Assemblymember John Harabedian is a dedicated public servant, accomplished attorney, and community leader with a long history of advocating for environmental protection, social justice, and improved public services.

Born and raised in Sierra Madre, at the heart of California’s 41st State Assembly District, Harabedian began his public service journey as a City Councilmember in 2012. He was re-elected in 2016 and served twice as Mayor. During his tenure, Harabedian championed innovative policies to protect the environment, conserve resources, and expand municipal services. He led Sierra Madre’s groundbreaking solar energy initiative, which now powers the city, and co-founded the Clean Power Alliance to promote renewable energy across the region. He also worked to reduce homelessness and fostered partnerships to enhance local quality of life.

Professionally, Assemblymember John Harabedian brings extensive legal and policy experience. He has served as a prosecutor for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and worked with leading institutions such as Latham & Watkins, Stanford’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, and the Equality Pro Bono Project. As a CORO Fellow, he contributed to labor and municipal policy initiatives with AFSCME District Council 36 and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s office.

Harabedian’s academic journey reflects his commitment to excellence and service. He is a proud graduate of Loyola High School, holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, a master’s in comparative social policy from Oxford University, and a law degree from Stanford University.

Harabedian is proud to serve as the representative for California’s 41st Assembly District and is dedicated to working with his constituents to build stronger, more vibrant communities. The district includes the cities of Bradbury, Claremont, La Cañada Flintridge, La Verne, Monrovia, Pasadena, San Dimas, Sierra Madre, and portions of Hesperia, Rancho Cucamonga, and Upland.

Assemblymember John Harabedian lives in Pasadena with his wife, Young-Gi, and their three children, continuing his lifelong mission to create a stronger, more equitable future for California communities.

Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes was elected to represent California’s 29th Senate District in 2024, continuing a long and distinguished career of public service to the Inland Empire. She previously served in the State Assembly beginning in 2016, where she quickly emerged as a respected leader. Over eight years, she was appointed to several key positions in the Democratic Caucus—including Assistant Majority Whip in 2018 and then Majority Leader in 2020—becoming the first Latina and only the fourth woman to serve in that role.

During her service in the Assembly, Eloise championed bills and issues that increase equity, opportunity, and inclusion in vulnerable communities throughout the state. These efforts include AB 2147, which led a national conversation on second chances for inmate firefighters, giving them a pathway to expunge their records and pursue a career in firefighting.

Education is a cornerstone issue for Reyes. With half a billion dollars left unused by California students, Reyes championed legislation requiring high school students to complete financial aid forms (FAFSA and CADAA). This has resulted in a steep and steady increase in financial aid awards and access to a quality education for students. 

Representing one of the most polluted regions in the nation, a core priority for Reyes is environmental justice. She has authored multiple laws and secured state budget investments to improve air, land, and water quality across the Inland Empire. Her legislation has strengthened protections for residents living near industrial activity by requiring stricter oversight of developers, warehouse operators, and local governments seeking to build new large-scale facilities in California—efforts that help communities feel seen, heard, and protected.

Earlier in her legislative tenure, Reyes also served on the Subcommittee on Sexual Harassment Prevention and Response, which developed recommendations that led to the creation of the Legislature’s independent Workplace Conduct Unit—an important step in improving workplace culture within the Capitol.

A proud daughter of immigrants, Reyes was the first Latina to open a law firm in the Inland Empire, where she provided critical legal services to underserved communities. She graduated from Colton High School, earned her A.A. from San Bernardino Valley College, her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California, and her law degree from Loyola Law School

Senator Jerry McNerney was elected to the Senate in November 2024, after serving 16 years in the U.S. Congress. His 5th District includes Alameda County’s Tri-Valley area and all of San Joaquin County.

McNerney served in Congress from 2006-2023, where he was a member of several Congressional committees, including the Veterans Affairs Committee, the Committee on Science, Space and Technology, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce. He also chaired the Artificial Intelligence Caucus, the Congressional Grid Innovation Caucus, and the WiFi Caucus. He authored the AI in Government Act.

During his time in Congress, he also worked on numerous issues to benefit veterans and fought relentlessly for the new veterans’ health facility near French Camp now serving the region’s veterans.

