Staff

Erica Mackie co-founded GRID Alternatives in 2001 and has developed it into a major national non-profit. Ms. Mackie has received numerous awards for her leadership of GRID Alternatives, including the Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award in 2008, the New Leaders Council Energy Leadership Award in 2009, the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award in 2010, the US Green Building Council’s Green Building Super Hero Award in 2010 and the 2013 Clean Energy and Empowerment Award from C3E. Ms. Mackie’s professional experience prior to GRID Alternatives included work in the social sector, first with survivors of domestic violence and then with youth at risk, as well as work in renewable energy and energy efficiency consulting and sales. She holds two bachelor’s degrees from Southern Illinois University, one in Mechanical Engineering and the other in Physics.

Tim Sears co-founded GRID Alternatives in 2001 and has developed it into a major national non-profit. He has shared with Erica Mackie numerous leadership awards for this work, and in 2014 was honored by the White House as a “Champion of Change” for Solar Deployment. Tim is a graduate of Stanford University with a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and before starting GRID Alternatives managed consulting teams of engineers providing comprehensive energy efficiency retrofit recommendations and construction management of projects totaling over $3 million. Tim is also certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) as a Certified Solar PV Installer.

Bambi grew up in the Washington, DC area. She holds a B.S. in Architecture from the University of Virginia, a Masters in Real Estate Development from the University of Maryland in College Park, and is a LEED Accredited Professional. In her career she has worked as a green builder, designer, and consultant for a number of private and non-profit developers, building owners, and design/engineering/contracting firms throughout the US and internationally. Bambi enjoys cooking, eating, hiking, traveling, reading, teaching, humming, building things, and spending time with her family. She believes in trying anything, especially unique foods, at least once!

Jacob Tofa brings over 16 years of experience in financial leadership, with expertise in financial management, strategic planning, and operational efficiency. He has successfully overseen multi-million-dollar budgets, led the implementation of robust financial controls, and ensured strict compliance with donor and federal grant regulations—consistently aligning fiscal operations with mission-driven goals. Jacob previously served as Chief Financial Officer consultant in the Methodist system and as Director of Finance and Administration at NCBA, playing a pivotal role in shaping financial strategy, overseeing complex grant portfolios, and strengthening risk management frameworks. He holds an MBA in Accounting from Southern NH University and is a member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA).

He is passionate about leveraging technology to drive efficiency, enhance decision-making, and optimize financial and operational performance. He has led successful technology implementations in collaboration with leading firms. delivering transformative outcomes across finance, HR and operations.

Anna has broad experience in the solar industry as a site supervisor, hands-on trainer, and design and installation technician. In the private sector, she managed over $4M in residential and small commercial PV projects. She has worked on renewable energy projects and environmental justice campaigns in the Philippines, Haiti, and Costa Rica but is honored to share her skills locally to help democratize access to renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions and training. Anna has a degree in Electrical Engineering from MIT and is proud to represent among other women who are NABCEP Certified Installers in California.

Originally from the east coast, Adewale moved to Southern California in 2007. Initially he worked at California State University, Dominguez Hills for the California African American Political & Economic Institute, a non-profit research organization that disseminated information into the Greater Los Angeles community. During the course of his employment, he took up the study of photovoltaics at Los Angeles Trade Technical College. It was at that time that he learned about and became involved with GRID Alternatives. Since then he has developed a passion for solar energy and all the possibilities its uses create.

“To be able to stay involved in building healthy and sustainable communities keeps me grounded as an individual, while staying connected to humanity at large.”

“I am excited about the future; I’ve found something in which I am passionate about, that I can build a career in, while helping to save the environment. Just as important is the fact that I am also empowered to help others in a way that that benefits us all. As a Workforce Development Manager, GRID Alternatives provides me with a great opportunity, not only in which to learn and grow, but also to give back.”

Christian Weaver served as the Program Director, leading the grantmaking programs for the Tribal Solar Accelerator Fund, a GRID tribal-led philanthropic grantmaking program supporting new solar projects in tribal communities across the country. Weaver has been in the strategic planning, development, and organizational development industry for over 20 years and has extensive experience in organizational leadership, fundraising, grant-making, and building partnerships. Prior to joining GRID, Weaver served as Associate Vice President of Major and Institutional Giving at the U.S. Soccer Foundation, Vice President of Development for the National Congress of American Indians, Director of Organizational Development for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and Manager of Major Gifts at the American Indian College Fund.

