2021 EAN Summit – Speaker Bios

Vermont has a major moral imperative, economic opportunity, and legal requirement to achieve our 2025, 2030, and 2050 energy and GHG emissions reduction commitments in ways that “create a more just, thriving, and sustainable future” for Vermonters. EAN is proud to be partnering with many key speakers to discuss these topics. 2021 EAN Summit speakers and their bios are listed below.

To navigate back to the main Summit overview page, see here.

Becca Balint

Senator Becca Balint has served in the Vermont Senate since 2015. As of 2021, Becca is the President pro tempore of the Vermont Senate. During her first term Rebecca served on the Institutions Committee and the Economic Development and Housing Committee, as well as the Judicial Rules Committee. During her 2nd term she was made vice chair of the Education Committee, and continued to serve on the Economic Development Committee. She was elected to the position of Senate Majority Leader and was also appointed Chair of the Senate Sexual Harassment Prevention Panel. In her 3rd term she was re-elected to the position of Senate Majority Leader.

Rhoni Basden

Rhoni Basden joined Vermont Works for Women as Executive Director in December 2019. She has extensive experience as a leader, overseeing programs that promote social and economic opportunities for underserved populations. Rhoni served for seven years as the Executive Director of Girls Inc. of Tennessee Valley, an organization committed to helping girls navigate gender, economic and social barriers in support of a healthy, successful future. There she developed a regional organizational model to help drive program expansion, and strengthened governance and outreach structures that helped increase revenues seven-fold. Her efforts received national recognition and the adoption of these strategies within the entire Girls Inc. network.

Christopher Bray

Senator Christopher Bray became a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in January 2007, serving two terms on the House Agriculture Committee. In 2009, Chris was elected to the Board of Trustees of the University of Vermont. Chris was a lead sponsor of Vermont’s Farm to Plate Program and the Biomass Energy Development Working Group, which he co-chaired until 2011. In 2009, Chris also received the Vermont Natural Resource Council’s Legislative Leadership Award. In 2010, Chris received the Council of State Government’s Toll Fellowship. In 2012, Chris was appointed to the Vermont State Supreme Court’s Professional Responsibility Program.

Tim Briglin

Representative Tim Briglin has served in the Vermont House of Representatives since 2014. Tim has been involved in Vermont politics for over 20 years working on multiple Leahy, Welch, Markowitz, and Obama campaigns. Tim was on the Vermont delegation to the 2008 and 2012 Democratic National Conventions and has been the Treasurer of the VT Democratic Party. He served for ten years on the Thetford Academy board of trustees, including three years as the president. Tim is a managing partner at Tuckerman Capital, a firm he co-founded in 2001 to invest in and grow small manufacturing businesses.

Chris Campany

Chris Campany is the Executive Director of the Windham Regional Commission based in Brattleboro, Vermont. The Windham Region consists of 27 towns within a 920 square mile area of Southeastern Vermont. The purpose of the commission is to assist towns to provide effective local government and work cooperatively with them to address regional issues. Prior to his tenure at the Windham Regional Commission, Chris was an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture and Graduate Program Coordinator at Mississippi State University; Deputy Director of Planning and Zoning for Calvert County, Maryland; Deputy Commissioner of Planning for Orange County, New York; Federal Policy Coordinator for the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture in its work on the 2002 Farm Bill; founder and Executive Director of the Baton Rouge Economic and Agricultural Development Alliance in Louisiana; and a Program Analyst and Presidential Management Intern with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in
Washington, DC. Chris holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Master of Public Policy and Administration from Mississippi State University, and a Master of Landscape Architecture from Louisiana State University.

Scott Campbell

Scott Campbell represents St. Johnsbury in the Vermont House of Representatives. His background is in construction and energy efficiency, with more than 40 years working as a carpenter, contractor, building designer, and program manager. He is a former director of CVOEO’s Weatherization Assistance Program serving four counties in northwest Vermont, and was founding director of 3E Thermal, a Capstone Community Action program providing consulting and incentives for affordable apartment housing statewide.