A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, McNerney earned bachelor's and master's degrees and a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of New Mexico. Prior to serving in Congress, he spent more than 20 years as an engineer and consultant in the energy and clean energy industry, helping develop cutting-edge wind technologies and wind turbines.

In the California State Senate, McNerney serves as chair of the Revenue and Taxation Committee and the Select Committee on the Nonprofit Sector, and is a member of the Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection Committee; the Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee; Budget and Fiscal Review Committee; Budget Subcommittee #2 on Resources, Environmental Protection, and Energy; the Agriculture Committee; the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee; and the Joint Committee on Fairs Allocation and Classification. 

He also is co-chair of the California Legislative Delta Caucus and is a member of the Bay Area Caucus and the California Technology and Innovation Caucus. In addition, he is the Senate's representative on the Delta Protection Commission and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy Governing Board.

McNerney and his wife, Mary, have been married since 1977 and live in Pleasanton. His oldest son, Michael, served as an officer in the US Air Force and is now a serial entrepreneur in cyber security living in the Bay Area with his wife and two children. McNerney’s daughter, Margaret, is a Ph.D. neuroscientist working at the Palo Alto VA and teaching at Stanford. His son, Greg, is a Ph.D. biophysicist and now works at Intel Corporation in Beaverton, OR.

On Feb. 18, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom designated John Reynolds President of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), effective March 9, 2026. President Reynolds was appointed to the CPUC by Governor Newsom on Dec. 23, 2021, and reappointed on Dec. 22, 2022.

President Reynolds has experience in both the public and private sector as an attorney and policy advisor in the energy, telecommunications, transportation, and water industries.

President Reynolds earned a bachelor’s degree from Brown University, and a juris doctor degree from the University of California, San Francisco College of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude.

David Hochschild was appointed Chair of the California Energy Commission by Governor Gavin Newsom in February 2019. He fills the environmental position on the five-member Commission where four of the five members are required by law to have professional training in specific areas - engineering or physical science, environmental protection, economics, and law.

Chair Hochschild's career has spanned public service, environmental advocacy, and the private sector. He first got involved in the solar energy field in 2001 in San Francisco as a special assistant to Mayor Willie Brown where Chair Hochschild launched a citywide $100 million initiative to put solar panels on public buildings. He also cofounded the Vote Solar Initiative, a 100,000-member advocacy organization promoting solar policies at the local, state, and federal levels. He was executive director of a national consortium of leading solar manufacturers and worked for five years at Solaria, a solar company in Silicon Valley. From 2007 to 2008, he served as a commissioner at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

For his work to advance clean energy, Chair Hochschild was awarded the Sierra Club's Trailblazer Award, the American Lung Association's Clean Air Hero Award, and the U.S. Department of Energy's Million Solar Roof True Champion Award. In 2024, he was named the American Energy Society’s Person of the Year: United States. Chair Hochschild holds a bachelor of arts from Swarthmore College and a master of public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He also was a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs.

Amisha Rai oversees Advanced Energy United’s policy and advocacy operation with a focus on maximizing the organization’s reach and impact on the ground, developing and building out both new and existing programs in the states. Prior to this role, Amisha expanded United’s footprint in the West, including setting the strategy for United’s work to establish a Western RTO, and spent years leading the organization’s efforts in California. She also spent several years in Sacramento as a lobbyist and policy advocate on energy issues during her time at the California Chamber of Commerce.  She has extensive experience advocating in front of state lawmakers and regulatory officials and has spent time working on policy and statewide campaigns.

Seth Frader-Thompson is the president and co-founder of EnergyHub, the industry’s leading provider of Edge Distributed Energy Resource ManagementSystems (DERMS). Since launching the company in 2007, Seth has guided EnergyHub’s growth into the trusted DERMS platform of choice for more than 80 North American utilities, enabling the transition to a cleaner, more reliable grid.

Under his leadership, EnergyHub has built the market’s most comprehensive software and services solution for distributed energy resource (DER) management. The company’s Edge DERMS platform empowers utilities to design, deploy, and scale end-to-end virtual power plant (VPP) programs—integrating a wide array of DERs including smart thermostats, EVs, batteries, and more. EnergyHub not only provides the underlying technology, but also supports utilities with full-service program design, implementation, and customer engagement capabilities.

A trusted voice in the energy space, Seth is a frequent speaker on grid flexibility and the evolution of VPPs. He currently serves as a Board Member of the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) and RE+, where he helps shape the evolution of an affordable, reliable, and clean power system.

