Board of Directors

Jeffery R. Atkin, Board President

Jeffery R. Atkin is a business lawyer and managing partner of the Los Angeles office of Foley & Lardner LLP. His areas of practice cover a broad range of business and financial matters, including renewable energy, project finance, private placements, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, real estate development and equipment procurement and leasing. Mr. Atkin is chair of the Solar Energy Team, co-chair of the Energy Industry Team, and a member of the Latin America Practice. 

Mr. Atkin’s experience in renewable energy and project finance includes representing developers, investors, lenders and landowners in the construction, project development, infrastructure acquisition and financing of renewable energy generation facilities, including wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass facilities, and other non-energy related project development. 

Rahima Butler, Board Treasurer

Rahima Butler is a Managing Director in KPMG’s Power & Utilities (P&U) practice and has worked extensively with energy utility clients for over 15 years. At KPMG, Rahima is responsible for providing advisory services to clients with their business and technology transformation journey, which includes - helping utilities navigate transformational risks, providing guidance on transformation leading practices, lessons learned and technology solutions to drive future state innovation and support successful business outcomes. Prior to KPMG, Rahima was a Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers in their P&U practice driving delivery of digital change for utility clients through technology and business transformations in North America that included multi-service, multi-jurisdictions, multi-company and in a Merger and Acquisition environment.

Luis Gonzalez, Board Secretary

Luis Gonzalez currently oversees Community Relations and Philanthropic initiatives for Wells Fargo Bank for Los Angeles County. In his role, Mr. Gonzalez supports community development initiatives and oversees grant- funding efforts on behalf of Wells Fargo Bank and the Wells Fargo Foundation.

Mr. Gonzalez joined Wells Fargo in 2014 overseeing corporate communications and public relations efforts in the San Diego region. He brings over 19 years of experience working in community relations and community based initiatives. His efforts have aided in the implementation of various programs focused on education, health and human services, civic projects and economic development throughout Southern California.

Anthony Hernandez

Anthony Hernandez is a licensed Electrical Engineer with the state of California, and a LEED® Accredited Professional, and holds a M.S. in Engineering Management and B.S. in Electrical Engineering, both from Cal Poly Pomona.  He has two decades of experience within the energy and construction industries. Throughout his career he has held various leadership roles in customer service, construction management & design, product development & management, energy markets & procurement. Anthony is currently the Principal Manager for SCE’s Energy Contracts Origination team. His team oversees all aspects of the deal-making and solicitation processes for SCE’s Energy Procurement & Management organization, which is responsible for developing SCE’s multi-billion dollar energy resource portfolio, in furtherance of State goals and SCE’s clean energy vision.

Sam Jammal

Sam Jammal is a regulatory attorney and policy advocate based in Los Angeles. He focuses on navigating regulatory environments for early growth companies seeking to bring innovative technologies into the market. Sam currently works as Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs and Counsel for a smart cities and transportation advertising start-up. He spent several years working in clean energy and transportation sectors at leading solar and electric vehicle companies. In these roles, Sam worked with government officials and stakeholders to drive the adoption of new technology.

Jake Levine

Jake Levine is a member of Covington's Public Policy and Government Affairs Practice Group, and its Clean Energy and Climate Industry Group. Mr. Levine advises clients on a variety of public policy, legislative, regulatory, and business matters related to clean energy, climate, water, transportation, and technology. Prior to joining Covington, Mr. Levine held a number of senior positions at the intersection of clean energy policy and technology. Mr. Levine served most recently as Senior Counsel and Principal Consultant to California State Senator Fran Pavley, where he led a team focused on state policy related to climate change, electric vehicles, energy storage, drought and water policy. As part of his duties in the State Senate, Mr. Levine led the successful campaign to draft, design, and enact SB 32 (Pavley) and AB 197 (Garcia), new climate and environmental justice legislation in California. 

Sara Neff

Sara Neff is Senior Vice President, Sustainability at Kilroy Realty  Corporation. Sara took Kilroy from having no sustainability program to being named the #1 publicly traded real estate company on sustainability in North America by GRESB, and under her leadership, the company committed to becoming the first carbon-neutral real estate company in North America by the end of 2020.

At Kilroy, she oversees all sustainability initiatives such as solar and battery dealmaking, the implementation of energy and water efficiency initiatives throughout the existing and development portfolios, the integration of sustainability standards into annual financial reports, and the launch of the Kilroy Innovation Lab. She holds a BS from Stanford and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

 

Bruce Saito

Bruce Saito was appointed Director of California Conservation Corps – the oldest and largest conservation corps in the nation – by Governor Jerry Brown in September of 2015. He is leading the organization in its commitment to enhance the Corpsmember vocational experience and expand environmentally focused projects that make California an even better place to live. Bruce’s career with the Corps goes back to 1977 during the CCC's earliest days. He started as a supervisor/instructor at the Bret Harte Training Academy in Calaveras County, and over the next ten years, promoted his way up to director of the Los Angeles Urban Center and the Conservationist Supervisor CCC Camarillo Center.

Alicia Schwarz

Alicia is Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer at The Walt Disney Company at its headquarters in Burbank. Originally from Florida, she's devoted her legal career to anti-corruption, international trade, and other regulatory compliance matters. At Disney, she is responsible for administering the Company's global compliance program and providing advice and counsel to Disney and its affiliated companies. Alicia is Co-Chair of Disney Lawyers of Color and brings wide-ranging experience to the leadership of GLA along with her impressive qualifications, sound judgment, and (most importantly) a passion for using solar energy as a tool to empower underserved communities.

Sarah Wauters

Sarah Wauters is a Senior Project Manager at Sage Renewables, a consulting firm serving numerous government agencies throughout the State of California. Sarah has provided analysis and strategy to large corporations considering solar energy investments, and developed utility and distributed generation projects in the Southern California region. From 2009 - 2013, as part of a solar design-build firm, Sarah guided dozens of private, public and quasi-public projects in municipal, affordable housing, and market-rate multi-use construction. She has a strong background in CA solar programs, project financing, project analysis, and electricity rate structures. Sarah is proud to serve on the Board of Directors for Grid Alternatives Greater Los Angeles, a non-profit that provides free home solar to lower income homes.

Belinda Waymouth

Belinda Waymouth is an environmental journalist and advocate. She’s worked as the senior writer for UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, as communications manager for Algalita Marine Research, and for The 5 Gyres Institute as their interim director and board vice president. Starting out as a broadcast journalist for Radio New Zealand, she went on to work in print journalism, public relations, and as a photographer. She’s had a career in the entertainment industry in New Zealand and here in the US. In order to be the most effective eco communicator Belinda went back to school mid-career to do a Geography/Environmental Science degree at UCLA.