As the Senior Director of the Renewable Energy Production Tracking Division at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), Erica oversees a dynamic team of 10 professionals and collaborates with multiple contracted vendors to manage and optimize the IT platforms responsible for distributing over $7 billion in renewable energy incentives to Massachusetts residents and businesses annually.

With over 11 years of dedicated service in the clean energy sector, she has been instrumental in pioneering innovative incentive solutions. Her expertise resides in developing, implementing, and refining IT systems and processes for crucial state incentive programs, including the Solar Renewable and Alternative Energy Certificate and the Clean Peak Standard program. Throughout her career, she has consistently delivered business management success by spearheading the development and management of comprehensive databases. While enhancing customer experience operations and solidifying a reputation for operational excellence, Erica delivers process optimization and fosters a culture of creativity and modernization.

Driven by her unwavering faith and passion to lead, Erica’s career in management spans over 25 years, during which time she continuously sought personal and professional growth. In 2023, she successfully completed her MBA and is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in Business Analytics at UMass Boston. Beyond her professional endeavors, she finds fulfillment in her role as a devoted wife and mother to three remarkable young ladies. In addition, Erica is deeply committed to advocating for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice, and previously served as Committee Chair for MassCEC’s DEI Employee Resource Group.

Carrie Cullen Hitt is the Senior Director of Grid and Transmission Policy at Vineyard Offshore, where she also supports the team’s state government and regulatory affairs.

Carrie has worked in the energy industry for over 30 years and in offshore wind since 2018, initially leading the National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium. Most recently she served as lead of US Transmission Strategy for Equinor.

Vineyard Offshore is leading the development of two lease areas in the Northeast, in addition to a recently acquired lease in Northern California. Combined with its joint venture development of the first-in-the-nation offshore wind project, Vineyard Wind, now under construction, Vineyard Offshore has the potential to develop more than 6 gigawatts of clean, renewable and affordable energy on the East and West Coasts of the United States, enough to power millions of homes.

Previously, Carrie served as President for New Hampshire Transmission, A NextEra Energy Transmission company. She also has served in senior market development roles for NextEra, New Energy Ventures (now Constellation), and the Solar Energy Industries Association.

She received a B.A. from Clark University and an MA from John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Carrie is co-chair of the Artemis Circle of the Boston Boy and Girls Club.

Nicole is an Associate Partner based in San Francisco and co-author of the 2022 Women in the Workplace report. She is a member of the Banking and Risk & Resilience practices helping financial institutions to increase resilience through organizational and risk transformations, particularly related to the intersection of DEI, talent strategy, and operational risk.

Monne is a partner in McKinsey’s Atlanta office. She helps companies transform by applying culture, change management, executive team development, and capability building levers to expand and sustain their performance gains. Monne is a leader in the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility, and recently authored Race in the Workplace.

Melanie has been CSC Executive Director since May 2013, and CSC Staff Attorney since October 2008. She was at the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney, Regionalized Infractions Adjudications from 2006-2008; Land Use and Real Estate Associate 2005-2008, Adjunct Faculty Legal Studies at Naugatuck Valley Community College 2005-2008. She received her JD from UCONN Law (Environmental Law focus) and her BS in Business Management from Fordham University.

As Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, Jennifer Daloisio leads MassCEC’s efforts to build a robust, internationally competitive clean energy economy in Massachusetts.

Jennifer first joined the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer in November 2014.

In her latest role she led finance, information technology, human resources and operations for the organization.

Prior to joining MassCEC, Jennifer practiced public accounting in Boston for 18 years, most recently as a Director at Deloitte. During her time in public accounting, Jennifer served clients ranging in size from start-ups to multi-nationals in
a variety of industries, including energy, retail, and manufacturing.

Throughout her career, Jennifer has worked with numerous clean energy companies at various stages and sizes and with a wide array of innovative technologies. During her time as MassCEC’s Chief Financial Officer, Jennifer oversaw efforts that enabled agency operations and funded programs that fostered clean energy market, technology and workforce development.

