Energy: An Interdisciplinary Conversation
Speaker Biographies
Jim Brassord is the chief of campus operations at Amherst College. In his nearly 20 year tenure he has lead numerous planning and design initiatives which have resulted in the renovation, renewal or construction of approximately two-thirds of the campus buildings. A major focus for Jim is now leading the effort for the Greenway Projects which include new dormitories and a science center and a greenway landscape that will redefine the east campus.
In addition to his Facilities responsibilities, he oversees a number of operational departments which include Dining Services, Campus Police, Environmental Health & Safety, the Office of Environmental Sustainability, and Rental Housing management. Jim also serves as the college's liaison with Town Hall and the business community. He has championed sustainability at the college and through operational initiatives has reduced Amherst's carbon footprint by 30 percent.
Jim holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut, an M.S. in mechanical engineering from RPI and an M.B.A. from the University of Connecticut.
David Delaney has been teaching in the Department of Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought since 1995. He is the author or editor of a number of books including Race, Place and the Law (1998, University of Texas Press), Law and Nature (2001, Cambridge University Press), Nomospheric Investigations (2010, Routledge) and The Expanding Spaces of Law (2014, Stanford University Press). His current project concerns the Anthropocene and the Fate of Law. His teaching interests include law in relation to race, inequality, spatiality, war and the environment.
Greg Donat '84, P'16, is Partner at Casablanca Capital LP and has been with them since November 2011. Before that, he spent five year as Director at Lazard Freres & Co. in the Power, Energy & Infrastructure Group, Head of North American Infrastructure. He served as principal at Banc of American Secturities for 7 years working on mergers and acquitions within Power and Enegery. Greg earned his B.A. in English at Amherst College in 1984; his M.F.A. in Film and Screenwriting from the American Film Institute in 1986; and his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1997.
Mary Doswell P'17,'17 is senior vice president–Dominion Energy Solutions. She oversees the company's Retail organization, which includes the sale of natural gas commodities to residential, commercial and industrial customers in nonregulated markets; Dominion Products and Services, which sells home warranty and protection products and services; and Dominion Voltage Inc., which provides grid efficiency and optimization solutions to utilities, nationally and internationally.
Doswell also is responsible for enhancing and expanding Dominion's focus on "smart grid" technologies, transmission and distribution-related technologies, energy efficiency, and alternative energy generation. She previously served as senior vice president-Regulation & Integrated Planning, and president and chief executive officer of Dominion Resources Services Inc.
Doswell joined Dominion's Virginia Power subsidiary as an economist. She has held leadership positions in Regulation, Market Research, Forecasting, Market Analysis and Planning, Marketing, Corporate Center Restructuring, Corporate Strategy, Construction and Customer Service, Metering Services, and Billing and Credit. She was named senior vice president–Alternative Energy Solutions in April 2009 and senior vice president–Retail and Alternative Energy Solutions in January 2014. She assumed her current post in May 2015.
She is a governor appointee to the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority and the Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority and serves as vice president of the board of directors of Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia, president of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Engineering Foundation Board, and chairman of the board of Venture Richmond.
Doswell received her B.A. degree in physics cum laude from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. She received a master's degree in Materials Engineering, with a concentration in econometrics, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She also attended the Darden Executive Development Program at the University of Virginia Graduate School of Business.
Laura Draucker joined Amherst College in October, 2014 as the first Director of Sustainability. Laura relocated to Amherst from Washington, D.C., where she had worked for 5 years as a senior associate and sustainability manager at the World Resources Institute (WRI), a global, environmental non-profit think tank. In this role, Laura worked closely with multi-stakeholder groups to develop greenhouse gas accounting standards for companies and organizations, with a goal to drive meaningful action on climate change. Prior to WRI, Laura performed life cycle assessment and energy modeling for the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. Laura was drawn to the position at Amherst College by a desire to not only address climate change and other environmental challenges within the institute, but to scale those solutions through education and engagement with students. Laura received a bachelors and PhD in Chemical Engineering from Villanova University and Georgia Institute of Technology, respectively.
David Feldman '00 has more than 10 years of experience in the energy and financial industries. Currently he is a Senior Financial Analyst for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), helping the organization carry out a wide range of analytical activities related to financial, policy and market developments in the solar industry. David has published and presented widely on topics related to renewable energy project finance, public capital in the renewable energy sector, innovative financial models, and solar market development.
