energy in a variety of positions including vice president of government affairs and energy policy for Duke Energy Gas Transmission. In that role she was responsible for ensuring a collaborative approach to stakeholder relations for new infrastructure construction projects and ongoing operations. Dr. Gant previously served as director of energy policy for Duke Energy Corporation and as director of government affairs and regulatory policy for Duke Energy International, building internal teams while developing constructive relationships with key stakeholders in the Americas and Europe. Before joining Duke, Dr. Gant served as public spokesperson for the Louisiana Alliance for Lower Electric Rates, on the faculty of the Department of Economics at Louisiana State University and as assistant professor of economics at the University of Louisville. Paula received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from McNeese State University and a Ph.D. in economics from Auburn University. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Neil Meyer and son, Mason.

Teaching. Courses in water and wastewater treatment plant design, water supply and wastewater disposal, environmental assessment, industrial wastewater management, environmental health engineering, solid waste/ hazardous wastes management, water chemistry, fluid mechanics, hydraulics. Research. Principal investigator or co-principal investigator for 35 research projects totaling about 2.4 million dollars since (1966-1996). Projects have included: developing a hydro-quality simulation model, travel of pollution through porous media, bacterial adsorption thermodynamics, sorption kinetics, waste stabilization pond energy balance, water reuse systems analysis, the role of water reuse in regional water supply, evaluation of the 1972 water quality act effluent limitations on water quality and biota in the South Platte River, interdisciplinary engineering for large scale public works projects, water supply management analysis and alternate development for the South Platte River Basin, input-output modeling of municipal water supply wastewater system, health hazards of irrigation with treated wastewater, salinity hazards of water reuse, water reuse planning, filtration, advanced water treatment, membrane technologies, surrogates for filtration of pathogens. Consulting. Various engagements since 1966 with consulting engineering firms, and government agencies (e.g., Corps of Engineers, Pan American Health Organization, CIDIAT, Missouri River Basin Commission, etc.). Foreign assignments have included work in Italy, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Iraq, and Yemen.  Domestic has included various advisory services and project work, expert witness testimony and case preparation, and testimony for hearings.  Topic areas have included stream pollution, groundwater pollution, industrial wastes, environmental assessment, municipal water quality, stream water quality classifications, river basin planning, hazardous wastes, solid waste management, filtration, etc.

Bruce Hutton is Dean Emeritus, Professor of Marketing, and holds the Piccinati Chair in Teaching Innovation at the Daniels College of Business, University of Denver.  He received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida.  His research interests include corporate social responsibility, sustainable development, and the application of consumer behavior principles to issues of public policy.  He is a recipient of the Faculty Pioneer Institutional Leadership Award from the World Resources Institute and the Aspen Institute’s Business & Society Program (Beyond Grey Pinstripes) for leadership in integrating social and environmental issues into business education.

Mr. Bills is actively speaking on these topics and working on a book about emerging consumer markets, the social responsibility surrounding this evolution and the necessary development of social entrepreneurs in the creation of economic improvement. He recently addressed audiences at World Bank’s Clean Energy Week speaking on Household Energy Opportunities in conjunction with the organization’s “Energy, Development and Climate Change” conference. Mr. Bills regularly engages with business and political leaders regarding advancements in the social enterprise space. Prior to Envirofit, Ron was president and CEO of Segway and previously led several worldwide business units for Polaris Industries, Yamaha Motor Corporations and Bombardier. His career began as an engineer with Martin Marietta Aerospace.

Nokero inventor Stephen Katsaros’ career is centered around innovation—ranging from product development to intellectual property. These activities have enabled Stephen to license inventions to sports companies (such as Dynastar Skis, K2, HaberVision, etc.) and build a transportation product company (RevoPower — a motorized wheel for bicycles that gets 200 MPG at 20 MPH). He enjoys developing products and making dreams into reality. Stephen earned a Bachelors of Science Mechanical Engineering (BSME) from Purdue University in 1996 and was a non-degree seeking student at the Bard Center of Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado from 1998-1999. As a recognized leader in innovation, Stephen received a B.F. Goodrich Collegiate Inventors Award in 1995. Prior Press Coverage includes the Wall Street Journal, Denver Post, C-Spann, Popular Science, Gizmodo, Engadget, T3, Discovery, and CNN.  Stephen will talk about ROI (Return on Investment) of small solar lighting to replace Kerosene Lamps.