Jennifer is a Certified Public Accountant and graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration.

NEWIEE’s next “Ask Me Anything!” webinar will feature a panel of leaders from Out in Energy, a national community for openly Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI) professionals working across the US energy and climate sectors, and across all energy sources and technologies. The Out in Energy network serves as a community development and visibility incubator for LGBTQI+ people working in energy and climate, with the goals of elevating the voices of Out energy and climate leaders, supporting the career development of younger Out professionals, connecting LGBTQI+ jobseekers with companies and government agencies, and creating a space for LGBTQI+ energy and climate professionals to connect and form a cohesive community across the country.

Join us for this exciting panel featuring:

• Zachary Strauss, Policy Analyst, Atlas Public Policy & Founder of Out in Energy
• Gia Clark, Senior Director, LevelTen Energy
• Edon Hoppener, Second Secretary, Trade and Economic at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington D.C.
• Nicole Lepre, Policy Analyst, Atlas Public Policy

The panel will be moderated by Deanna Sassorossi, Co-Chair of NEWIEE’s Rising Professionals Committee.

Sabrina Ettinger is Manager within Energy Storage/Hydrogen in the New York office of Piper Maddox. Her recruitment journey started in 2016 when she was a recruiting specialist for the University of Georgia football team. (Go Dawgs!) When she moved to New York, she started in Finance and Audit recruitment. In 2019, Sabrina joined the Energy Storage team at Piper Maddox.

Heather Takle is President and CEO of PowerOptions, a nonprofit energy-buying consortium which provides cost savings to more than 470 nonprofits and municipalities in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island through programs for electricity and natural gas supply, turnkey solar projects, off-site renewables, efficiency, and clean transportation equipment and services. With over 20 years of general management experience and 15 in clean energy, Heather has held a variety of cross-cutting roles across companies like Ameresco and a leading New England retail energy brokerage, and have included include strategy, project development, new product development, back office operations, retail, wholesale and REC market participation. Throughout these roles, she has worked to help C&I customers easily understand how to most cost-effectively meet their renewable energy goals.

Priscilla Barbour Randle is the Director of Federal and State Government Affairs for Vistra Corp., an integrated power generation and retail electric company based in Irving, Texas. In her current role, Priscilla lobbies throughout the states of Texas, California, Connecticut, and supports federal government affairs efforts on behalf of Vistra and its approximate 5 million customers. Prior to joining Vistra in 2018, Priscilla worked on Capitol Hill as a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation fellow and staffer for former Congressman Cedric Richmond (LA-02), and for the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Energy and Environment Subcommittees. In these capacities, she managed a policy portfolio covering a range of energy and environmental issues.

Priscilla’s advocacy and policy experience spans across the local, state, and federal levels of government, and has been recognized by local, state, and national publications. She is committed to empowering women and girls to become engaged in politics and advocacy and serves as a board member of the PoliChic Engagement Fund. She is an active member of her community and serves as a mentor to high school and middle school girls as they prepare for college through the Cachet Youth Group, where she also serves as co-chair of the organization. Priscilla also serves as vice-president of the DFW Chapter of AABE.

Priscilla holds a Master of Public Service and Administration from the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, with a concentration in State and Local Government Policy and Management. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Prairie View A&M University, where she also served as Student Body President.

Jacquelyn Birdsall is the Senior Engineering Manager of the Fuel Cell Integration Group at Toyota Motor North America Research and Development. The mission of her group is to improve quality of life by developing fuel cell solutions to replace gasoline and diesel engines. Birdsall specializes in hydrogen infrastructure, high pressure hydrogen systems and associated standards and regulations. She also serves as a technical spokesperson for the Toyota Mirai and has been in numerous publications including Car and Driver and the Wall Street Journal.

