Solar Resource & Learning Center Your Guide to Green Jobs, Clean Energy and Solar Savings

Justin received his MBA from Florida State University. He has about a decade of experience in banking, helping his clients with both consumer and commercial needs. As First GREEN Bank’s Portfolio Manager in the Clermont, Florida area, he reviewed existing commercial loans and assists clients who have new borrowing needs. Today, he helps consumers with their financial needs as a mortgage consultant.

Retired Army Col. Thom Besch is the founder of Veteran Solar Systems in Albany, New York. After retiring from the military in 2009, he went on to do everything from solar sales, design, installation, project management and running the regulatory office of a solar energy company before he started Veteran Solar Systems in 2014.

Chahine Bourdouane, a Certified Financial Specialist, formerly worked with California’s Green Solar Technologies. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to his role as the head of the finance department. His diverse background and training enables him to help solar customers find the very best financial options to fit their individual solar needs.

Siggi Brocks is a Solar Photovoltaic System Design, Installation and Maintenance instructor at Erwin Technical College in Florida.

Grace Caldwell has owned and operated Independent Power Corporation in Reno, Nevada, for 20 years. IPC offers design, engineering and installation of solar systems.

Andy Cochran has worked in real estate for 22 years and was the first Ecobroker in Vermont. Andy is a past president of the Northwestern Vermont Board of Realtors and was named Northwestern Vermont’s Realtor of the Year for 2005. He is a senior associate for Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty.

Alex graduated from Oberlin College with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies. He has been in the solar industry for more than 7 years, having worked for a solar manufacturer before joining Southern California’s solar provider AMECO. Currently, he’s a sales and marketing engineer at Sun Green Systems, Inc.

Toren Elste is Outreach and Events Specialist in the Department of Sustainability at the University of Washington. She has degrees in Landscape Architecture and Environmental. “I’m interested in everything from green offices, to paper reduction and green event resources,” she says. “Representing the University of Washington’s commitment to sustainability makes me excited to go to work each day.”

Erica Etelson is a co-founder of California Alliance for Community Energy, writes frequently about energy and climate and tweets @iluvsolar. She is also a recovering attorney, solar marketing consultant and environmental activist. Her current focus is on climate, regenerative agriculture, and clean energy.

Robert Israel of BloomTree Realty in Arizona is a Certified Ecobroker. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Prescott College in Arizona in 1996 in psychology, with an emphasis in environmental issues and education. Before becoming a REALTOR® in 2005, Isreal was the Director of Operations and helped to launch the Ecosa Institute, a non-profit school founded in 1999 to train professionals and college level architecture and design students about energy efficient, environmentally sound building design and master planning, otherwise known as Sustainable Design and Green Building.

Bill Johnson lives with his family in Sarasota, Florida, and is founder and president of Brilliant Harvest. He holds a Master’s degree in Physics from the University of South Florida Tampa, and an MBA from the University of Florida. He is active throughout the community – having served as the chairman of the board for The Florida Center for Early Childhood (2005-2012) and served on the boards of the Crowley Museum and Nature Center (2006-2010) and the Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy (2009-present).

Henry Jones, U.S. Air Force 1986-2010, earned an associate’s degree in electrical systems and is an Erwin Tech solar trainee. As a hands-on learning type of person, he said he wanted to get involved at the ground level with this new source of energy and is excited about taking on the challenge of solar power.

Tom Kimbis is the former Interim President of the Solar Energy Industries Association. He has been working in renewable energy since 2000, when he began supporting research, analysis, legislative, and planning efforts across all energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies for the U.S. Department of Energy. He served as Director of Market Transformation through 2009, when he began service as Acting Program Manager, managing the $170 million solar energy program of the United States. While at DOE, Kimbis was a founder of the Solar America Initiative, a billion-dollar effort to accelerate solar commercialization. Kimbis served as Chairman of The Solar Foundation, a nonprofit promoting the increased use of solar energy through education and research. After leaving SEIA in 2018, he is currently a consultant for Enflection Energy Consultants.

Michael Kowal is an experienced energy attorney working in private equity, primarily focused on renewables and infrastructure. Michael has worked on a wide range of matters as in-house counsel for some of the largest independent renewable energy providers in the United States.

Richard Lawrence is a program director at The Solar Foundation and former executive director for the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners, which administers certifications for renewable energy professionals in North America. Lawrence, who holds a master’s degree in Environmental Education from Lesley University, has worked as a renewable energy educator and advocate since 2002. He joined NABCEP in 2011 as director of operations and became executive director in 2013.

Brandon Little is the founder of Twende Solar: a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering energy-deficient populations with renewable energy systems and former managing director of Elemental Energy in Portland, Oregon. While studying pre-med, Brandon ran a side-business focused on investing stock in the sustainable energy industry. Brandon invested his money in solar because he believed in its reliability and scalability and eventually decided that he wanted to enact change through solar energy instead of medicine. Little has a degree in renewable energy engineering and has several years of professional experience.

Kevin MacLeod is the owner of KPS Solar in Bay Shore, New York, and Orlando, Florida. He is NABCEP certified, a Licensed Electrician, and has been installing solar for 15 years. Putting solar on every home on Long Island, eliminating fossil-fueled power plants and creating programs that will do that are his biggest goals.

Mike Massimini served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1986-1994, continues to serve in the Coast Guard Auxiliary, holds his MBA, and is working toward earning his solar contractor’s license with hopes of opening a business with other solar vets. As a veteran, he is used to working with others as a team. He says he’s also used to dealing with challenges, having the mentality of tackling a mission and seeing it through to its completion. For him, solar is a fresh industry and he feels like he’s a sort of pioneer in this new field.

Shawn O’Meara is a NABCEP Certified PV installer and a journeyman electrician with more than 20 years of experience. Shawn specializes in solar for residential, commercial and industrial sectors and is currently the owner of Aspen Electric and Solar.

Brett Pearson is a Senior Program Manager at CLEAResult and is the proud owner of solar panels. He’s was also involved with SunLife, a solar NGO promoting solar power.

Dr. David Renné is the former president of the International Solar Energy Society from 2010-2019. He is also the Operating Agent of an International Energy Agency Solar Heating and Cooling Programme Task 46 titled “Solar Resource Assessment and Forecasting.” He continues to serve as an Associate Editor of the Solar Energy Journal in the field of solar resource assessment. Renné’s other current professional activities include a senior consultant to Clean Power Research, a U.S. company that develops resource assessment and analytical software tools to support large-scale grid-connected solar energy systems. From 1991 until his retirement in 2012 Renné managed the solar resource assessment activities at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). He also led and participated in a number of international programs. He still retains an Emeritus status at NREL.

Sara Tavery is a REALTOR®, an Ecobroker and the owner of Robin’s Egg Realty LLC – a boutique real estate brokerage specializing in historic and sustainable homes of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She is a native of Winston-Salem and a graduate of Wake Forest University. After working for several years in financial services marketing, her love for all things home, as well as her concern for the environment, led her to embark on a green real estate career in 2011. 

Tor “Solar Fred” Valenza  is the founder and CEO of UnThink Solar, a solar marketing and communications agency. In addition to providing strategic solar marketing advice to clients, Tor is a leading solar marketing thought leader and solar advocate, writing for various solar blogs and industry publications. Join his 13,000 @SolarFred Twitter followers for daily solar news and commentary.

Mathew Vaughn is the Central California Coast Regional Sales Manager for Bland Solar & Air, a company with more than 30 years of experience in residential and commercial solar installations.