Organizers and Volunteers

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.

Fred has over 39 years of experience in energy and natural resources as an independent operator.  He has been a leader in the oil and gas community pushing for responsible exploration and development and for recognition that natural gas has a bright future as a natural compliment to renewable energy and efficiency.  Fred is a member of the National Petroleum Council, past President of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association, founding Chairman of COGA’s Rocky Mountain Natural Gas Strategy Conference and Chairman of the Natural Gas Committee of COGA.  Fred is also the recipient of the 2007 Distinguished Public Service Award presented by the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists.  In 2009 Mr. Julander was selected to the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States Rocky Mountain Oil & Gas Hall of Fame.  Mr. Julander earned a BA degree from the University of New Mexico and a JD degree from the University of Iowa Law School.  He is a graduate of the University of Denver’s Executive MBA program.

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.

Michael Allender is a retired Hewlett Packard engineering manager with over 30 years combined engineering and management experience. He joined Hewlett Packard in 1973 in Loveland Colorado and began his career as an engineer in an Integrated Circuit manufacturing and R&D facility designing and building complex Integrated Circuit products used in instrumentation products for highly technical applications. In 1986 he left HP and took a position as the Engineering Manager with Microlithics a subsidiary of the Coors Porcelain Company in Golden Colorado. At Microlithics Michael managed the development and production highly reliable products used in the Trident Submarine Project. In 1988 Michael returned to Hewlett Packard in Corvallis Oregon to work in HP’s fledgling Ink Jet facility. During his 18 years in Corvallis, Hewlett Packard’s ink jet group grew into a multi-billion dollar division of HP. While working in HP’s Ink Jet R&D group Michael managed numerous aspects of a variety of new and innovative HP Ink Jet products that were introduced into both the commercial and personal printing markets. Michael received his BSEE with distinction at the University of Virginia and his MSEE from Colorado State University focusing on Physical Electronics and Solid State Physics at both institutions. He has a demonstrated competence in leading diverse teams to deliver on complex projects across a broad spectrum of disciplines.

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

Stephen Simukanga is a Zambian and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Zambia since July 2007.  He holds a PhD in Process Metallurgy from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, UK.  He is  Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and Chartered Engineer of the Engineering Council of the United Kingdom.  He is also a Fellow of both the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the Engineering Institution of Zambia.  He served as Registrar of the Engineers’ Registration Board of Zambia from 2000 to 2010.  He has served the University of Zambia for 23 years, before July 2007 as a lecturer/Researcher in the School of Mines of the University of Zambia where he rose to the position of Professor in Metallurgy and Mineral Processing.  Prof. Simukanga has served as visiting lecturer at the University of Cape Town and University of Zimbabwe. He has also served as External Examiner in both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in other universities.  He has also supervised a number of postgraduate students.  He has published scientific papers in the area of Metallurgy and Mineral Processing.  His major area of interest is in the processing Agro-minerals such as phosphates and agricultural lime for use by farmers.  Prof. Simukanga is currently Coordinator of the Mineral Resources Unit of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa, located at the School of Mines of the University of Zambia.  Prof. Simukanga sits on various Boards both locally and internationally of which he chairs some of them.  Stephen is married to Agnes and they have 4 children.  His contact address is University of Zambia, P.O Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia.  Tel:  +260211250871, Fax: +260211290863.  E-mail: Stephen.simukanga@unza.zm or vc@unza.zm or stephensimukanga@ymail.com.

Jim Donovan, age 61, has been involved with the marketing of natural gas liquids for the past 36 years. Drawing on his previous refining and gas plant experience, he founded Donovan Resources in 1996. The companyʼs efforts are focused in the Rocky Mountain Region with annual sales of over $80 million. Jim is a  graduate of Regis College with a B.S. in Business Administration.

Over 35 years of experience have provided Timothy Feemster, Sr. VP, Director of Global Logistics, with a variety of hands on problem solving situations in real estate, transportation, logistics, distribution, and marketing. Before joining Grubb & Ellis, Feemster was a senior manager in three manufacturing companies, a general manager, a consultant, and an executive in two third party logistics providers, most recently over 13 years with Menlo Worldwide Logistics. Feemster has been responsible for building construction management, transportation & warehouse operations, real estate site selection, strategic planning, lease management, marketing, inventory planning and deployment, lean systems & quality management, and private fleet management. Feemster holds an M.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and a B.A. in Mathematics from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Feemster is anactive member in the Warehouse Education and Research Council (WERC.org), where he is on the Board of Directors as the current Vice President and will ascend to the position of President of the organization in 2009; Council Supply Chain Management Professionals(CSCMP.org); and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC.org).