Jeff has worked in the non-profit arena for 27 years. For the past six of these years he has been promoting the previously known ‘Circle of Light’ program that is now Axxess Energy.  Jeff is working at Axxess Energy to invest in modern energy products & services to meet unmet cooking and lighting needs in 50,000 rural households in Kenya.  Axxess Energy leverages investor capital to establish a profitable energy business in rural Kenya.  This business distributes LP gas cook stoves and 12 volt battery lighting in medium and small community cooperatives.   Jeff will talk about Economic Development in Africa:  has it worked? Can it and will it work?  Meeting rural energy needs in Kenya and Mozambique: the past, present , and future.

Through its low cost solar drying for food security project, SCODE has managed to reach many people empowering them in fresh produce preservation. It is this effort that earned the organization international recognition when it scooped the energy global awards in the year 2006. Through the period 2004-2007, SCODE provided technology related support services to the Breathing Space Fund (BSF) in Kenya. BSF is a funding mechanism supported by the Shell Foundation (UK) and aims at supporting, disseminating demand driven clean energy products and services that reduce indoor air pollution in households in Kenya. Gender mainstreaming has been found to be an important factor that contributes towards the success of a project/organization. And for this, SCODE has made a conscious effort to mainstream gender in its programs and the organization as a whole. As such, SCODE is carrying out a pilot project for mainstreaming gender in its ICS project which has support from many quotas including ENERGIA International. As an organization that has been dealing with renewable energy technologies, we have curved a niche in the energy sector as a reliable contractor. As such, we are among the implementers of the Kenya National Domestic Biogas Programme (KENDBIP) whose goal is to disseminate 8,000 bio-digesters in four years SCODE is the focal point of the EATDN in Kenya. EATDN (East African Energy Technology Development Network) is a regional network comprising of NGOs, institutions of education and research, community groups, private companies, government departments etc which was established in 1998 and whose goal is to reduce poverty among communities in East Africa through use of appropriate energy technologies. The network has been building the technical capacity of members to design and implement demand-driven renewable energy projects while providing a platform for information sharing. The organization also is also an active participant in the ABC-K (Association of Biogas Contractors-Kenya): an association that brings together various parties interested in biogas technology to enable full participation of the members. SCODE produced the first chairman of this association.

Mr. Malhotra started working on community development shortly after receiving a B. Tech in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India. He later received an MS in Engineering and an MBA from the University of Texas. In the past 20 years, Mr. Malhotra has accumulated experience helping small entrepreneurial firms manage their growth. He has also developed and disseminated numerous sustainable technologies internationally and created financially viable enterprises globally.  Mr. Malhotra is the founder of five social enterprises and received the Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2009 from the City of Lakewood, CO.  He was a member of the Western Governor Association’s Solar and Bio-energy Task Force and is a frequent guest speaker at various Universities across Colorado

Don McClure joined EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. in October 2002.  Don was with PanCanadian Energy prior to the merger of PanCanadian Energy and Alberta Energy in April 2002, forming EnCana. Don has been in the oil and gas industry for more than 30 years, since his graduation from Northwestern Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting.  Don is a licensed CPA and CMA and also has an MBA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Don started his career with Atlantic Richfield, holding various positions of increasing responsibility focused primarily on controllership responsibilities.  Don also worked with Vastar Resources, Inc., a carve-out IPO from Atlantic Richfield and Columbia Energy Services, Inc.  Don is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, Institute of Management Accountants, Financial Executives Institute and the API Upstream Committee.  Don serves as a Board Member for the University of Colorado at Denver, the Colorado Oil & Gas Association (COGA), the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountains States (IPAMS) and Junior Achievement.  He has currently been asked to participate on Governor Ritter’s Jobs Cabinet.