Amanda Carlson

Amanda is a born and bred Vermonter – she currently holds a part-time role as an EMT and a full-time role in Capstone’s Climate Impact Division, managing climate-related projects as a Special Projects Manager. Her work in the ski industry in Colorado (as well as some poignant lectures by the Rocky Mtn. Institute) awoke her to the climate crisis, as she came to realize that winter and snow packs are not a guarantee, and something future generations should be able to enjoy. When she moved back to Vermont, she threw herself into the literature surrounding the climate crisis, and vibrant Vermont energy committee network.

Kristin Carlson

Kristin Carlson leads key areas for Green Mountain Power customers – including energy services programs and all company external affairs. That means multiple teams tracking important details so that GMP is delivering low-cost, low-carbon, great service in a way that customers want. Kristin has a knack for connecting with customers. She’s a Vermonter who spent 14 years talking with and reporting Vermonters’ stories as a journalist at WCAX-TV before joining GMP.

Sarah Copeland Hanzas

Representative Sarah Copeland Hanzas serves as Co-Chair of the Climate Solutions Caucus and is Chair of House Government Operations. She has represented Bradford, Fairlee and West Fairlee in the House since 2005.

Rich Cowart

Rich Cowart is a Principal of Climate and Energy Policy at the Regulatory Assistance Project. has deep experience on state and national energy and environmental issues in the U.S., across Europe, in China, and several other nations, with a particular focus on climate policy for the past decade. He launched and directed RAP’s Europe program from 2009-2018. He served for a decade on the Executive Committee of the International Energy Agency’s demand-side management program, and was appointed to three terms as chair of the Electricity Advisory Committee of the United States Department of Energy. His recent work focuses on power markets, climate policy, and energy efficiency programs throughout Europe.

Virginie Diambou

Virginie Diambou, originally from the Republic of Congo, relocated to the US 15 years ago after fleeing the civil war in her country. . She worked in one of the Burlington area medical facilities for many years before joining a pediatric program at the University of Vermont, the VT Leadership Education in Neurodevelopment Disabilities. In this setting, she served as the Community Health, Refugee Outreach, and Internship Coordinator. Concurrently, she enrolled in a screening program, the Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment, assessing French-speaking community members’ risk behavior for substance use and mental health disorders. For the past year she has served as the Racial Equity Director with the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity.
Virginie Diambou is a volunteer member of the United Way of Northwest Vermont – Racial Justice team and the Board of Directors, a member of the UVM Community Health Need Assessment Steering Committee and the Just Transition Sub-Committee of the Vermont Climate Council. With the latter, Diambou hopes to help convey helpful information about cheaper and safer green services to marginalized communities.

Jordan Giaconia

An accomplished advocate and campaigner, Jordan brings several years of experience shaping policy at the local, state, and national levels with organizations such as the Land Trust Alliance, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, and Sierra Club. As Public Policy Manager for Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility he focuses on leveraging the power of the business community to create positive social and environmental change in the Statehouse and using his policy acumen to create a more just, thriving, and transformative economy for all people and the planet. Jordan is committed to protecting the natural, economic, and human landscapes of the Green Mountain State and elevating the voices of key stakeholders from impacted communities. When he’s not at the office, Jordan can be found hiking, kayaking, fishing, or cooking up new recipes in the kitchen.

Kesha Ram Hinsdale

Kesha Ram Hinsdale is a Vermont State Senator serving Chittenden County, where she is the first woman of color and youngest woman in history to have a seat in the State Senate. She received a BS in Natural Resource Planning and a BA in Political Science from the University of Vermont in 2008, where she was Student Government Association President and graduated magna cum laude. Kesha earned her Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2018. Her career in Vermont has spanned preschool education, legal advocacy for victims of domestic violence, and municipal civic engagement. Kesha served in the Vermont House of Representatives on behalf of Burlington, Chittenden District 6-4 from 2008 to 2016, where she sat on the House General, Housing & Military Affairs and Ways & Means Committees, and as Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources & Energy Committee. She has also served as Co-Chair of the Vermont Attorney General’s Immigration Task Force, and as a member of the boards of Emerge Vermont, the Main Street Alliance of Vermont, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, the Regenerative Food Network, and the Vermont Natural Resources Council.