Doug Sampson  CSCP CPIM, is Sr. Vice President and Co-Owner of Acme Distribution Centers, Inc., a multi-regional Third Party Logistics Provider. Doug has worked in the supply chain industry for over 30 years providing service solutions and consultancy for customers in over 10 different industry verticals at various levels of the supply chain.  In addition, Doug has built up and sold 2 separate transportation related companies.   Doug is currently the Chairman of The Colorado Motor Carriers and spends much of his time working together with the ATA on legislative issues that impact our industry and environment.  Doug is also an active member of CSCMP, WERC, APICS and many other supply chain industry organizations.  Doug has a BS in Finance & Marketing with a minor in Accounting & Economics from the University of Northern Colorado.

Prof. Kristina Lipinska-Kalita, over the past 15 years, has initiated and led various research projects in physics and materials science all over the world. While at the University Pierre et Marie Curie – Paris VI, France she was the architect and leader in a major collaborative initiative with the international glass company St. Gobain. While working for the Italian Agency for Alternative Energy Sources she lead several energy-related research projects. At the International Center for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy, she directed an international team of students and researchers from academia from all over the world, working on discovery of new superconductors. In Tokyo, Japan, while a professor at Waseda, Lipinska-Kalita captured on behalf of the university a major research project with the Nippon Electric Glass Company, in the frame of which she managed a team of researchers and glass engineers. At the University of Nevada Las Vegas, while collaborating closely with the Office of Strategic Energy Programs, Prof. Lipinska-Kalita is working on a multi-million dollar, multi-year, DOE research project on biofuels. Currently Prof. Lipinska-Kalita is also leading the effort on capturing multi-million long term grants in order to develop, at UNLV, a new Research Center for Functional Advanced Materials for Future Energy Technologies. 

Born, brought up and educated in the UK, Russell has spent the last 32 years in the US, largely in CEO roles in the transportation and environmental services industries. More recently, he devoted himself to consulting work, mainly in the recycling, environmental services and cleantech sectors. He was a Board Member of CORE for several years and President of the organization for a short time in early 2007 before embarking on an extended, private equity funded assignment in the water services industry. He assumed the role of Executive Director of CORE in August, 2008. Since then, he has led a number of initiatives that are positioning CORE as a leading provider of formal educational services to assist smaller businesses to understand the financial benefits of making their operations more socially and environmentally responsible.  Russell’s education comprises a BA from Cambridge University and an MBA in Finance from the UK’s Cranfield School of Management. 

Paul Michael Pelken is currently an Assistant Professor of Architecture for Design and Technology at Syracuse University School of Architecture.  He is also a Research fellow at the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems.  He holds a Master of Architecture Degree from The Bartlett School of Architecture in London at the University College London, UK, a Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Architecture and a Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Interior Architecture both from the Peter Behrens School of Architecture at the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf, Germany.

Khurshid Qureshi is president & CEO of VerdeLogix Corporation developing solutions for integrating alternate energy to the Smart Grid and Demand Side Management. Dr. Qureshi, a Past President Association of Muslim Scientists & Engineers, has more than 25 years of experience in Knowledge based Economy, aerospace, satellite communications, telecom, wireless and ICT. Dr. Qureshi worked at General Motors in several senior executive positions. As Director of Advanced Technology at General Motors, he was responsible for transferring Hughes Aerospace and Satellites technologies to automotive applications and developing On-Star system. As a founding member of Saturn Corporation (Division of GM), Dr. Qureshi managed new vehicle program and vehicle sales of $400 Million.  He was also president of University OneCard System, a company involved in debit cards and security system for colleges and universities. At Ingersoll Rand, he was Business Unit Manager for Electronic Security Systems. He started a new division which sales reached to $75 Million in 3 years. Dr. Qureshi co-founded EcomNet, a Silicon Valley B2B company in 1998 and zeeWAVES Systems a high tech wireless infra structure company in 2004. Dr. Qureshi, along with other executive team members, was responsible for the increase in sales of a start-up company to $160 Million with EBITDA of $25 Million within 5 years. Technology Infrastructure Group where Dr. Qureshi is working as a Senior Partner is developing Technology Incubators and ICT Networks in the Middle East. He founded zeeWAVES Networks and cofounded 1EComNet in Silicon Valley. Dr. Qureshi holds 12 US and International patents in the field of high technology (IT, electronic, transportation). He has won numerous awards in innovation, entrepreneurship and technology. He also serves on board of nonprofit and technology companies and as a member of Board of Advisors of University of Denver.  He often volunteers his time to local, national and international organizations for human development. Dr. Qureshi is well sought speaker at international think tanks and knowledge based economy forums. He discusses strategic socio-economic and geo-political issues in light of high tech economy. He has traveled well over 100 countries in every continent. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and the Stuart School of Business, Illinois Institute of Technology. He is also a graduate of the Senior Executive post Graduate Management Programs at Anderson School of Business at the University of California, in Los Angeles.