Dag Nummedal is the Director of the Colorado Energy Research Institute, an institute at the Colorado School of Mines focused on broad multi-disciplinary research programs in both fossil and renewable energy.  He is also the director of the Colorado Carbon Management Center, a multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional center engaged in research on geological and terrestrial carbon sequestration, as well as economic and policy analysis of different approaches to reductions in carbon emissions from global energy systems.Nummedal has an MS from the University of Oslo, Norway, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining the Colorado School of Mines in 2004, Nummedal served as professor of geology and geophysics at Louisiana State University and the University of Wyoming.  He also served for five years as manager of exploration and production technology at the Unocal Corporation. Dag Nummedal has served as president of SEPM and as an AAPG distinguished speaker. He is currently board member at RPSEA, the S&T committee at the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, the Energy Security Advisory Board at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Norwegian carbon sequestration research center SUCCESS, the Energy Council, and the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory. He is a guest professor at the China University of Geosciences, Beijing.

Mr. Patrick Nyoike is the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy, a position he has held since January 2003 to date. He has steered the Ministry through reforms under Sessional Paper No. 4 of 2004 which are aimed at facilitating provision of clean, sustainable, affordable, reliable and secure energy services at least cost while protecting the environment.

In this regard, Mr. Nyoike has the onerous task of ensuring that more power is generated, power transmission and distribution network reinforced, extension of national grid and increasing efficiency in energy conservation in order to address the country’s energy requirements.
Mr. Nyoike has been instrumental in initiating investigations by the East African Community (EAC) into the potential for a natural gas pipeline system that could supply natural gas to power generation facilities in Tanzania and Kenya.

Mr. Nyoike, an Economist, is a career civil servant who served in various capacities in the Ministries of Finance and Planning between 1971 and 1994 before being seconded to the Ministry of Energy for the period 1994 to 2003. He is married with four children.

David M. Posner founded EnVent Energy LLC in 2000.   EnVent’s primary business is negotiating gathering, processing, transportation and marketing arrangements for natural gas producers, and related strategic initiatives.  Posner previously led the marketing function and midstream operations for Santa Fe Snyder, Snyder and Ladd, is a past Chairman of COGA, and has over 30 years of experience in energy marketing, project development, and management.  EnVent is also involved the development of waste heat power projects on gas pipelines and at processing plants, and the interface between new energy technologies including renewable sources and natural gas. Posner is a graduate of Brown University and received his Masters degree in Mineral Economics from the Colorado School of Mines.

Dr. Luka Powanga is a professor in the School of Management at Regis University and the Executive Director of the Global Commerce Forum.  He is also the Managing Editor of the Journal of Global Commerce Research and the Journal of Current Research in Global Business.  He is currently the US correspondent for CargoNews Asia a trade magazine based in Hong Kong. He holds a BSC degree in Metallurgy and Mineral Processing, Masters and PhD degrees in Mineral Economics from Colorado School of Mines with a minor in Finance from the Graduate School at Denver University.  He also holds a Masters degree in Computer Information Technology and Graduate Level Certificate in Object Oriented Programming from Regis University.  His industry and academic experience spans over thirty years at middle and senior management levels.  He consults in mining and international business management. He worked in the mining and telecommunications industry at middle and senior management level within and outside the United States. He taught at Colorado School of Mines before transitioning to Regis University.  He has written a textbook in economics published by McGraw-Hill.

After earning his Ph.D. in condensed matter physics at Brown University in 1992, Dr. Stoner joined the Microprocessor Development Group at Intel Corporation.In 1995,he formed Cooper Mountain Corporation, which developed the first commercial instruments to incorporate ultrafast pulsed lasers. These instruments, based on the picosecond ultrasonic method which he co-invented, are now extensively used to characterize computer chips during production. Hesubsequently foundedVinestone Corporation, a UK-based peer-to-peer database and workflow software developer. Dr. Stonerlater held a number of senior executive positions and served as Chairman of the Technical Advisory Board at Zygo Corporation, a developer of precision optical systems and instruments for the global consumer electronics, aerospace and semiconductor industries. Dr. Stoner received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Physics from Queen’s University, Canada.He was a National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada Scholar, and holds US patents in the fields of semiconductor devices, optical measurement and imaging systems, optical devices, network computing, and acoustics. His current technical interests include high resolution imaging techniques, distributed computing, and energy distribution and storage technology and policy for developing countries