Charlie Kimbell

Representative Charlie Kimbell has served in the Vermont House of Representatives since 2017. Charlie has worked for 30 years in the private sector in diverse industries: retail and commercial banking, art licensing and publishing, software development and publishing with MISys, Inc, sales and marketing consulting, and as co-owner of Elevation Clothing in Woodstock, VT. He has served on the boards of numerous nonprofit organizations throughout Vermont and as a Trustee of the Village of Woodstock.

Breck Knauft

Breck joined the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC) team in 2008 and became Executive Director in 2016. He finds inspiration in the creativity, resolve, and corps spirit that young people bring to VYCC. Forging strong communities, the wonder and invigoration of the outdoors, and creating alternative pathways for young adults are outcomes at the center of Breck’s leadership. Prior to VYCC Breck was an outdoor educator and Director at Keewaydin Camp, a classroom teacher and Dean of Students at a small prep school, and a development professional in higher education. Breck holds degrees from Lawrence University and Saint Michael’s College.

Jill Krowinski

Representative Jill Krowinski has served in the House since 2012 and is currently the House Majority Leader. Krowinski has experience working at non-profits and serving on community boards. For nearly eight years she worked at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, her last role as the VP of Education and VT Community Affairs. Krowinski also served as a Commissioner for the Fletcher Free Library, Vice Chair of the Health Care Oversight Committee, Chair of the Vermont Child Poverty Council, and is currently an Advisory Committee member of Emerge Vermont. She also has served as a delegate for the American Council of Young Political Leaders in the Philippines.

Ryan Lamberg

Ryan is the owner and senior consultant of Tied Branch Consulting, a boutique consulting group of alternative energy experts who help transform and decarbonize energy systems while improving air quality. Lamberg cofounded Community Fuels, one of California’s largest biodiesel production facilities and built a successful energy efficiency company specializing in energy audits. He helped found the California Advanced Biofuels Alliance, a regional network to help biofuel producers advance their legislative and political goals. At Tied Branch, Lamberg provides real-world solutions for companies, non-profits, and governmental agencies that integrate an “all of the above approach” to our energy transition. He and his family reside in Stowe, Vermont.

Diane Lanpher

Representative Diane Lanpher is a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Addison’s 3rd District, and was first elected in 2008. She served as the Training Coordinator for the Vermont Department of Health, Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs for many years, and worked for the New England Institute of Addiction Studies, focused on the Vermont Adolescent Treatment Enhancement Grant. Diane has served on the Vergennes City Council for several years and chaired the Vergennes Energy Savings Committee, and is a member of the Addison County Transportation Advisory Committee and a current board member of Addison County Transit Resources.

Veronica Lindstrom

Veronica Lindstrom is joining the EAN Summit as a Burlington High School student.

Tom Longstreth

Tom Longstreth joined ReSOURCE (then called ReCycle North) in 1996, five years after its founding. Under his leadership, the organization has expanded its geographic reach, impact, and scope of services. The organization now employs over seventy staff, annually serves nearly 400 trainees, and operates multiple social enterprises that protect the environment while reducing poverty and serving the community in four locations. In 2015, Tom was appointed to the newly reconstituted State Workforce Investment Board and continues to serve in this capacity. Tom has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College.

Neale Lunderville

Neale Lunderville joined VGS in June 2020 and serves as President and CEO. Neale recently served as Interim Director of the Community & Economic Development Office in Burlington and, from 2014 to 2018, as General Manager of Burlington Electric Department. Prior to that, he was CEO of NG Advantage LLC, a natural gas distribution company. In 2011, he was appointed Irene Recovery Officer for the State of Vermont, leading and coordinating Vermont’s recovery from the worst disaster to hit the state since the floods of 1927. He served in two top cabinet posts in Vermont state government: Secretary of Administration from 2008 to 2011 where he oversaw the daily operations of state government; and, as Secretary of Transportation from 2006 to 2008. He also served as Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs and a member of the governor’s senior staff. He is a chair of the board of the Preservation Trust of Vermont and serves on the boards of the Vermont Journalism Trust, Champlain College, and EAN. He is a member of Governor Phil Scott’s Government Modernization and Efficiency Team. He is also involved with the Intervale Center’s Celebrate Intervale! campaign, Change the Story’s Champions for Change, and Vermont Council on Rural Development’s Climate Energy Action Team.