Before founding EnergyHub, Seth held technical and managerial roles at Honeybee Robotics, where he led advanced robotics work for NASA, the U.S. military, and DARPA. His projects included developing bomb-disposal robots and a miniature laser vision system for search-and-rescue operations.

Seth holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado, where he conducted research in Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) for ultracold atom optics.

Todd Glass is a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where he leads a market-leading energy development and finance practice focused on the representation of energy companies, project developers, and investors advancing projects, new business models, technologies, and financing mechanisms revolutionizing how energy resources are generated, sold, stored, and consumed.

Todd has extensive experience with the development, purchase, and sale of renewable and thermal generation and industrial decarbonization projects; structuring, negotiation, and implementation of novel off-take transactions, project development transactions and financings; and state and federal regulation of the energy industry. He served as lead project counsel in the commercialization, project development, regulatory approvals, and financing of alternative energy projects and technologies, including solar photovoltaic (PV), concentrated solar, wind, energy storage, hydroelectric, microgrids, and carbon capture, use, and sequestration. His practice also includes development and project financings of behind-the-meter decarbonization, water, and energy efficiency projects integrated into industrial and commercial operations.

Notably, Todd has led some of the most significant energy deals in North America, including landmark energy projects, such as the 14.2 MW Nellis AFB Solar Project (the first utility-scale solar PV project in the U.S.), BrightSource Energy's concentrated solar power purchase agreements (totaling 900 MW) for its Ivanpah project (the world's largest solar thermal power plant), and Stem's 85MW energy-storage enabled distributed demand response agreement in Southern California (a first-of-a-kind utility-scale energy storage transaction), and several first-of-a-kind industrial carbon capture and sequestration projects. 

In addition, Todd represents utility-scale solar and other renewable energy clients in their power sales, renewable energy credit (REC), and carbon credit transactions, portfolio acquisitions and dispositions, and he advises energy technology companies on a variety of commercial matters, national and international joint ventures, company mergers and acquisitions, and equity and debt financings.

Todd is admitted in New York, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska, but he is not admitted in California

Tim is a data and evidence-driven energy and accountability expert with over 25 years of experience developing and advocating for balanced and pragmatic solutions to complex societal challenges. A Los Angeles native who has successfully built and led teams across world-class private, government, and non-profit sectors. Tim has extensive experience designing and executing strategies affecting the utility industry with a focus on investment planning and prioritization, advanced metering, decarbonization, clean technology deployment, green building design and operation, and transportation fuels.

Prior to joining the City of Los Angeles in June 2025, Tim was a Leader in Deloitte Consulting’s Sustainability Strategy practice, with a focus on utility and transportation projects.  Before joining Deloitte, Tim was a Senior Director at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) leading engagements in proceedings before energy, environmental and judicial agencies to support equitable access to sustainable and affordable clean energy.  Before EDF, he led regulatory enforcement and audit efforts at complex energy facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area.

A graduate of the University of Oregon, Tim also holds a master’s degree from Duke University and a Law Degree from Golden Gate University with specializations in Environmental and Public Interest Law.  He further holds several certifications in green building design and operation; sustainable development; ESG reporting, strategy, and practice; sustainability related business practices, and executive environmental leadership.   

SPAN Founder & CEO Arch Rao is a seasoned energy technologist with a vision to revolutionize grid-edge energy infrastructure and enable a more efficient and affordable energy future. With a deep-rooted commitment to commercializing clean energy solutions, Rao has dedicated his career to addressing climate change through innovation and technological advancement.

A Stanford graduate with a Master's in Mechanical Engineering, Rao's career began with pioneering research in airborne wind energy systems at Joby Energy and eventually led to a pivotal role in developing groundbreaking products at Tesla Energy, such as the Powerwall, Powerpack, and Solar Roof. Prior to Tesla, he co-founded Verdigris Technologies, focusing on energy monitoring and analytics for commercial and industrial sectors.

Recognizing the stagnant state of the home electrical panel for over 75 years, Rao founded SPAN in 2018 with a mission to transform how energy is managed at the grid edge — starting with a smarter electrical panel. Today, SPAN's hardware-software solutions are installed in all 50 states — giving homeowners, utilities, and developers the energy visibility and advanced power controls needed to build a smarter, more resilient grid for everyone.

