Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships is pleased to announce that four energy and climate leaders – Alex Buell, Rebecca Foster, Sonal Jessel, and Emily Schapira – have joined the Board of Directors.
“NEEP is happy to welcome four outstanding individuals to the Board of Directors,” said Marion Gold, NEEP Board President. “These leaders bring diverse perspectives, experiences, and subject matter expertise to NEEP’s work. They will be assets to the organization.”
Alex Buell is Director of Portfolio Planning & Analysis at Con Edison. He leads strategy, planning, finance, and engagement for the utility's portfolio of energy efficiency and heat pump programs. His leadership has helped these programs triple in impact to provide almost $400 million in annual support to Con Edison customers to decarbonize their buildings. Alex also heads development of Con Edison's utility thermal energy networks. Alex has spent his career in strategy, finance, and new business development in the clean energy transition.
Rebecca Foster is VEIC’s Chief Executive Officer. With over 20 years of experience in clean energy, Rebecca guides VEIC’s strategic planning, corporate goal setting, business development and performance. Rebecca’s vision is for VEIC to demonstrate a new model for decarbonization programs and services that puts people first and centers equity and accessibility.
Sonal Jessel (she/her) is the Director of Policy at WE ACT for Environmental Justice. She leads the New York policy team and is responsible for advancing the organization’s policy agenda at the local, state, and national levels, in addition to leading the Northern Manhattan Climate Action (NMCA) Plan. Sonal works with local, city, and state leaders to advance policy changes that improve environmental health and advances a just transition. She is appointed to the New York State Climate Justice Working Group.
Emily Schapira has been President & CEO of the Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA) since 2016. PEA is an independent municipal authority building a robust, equitable clean energy economy in Philadelphia. PEA has supported over $800MM in energy efficiency and clean energy programs and projects so far, creating over 7,000 jobs. PEA's work covers City infrastructure, the School District of Philadelphia, affordable housing, small businesses and commercial and industrial properties. Prior to joining PEA, Emily led energy efficiency work across commercial and industrial customer portfolios for WESCO and Aelux, and served in sustainability roles with Wharton, Intel and Verizon. She chairs the board of the Philadelphia Green Capital Corp, Philly's green bank, and holds an MBA from Wharton and a BA from Penn.
“It takes a collaborative approach to advance our mission of an equitable and energy-efficient economy in the Northeast region,” said NEEP Executive Director Maggie Molina. “I look forward to the breadth of expertise and perspectives these tremendous new board members will offer the NEEP team.”