Before working for NREL, David was the Assistant Director of Finance for Soltage, a developer and owner/operator of solar power projects. David graduated with an MBA from the Yale School of Management, with a focus in finance, and Amherst College with a BA in philosophy.
Fred Fucci
'81 is a transactional and project finance lawyer who focuses on the acquisition, development and financing of power generation and other energy assets. He is a partner in the New York office of the national law firm Troutman Sanders LLP. He has represented developers and acquirers of both renewable (wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, hydro) and fossil fuel (natural gas, coal, petroleum and cogeneration) power plants in the United States and in several other countries. He also advises energy services companies on energy efficiency projects and the installation of distributed generation facilities. Fred was named to the 2013, 2014 and 2015 NY Metro Super Lawyers List in Energy and Natural Resources. He also regularly serves as a neutral arbitrator in disputes related to renewable energy projects. He is a 1981 graduate of Amherst College. In addition to his J.D. from Georgetown University, he has a masters in international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Ambassador
Bonnie Jenkins '82 was nominated by President Barack Obama in April 2009 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in June 2009 as the Department of State's Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. Ambassador Jenkins promotes the coordination of Department of State Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) and U.S. government programs in chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological security (CBRN). She also works closely with international partners in coordinating global CBRN security programs and funding to help ensure a coordinated approach when governments implement these programs internationally. She is the U.S. Representative to the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction (Global Partnership) and Chaired the Global Partnership in 2012. She is the Department of State lead on the
Nuclear Security Summit, and she coordinates the Department of State's activities related to the four-year effort to secure all vulnerable nuclear material. Ambassador Jenkins is also engaged in the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), a multi-sectoral initiative dedicated to reducing infectious disease threats around the world. She works closely on this initiative with domestic and international partners in the security (with a focus on biosecurity), animal and human health, development, and law enforcement sectors and leads U.S. government outreach to domestic and international non-governmental organizations. Ambassador Jenkins also works closely with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S chemical Industry in strengthening global security and safety of chemical weapons precursors.
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Emily Levin '00 is the Manager of the Program Support group at the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC). Her group provides comprehensive energy efficiency and renewable energy program design, planning, and implementation services to utilities, regulators, and consumer advocates. VEIC specializes in designing next generation energy efficiency programs that transform markets and reach all customers, including low income households. Emily has reviewed energy efficiency programs in Maryland, New Jersey, Florida, and other states. In a previous role at VEIC, Emily led strategic planning for the residential portfolio of Vermont's energy efficiency utility, Efficiency Vermont, and managed Efficiency Vermont's Existing Homes Program. Under her leadership at Efficiency Vermont, the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program grew tenfold from 120 completed retrofit projects a year to more than 1,100 completed projects in 2014. Emily is also leading development of a statewide Vermont home energy label and created an Efficiency Excellence Network to facilitate partnership with contractors, distributors, and other supply chain partners. Following Tropical Storm Irene, Emily designed flood recovery and repair programs for the affected Vermont communities. Emily holds a master's degree in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a bachelor's degree in Geology from Amherst College.
Anna Martini is professor of Geology at Amherst College. Her research is primarily focused on understanding biogeochemical processes in the environment. This work has taken her and her students from Ireland, where they examined microbial influences on carbonate precipitation, to Vieques, where they examined the geochemical controls on the famed "Bioluminescent Bays." In the past five years she has taught within Geology and Environmental Studies as well as in the First Year Seminar program.
Jon May P'19 is Executive Director of Natural Capital Partners Holdings LLC (formerly The CarbonNeutral Company). NCPH works with corporations to measure their environmental impact and deliver solutions for positive impact on carbon, renewable energy, water, biodiversity and communities. Mr. May was previously the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the company. He joined the company when it merged with GreenLife LLC, where he was a founder.
Mr. May was a founder and Managing Director of Catalytic Capital LLC; a private equity firm focused on growing retail and consumer brand companies. Before co-founding Catalytic Capital in 2004, Mr. May was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for Triarc Companies, Inc., (NYSE: TRY). Previously at Triarc, Mr. May was Chief Executive Officer of Arby's, Inc., where he managed the growth of 3,400 branded restaurants comprising $2.5 billion of global system-wide sales. Mr. May worked in a variety of strategic and operating roles at Arby's before becoming CEO. Mr. May began his professional career in as a Business Analyst with McKinsey & Co.