Jeff St. John is chief reporter and policy specialist at Canary Media. He covers the intersection of technological, economic, and regulatory issues influencing the global transition to low-carbon energy in the electricity, transportation, and building sectors. His areas of expertise include innovative grid technologies, rooftop solar and batteries, clean hydrogen, electric vehicles, EV charging, and broader decarbonization policy. 

He is the former managing editor and senior grid-edge editor of Greentech Media, and he previously reported for The Fresno Bee, the Tri-City Herald, and the Anchorage Daily News. He lives in Alameda, California, with his wife Tara Donoghue and his dog Lily, and enjoys hiking, baking bread, and playing guitar with his nieces and nephews.

He earned a master’s degree from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism in 2001.

Rachel McMahon is an energy policy leader with 20+ years of experience representing and advising large independent power producers, distributed energy providers, trade associations and non-profit organizations.  She currently serves as Director of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs for EDF power solutions, a global energy infrastructure provider, focused on the Western United States.  Prior to her current role, she led all regulatory and legislative activity for the California Energy Storage Alliance, a 100+ member organization of leading energy storage firms. Rachel has held lead advocacy roles at Sunrun, First Solar and the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies.  She also spent more than 5 years at the California Public Utilities Commission, where she oversaw the state’s groundbreaking energy storage procurement program and led innovative programs in DR and storage.

Erik is Renew Home’s Policy Lead for California and the Western US. Renew Home is a residential aggregator for demand response, virtual power plants, and distributed energy resources. Erik engages with electric utilities, public utilities commissions, independent system operators, and state energy offices across the West to advocate for smart policy, program, and market design for distributed resources. Before joining Renew Home, Erik worked at the California Commission, where he developed the guidelines for the Demand Side Grid Support program and served as an advisor to Vice Chair Siva Gunda.

Allan Schurr joined ERock in 2018, bringing over 30 years of expertise in commercial and industrial energy services, technology, and utility innovation. He oversees market development, the expansion of resiliency solutions, and strategic utility and data center industry partnerships.
 
Schurr holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Davis, and an MBA from St. Mary’s College of California. A registered Professional Engineer in California, he is also a co-inventor of seven distributed energy patents.

Katelyn Roedner Sutter is the California Senior Director at Environmental Defense Fund. She leads EDF’s political engagement and advocacy work in California, and supports the organization’s water, climate, energy, and transportation policy goals in the state. Katelyn has been deeply engaged in some of the biggest legislative and regulatory wins in recent years including setting climate targets, extending the cap and trade program, enabling a western electricity market and securing billions in funding for natural resource protection and climate resilience.

In the nine years Katelyn has been with EDF, she has led state-level engagement on climate policy in California elsewhere across the Western United States and contributed to EDF’s work on international carbon markets. She has co-led the organization’s Environmental Justice Council and serves as the Assembly appointee to California’s Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee. Prior to joining EDF, Roedner Sutter led the environmental justice program at Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Stockton.

Chris Worley is Director of Policy at GoodLeap, where he covers regulatory and legislative matters across California and other states. He has spent his career at the intersection of the residential solar industry and state energy policy, with prior roles at Sunrun, Vivint Solar, and the Colorado Energy Office, where he served as Director of Policy. He holds a PhD in Mineral and Energy Economics from the Colorado School of Mines.

John Myers joined the CalChamber team in May 2025 as senior vice president, communications and external affairs.Myers spent almost three decades as an award-winning California journalist, serving in various roles in broadcast and print newsrooms, with most of his career focused on California politics and government.

His coverage spanned the last five California governors, hundreds of legislative battles and ballot measure campaigns, and duties that included daily reporting, columns, newsletters, social media, audio and video podcasts, and more. His final assignment was serving as Sacramento bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, a position he held until the summer of 2022.

From 2022 until joining the CalChamber, Myers served as chief of public affairs for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). His work leading the communications team for the largest public pension fund in the nation focused on overseeing external and internal content for CalPERS’ 2.3 million members and state and local government employers, as well as serving as both the agency’s chief spokesperson and a senior advisor to its executive leadership.

