Meet the Mentors

• 

  Andy Bowman

  CEO, Jupiter Power

  Andy Bowman has been a serial clean energy entrepreneur since the late 1990s. Prior to forming Jupiter he was president of Pioneer Green Energy LLC, a company he founded in 2010 with six others and led through 2015. Over 2001-2009 Andy led renewable energy project development first as President of Renewable Generation Inc., then Senior Vice President at Airtricity and finally as Chief Development Officer at E.On Climate & Renewables (now RWE).

  Prior to 2001, Bowman helped develop some of the first privately financed wind farms in the US. Over his career Andy has had executive responsibility for nearly 3,600 megawatts of wind and solar projects across the US.

• 

  Andy Uhler

  Energy Journalism Fellow

  Andy Uhler is an award-winning public radio correspondent and host of Phases and Stages: The Texas Energy Story. He’s currently a journalism fellow through a partnership between UT’s Energy Institute and Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. He started his journalism career as an undergraduate at KUT, the University of Texas at Austin NPR affiliate. He transitioned to music journalism in 2006, becoming the senior producer of Texas Music Matters. After completing a Master’s degree in global policy studies at the LBJ School of Public Affairs in 2014, he returned to KUT to help launch the Texas Standard. The following year, he took a job as a sustainability reporter at American Public Media’s Marketplace, where he remained until accepting his current role as a fellow.

• Anissa Rodriguez Dickerman

  CEO, Pecan Street Inc.

  Dr. Anissa Rodriguez Dickerman is the chief executive officer for Pecan Street, where she works closely with the board of directors and senior leadership team to lead resource and partnership development, guide strategy, and ensure the delivery of programs that achieve measurable results at the intersection of climate solutions, technology innovation, and social justice. She has more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, resource development, social impact research, and working at the nexus of big data and place-based social justice. She applies her equity-centered research and policy approaches from the education sector to help design an equitable climate transition. Her business development efforts have yielded over $890M in state and federally funded grants. Anissa has held various senior positions in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, including chief program officer, executive vice president, chief strategy officer, senior vice president of strategic partnerships, director of learning technology, senior field trainer and analyst, and chief of staff. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Education degree from Texas A&M University and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Planning from the University of Texas at Austin with a graduate portfolio in Mexican-American studies.  

• 

  Drew Higgins

  Board Chair, Texas Electric Transportation Resources Alliance (TxETRA)

  Drew Higgins is driven by a singular passion: to create products and services that don't just meet customer needs but exceed them, sparking inspiration and delight. With a seasoned career spanning over 17 years, he is a recognized industry leader who places the betterment of people's lives at the center of his innovation strategy. 
   
  An alumnus of the United States Naval Academy and the McCombs School of Business, Drew also completed the University of Idaho’s prestigious Energy Executive Course. His academic credentials are complemented by executive roles at high-profile organizations such as USAA, General Motors, and CPS Energy. In these capacities, he has honed his skill in agile decision-making and strategy formulation, qualities that are essential for leadership in today's ever-changing fiscal and technological landscape.
   
  A prolific innovator, Drew has launched a diverse array of over 30 products in sectors ranging from automotive to energy and finance. His commitment to cutting-edge innovation is further demonstrated by his portfolio of multiple patent filings, six of which have been granted. 
   
  In addition to his core work, Drew has displayed sector-wide leadership as an inaugural member of the Texas PUC Aggregated Distributed Energy Resource Task Force. His governance skills are evident from his board memberships with the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) and the Alliance for Transportation Electrification (ATE), along with his current role as the Board Chair for the Texas Electric Transportation Resource Alliance (TxETRA).
   
  Currently, Drew serves as a sought-after advisor to automakers and utility companies, guiding them in the development of next-level products and services that not only satisfy but delight their customer base. His ability to drive strategic innovation while keeping an eye on long-term scalability underscores his leadership in the electrification space.

• 

  Gabriel Cossio

  Founder & CEO, Nanoscale Labs

  Gabriel Cossio is Founder and CEO of Nanoscale Labs. Previously, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas’ Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials. Gabriel earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and has a B.S. in physics. He performed seminal research in nanoparticle self-assembly, including the first demonstration of a low-cost and high-throughput nanomanufacturing system. Gabriel's mission with Nanoscale Labs is to create a new nanomanufacturing paradigm with low complexity and low cost, to unlock new climate tech solutions and utilize nanotech to accelerate our transition to a sustainable economy. 