Heidi VanGenderen currently works as the Director of National and Regional Outreach for the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) where she is part of the policy team and is oversees the regional outreach program, along with specific forums for member and community engagement such as an upcoming series that will examine creation of a viable utility business model for the 21st century. Previously, she served as a Senior Energy Advisor to the Worldwatch Institute where she was part of the Energy and Climate team. A Colorado native, Heidi previously served as Colorado’s first gubernatorial climate advisor where she oversaw creation of the state’s first Climate Action Plan. She was a core team member in passage of Amendment 37, Colorado’s citizen initiated renewable energy standard. She has worked on energy and climate policy and education in the non-profit, public, academic and private sectors as an organizer, writer, researcher, and educator for the whole of her professional career. Thanks to the British Foreign Commonwealth Office, she completed a Chevening Fellowship on Finance and Investment in a Low-Carbon Economy in Edinburgh and London in 2009 and is a graduate of Carleton College.

Doug Vilsack is an attorney in the Environmental Group where his practice focuses on complex CERCLA hazardous waste litigation, Western water resource matters, public land and tribal law, and issues relating to climate change and renewable energy. Prior to joining the firm in 2008, Mr. Vilsack worked extensively in Africa and South America on projects involving land reform, renewable energy and sustainable development. Recently, he has been involved in a number of natural resources matters, including: Representing a mining company in settlement negotiations and litigation involving CERCLA claims against the United States government; representing a major corporate landowner in efforts to quantify groundwater rights in Western and Plains states; and, assisting a company to evaluate potential CERCLA, RCRA and state law violations at acquired agricultural chemical sites. Mr. Vilsack brings an important international perspective to the firm and his clients, giving him unique insight into global issues such as climate change and land use. He has worked extensively overseas, including stints in Geneva, Switzerland, Mount Vernon, Jamaica, Katima Mulilo, Namibia, and Quito, Ecuador. In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Vilsack continues to work to promote renewable energy development in Africa as the founder of Elephant Energy, a non-profit organization. During law school at the University of Colorado School of Law, Mr. Vilsack worked with the Center for Energy and Environmental Security (CEES) to author a report analyzing international and domestic emissions trading systems. The report provided recommendations to prepare the state of Colorado and local corporations for regional or national Carbon dioxide regulation. It was presented to both houses of the Colorado Legislature. In addition to his work in Colorado during law school, Mr. Vilsack studied natural resource issues at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He also spoke on a variety of topics, including: Numerous presentations relating to emissions trading, African wildlife conservation and toxic tort law in developing countries, given at the University of Colorado School of Law; Democratic Party platform issues, as a surrogate speaker and debater for Hillary Clinton during her 2008 Presidential campaign; and, Colorado Carbon Emissions Trading Opportunities, presented to the Pollution Prevention and Advisory Board of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Mr. Vilsack received his B.A. from Colorado College where he majored in Environmental Systems: Resource Management. He received distinguished thesis honors for his research on Antarctic tourism regulation. He also studied environmental science at Columbia University’s Biosphere II in Oracle, Arizona and international law with the School for International Training in Geneva, Switzerland. After college, Mr. Vilsack founded a non-profit organization dedicated to turning out the youth vote in the 2004 Presidential Election. The group sponsored an expedition to paddle the entire 2300-mile length of the Mississippi River by canoe and registered over 2000 young voters.

Dr. Bryan Willson is co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Solix Biofuels, a developer of large-scale production systems for algae-based biofuels.  He is also a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University (CSU) and has worked for over 25 years to develop large scale solutions for global energy needs.  In June 2009, he was named among the “Scientific American 10” – individuals who have made significant contributions to “guiding science to serve humanity” on a global basis.  Willson is a founding Director of CSU’s Clean Energy Supercluster, Founder and Director of CSU’s Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory; and co-Founder of Envirofit International.  Willson received his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in 1988, the same year he joined the CSU faculty.  He is the Principal or Co-Principal Investigator on over $30 million in funded research; has funded over 350 graduate and undergraduate students; and is author or co-author of over 200 journal papers, conference proceedings, or technical reports.