Meet the Mentors

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  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 is the Energy Journalism Fellow at The University of Texas at Austin, hosted by the Energy Institute. 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. Andy continues to report for the radio and other media outlets. His reporting and guest appearances have made him a regular presence on NPR, BBC, and The Texas Standard.

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  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. 

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  Lindsey Ewertsen

  Head of Talent, Base Power

  Lindsey Ewertsen leads Talent at Base Power Company, where she drives the company's recruitment strategy and talent acquisition efforts. Prior to joining Base, Lindsey built a diverse background across the financial services industry, with experience in Venture Capital, Asset Management, and Private Wealth.

  Lindsey graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Columbia University in 2019.

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  Coleman White

  Co-Founder, Verified Carbon Chief Business Development Officer, Return Carbon USA, Inc.

  Coleman White is the Co-Founder of Verified Carbon and Chief Business Development Officer at Return Carbon USA, Inc. He leads development efforts for large-scale carbon removal projects across North America, specializing in land acquisition, partnerships, and project origination. Coleman has secured over 10,000 acres of carbon storage rights and helped originate five DAC + storage projects totaling millions of tons of removal potential.

• Marilu Hastings, Chair

  Executive Vice President of the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

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  Amy Atchley

  EV Equity Development Manager, Austin Energy

  Amy Atchley is a social impact leader with over 20 years of experience serving vulnerable communities. She bridges Fortune 500 companies and mission-driven community organizations, drawing on a diverse skill set to drive meaningful change. At Austin Energy, she leads efforts in transportation electrification and climate resilience, centering equity and inclusion. Her work is grounded in innovative, human-centered program design that ensures emerging technologies benefit all communities. She has a strong focus on youth empowerment, developing initiatives that build leadership and amplify the voices of the next generation. Amy is regularly invited to share her insights at national and international forums on climate equity, decarbonization, inclusive community engagement, and more. Her nonprofit work includes high impact roles with Meals on Wheels Central Texas and VH1 Save the Music. She currently serves on the Board of Directors at EcoRise and is also a professional Austin-based singer/songwriter.

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  Andres Carvallo

  CEO & Founder, 512CMG

  Andres Carvallo is the CEO and founder of 512CMG, a digital transformation company focus on Smart Grids, Smart Utilities, Smart Cities, and Smart Buildings. Carvallo is known as the “Godfather of the smart grid” for designing and building the very first smart grid in the US at Austin Energy, the author of “The Advanced Smart Grid” and has published 48 titles in Power Engineering, Telecom/IoT, and Building Technologies. Carvallo has received 36 industry awards since 2005. Carvallo has held c-suite and senior executive roles at Austin Energy, Philips Electronics, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Borland, six IoT, telecom and Internet startups. Carvallo started his career as a Windows Product Manager at Microsoft in Redmond, WA. At Austin Energy, Carvallo was the CIO/CTO and led a storied $4billion deployment of technology and transformation, in 8 years, 2,500 projects, with a 98% on-time and on-budget from 2003 to 2010. Carvallo is a former fellow and professor of innovation in the College of Science and Engineering at Texas State University. Carvallo received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering degree from The University of Kansas with a concentration in Robotics and Control Systems. And Carvallo also has received post-graduate certificates in Business Management from Stanford University, in Quality Management from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania, and in Power Utility Management from The University of Idaho. Website: https://512cmg.com/
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  Thomas Myers

  Energy Program Supervisor, Texas Army National Guard

  Tom Myers serves as the Energy Program Supervisor for the Texas Army National Guard and holds the rank of Major in the Marine Corps Reserve. He is currently assigned as a Civil Affairs Officer with the 3D Civil Affairs Group. In his role with the Texas Army National Guard, Tom oversees the implementation of energy and water resiliency projects and efficiency initiatives and ensures compliance with DOD, federal, and state reporting requirements. He is also involved in testing and integrating emerging technologies.

  Recently, Tom completed a 10-month deployment to Southeast Asia, focusing on energy and water resiliency programming in the northern provinces of the Philippines. During this time, he collaborated with the Naval Postgraduate School's Energy Academic Group, the Batanes provincial government, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and various USG/DOD agencies to lead the first Energy Resiliency Readiness Tabletop Exercise in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

  In addition to his professional and military duties, Tom owns Solar Sno Shaved Ice, a 100% solar- and battery-powered food truck chain based in South Austin.

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  Vitaly Sergeev

  Founder, Nanoborne

  Vitaly is a founder of several deep tech startups in upstream oil and gas, including Nanoborne, launched during his master’s studies at UT Austin. He holds a Ph.D. in Petroleum Engineering, along with master's degrees in Economics, Entrepreneurial Law, and Technology Commercialization. Since starting his career in oil and gas, Vitalyhas founded multiple successful ventures and continues to drive innovation through ongoing collaborations with leading global corporations.

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  Shannon Strank

  Deputy Director of UT-CEM

  Shannon M. Strank received the B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, in 2000, and an M.B.A. degree from the University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, in 2011. She joined the University of Texas at Austin Center for Electromechanics (UT-CEM) in 2006 after six years as a support engineer in private industry. Following completion of her M.B.A., she became the Deputy Director of UT-CEM. In addition to program development responsibilities, she provides oversight and guidance the Center’s Grid Solutions program.  Research areas of focus within this program include electric ship design and control, fault prediction and mitigation, fault detection, and lifetime prediction for insulative materials.

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  Todd Bush

  COO, Collide

  Todd Bush is an energy entrepreneur and Chief Operating Officer at Collide, leading operations, strategy, and growth initiatives. Collide is the platform transforming how oil & gas and energy professionals connect, collaborate, and solve industry challenges. Todd is also the editor of Decarbonfuse.com, a leading resource on industrial decarbonization serving natural gas, ethanol, and ammonia producers along with low-carbon investors.

  Previously, Todd founded Energent Group, a data-driven SaaS for energy logistics insights, and sold it to Westwood Global Energy, where he led the onshore energy team. He has advised 25+ startups on entering energy, software, oil & gas, solar, utilities, logistics, and rail markets. Todd is an alumni of Texas A&M University and Rice University.

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  Bo Ropp

  Process Engineer, Phillips 66

  Bo Ropp is a Process Engineer at Phillips 66, currently supporting Crude and Coker operations at the Sweeny Refinery. He brings six years of experience in refinery engineering, including five years at the Wood River Refinery in Illinois and one year focused on refining margin improvement across multiple sites. Bo earned his Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Texas in 2019 and has been with Phillips 66 since graduation.

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  Michael Cardenas

  Maintenance Engineer, Phillips 66

  Michael Cardenas is a recent Mechanical Engineering graduate from UTSA and currently works as a Maintenance Engineer at the Phillips 66 Sweeny Refinery. His work focuses on reliability, safety, and continuous improvement. He’s excited to connect with fellow attendees, share his journey into the energy industry, and learn from others’ experiences.