Prior to joining Toyota in 2012 Birdsall held several roles in the automotive industry. She has over seventeen years of experience in hydrogen, including a thirteen‐month assignment at the Toyota Motor Corporation Global Headquarters in Japan working on the 2021 Toyota Mirai. In addition to her activities in hydrogen, Birdsall takes personal interest in promoting STEM learning and diversity within the industry. In 2015 she was honored by the Manufacturing Institute as an Emerging Leader and by Automotive News as Rising Star. Birdsall received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University (previously General Motors Institute).

Jolette Westbrook is the Director & Senior Attorney, Energy Markets and Regulation at the Environmental Defense Fund. Jolette has an extensive energy background which includes serving eight-years as a Commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities. In that position, her responsibilities included overseeing investor-owned utilities and developing alternatives to traditional regulation. Prior to serving on the Commission, Jolette held the position of Director of the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board. Before working for the Commonwealth, Jolette was Managing Attorney at the Southeastern Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation.

Jolette received a J.D. from Northeastern School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts. She has been active in such organizations as the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners where she served on the Board of Directors. Further, Jolette has been invited to speak at various events including the European/US Regulatory Conference and the Annual Conference of the American Association of Blacks in Energy.

Commissioner Allison Clements has two decades of public and private sector experience in energy regulation and policy, representing utilities, independent power producers, developers and lenders, nonprofits and philanthropies on grid policy issues.

Prior to her time at FERC, she spent two years as Director of the Energy Markets Program at Energy Foundation. Earlier, she founded Goodgrid, LLC, an energy policy and strategy consulting firm. She also spent a decade at Natural Resources Defense Council in New York, NY, as the organization’s corporate counsel and then as director of the Sustainable FERC Project. Before that, she spent several years in private legal practice.

Commissioner Clements has served as a federal energy expert in several capacities, including as a member of a National Academies of Sciences committee on grid resilience and as a clinical visiting lecturer at Yale Law School. She grew up in Dayton, Ohio and now lives in Washington, DC, with her husband and two children.

Marissa Paslick Gillett is Chairman of Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA). Governor Ned Lamont nominated Gillett to begin serving on the three member regulatory authority on April 26, 2019, and her appointment was confirmed by both the House of Representatives and State Senate in the 2019 session of the Connecticut General Assembly.

Gillett serves as one of Connecticut’s representatives on the Board of Directors of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc. (RGGI).

Prior to her appointment, Gillett was the Vice President of External Relations for the Energy Storage Association – the national trade association representing the energy storage industry. In that role, Gillett served on the association’s executive team, contributing to the organization’s overall strategic vision and direction, as well as providing leadership of the research, educational programming and events, marketing, and communications teams.

From 2011 to 2018, Gillett worked at the Maryland Public Service Commission, an independent agency within the Maryland state government that regulates public utilities, where she most recently served as the senior advisor to the chairman. Her duties included a number of matters on energy issues in the state, such as advising the agency’s chairman and other commissioners on technical, legal and policy matters related to offshore wind procurement, statewide energy efficiency programs, advanced metering infrastructure, grid reliability issues and electric vehicles. Additionally, she represented the commission on these topics by testifying before the Maryland General Assembly and by leading stakeholder engagement initiatives as part of the state’s grid modernization proceeding.

Gillett received a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering from Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law in Baltimore, Maryland.

Sophie Brochu took office as President and Chief Executive Officer of Hydro‑Québec on April 2, 2020. She is the first woman in the company’s history to hold that office on a permanent basis.

Ms. Brochu has over 30 years of experience in the energy sector. She began her career in 1987 as a financial analyst with Société québécoise d’initiatives pétrolières (SOQUIP), a Québec government corporation responsible for developing the natural gas network in the province. In 1997, she joined Énergir (formerly Gaz Métro) as Vice President, Business Development, and subsequently went on to head other departments, including those in charge of sales and customer services, regulatory affairs and community relations. In 2007, she became Énergir’s President and Chief Executive Officer, a position she held until the end of 2019. Under her guidance, the Québec natural gas distributor added renewable natural gas to its supply portfolio and became an important player in the wind and solar energy spaces, in both Canada and the U.S. In the mid‑2000s, Énergir acquired Vermont electric utility Green Mountain Power, which later acquired Central Vermont Public Services, creating a customer‑centric electricity provider.

