Vote Solar Initiative Board of Advisors
Vote Solar is a fiscally sponsored project of both the Tides Center and Tsunami Fund, and as such we are responsible to the Tides Center's Board of Directors. In addition, Vote Solar has an active Board of Advisors that focuses on strategy and policy.
Ed Smeloff, Senior Manager for Business Development, Sharp Solar (Board Chair)
Ed has a long history with renewable energy policy and project development. Before taking a job with Sharp, the world's largest producer of solar panels, Ed was Assistant General Manager for Power Policy for San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, and as such, responsible for running the city's electricity network and implementing the $100 million solar energy bond. Previously, he served as Director of the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District, where he played an instrumental role in making Sacramento the most solarized city in America. He is also the former director of the Pace Law School Energy Project.
Julie Blunden, Vice President of External Affairs, SunPower Corporation
Ms. Blunden helped the company, a subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor, go public — one of the largest technology IPOs in 2005. Previously, as a VP of KEMA-XENERGY, Ms. Blunden lead the team of ten firms providing all technical and policy consulting to the California Energy Commission's Renewable Energy Program — responsible for implementation of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard, including development of the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS), as well as the state solar programs including development of the Governor's Million Solar Systems initiative. Julie was also a founding officer of Green Mountain Energy.
Randy Hayes, Founder, Rainforest Action Network
After serving as RAN's director for 15 years, Randy is recognized internationally as an environmental leader. He is now the Executive Director of the International Forum on Globalization, was Director of Sustainability for the City of Oakland, and serves on San Francisco's Environment Commission.
David Hochschild, Executive Director, PV NOW
After co-founding the Vote Solar Initiative and serving as Director of Policy for four years, David joined PV NOW, a trade association representing the world's largest solar manufacturers, as the organization's first executive director.
Elliot Hoffman, Co-Founder and CEO, New Voice of Business
After 27 years as the co-founder and CEO of Just Desserts, a company he built into one of the most widely respected companies and brands in the San Francisco Bay Area, Elliot launched a new enterprise: the New Voice of Business, a non-partisan, non-ideological organization of business people devoted to responsible and pragmatic economic and energy solutions, policies and priorities and to the exploration of the emerging role of business in the 21st century.
Wally McOuat, Energy Consultant
Wally crafted the fiscal model that was at the heart of the San Francisco solar bond's success. A seasoned energy consultant, Wally is the founder and a principal of HMH Resources, Inc., a firm specializing in energy-related strategic planning and analysis. HMH and its predecessor corporations have played a significant role in over $1 billion of projects currently operating or under construction. Most of these were cogeneration, energy efficiency or renewable energy projects, and many of them were project-financed. Wally has served on several non-profit boards and is a former chair of the Marin County Planning Commission.
Dr. Thomas Starrs, Vice President, Bonneville Environmental Foundation
Prior to joining BEF, Tom was Executive Vice President for Sales and Marketing and a member of the Board of Directors of RWE Schott Solar Inc., the world's fifth largest manufacturer of solar photovoltaic cells and modules. Tom also spent seven years as co-founder and principal of Kelso Starrs & Associates LLC, an energy consulting firm focusing on the design and implementation of policies and programs to support renewable energy development, with an emphasis on solar and wind energy. Tom serves on the Boards of the American Solar Energy Society (as Chairman), and the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies.
Emeritus: Adam Hochschild, Author
Adam Hochschild is a journalist and author. He was a co-founder of Mother Jones magazine, and his articles and reviews have been published in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and most other major American newspapers and magazines. His books include KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST, HALF THE WAY HOME, BURY THE CHAINS (a 2005 National Book Award Finalist) and others, and have been translated into nine languages. He has won awards from the Overseas Press Club of America and PEN USA and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.