• 

  Gail Vittori

  LEED Fellow, Co-Director, Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems

  Gail Vittori works at the intersection of sustainable design and human health. Since 1993, Vittori has coordinated the center’s Sustainable Design Program, spanning private and public sector projects nationally and internationally, and has been a catalyst for several national initiatives to green the health care sector and advance fundamental human health considerations in green building. She served on the U.S. Green Building Council and Green Business Certification Inc. board of directors, including as chair of both; is a Founding Member and Vice-Chair of the Health Product Declaration Collaborative Board; is on the Advisory Board of the UT Energy Institute; and is a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. In 2015, she received the Hanley Award for Vision and Leadership in Sustainability.

• 

  Ignacio Almuna

  Transmission Planning Engineer, Siemens

  Ignacio Almuna graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in Electrical Power Engineering. He is a Transmission Planning Consultant with Siemens PTI, where he works on steady state and VRT studies. His job involves running simulations for various projects in Texas, including solar, wind, and battery power, to see how they will affect the grid.

• 

  Jason Rodriguez

  CEO & Co-Founder, Zpryme & Froliq

  Jason Rodriguez is the CEO and Co-Founder of Austin-based start-up Froliq Inc., which is focused on accelerating clean energy workforce development and training using virtual and augmented reality. Jason also leads the strategy and direction for Zpryme's market research, events, and media work in the clean-tech and energy industry. Zpryme’s research has been cited in publications such as New York Times and Fast Company, as well as dozens of trade magazines. Zpryme produces the Energy Thought Summit (ETS), one of the premier energy events in the nation that focuses on solving complex energy problems to build a more sustainable future. 

• 

  Kathleen Baireuther

  Business Development & Strategic Partnerships, Chement

  Kathleen Baireuther designs and implements go-to-market strategies for deep tech entrepreneurs in regulated industries. She has spent her career at the intersection of the public and private sectors in a wide range of contexts, including consulting, think tanks, venture-backed startups, and large corporations. For the past 15 years, Kathleen has worked with mobility and climate technology companies to understand the voice of the market, develop trusted partnerships, and raise capital to help grow their businesses. Most recently, Kathleen served as VP, New Markets and Products, at Our Next Energy (ONE). Previously, she completed a two-year fellowship with Breakthrough Energy, led Ford’s autonomous vehicle division in Austin, and held positions at the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Austin Technology Incubator. She earned her MA from the University of Cambridge and her BA from the University of Virginia.

• 

  Kera Gautreau

  Senior Director, Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI)

  Kera Gautreau is Senior Director of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) at the Greater Houston Partnership. HETI positions the Greater Houston region to lead the global transition to an energy-abundant and low-carbon future by convening energy leaders and key stakeholders in support of enabling technology, policy, and market initiatives. At HETI, Kera’s work has a particular focus on industrial and operational decarbonization, power management, and international energy development. She leads a broad coalition of industry, academic, government, and community partners to identify opportunities for GHG emissions reduction pathways that enable Houston to lead the world in profitably decarbonizing high-emitting and hard-to-abate sectors while maintaining a reliable and resilient regional power grid. 

  Prior to joining the Partnership, Kera held technical and leadership roles within the global energy industry, including leading and managing projects around the world for Chevron. Her most recent role as an industry consultant combined her upstream project development expertise and track record of success in strategic relationship management to advise private equity clients on M&A projects and conduct audits and evaluations of key regulatory and governance reporting obligations.  

  Kera holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Geology from Louisiana State University, along with energy, sustainability and leadership certifications from Columbia, Wharton, and AAPG. She has served as Co-President of the Houston Chapter of Ellevate Network and Global Chair of the Communities Council & Manager of the Mentoring Program for Lean In Energy.

• 

  Pliny Fisk

  Co-Founder and Co-Director, Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems

  With a background in architecture, landscape architecture, and systems sciences, Pliny Fisk has made pivotal contributions to developing policies, protocols, and prototypes. His prototypes challenge conventional wisdom about building system design, engineering, and materials. He has received awards including the UN Earth Summit Award, the U.S. Green Building Council’s Sacred Tree Award, and the American Solar Energy Society's Passive Solar Pioneer Award. He has advised the MacArthur, Gates, and Enterprise Foundations and served on the GSA’s National Registry for Design Excellence peer review program. Pliny is an Emeritus Professor at Texas A&M University. His biography, Pliny Fisk III: Creating a Maximum Potential Future, was published by Ecotone Publishing.

• 

  Ryan Kudva

  Unconventional Technology Integrator, ExxonMobil

  Ryan Kudva received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from NC State University in 1994, and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from UT Austin in 1998. After graduating from UT, Ryan joined Exxon in 1999, shortly before the Exxon and Mobil merger. He has held a variety of technical and leadership roles including research & technology development, capital projects, acquisitions & divestments, and supervisory responsibility for assets. During his time at ExxonMobil, he has continued to remain active in the UT community. His prior roles include recruiting at the Cockrell School of Engineering for 8 years and serving on the UT Chemical Engineering External Advisory Council, with stints as vice chair and chair. Ryan now serves as ExxonMobil’s primary contact for the UT Energy Institute. 