Dr. Purusottam (Puru) Jena, Distinguished Professor of Physics at Virginia Commonwealth University received B. Sc. (Hons) and M. Sc. in Physics from Utkal University, India and Ph. D. in Physics from the University of California at Riverside. After postdoctoral and visiting appointments at State University of New York, Albany; Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, Northwestern University, Evanston, and Argonne National Laboratory he joined the Physics faculty of Michigan Technological University, Houghton.  He moved to Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond in 1980 where he has remained ever since with the exception of a year (1986-87) as a Program Director at the Materials Science Division of the National Science Foundation, and a year (2007-08) as a Jefferson Science Fellow and Senior Science Advisor at the US Department of State. Dr. Jena’s research covers a wide range of topics in condensed matter, atomic, and molecular Physics.  These include electronic structure of metals, semiconductors, superconductors, alloys, liquid metals, point and complex defects, surfaces, thin films, atomic clusters, cluster assembled materials, nanoscience, and nanotechnology. His current research involves three major areas: structure and properties of nanoclusters and cluster assembled materials, renewable energy with particular emphasis on hydrogen storage, and spintronics. Dr. Jena has received over 11 million dollars in funding from DOE, ARO, AFOSR, ONR, DTRA, NASA, and NSF as well as from corporations and industries.  Dr. Jena is the author of nearly 400 papers including editor of 12 conference proceedings. He has given over 350 invited talks in international conferences and academic institutions in nearly 30 countries around the world.   Dr. Jena’s honors include: Jefferson Science Fellow at the US Department of State, David Hare Professorship lecture at the Indian Association for Cultivation of Science, Kolkata, India; Fellow of the American Physical Society, Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia; University Award of Excellence and Outstanding Scholar Award from Virginia Commonwealth University; and Chair of the Gordon Conference on Metal-Hydrogen Interactions. He has organized more than thirty international conferences and has served as a member of scientific panels for the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and Army research Office. He was a member of the Executive Committee that drafted the report on the “Basic Research Needs for the Hydrogen Economy” for the Department of Energy. He has also served on the Virginia Governor’s task force on green energy technologies.

Dr. Mosto Onuoha had his early education in Nigeria and later studied at the Lorànd Eötvös University in Budapest, Hungary where he majored in Geophysics, obtaining the PhD degree (summa cum laude) in 1978. He served briefly as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Geophysical Institute, Technical University of Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany before returning to Nigeria in 1980 as an academic staff of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).   Mosto Onuoha rose through the ranks to the position of full Professor of Geology in 1988 and has over the years successfully supervised many postgraduate students including several that now hold very senior positions today in the oil industry and the academia. He has received many honours in his working life and is a Distinguished Fellow of many professional societies including the Nigerian Mining & Geosciences Society, the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists, and the prestigious Nigerian Academy of Science.  Apart from serving the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) in many capacities, including serving as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (2005-2009), he was also the pioneer Mobil/NNPC Professor of Geology at the Mobil Chair, University of Calabar (1991-92), and Technology Development Adviser (Subsurface Development Services), at the Shell Petroleum Development Company in Port Harcourt (1996-2002). Dr. Mosto Onuoha is currently the occupant of the Shell/NNPC Chair of Geology at the University of Nigeria. He is also a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG).  

Dr. Arun Jhaveri has over 35 years of professional work experience in the areas of Energy, Environment, Sustainability, Education, Engineering, Sustainable Development, and Governance. He worked for the United States Federal government for 24 years, from 1982 to 2006, first with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Seattle District as an Engineering Project Manager, from 1982 to 1990, and then as a Regional Manager for the U. S. Department of Energy’s Western Regional Office in Seattle, from 1991 to 2006. In addition, he worked as a Research Engineer for the Boeing Commercial Airplane Division’s 747 program from 1967 to 1972, followed by the First Science/Technology Advisor in City of Seattle Mayor’s Office of Management & Budget from 1977 to 1977. He was also the first Mayor of the new City of Burien, Washington state, from 1992 to 1998, followed by the Governor of the State of Washington-appointed Trustee of the Highline Community College, from 1998 t0 2005. Dr. Jhaveri received his B.Sc. degree from India in 1958, followed by a B.S. degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Washington, Seattle in 1961. He then completed his Master’s degree in Physics from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in 1964. His Doctoral degree dissertation was titled “Effective Leadership for Sustainable Development in the Public Sector”, granted by the Seattle University’s Educational Leadership program in 2006. Dr. Jhaveri is currently an Adjunct Professor at Argosy University in Seattle. He also works as an Adviser/Consultant with many Public and Private Sector clients, specializing in Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy Technologies, Sustainable/Green Buildings, Climate Change, and Strategic Planning