Weaver is passionate about environmental sustainability, conservation, community development and civil rights. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Valdosta State University, a Master’s in Indigenous Law from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, and is currently pursuing a second Master’s in Sustainable Leadership from Arizona State University. Weaver is an involved citizen of his Tribal community, Shinnecock, and is also a board member of Shinnecock Sovereign Holdings.

Lycia Ortega (she/her), citizen of the Quechan Indian Tribe, is a communications strategist and policy advocate, specializing in campaigns that raise the visibility and enhance the political power of historically underserved communities. Lycia is skilled at uplifting, empowering, and humanizing community voices. She is passionate about storytelling using multimedia approaches and has led teams and initiatives on the domestic and global levels for more than 16 years. She holds degrees in Communications, Film and Video Production, and Indigenous Peoples Law. Lycia is located in Central Florida and is the proud mom to human children Isaiah (18) and Inaya (16), and to fur baby Daisy (7). She loves distance running, indoor climbing, domestic and international travel, and participating in the revitalization of her Tribe’s rich language, culture, and traditions.

Chris Walker leads GRID Alternatives' national Policy & Programs Department and a mission-driven, multi-functional team of talented policy advocates and administrators. Chris’ goal at GRID is to collaborate across a community of practice to develop and deploy holistic climate equity solutions, leveraging incentive and assistance programs at scale as opportunities for restorative justice. His team and partners currently administer a portfolio of over $1.5 billion in public and foundation resources through 2030. Before GRID, Chris’s teams at The Solar Foundation (now IREC) designed and administered ongoing US Department of Energy-funded programs focused on equitable solar workforce development and market development. He also held positions at SolarCity (now Tesla) and the Climate Institute, a DC-based think tank. Chris has volunteered extensively with the NAACP's Environmental & Climate Justice Program. He holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in Political Science from the University of Florida. Chris hails from Torrance, CA.

Jenean Smith is the Vice President of International Programs at GRID Alternatives. She combines her experience in international development and solar energy to lead the nonprofit's international work. She has a passion for protecting a balanced ecosystem, empowering women and ensuring renewable energy is accessible to all. Jenean joined the for-profit solar industry in 2007 and worked for Mitsubishi Electric's Solar Division and later worked for Trojan Battery Company's Renewable Energy Division. In 2008 she founded Power to the People, a non-profit organization that brings renewable energy solutions to the developing world, and facilitated its acquisition by GRID Alternatives. Before working in the solar industry, she was the Youth Program Director for the Riecken Foundation in Honduras and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in San Lorenzo, Boaco, Nicaragua. Jenean holds a BA in Sociology from UMASS Boston, an MBA from Northeastern University and a Masters in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University.

Talia is GRID Alternatives’ Director of Tribal Programs. She brings 12+ years of experience in tribal and federal governmental issues on environmental waste management and nuclear and renewable energy. Talia is an enrolled member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Fort Hall, Idaho. Prior to joining GRID, she was the Tribal Department of Energy Director for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and performed as the liaison between the Tribes and the U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office. She attended University of Kansas and received a B.A. in Chemistry and an M.S. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. She also attended Haskell Indian Nations University and received an A.S. in Natural Resources. Her education has fueled her passion in promoting STEM-opportunities for tribal youth and integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into her work with GRID Alternatives and Tribal Nations. She resides on the Fort Hall Reservation where she enjoys hunting, fishing and camping with her family and coaching youth basketball.

Tanksi Clairmont is the Director of Tribal Energy Alternatives, a new tribally focused program at GRID Alternatives. She is an enrolled member of the Sicangu Lakota and Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota tribes. She has a master’s degree in Kinesiology from the University of Minnesota, where she conducted original research and data collection on Native American collegiate student-athletes. More importantly, her personal and professional passions and experiences remain centered on working with and building capacity in tribal communities across Indian Country.

Originally from Canada, Simon started his career as an intern in Solar Energy International. Since then he has spent the last decade working on numerous commercial, residential, and off-grid projects from California to the Caribbean. Simon is an avid outdoors enthusiast and spends his time in Colorado skiing, fishing, and river rafting with his wife and two kids.

