Technical Advisory Committee

The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) is a group of distinguished experts in different disciplines related to the EcoBlock design and implementation. We are very fortunate to draw on the wealth of their practical experience when we seek advice on challenging questions throughout the project.

Andrew Brooks

Building Retrofits

Founder, Association for Energy Affordability (AEA)

Andy leads the AEA West Coast regional office. Under his guidance, the California office has helped design and administer multifamily energy efficiency programs for organizations like the Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN) and Southern California Edison (SCE). Andy has participated in several energy-efficiency technical committees, including EPA Region 9’s Multifamily Home Energy Retrofit Coordinating Committee.

Keiichi Hirose

Business Model & Strategy

Technical Officer, New Energy & Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO)

Dr. Keiichi Hirose is a Technical officer of NEDO Smart Community Department, and is engaged in solutions for mass introduction of distributed energy, effective use of storage systems, demonstration of advanced microgrid, etc., in order to solve future energy-related issues. He has contributed information and lessons obtained from his years in the telecom industry at NTT on topics including state-of-the-art technologies, mixed AC-DC power facilities, and natural disaster measurements, etc.

Greg Mahoney

Greg Mahoney

Building Department

Chair, California Building Standards Commission Code Advisory for Green Buildings

Vice Chair, Code Council’s G4 Guideline for Commissioning Committee

Greg has 30 years of building code enforcement experience. He has taught Inspection Technology and Green Building at Cosumnes River College for 14 years and also teaches the California Residential Code, California Building Code and CALGreen as a Code Council Instructor. In 2016, Greg was the recipient of the California Building Official’s (CALBO) Building Official of the Year award.

JP Ross

Business Model & Strategy

Senior Director, East Bay Community Energy (EBCE)

JP leads EBCE’s local development and innovation programs to deliver benefits to residents and businesses in Alameda County. He has actively engaged with solar market development and commercialization since 1999 and has worked with organizations like Greenpeace, Vote Solar, and Origin Energy. JP specializes in building teams, P&L management, market expansions, product and business development and developing channels.

Angela Sanguinetti

Behavioral

Research Environmental Psychologist

Director, Cohousing Research Network

Dr. Sanguinetti is a Research Environmental Psychologist at UC Davis Energy and Efficiency Institute and Institute of Transportation Studies. Her research interests center on how the design of the built environment impacts our behavior and well-being. She directs the UC Davis Consumer Energy Interfaces Lab and brings her behavioral expertise to projects with organizations like the Energy & Efficiency Institute.

Bill Torre

Electric Utility Interface

Program Director, Energy Storage & Systems, UCSD Center for Energy Research

Bill has worked in the power and energy engineering industry for 40 years. Currently, he is involved in developing advanced power system controls and data acquisition for micro-grid applications, including phasor measurement units. His energy research also involves electric transportation and utilization of automated demand response and vehicle-to-grid control to optimize overall micro-grid operation and efficiency.

Chad White

Financial

Program Lead, New Climate Initiatives, Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD)

Chad oversees the New Climate Initiatives program at BAAQMD. Under his leadership, the program has launched and grown their use of financial products and partnerships to accelerate climate technology. Chad has a demonstrated history of managing various sustainability projects in strategy implementation, organization development, and product design. He also has experience with projects in the manufacturing, consumer products, food and agriculture, emerging tech, and recycling sectors.

Greg Wolfson

Business Model & Strategy

Head of Technology & Analysis, Shell Connected Energy

Chief Technology Officer, EcoSmart Solution (ESS)

Greg is currently the Head of Technology and Analysis for Shell Connected Energy, which connects Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) to provide cleaner, more cost-effective and resilient energy for end-use clients. Previously, Greg led the development, launch, and commercialization of the AC Battery at Enphase Energy and in 2009, helped found PMFG Solar, a commercial solar developer based in Southern California.

Jim Zoellick

Microgrid Governance

Managing Research Engineer, Schatz Energy Research Center

Jim provides extensive experience in planning, analysis, project development and implementation, with a focus on tribal and public sector projects in rural northern California. He led the development of the RePower Humboldt Strategic Plan and has directed planning studies for the development of electric vehicle charging infrastructure throughout rural northern California. Most recently, Jim has worked to develop, deploy and evaluate cutting-edge microgrid technology.