Myers holds degrees from Duke University and the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Gabriela Sandoval is a nonprofit leader, researcher, and advocate with over two decades of experience advancing economic, racial, and social justice. She brings to TURN a distinctive combination of rigorous policy expertise, equity-centered strategic leadership, and a lifelong commitment to ensuring that all communities — especially those who have been historically underserved — have access to safe, affordable, and reliable utilities.

Gabriela joined TURN as Deputy Director after previously ​serving in multiple leadership roles at the organization, most recently as Director of Race & Equity Policy, where she expanded institutional funding, and led successful campaigns that strengthened consumer protections for California utility customers. Prior to returning to TURN, she served as Executive Director of the Excessive Wealth Disorder Institute, where she built a new nonprofit from the ground up, developing its systems, team, and funding base. Earlier in her career, she directed research and policy at the Insight Center for Community Economic Development, where she focused primarily on the Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Initiative and convened influential networks of researchers, advocates, and policymakers.

A skilled facilitator, coalition-builder, and communicator, Gabriela excels at connecting across diverse communities and translating complex policy challenges into actionable strategies. She has built a career at the intersection of consumer advocacy, equity policy, and organizational development.

Gabriela holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and a Master's Degree in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University, and a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego.

Noah Baustin is the California Energy reporter at POLITICO and a member of the California Climate newsletter team.

He covers the industries that power California, the utilities that whisk energy around the state, the agencies that regulate those players, and the policymakers shaping the whole system. He is based in POLITICO’s Sacramento bureau.

Before joining POLITICO, Noah was a data reporter for the San Francisco Standard and worked on data projects for The New York Times Graphics Department and KQED. His first journalism gig was writing the agriculture column for his hometown newspaper, the Daily Hampshire Gazette, and he later worked as a producer on American Public Media’s farm-focused Field Work podcast.

Noah has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor’s degree focused on food systems from New York University.

Adam Rosenblatt is one of the nation’s leading research-based political consultants sought for his ability to understand and influence opinion and behavior to help clients achieve victory.

As a Founding Partner of Bold Decision (bold-decision.com), Adam oversees cutting-edge research and messaging programs leveraging highly accurate polling, insightful focus groups, and advanced predictive modeling. His clients include prominent state and national political campaigns, independent expenditures, trade associations, professional organizations, and corporations. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Politico, and other influential publications.

Last cycle, Adam led research in 20+ highly competitive races in California including elections for Congress, State Senate, State Assembly, municipal office, and ballot measures, and he guided research and messaging on several of the biggest public affairs and legislative battles in the state and nation.

 Campaigns & Elections named Adam a non-partisan “Rising Star” and he has received many of the highest industry honors including the Pollie Award, the Reed Award, and the Telly Award. Adam served as an Adjunct Professor of Research and Strategic Communications at American University in Washington DC, where he received a Master of Arts in Applied Politics.

Caroline Schappert supports Advanced Energy United’s advocacy projects and communications activities in the Western United States. Before joining United, Caroline worked for an environmental communications PR firm executing communications campaigns across energy and environmental issues. Prior, she worked on the Energy team at Edelman in D.C., where she consulted for the U.S. Department of Energy, and was on the international and digital team at GQR, a democratic public opinion research firm. She was previously an intern for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

Leah Rubin Shen oversees Advanced Energy United’s legislative, political, and regulatory engagement in the Western region of the United States. She also supports state-level implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act across all regions. Prior to joining Advanced Energy United, Leah advised U.S. Senator Chris Coons on energy and environmental policy and studied the electrochemistry of new materials for fuel cells.

Brandon García joined Advanced Energy United as California Director, where he focuses on advancing policies that strengthen the state’s advanced energy industry. Prior to joining United, Brandon spent five years in the California Legislature, most recently as the Legislative Director for Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes in both the Senate and Assembly, and four years in the private sector with lobbying firms focused on zero-emission infrastructure, transportation, energy, and recycling policy.

Verna Mandez is responsible for leading Advanced Energy United’s engagement with members and industry professionals. Verna has been with United for the past few years, where she led transmission campaign engagement and strategy across the organization, including organizing and launching Transmission Possible. Verna brings years of experience centered on clean energy and conservation issues. Previously, Verna served as Deputy Director of the Nevada Conservation League, a political nonprofit focused on environmental policy at the state and federal level. She also worked for U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto focusing on in-state energy and natural resource issues, science, transportation, and technology matters.