Karen Espiritu is Toyota’s Hydrogen Supply Strategy Manager on the Fuel Cell Solutions team. She is dedicated to advancing hydrogen infrastructure as a key step toward decarbonization and energy independence, helping Toyota fuel the future of clean mobility. With a mechanical engineering background, Karen brings 20 years of diverse experience at Toyota, including roles spanning design, manufacturing, and field quality. Throughout her career, she has been a passionate advocate for customers, driving innovation and operational excellence.

Jared Cuneo is an aerospace and clean energy engineer with more than 20 years of experience in advanced composites, hydrogen storage, and lightweight structural design. He was among the first engineers at Virgin Galactic’s The Spaceship Company, where he helped design White Knight 2, and later became the first employee at Firefly Space Systems, leading composite tank and launch vehicle development.

Transitioning into clean energy, Jared has driven innovations in Type IV hydrogen vessels, DOT-special permit tanks, and UL-1316 FRP fuel tanks as Chief Engineer at Nationwide Tanks and through his firm RSR Composites. He has led multiple SBIR programs on advanced hydrogen storage and is the inventor of the Helical Armor Tank.

Today, as Co-Founder of Nautex Energy—a subsidiary of Premier Production Equipment—Jared is pioneering large-scale cryo-compressed and high-pressure hydrogen solutions, applying aerospace technologies to accelerate the clean energy transition.

Dr. Lorna Ortiz is the Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of GeoKiln Energy Innovation, a Houston-based clean tech startup pioneering Manufactured Subsurface Hydrogen (MSSH™) as a scalable, low-cost pathway to unlock geologic hydrogen. After 20 years at Shell leading innovation, technology development, commercialization and partnerships, Lorna co-founded GeoKiln to accelerate the commercialization of hydrogen through proven subsurface thermal stimulation technologies. Lorna holds a PhD. in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Carolina. 

Beyond GeoKiln, she is also the Founder of the Genuine Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to creating ecosystems of opportunity for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through sports, training, and community initiatives.

Dr. Alexei Tcherniak is a Founder and CEO of GeoKiln Energy Innovation, focused on advancing natural hydrogen production through thermal stimulation of iron-rich rocks. With over 20 years of experience in upstream, downstream, and energy technology, he specializes in business transformation, technology commercialization, and cross-disciplinary integration. Previously, he held senior roles at Shell, leading a $1 billion global business transformation program for Chemicals and Products, managing cost competitiveness and sustainability initiatives. As a Front End Development Manager, he evaluated and optimized multibillion-dollar projects in upstream, renewables, and downstream sectors. He also served as Technology Portfolio Advisor, overseeing innovation strategies across deepwater, shale, and engineering technologies. Alexei holds a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Rice University and has expertise in materials science, nanotechnology, and applied physics.

Accomplished technical, strategic, and administrative leader with 20+ years of experience accelerating innovative, actionable solutions that support business growth across the building materials, oil and gas, and carbon abatement sectors. Primary expertise in physics and chemistry of porous media, sensing physics, mechanics, data analytics, and technologies to enable the energy transition.

April Morgan is a Senior Talent Acquisition Partner at RWE Clean Energy, with over three years of experience in the renewable energy sector. She specializes in student engagement and veteran recruitment, with a strong focus on building inclusive pathways into clean energy careers.

Passionate about workforce development and sustainability, April collaborates with universities and veteran organizations to connect emerging talent with opportunities across the clean energy landscape. Her efforts are helping shape a skilled, diverse, and mission-driven workforce prepared to lead the energy transition.

Carlos Guzman is a passionate professional in the renewable energy industry, with a background and education in engineering and with 10+ years of experience in the industry, having worked as a technical advisor, developer and owner of renewable energy plants. Carlos was involved in managing engineering works, providing technical expertise and launching innovative initiatives in over 13,000 MW of projects. Prior to entering renewables, Carlos led offshore geotechnical explorations for the oil and gas industry. 

Dr. Jeffrey Goldmeer is a Senior Director of Technology Strategy within GE Vernova’s corporate Technology Strategy & Ventures organization. His primary focus is delivering technology strategy recommendations for a variety of energy system technologies, including hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives. Dr. Goldmeer is the co-creator and co-host of GE Vernova’s award-winning decarbonization podcast, Cutting Carbon, which has over 130,000 downloads in 155 countries. 

Dr. Goldmeer is a subject matter expert on topics related to the energy transition as well as low carbon fuels and combustion. He led multiple first of a kind projects demonstrating operation of both aeroderivative and heavy-duty gas turbines on blends of hydrogen and natural gas. Dr. Goldmeer also leads GE Vernova’s activities on ammonia as a gas turbine fuel.

Dr. Goldmeer has been invited to policy discussions, technical meetings, and webinars with multiple government, non-government policy/advocacy organizations, universities, and investment firms. These include the US Department of Energy, the US Department of State, the US National Academy of Sciences, the Business Council of Australia, Princeton University, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Bank of America, and multiple non-US energy ministries. He has also been an invited peer reviewer of the IEA’s annual Global Hydrogen Review.

Prior to joining GE Vernova, Dr. Goldmeer was a Senior Research Scientist at Southwest Sciences, and a National Research Council Post-Doctorate Research Associate at NASA. Dr. Goldmeer holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Case Western Reserve University, and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He has 13 patents, over 100 conference papers/presentations, and contributed to three recent books on hydrogen and renewable fuels.