Sophie Brochu holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Université Laval and sits on the board of Banque de Montréal (BMO). Very active in the community, she has been involved with Centraide of Greater Montreal for many years and co‑founded ruelle de l’avenir, a non‑profit organization that encourages students in the Centre Sud and Hochelaga neighborhoods of Montréal to stay in school. She chairs the board of Fondation Forces AVENIR, which supports activities designed to foster and celebrate community involvement by high school, college and university students. In addition, she is a leader of L’effet A, an initiative whose aim is to promote the participation of women at all organizational levels. Ms. Brochu was awarded honorary doctorates by Université de Montréal (HEC Montréal) and Bishop’s University. She is a member of the Order of Canada.

Linda George was appointed Administrator of the DPUC in June 2020. Prior to her appointment, she served as Acting Administrator for the DPUC since the Fall of 2019. She was also Deputy Chief of Legal Services for the DPUC and Senior Legal Counsel for the PUC. Linda was responsible for overseeing dockets which focused on electric utility regulations, energy efficiency, renewable energy and water utility regulation. Before that, Linda served as a policy analyst and attorney for the Rhode Island Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture. She brings 29 years of legal experience to the position.

Linda graduated from Dartmouth College with a BA in government in 1987 and received her JD from Vermont Law School in 1991.

Amy Duffuor is a Principal at Prime Impact Fund, with responsibility to identify and evaluate investment opportunities, lead investments, and serve on the boards of portfolio companies. Her professional background spans business, finance, and impact, and she has worked on three continents.

Prior to Prime Impact Fund, Amy was a renewables and power investment banker at Bank of America. There, she worked with CEOs of public and private companies to raise investment capital including the IPO of Sunnova (NYSE: NOVA), a residential solar company valued at approximately $1 billion. Before her stint on Wall Street, Amy ran early-stage social venture accelerators around Southeast Asia for a Singapore-headquartered impact investing firm called Impact Investment Exchange. Earlier in her career, Amy was a management consultant at State of Flux, a London-based consulting firm that specializes in supply chain and procurement. She serves on the board of directors for Clean Crop Technologies, a Prime Impact Fund portfolio company.

Amy holds a B.A. from Columbia University, an M.Phil with Distinction from the University of Oxford, and an MBA from The Wharton School.

Sara Burns is an executive with more than 30 years’ experience in the energy industry, having worked in a variety of leadership roles from risk management, human resources, finance, operations and corporate. Burns became president of CMP in 1998, and was named CEO in 2005, Maine’s largest electricity transmission and distribution utility, and a subsidiary of AVANGRID. In 2015, she assumed wider oversight of Avangrid’s Networks functions. Ms. Burns began her career with CMP as manager of Risk Management in 1987. In her years with the company, Ms. Burns served as Chief Operating Officer, vice president of Human Resources, and director of Financial Services. Before joining CMP, she worked at Unum Corporation, Marsh & McLennan Companies and Chubb. Ms. Burns is a graduate of Colby College.

Ms. Burns is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Avangrid Networks, providing strategic insight and supportive leadership/guidance to the senior executive team. Ms. Burns also serves on the Board of Trustees of Colby College and is the Vice Chair of the Board of the Mitchell Institute. Additionally, she was a member and chairman of the Board of Directors of Maine and Company, a state-wide business development organization and was the Chairmen of the Board of Maine Health. Ms. Burns also served on the Maine State Chamber of Commerce Board and the Augusta Board of Trade.

AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) is a leading, sustainable energy company with $31 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states. AVANGRID has two primary lines of business: Avangrid Networks and Avangrid Renewables. Avangrid Networks owns eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving 3.2 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid Renewables owns and operates 7.1 gigawatts of electricity capacity, primarily through wind power, with a presence in 22 states across the United States. AVANGRID employs approximately 6,500 people.

Shalaya Morissette is a Senior Technical Inspector within the Gas Pipeline Safety group for National Grid USA. Prior to joining National Grid she held various roles in higher education including Enrollment Services Project Manager and in global transportation as the Director of Affiliate Relations. She continues to develop active engagements and encourage young people to become involved in the energy industry. Shalaya received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Georgia Gwinnett College and her Master’s in Education from Cambridge College. As a life time learner, she is continuing her education by pursuing a second bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering Technology with Excelsior College. When she isn’t glued to a computer screen studying, she spends time hiking, collecting records, and trying yoga poses with her toddler.

Cheryl A. LaFleur is a nationally-recognized energy leader. On June 1, 2020, she will become a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy, focusing primarily on the adaptation of the electric and natural gas sectors to the challenges of climate change. LaFleur also serves on the Board of Directors of the Independent System Operator of New England (ISO-NE), the independent, not-for-profit organization that plans and operates the power system and administers wholesale electricity markets for the New England region.

Previously, LaFleur was one of the longest-serving commissioners on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). nominated by President Obama in 2010 and 2014 serving until August 2019. She served as Chairman was 2014-15 and as Acting Chairman from 2013-14 and during 2017. She successfully navigated nearly a decade of change in the nation’s energy industry, power supply, and political leadership, helping FERC respond effectively to major energy challenges and opportunities across the electric, natural gas, and oil sectors.

LaFleur helped lead the FERC’s work to adapt the nation’s energy markets and infrastructure to ongoing changes in the nation’s resource mix due to the growth of gas and renewables and to changing climate and environmental goals. She also played a leading role in FERC’s efforts to assure reliability and security of the energy grid in response to emerging security threats.

Earlier in her career, LaFleur had more than 20 years’ experience as a leader in the electric and natural gas industry. She served as executive vice president and acting CEO of National Grid USA, responsible for the delivery of electricity to 3.4 million customers in the Northeast. She led major efforts to improve reliability and employee safety, and led award-winning conservation and demand response programs for customers.

LaFleur has been a nonprofit board member and executive and is a frequent speaker on energy and leadership issues. She has been recognized with several awards for energy policy and leadership, including the Carnot Prize for leadership in energy policy, the Vanguard Award for leadership on energy market issues, a Bipartisan Congressional Award for leadership in addressing emerging hazards to the grid. She a began her career as an attorney at Ropes and Gray in Boston. She has a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and an A.B. from Princeton University.

Tamika N. Jacques, Ed.D. has been the Director for Workforce Development at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) since 2012. Over the past eight years, Tamika has created new workforce initiatives such as the Successful Women in Clean Energy Program, the Learn and Earn (High-School Students) Program, Clean Energy Activity Day (Elementary School Students) and the annual Clean Energy Symposium for Higher Education students. She also oversees the hugely successful Internship Program, is author of A Brown Girls Guide to Employment and Networking, and was the 2017 NEWIEE Rising Star award recipient.

Prior to joining MassCEC, Tamika served as the Executive Director for the Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board, where she oversaw job training programs for the Commonwealth, developed and published policy reports around the Governor’s workforce development priorities and led and established collaborations with both state, business and local partners in the workforce development system. Tamika’s diverse work experience also includes teaching as an English as a Second Other Language (ESOL) instructor and working with first generation, low income and disabled higher education students; and she also served as a District Representative for Congressman Stephen F. Lynch. Tamika graduated from Suffolk University with a B.S. in International Economics; M.S. from Northeastern University in College Student Development and Counseling and an Ed.D. from Johnson and Wales University in Educational Leadership.