Katie started at GRID as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer and has since transitioned into her role in HR building the department from the ground up. She graduated from Boston University with a BA in Sociology. She hails from sunny Philadelphia but now calls the Bay her home. She is deeply committed to creating an inclusive environment at GRID Alternatives where staff, clients, volunteers, and partners have a space to grow and feel heard.

Antia Smith is an experienced HR professional who joined GRID Alternatives in 2015. She and Katie co-created GRID's HR department with a focus on creating a fun, inclusive environment for GRID's people. She graduated from CUNY with a degree in Business Administration as well as earning additional professional HR certifications. In her free time, she loves exploring creative outlets and spending time with her daughter.

Steven has a degree in International Relations with a minor in Geography from Florida International University. After college he returned to his hometown in Pennsylvania and worked for a law firm in downtown Philadelphia, but found a new passion in solar technology. He enrolled in a Photovoltaic program offered by the City University of New York and soon after found work with a small renewable energy company. His desire to help others, implement renewable technologies, and enjoy the great outdoors lead him to California in 2008, where he joined GRID Alternatives' San Diego office as an AmeriCorps VISTA. From that humble beginning he has worked in several different positions with GRID Alternatives, giving him a great understanding of the organization and more passion for GRID's mission. In 2010 he moved to San Luis Obispo County to establish and lead GRID Alternatives' Central Coast office. After helping to launch our New York Tri-State office, Steven went on to take a role as Director of Operations with the GRID Alternatives Headquarters team. Steven is a NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional and licensed NJ Electrician.

Arthur has an extensive career that includes construction management, program/project/product management, and entrepreneurship in many industries including infrastructure, education, transportation, energy, health, government, and hospitality. He excels at building high-performance teams focusing efforts on exceptional customer relationships with high-quality service and has been responsible for fundraising, enterprise-level sales, and implementation in various industries. With a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, Arthur is excited to bring his experience, skills, and passion for equity in renewable energy here to GRID. He is a Bay Area resident with his wife and their three daughters.

Karina brings over 16 years of experience in community outreach, education, and training. Joining the team in 2011, she has driven the GRID mission forward serving homeowners, job trainees, and building partnerships. She thrives in challenging situations, always looking for ways to improve department outcomes and program offerings. She is passionate about serving and meeting individual needs. If not in her office, she can be found interacting with participants in the four training programs she helped to develop. Working alongside the Central Valley team, she envisions a new map for serving the needs of the CV region. Her roots run deep as she has lived in Fresno County for over 30 years. She currently resides in Fresno with her husband and four wonderful children. 

David graduated from CSU, Fresno with a B.S. in Business Administration-Accountacy. His work history includes retail sales, construction, insurance, and teaching prior to joining GRID Alternatives in September, 2010. David began volunteering with GRID after looking for a career that was socially, environmentally, and personally satisfying. As David volunteered often, he learned more about GRID Alternatives, it's mission and goals, and decided to join the Central Valley Fresno team.

As a Bruin and native Angeleno, Ashley loves Southern California and all the great things it has to offer. Ashley realized she really wants to help people and communities at an early age and opted to go to an alternative high school in Compton to prepare for a career in medicine. After receiving her BA in History from UCLA, she began her career path by working in several different industries before catching solar fever in 2011. After working in the for-profit world for 7 years, she realized that the desire to help her community was not being fulfilled and decided to embark on a different path that combined both her love for renewable energy and community development. GRID affords her the opportunity and she could not be happier! She is excited to bring her experience with project administration and business operations to the GRID family and hopes to make a positive impact in her community and spread the culture of GRID wherever she goes. She is thrilled that she has the opportunity to work for such a positive company with such a wonderful approach and diverse perspective on people, planet and employment.

Jaime Alonso was born and raised in the Coachella Valley. Like many in this region, he came from a family of Mexican migrant farmworkers. Raised in a mobile home in an unincorporated area of Riverside County, Jaime recognized early on that access to adequate housing, safe drinking water and reliable energy sources were not readily available to all. This recognition motivated him upon his return to the Coachella Valley after graduating from the University of California in Los Angeles (U.C.L.A.) in 2005 to become active with Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC), a faith-based community organizing network. During this time, Jaime also joined local community leaders in Coachella, CA to form what would become Raices Cultura, an arts and culture organization committed to the empowerment of youth and adult residents through artistic self-expression and cultural inclusivity.

