Jonathan Birdsong
Board Chair
Director of Western Regional Office | National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Jonathan Birdsong is director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Western Regional Office. He brings more than 20 years of experience in brokering strategic, non-traditional initiatives in the public and private sectors that benefit natural resources. Prior to joining NFWF, Mr. Birdsong worked for BlueWater Strategies, a boutique consulting firm in Washington, D.C., where he focused on natural resources, agriculture, energy, and irrigation efficiency policies. From 2002 to 2010, he worked for U.S. Congressman Mike Thompson of California, a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Gregory DePasquale
Board Treasurer
Former Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer | Copart, Inc.
Gregory DePasquale is the former Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Copart, Inc., an S&P 500 company and global leader in online vehicle auctions. Greg had been with Copart since 1998 and advised the company throughout its global expansion from the United States to Canada, Europe, Asia, and South America and 100X growth in market capitalization. With decades of legal and automotive industry experience, he led a team of professionals covering a broad range of practice areas including M&A, corporate governance, commercial and technology contracts, real estate, litigation, regulatory compliance, intellectual property, and government affairs. Prior to his appointment as General Counsel in 2016, DePasquale held positions including Deputy General Counsel and Assistant General Counsel. He holds a Juris Doctor from the Santa Clara University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of San Diego.
Grace Tsai
Board Secretary
Executive Director | Dragon Kim Foundation
Grace Tsai is the Executive Director of the Dragon Kim Foundation. A graduate of Harvard University and Stanford's Graduate School of Business, Grace's 15-year career in consumer marketing, creating advertising and promotions for big brands such as Botox Cosmetic, Yahoo!, Nestle, and ConAgra Foods came to an end in 2015, when her teenage son Dragon was killed in a camping accident. She and her ex-husband Daniel Kim started the Dragon Kim Foundation to train and activate our next generation of leaders, and to keep Dragon's loving and giving spirit alive. As Executive Director of the Foundation, Grace has helped raise over $2MM, recruited and manages a team of 11 staff and 8 Board Members, and overseas their Fellowship Program and Music Program. Seven years later, the Foundation has inspired over 26,000 hours of community service and impacted over 16,000 people.
Martin Adams
Former General Manager and Chief Engineer | Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Martin Adams is the former General Manager and Chief Engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). During his 40-year tenure with LADWP, Martin worked throughout the Water System and was directly involved with the planning and implementation of major changes to water storage, conveyance, and treatment facilities to meet new water quality regulations. He spent almost half of his career in system operations, including ten years as the Director of Water Operations in charge of the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the Los Angeles water delivery system. Most recently, Martin was appointed by President Biden to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council in March 2024, where he serves on a team of 30 experts nationwide to address issues on national security pertaining to infrastructure and reliability.
Paul Browning
Co-founding Partner | Energy Transition Finance
Paul Browning has held Chief Executive roles at several multinational energy companies, including GE Thermal Power, Irving Oil, and Mitsubishi Power Americas. In 2023, he co-founded Energy Transition Finance, an advisory firm focused on helping energy transition companies apply for grants and loans from Federal, State, and local governments. As an energy transition entrepreneur, Paul has launched new businesses in green hydrogen production, storage and utilization, battery energy storage, renewable power project development, and green hydrogen project development.
Thierry Lepercq
Founder and President | HyDeal
As a serial entrepreneur in energy, Thierry Lepercq is the initiator of the HyDeal Ambition platform, which brings together 30 players across the value chain, aiming at delivering 2.5 €/kg of green hydrogen before 2030, and the Executive Chairman of HyDeal España, a joint venture bringing together upstream, midstream, and downstream industry players. He is also the author of Hydrogen is the New Oil.
Don Liddell
Founder and Partner | Douglass, Liddell, & Klatt
Don Liddell is founder and partner of Douglass, Liddell, & Klatt, a law firm specializing in regulatory and transactional work for the energy industry, with a particular emphasis on the development of competitive markets in California and the West.
Janice Lin
Founder and CEO | Strategen, Founder and President | Green Hydrogen Coalition
Janice Lin is the Founder and President of the Green Hydrogen Coalition and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Strategen.
Lacy McManus
Workforce Development Director, FUEL | Louisiana State University
Lacy McManus is the Workforce Development Director, FUEL at Louisiana State University. She was previously the Executive Director of Future Energy at Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.) where she advanced a diverse coalition of higher education, community college, non-profit, and industry partners spearheading the renewable energy evolution across South Louisiana. Lacy re-joined the GNO team after nearly three years with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Prior to joining AWS, Lacy served as the Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at GNO. where she oversaw a portfolio of workforce, education, and environmental programs that enhanced the economic competitiveness of the GNO region.
Carl Stills
CEO | CES Renewable Energy Group
Carl brings over 40 years of expertise in the utility industry, specifically in project management, policy, advocacy, and development. Before joining GHC, Carl was Vice President of Imperial Valley Development & Storage Integration of Avantus, where he oversaw solar development within California’s Imperial Valley and worked closely with the energy storage team to develop cohesive strategies for integrating solar-plus-storage into utility operations. He also has experience managing energy for California’s sixth-largest utility, the Imperial Irrigation District, where he served as Energy Manager and Portfolio Management Officer.
Denita Willoughby
CEO | Big Energy Group
Denita Willoughby is CEO of Big Energy Group, a firm that provides executive consulting and coaching services. Previously, she was Vice President of Supply Chain & Support Services for Southern California Gas Company and San Diego Gas & Electric, both Sempra Energy California utilities. Her responsibilities included managing a $3 billion supply chain, fleet, and facilities operations and overseeing SoCalGas’ $6 billion real estate portfolio. Prior, she spent over 15 years in leadership roles at AT&T/SBC/Pacific Bell, where she led government affairs and sales organizations with profit and loss responsibility.