Geoff Martin

Geoff is the Intermunicipal Regional Energy Coordinator at the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission, working with the Towns of Barnard, Bradford, Norwich, Sharon, Strafford, Thetford, and Woodstock to lessen overall energy use, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and move to renewable generation of electricity within participating towns. Geoff’s work focuses on energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy production by the participating towns in their operations. He holds a Master’s in Environmental Sciences from Emory University and a Bachelor’s in Development Studies from Brown University. He worked as a BPI-certified energy auditor before serving as the Town of Hartford’s Energy Coordinator.

Alex Maclean

Alex is a Partner and President of Strategic Communications at LPA. Alex has designed and implemented numerous successful public relations efforts and campaigns. Throughout her career she has helped businesses, nonprofits and political campaigns create and execute their strategic visions and achieve their public policy goals. Alex brings her deep experience in public affairs as Governor Shumlin’s campaign manager, campaign strategist and deputy Chief of Staff to her work at Leonine Public Affairs.

Johanna Miller

Johanna Miller is the Energy & Climate Program Director for the Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC). Johanna also serves as the coordinator of the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network, the statewide network of town energy committees and the partners who support them. In these roles, Johanna works from the grassroots to the Legislature to help advance clean energy and climate action programs and policies. Johanna is a member of Governor Phil Scott’s Climate Action Commission and also serves on the Clean Energy Development Fund board, the Vermont Energy Education Program board, the Vermont System Planning Committee and the Montpelier Energy Advisory Committee. Prior to joining VNRC in 2005, Johanna spent five years working as an organizer and policy expert for a statewide environmental policy and advocacy organization in Michigan – the Michigan Land Use Institute.

Sue Minter

Sue Minter is the Executive Director of Capstone Community Action. She served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011, led Vermont’s recovery efforts after Tropical Storm Irene, and became secretary of the Vermont Agency of Transportation in 2015.

Julie Moore

Julie Moore is the Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), the state agency with primary responsibility for protecting and sustaining Vermont’s environment, natural resources, wildlife and forests, and for maintaining Vermont’s beloved state parks. Moore was named to that position by Governor Phil Scott in January 2017. As ANR Secretary, Moore shapes Vermont’s environmental agenda, focusing on water quality, the forest economy, and the importance of conservation. She currently serves on the boards of the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, Vermont Council on Rural Development, as well as ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center.

Colin Murphy

Colin Murphy is the Deputy Director of the Policy Institute, where he helps guide research and outreach on issues relating to transportation, energy, air quality, and carbon markets. Prior to joining the Policy Institute, he was a Science Policy Fellow with the California Council on Science and Technology, and an advocate for sustainable transportation and energy policy with the NextGen Policy Center, where he helped extend California’s climate programs through 2030. He has a B.S. in Biological Systems Engineering from UC Davis, a M.S. in Science, Technology and Public Policy from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Transportation Technology and Policy from UC Davis.

Peggy O’Neill-Vivanco

Peggy O’Neill-Vivanco conducts program outreach and coordination at the Transportation Research Center at the University of Vermont. She is the coordinator of the Vermont Clean Cities Coalition, funded by the US Department of Energy, where she brings together stakeholders in the public and private sectors across the state to provide assistance to fleets implementing alternative fuels, advanced fuel vehicles and transportation efficiencies. Her work with stakeholders covers a wide range of topics including, idle reduction technologies; electric lawn equipment; electric bicycles; and transit options for rural and underserved areas. She is the Vice-Chair of the Burlington Public Works Commission.

Peggy holds an MA from New York University. She is a year-round bike commuter, and advocate for safe bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure for all users.

Andrew Perchlik

Senator Andrew Perchlik has been a member of the Vermont State Senate since 2018. He has a long history of being involved in Vermont energy and sustainability initiatives. He currently serves as the Director of Vermont’s Clean Energy Development Fund. Previous roles include being the Founding Executive Director of Vermont’s renewable energy trade association, Renewable Energy Vermont, and serving as a Board Member of the Solar Rating Certification Corporation’s Board and the ICC’s Renewable Energy Advisory Council.