Mr. May is Chairman of the Advisory Committee for Columbia Care, LLC, the leading patient-centered healthcare company focused on medical marijuana production and treatment. He also sits on the Board of Trustees of Griffin Industrial Realty (Nasdaq: GRIF), a publicly traded real estate company. Mr. May formerly was a board member of Sneaker Villa and Marketwatch.com.
Mr. May is very active in the New York City community. He has been a Trustee of Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC since 2000, where he has served as both President and interim Executive Director. He has been a mayoral appointee to the Board of Trustees of the Randall's Island Park Alliance since 2011 and he recently became a Trustee of Central Synagogue. He was previously on the boards of both the 92nd Street Y and the Ethical Culture Fieldston School.
A native of New York City, Mr. May received a BA degree in Government from Cornell University in 1988 where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa.
David McGann '87, P'19,'17 is a renewable energy developer for Panasonic Eco Solutions leveraging seven years of renewable energy experience and over 28 years of finance experience. Panasonic offers an end-to-end menu of renewable energy solutions as part of a strategic alliance with Coronal Group. Panasonic delivers EPC services, production guarantees, construction financing and O&M services while Coronal provides permanent financing and asset management.
Prior to joining Panasonic, David was President of Davis Hill Development where he developed and commissioned distributed generation portfolios of renewable energy projects with commercial and municipal clients in the US and Caribbean integrating solar PV, energy storage and electric vehicle charging stations. He was also President of Skychargers where he managed the installation, operation & maintenance of electric vehicle charging stations serving the hospitality industry in partnership with Hilton Worldwide, General Electric & Hertz. In addition, David was the Founder and Managing Partner of Green Solar Finance, a project finance advisory firm collaborating with developers to structure, fund and risk manage solar PV projects to ensure long term viability and optimize economics to achieve investor returns.
David also worked in investment banking at PaineWebber, Prudential Securities, Smith Barney and Dean Witter where he managed more than 200 advisory assignments and closed approximately 300 transactions representing over $7.7 billion in total financings.
David received his Bachelors of Arts in History from Amherst College and resides in Greenwich, CT with his wife, Joy Green-McGann '86.
Edward D. Melillo is associate professor of history and environmental studies at Amherst College. He teaches courses on global environmental history, the history of the Pacific World, and commodities in world historical perspective. He is the author of
Strangers on Familiar Soil: Rediscovering the Chile-California Connection (Yale University Press, 2015) and the coeditor of
Eco-Cultural Networks and the British Empire: New Views on Environmental History (Bloomsbury Press, 2015). He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Jeff Phillips '74 is the founder of Sustainability Solutions, a consulting firm that works with companies to embed sustainability into their products and operations and to create a competitive advantage through marketing their sustainability positioning to the consumer. He has over 35 years experience in the consumer products industry.
Prior to forming Sustainability Solutions Mr. Phillips was one of the leaders at Seventh Generation. During his 18 year tenure he was instrumental in leading the growth and success of Seventh Generation becoming the #1 Green Brand. As Vice President Sales and Marketing, Jeff led the company through the early years of growth in the Natural Foods and Grocery channels. As EVP Operations, he developed strategic collaborative relationships with manufacturing and supply partners in multiple product categories.
Prior to Seventh Generation, Mr. Phillips spent 17 years at Webster Industries in various management positions, culminating at Vice President, Sales and Marketing. He was responsible for the development of the Renew brand of 100% recycled plastic bags—the first successful introduction of an environmentally positioned product line sold in the mass market.
Mr. Phillips graduated from Amherst College, magna cum laude, with an interdepartmental major in economics, history and political science.
Michelle Stewart is Pick Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Amherst College. She received her B.S. in Environmental Science from Notre Dame, her M.A. in Environmental Studies at University of California - Santa Cruz, her Ph.D. in Geography from University of Colorado at Boulder, and was a doctoral fellow at Harvard's Program on Science, Technology and Society at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Her scholarly interests include resource politics, conservation social science, environmental governance, international development and conservation, environmental justice and the politics of knowledge. Her current research is based in China and the eastern Himalayas, where she is examining the production and governance of the Tibetan caterpillar fungus economy.
