MEET THE PANELISTS AND FACILITATORS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
2:15-3 PM: It Takes a Village
A kickoff conversation with community engagement and collaboration leaders about the need for and benefits of community engagement.
Dr. Shelley Francis | Co-founder & Managing Partner at EVNoire
Dr. Shelley Francis, a former medical school faculty member, is a public health executive, tech entrepreneur, and transportation disruptor. Dr. Francis is the co-founder and Managing Partner at EVNoire. EVNoire is a tech company focused on electric, connected, shared, and autonomous e-mobility solutions. EVNoire’s work focuses on two pillars: E-Mobility Best Practice and E-Mobility Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The EVNoire team specializes in providing business solutions to enhance electrification and decarbonization strategies for utilities, nonprofits, auto manufacturers, charging infrastructure manufacturers, municipalities, transit systems, government agencies, public health organizations, and regional and national organizations, rideshare and delivery network companies to expand this market share. EVNoire also engages communities on workforce development opportunities in the alternative fuel/electric vehicle economy.
Her vision led to the co-founding of the nation’s largest network of diverse EV drivers and enthusiasts, EVHybridNoire, a 501(c)3 Nonprofit with thousands of members and chapters across the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. EVHybridNoire, is the first global, multicultural organization focused on increasing EV adoption and awareness in under-represented communities, particularly those most impacted by transportation emissions. EVHybridNoire is one of four national organizing partners for Drive Electric Earth Day and National Drive Electric week. They are also co-founders and founding members of the Global EV Alliance, an advocacy group representing 50+ Countries and 400,000+ EV Drivers/enthusiasts across the globe. Collectively, these organizations work to accelerate EV adoption as well as share best practices and lessons learned.
Dr. Francis is frequently sought out for her expertise in E-Mobility and the public health impacts of transportation emissions; and has spoken at Roadmap, VERGE21, ETS, the ACT Expo, the Department of Energy, the American Bar Association, the Essence Festival, the American Lung Association, the Transportation Research Board, advised leadership at the Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, EPA and the White House to name a few. She is often featured in national news and journals and publications such as the Baltimore Sun, Columbus Times-Dispatch, Energy News, Forbes, and more. Dr. Francis has been recognized as one of the top Global Women in EVs; she was also featured in the Progressive Change Institute’s report of the top 400 candidates recommended for the Biden-Harris Administration; and she was identified by movmi and Sandra Phillips as one of their top Mobility Leaders. Dr. Francis currently serves as a National Board Director for the Electric Vehicle Association and serves as a Board member for the University of Richmond’s Alumni Association.
Julie Peacock | Advisor at the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation
Julie Peacock is an advisor on technical assistance and utilities at the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation on detail from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). At PNNL, she works on projects related to energy and transportation policy. She has a special focus on strategic stakeholder engagement and enjoys projects that involve designing opportunities for structured decision-making amongst groups with divergent interests. In working on projects, her goals are to develop implementable solutions against challenges facing the energy and transportation system by balancing the needs of diverse stakeholders with what is technologically feasible.
Prior to joining PNNL, Peacock was the Oregon Liaison at the Bonneville Power Administration, where she worked to enhance the agency’s regional relationships. In that role, she worked across the business process automation business lines with multidisciplinary teams to ensure internal awareness and understanding of regional and state policy’s implications on Bonneville. She previously held several senior positions at the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC). Her last position there was as the director of policy where she was responsible for implementing legislation, stakeholder engagement, and developing legislative proposals. Notably, she worked with Commission staff on the implementation of transportation electrification programs and modernizing utility regulation.
Before the OPUC, Peacock worked for Oregon Department of Energy as a senior policy analyst focused on renewable energy, transportation, and electricity policy. There she also acted as the co-coordinator of the Columbia-Willamette Clean Cities Coalition.
She holds a Master of Public Affairs in environmental policy and natural resource management from Indiana University and an undergraduate degree in political science and public policy from North Carolina State University. She lives in New Bern, North Carolina.
Stacey Washington | Deputy Director of the SC Energy Office
Stacey Washington works as the Deputy Director of the SC Energy Office working on office and energy program management with a concentration on energy justice. Mrs. Washington also has worked at SC DHEC in the Recycling Office and previously writing air permits in the SC DHEC Bureau of Air Quality and providing pollution prevention technical assistance to businesses in the SC DHEC Center for Environmental Sustainability.