Jaime graduated from Brooklyn Law School (2009) with honors and spent ten years working as a legal and policy professional in the Washington D.C. metropolitan region. A California native through and through, Jaime has maintained strong ties with organizations and policymakers in the Inland Empire region. In his role as Executive Director for GRID Alternatives, Inland Empire (Riverside, CA), Jaime manages construction, workforce, outreach, development, tribal, communications and operations staff to install solar electric systems using both production and job training models and benefiting a mix of multifamily affordable properties, mission-aligned community facilities, and single-family homes owned by income-qualified families.

In 2024, Jaime was nominated and selected to the Center for Community Investments’ inaugural California Climate Leadership Fellowship. CCLF is a year-long intensive, hands-on program designed to equip leaders with the adaptive leadership knowledge and skills needed to build lasting climate security frameworks in communities and to meaningfully advance the State’s movement for climate resilience so it can more quickly and equitably achieve results for the people of California.

In 2024, GRID Alternatives Inland Empire was selected as a Bank of America Neighborhood Builder. A key element of the award is comprehensive leadership training for each organization’s executive director and an emerging leader, with access to a national network of nonprofit peers. In 2025, Jaime looks forward to participating in this valuable training experience alongside Yoselyn Ekert, who was nominated as GRID IE's emerging leader.

Jaime works to grow GRID Alternatives’ presence, policy influence, positive public image, mission impact, and regional financial viability, including networking and speaking presentations. Jaime is a current board member of Lift to Rise, a non-profit organization in the Coachella Valley focused on radically increasing the supply of affordable housing by creating, expanding, and underwriting the affordable housing pipeline in the region, among other transformational initiatives. Jaime is also a Member of Citizens Business Bank’s Community Advisory Committee, where he helps advise the bank on how best to shape and measure the performance of its Community Reinvestment Act activities, specifically around economic development and job creation, to help meet the needs of low and moderate-income neighborhoods and individuals in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Jaime enjoys wilderness, the arts, and traveling.

Pablo started his solar career installing residential and commercial solar in 2011. He specialized in off-grid design and construction, and became a NABCEP PV Installation Professional in 2013, and a Master Electrician in Pennsylvania in 2018. Pablo lives and breaths solar, so in some of his free time, he works as a solar consultant for companies looking to install solar and wanting to create a more reliable grid in regions where that is lacking. In his non-solar free time, he enjoys hiking and biking with his wife and puppy.

Achini brings over seven years of experience in fundraising, grant writing, and grant-funded project management to GRID NV. Achini transitioned to the nonprofit environmental field following a career in academic research, where she managed large collaborative cancer research projects. She is excited to be a part of GRID's efforts to address our global climate crisis and bring equitable energy and employment access to our North Valley communities. Achini holds a Bachelor's in Chemistry and Mathematics and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Bioorganic Chemistry. Achini loves watching SciFi series and documentaries. Mountain lakes are her favorite geographical feature.

Paul's non-profit experience began in the early 1990s, when he helped evaluate a rural electrification project in Guatemala. After receiving a masters degree in international relations from U.C. San Diego, Paul worked in public health along the U.S.-Mexico border, human trafficking prevention, fundraising for an anthropology museum, and - his most challenging position - a short stint as a stay-at-home father. Paul and his family have been happy consumers of solar-generated electricity since 2002.

Margaret joined GRID Colorado in October 2022; she is a seasoned business leader who worked 28 years in community banking, starting at entry level positions to the top executive position as a former Well Fargo Community Bank President in Colorado. She left the banking industry and became an entrepreneur focused on systems change to address our world’s most pressing issues, including climate change and health. Margaret has extensive experience in business, community engagement, finance, operations, and entrepreneurship.

“If you’re looking for me and I’m not in the office, I’m probably out with nature. I love hugging trees, touching and feeling rocks and minerals and smelling the soil. Outdoors, travel and reading are my passions, but I have to admit on cold snowy days, I have been known to binge on Netflix Food shows like Midnight Diner!”

Bambi grew up in the Washington, DC area. She holds a B.S. in Architecture from the University of Virginia, a Masters in Real Estate Development from the University of Maryland in College Park, and is a LEED Accredited Professional. In her career she has worked as a green builder, designer, and consultant for a number of private and non-profit developers, building owners, and design/engineering/contracting firms throughout the US and internationally. Bambi enjoys cooking, eating, hiking, traveling, reading, teaching, humming, building things, and spending time with her family. She believes in trying anything, especially unique foods, at least once!