Doug Thorner, Regional President, Earthstream Global, an international recruitment firm specializing in the energy industry. Doug is a seasoned recruitment industry executive who has helped organizations achieve breakthrough results and reach new heights of professionalism, innovation and customer service. In every organization Doug has served, he has played a significant role in driving profitable growth through sound business management, service integrity and keen fiscal oversight. He is adept at providing strategic leadership, creating and managing seamless business operations, and promoting staff and business development. Throughout his career, Doug has remained actively involved in client account development activities to maintain a deep understanding of the latest technology, trends and challenges, and to evaluate client and consultant satisfaction first-hand. Prior to Earthstream Global, Doug served as president of Apariant, an international recruitment firm specializing in the fields of accounting, finance, mortgage banking and technology. Hired as vice president and first employee of the company in 2005, Doug was charged with developing the company from the ground up and responsible for strategic planning, business and technology infrastructure, staff recruitment and training, sales and delivery operations, and business development. Along with creating, supporting and closely monitoring sales and delivery operations, Doug devised strategies to help Apariant identify opportunities created by Under Doug’s direction, Apariant flourished in its first full year, achieving profitability and exceeding growth and revenue projections. In recognition of his successful leadership, Doug was promoted to President in 2006. Prior to joining Apariant, Doug was vice president of the Finance and Accounting practice for Harvey Nash. At Harvey Nash, Doug established the finance and accounting practice as one of the fastest growing divisions in the company. During his tenure, the financial services industry underwent a significant decline due to economic conditions and Doug responded by shifting business development activities to focus on the previously untapped, but still thriving at the time, mortgage banking industry. This key move enabled his division to maintain growth and profitability during a significant industry downturn. While at Harvey Nash, Doug was recognized as one of the organization’s top leaders.  Doug began his career in the recruitment industry with Kforce, where he was a leading revenue producer.  Doug attended Regus Universtiy.  Doug is currently an active member of CORE Colorado and is on the committee of Global Commerce Forum.

Richard is:  Co-Chair and Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Clean Tech Open whose mission is to “Find, Fund, Foster” Clean Tech Entrepreneurs in the six state region as well as CEO and Founder of Envirobrand, helping mid size companies embark on “Triple Bottom Line” strategies. Richard brings 35 years of CEO, COO, CSO, SVP level experience with corporations such as Reebok, Coors, Head Sports, Seven-Up, TCI, Nestle etc. His  expertise is in strategic, organizational and process change which transforms ecological challenges into economic returns. He has done sustainability work, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) projects, EMS (Environmental Management Systems), eco-strategies and brand positioning for organizations such as Merrick, Channel 9, Douglas County Schools, St. Mary’s University, Saunders Construction, Texas Business for Clean Air, etc. Among his many community activities are United Way Denver,  Children’s Museum, Renewable Energy Task Force, Audubon Society, Denver South Metro Chamber, Renewable Energy Taskforce, CORE, CleanLaunch Incubator, Earth Protect and Colorado Clean Tech Industry Association. Richard earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from St. Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia; a Master of Business Administration from Dalhousie University, Halifax; and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Commerce degree from SMU, Nova Scotia in 1999. In 2008, the South Metro Chamber awarded Richard the “Volunteer Leader of the Year” award. He is an avid diver and has amassed over 1,000 dives in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, not to mention countless islands, archipelagos and fresh water lakes around the globe for the last 40 years. It has been this visual time capsule that has motivated him to make restorative changes to the planet going forward.

Dr. David A. Thornton has over 25 years of experience in sales and marketing, international business, technology and convergence, training and education, and senior executive consulting.  Today he is focusing on the global green economy and sustainability, technology convergence, and international business.  Dr. Thornton lived and worked in Asia and Europe.  In the extremely high profile leadership position of Manager- Executive Support (Chief of Staff) for the President & CEO of AT&T Network Systems Asia Pacific.  He had an integral role in the transformation and growth of the company from $300M to nearly $1B (USD) in three years. He received the highly prestigious “Leadership in Action Award” from the CEO and the Board of Directors.  In Europe he was a director of sales for a Lucent Technologies Pan-European organization in the high tech industry.  He received numerous awards including the prestigious “Pan-European Outstanding Recognition & Contribution Award” for managing change & team performance.  Dr. Thornton has a Ph.D. in Management and Administration from Walden University.  He has a MBA, and he has a BS in Urban Government from Georgia State University.