• 

  Salvador Vera

  Systems Engineering Manager, Siemens

  With over 14 years of experience in the energy management industry, Salvador Vera has a strong background in managing diverse teams and driving process improvements. His experience includes Low Voltage products at General Electric and Schneider Electric, providing him with valuable perspectives from different leading global companies. At Siemens, he has developed expertise in Medium Voltage products and specializes in Low Voltage Motor Control Center Products. He has driven impactful improvements using tools like Salesforce, Engineering Base, and Power BI. Currently, Salvador leads Technical Talent Development for the U.S. Power Protection and Automation unit at Siemens, focusing on equipping new engineers with critical skills for high-quality project execution.

• 

  Satish Kumar

  CEO, EyeClimate

  Satish Kumar is the CEO of EyeClimate Inc. and a Schmidt Science Fellow for 2024, with 12 years of research experience, including seven years focused on the intersection of climate science and artificial intelligence. He holds a PhD in computer vision and has spearheaded cutting-edge projects with prestigious institutions such as NASA-JPL, the Smithsonian Institute, The Aerospace Corporation, and Harvard University. His work spans diverse areas including GHG emissions detection and wildlife tracking in the Maasai Mara and Serengeti. Satish has published extensively in premier conferences like CVPR, NeurIPS, BMVC, and WACV, and has delivered talks on AI for Climate Change and Wildlife at these conferences as well as at the Mara Elephant Project in Kenya. His contributions to GHG detection and wildlife monitoring have received special recognition at CVPR.

  In addition to his academic achievements, Satish brings five years of hands-on experience in OS development from his tenure at Samsung R&D in South Korea and India. As the CEO of EyeClimate, he leads the development of AI algorithms for hyperspectral and multispectral imagery, as well as aerial imagery. His expertise in modeling multi-modal data—integrating satellite images, weather reports, and other ancillary information—enables the creation of robust AI algorithms for anomaly detection in extremely high-dimensional data. At EyeClimate, Satish oversees the core research initiatives to deliver state-of-the-art solutions.

• 

  Tam Pham

  Power Systems Consultant, Siemens

  Tam Pham is a Transmission Planning Consultant at Siemens PTI. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Power Systems Engineering Technology from the University of Houston and received his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Prairie View A&M University in May 2023. He is currently working toward his PhD in Electrical Engineering at Prairie View A&M University. In his role at Siemens, Tam focuses on performing simulations for transmission and distribution systems in power grids, conducting steady-state studies, and analyzing the results from the collected data.

• 

  Tiffany Wu

  Senior Project Manager, Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute (TEPRI)

  Tiffany Wu is dedicated to deploying distributed energy resources (DERs) in low-income communities to improve energy affordability and resiliency. She leads efforts in piloting virtual power plants (VPPs) for multifamily housing and community resiliency hubs. In her previous role, she was a Department of Energy Solar Energy Innovation Fellow and an advisor to Commissioner Will McAdams on DER policies at the Public Utility Commission of Texas. She helped create and manage the Aggregate Distributed Energy Resources (ADER) Task Force and pilot program and participated in policy discussions and actions related to DER operations, resiliency, and reliability in Texas. She spent 10 years developing and deploying carbon capture projects for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as a process engineer, commissioning engineer, and a business development manager. She holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, a Master of Public Affairs, and an M.S. in Energy and Earth Resources from The University of Texas at Austin. For her master’s research, she quantified diversity of generation resources for each state in the U.S. and interviewed experts on resiliency issues considered during ERCOT’s market restructure.

• 

  Zealan Hoover

  Senior Advisor, Environmental Protection Agency

  Zealan Hoover is a Senior Advisor to the EPA Administrator. For the past three years he has led EPA's implementation of more than $100 billion in programs authorized under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. Prior to that, he worked in the private sector advising organizations on a wide range of strategic and operational matters with an emphasis on decarbonization and managing climate risk. From 2013-2017 he worked at the White House first on the Domestic Policy Council and then in the Office of the Chief of Staff. In those positions he supported President Obama’s domestic and international climate agenda including the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Hoover graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was a Morehead-Cain Scholar.

• 

  Zeina El-Azzi

  CEO, Gage Zero

  Zeina El-Azzi is a renewable energy innovator and leader with nearly 25 years of experience deploying billions of dollars in capital to build infrastructure projects for technologies that are at the precipice of commercialization at scale. She focuses on the strategy and execution of environmental, government, and social initiatives. As the CEO of Gage Zero, she drives the strategic and financial direction for the company’s mission to develop, own, and operate reliable electric truck charging infrastructure that accelerates zero emission fleets and benefits communities.