Bonnie Pratt

Bonnie leads Packetized Energy’s grid edge flexibility programs to fulfill her goal of bringing important renewable energy technologies to market. She began her career at the Citigroup Private Bank in San Francisco and Boston. She then completed an MBA at Babson and co-founded her first tech startup, Radius Tracking Systems. She has consulted with numerous startups on go-to-market strategies and co-founded Reconciled, an online bookkeeping company. Bonnie earned a PhD in Natural Resources and a Certificate in Complex Systems from the University of Vermont. Her dissertation, Enabling Innovation in the Energy System Transition, combined her education in energy systems with her background in business and tech entrepreneurship.

Bill Regan

Bill Regan gained over 30 years of public policy experience in Washington, DC before moving to Vermont, where he works with local environmental groups, other non-profits, and socially-responsible businesses. In addition, he helps teach undergraduates and graduate students in Vermont and Massachusetts. In Washington, Bill began his career as an analyst with the Federal Government, and later rose to the senior executive ranks. He led large and complex organizations, drove analytic programs on some of the most pressing issues of the day, and produced and reviewed products for the President, Cabinet, and other top officials in the Executive Branch and Congress. He received many top awards during his career, including for analysis and leadership. Bill, who started visiting Vermont as a child, is a lifelong environmentalist and firm believer in service to others and our world.

Phil Scott

Phil Scott became the 82nd Governor of Vermont in January 2017 and was reelected to a third term in 2020. As Governor, he is committed to making a difference in the lives of Vermonters by growing the state’s economy, making Vermont more affordable, and protecting the most vulnerable. He has consistently focused on economic and affordability issues. Previously, he was elected and served three terms (2011-2017) as Vermont’s 79th Lieutenant Governor. Prior to that role, he was elected to the Vermont Senate for five terms, representing Washington County. During his 10-year service in the Senate, he was Vice Chair of the Transportation Committee and Chair of the Institutions Committee.

Gabrielle Stebbins

Gabrielle specializes in the development of policy and programs for promotion of renewable energy, strategic electrification and energy efficiency, with a special focus on efforts to integrate all three. She has extensive expertise in policy and planning from work as a consultant, as director of Vermont’s statewide renewable energy industry trade association, a member of the Vermont System Planning Committee (addressing transmission grid reliability planning) and as Chair of the Board of the Burlington Electric Department (BED), Vermont’s largest municipal electric utility. In the latter role Gabrielle has provided strategic direction on BEDs IRP, maintaining BED’s 100% renewably-sourced portfolio and on Burlington’s goal to be a net zero city across all energy use by 2030. Gabrielle brings to her policy and planning work a grounded understanding of what it takes to move markets from policy incubation in the legislative arena, to program design in the regulatory arena, to the implementation arena, having managed residential efficiency programs, renewable energy incentive programs and pilot programs that simultaneously promote efficiency, electrification of space heating and customer-sited renewables. She is also a State Representative in the Vermont General Assembly where she serves on the House Committee on Transportation.

Jennifer Wallace-Brodeur

Jennifer Wallace-Brodeur is a manager in VEIC’s consulting division and oversees its transportation electrification work. Jennifer sets the strategic direction for VEIC’s clean transportation programs and leads her team to reduce the environmental and economic impacts of energy use from the transportation sector. Jennifer also manages transportation policy work at VEIC and serves as an expert in the legislature, represents VEIC on state and regional climate and transportation stakeholder groups, and provides strategic guidance on policy positions.

Peter Welch

Congressman Peter Welch has been a champion for working Vermonters throughout his career. Since his election to Congress in 2006, he has been widely recognized as a thoughtful and effective legislator who chooses governing over gridlock. Peter’s record reflects his strong commitment to bringing people together to find common sense solutions to the difficult challenges facing our state and nation. In an era of partisanship, he has worked across the aisle to create jobs, increase access to affordable education and health care, invest in energy efficiency, protect our environment, and care for our veterans. In Congress, Peter is a leading advocate for energy efficiency, cutting the price of prescription drugs, investing in infrastructure, and expanding broadband and telemedicine in rural America. Peter is a Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus and a member of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. He serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.