Mrs. Washington holds a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University, has two years of process engineering experience, and over 20 years of industrial and state government environmental experience. She has also received a Waste Management Certificate from North Carolina A&T State University, is a Certified South Carolina Recycling Professional and received the S.C. DHEC Technical Non-Management Employee of the Year award in 2009. In April 2016 she received the Accredited Commercial Energy Manager certification.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
9-10:30 AM: Challenges and Solutions
An audience discussion with a panel of federal and state government representatives to discuss the challenges and solutions identified the day prior.
Stephen Costa | Technical Analyst at the U.S. Department of Transportation
Stephen Costa works at the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, in Cambridge, MA. There he supports a variety of projects focused on the role of transportation as both an element of energy supply and end-use. These include interagency collaborations to advance the production, transport, and distribution of alternative fuels, as well as the expansion of alternative fuel infrastructure and end-use adoption of EVs and alternative fuel vehicles. His recent efforts have assisted programs and initiatives at DOT’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, the Joint Office of Energy & Transportation, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Vehicle Technologies and Bioenergy Technologies Offices, the Federal Highway Administration, and other DOT modal administrations and state agencies.
Prior to joining Volpe in 2006, Stephen worked at U.S. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. There he supported and led a range of energy efficiency and alternative fuel programs targeted to public and private partners in fleet management, building administration, and domestic manufacturing, as well as individual consumers. Stephen holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from
UMass Amherst, and a M.A. in Energy & Environmental Analysis from Boston University.
Annie McDaniel | State Representative of South Carolina
Annie E. McDaniel was born and raised in Fairfield County, SC. Her education began in Fairfield County’s public schools. Ms. McDaniel then earned her Bachelor of Science in business administration with a major in accounting at the UofSC. She later returned for a Master’s in public administration. Ms. McDaniel completed two Ph.D. education administration courses in finance, and in 1992 she received certification as an SC Government Finance Officer.
In 2018 Ms. McDaniel was elected to the SC General Assembly House District 41 as the first African American woman and first African American since reconstruction. During her first year in office, she was the first member to pass a bill. She currently serves as a member of the Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Environmental Affairs Committee; and the First Vice President for the Operations and Management Committee; she previously served as a member of the Education and Public Works Committee and the COVID-19 Employment, Workforce, and Business Recovery Committee; as well as the Medical, Military, Public, and Municipal Affairs Committee.
Ms. McDaniel is a member of several caucuses including House Democrats, Women, Small
Business, Military, Black (serving as treasurer), and the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (Executive Committee). She is a member of the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women, SC Democratic Party Executive Committee, Fairfield County NAACP Branch Executive Committee, Member of Women’s Action for New Direction, State Director of National Foundation for Women Legislators, and State Director of National Women in Government. From 2000-2018, Ms. McDaniel was an elected official of the Fairfield County School District Board of Trustees where she served as Board Chair, Secretary, Finance Committee Chair, Student Hearing Committee Member, and Delegate to the SC School Boards Association Delegate Assembly. She was elected to the SC School Boards Association Board of Directors for Region 12.
She is a Life Member of NCNW, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., UofSC Alumni Association, and the NAACP. Ms. McDaniel is a 2022 graduate of the Dorothy Irene Height Global Leadership Academy, a 2021 Graduate of Council of State Governments Center for the Advancement of Leadership Skills (CALS) program, a 2021 graduate of the SC Economic development Institute, SC Institute of Medicine and Public Health 2019 Health Policy Fellow, past president of the SC Association of Government Finance Officers and has completed Leadership SC and Leadership Fairfield. She held leadership positions with Columbia (SC) Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, including Parliamentarian, Financial Secretary and Treasurer. At the regional level of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority positions held include SC Social Action Chair, and SC State Coordinator.
She has also awarded the Mary Kennedy McDaniel First Generation Scholarship (funded personally) to a deserving high school student pursuing higher education.
Above all, she is a Christian and loves to help people.
Julie Peacock | Advisor at the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation
Julie Peacock is an advisor on technical assistance and utilities at the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation on detail from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). At PNNL, she works on projects related to energy and transportation policy. She has a special focus on strategic stakeholder engagement and enjoys projects that involve designing opportunities for structured decision-making amongst groups with divergent interests. In working on projects, her goals are to develop implementable solutions against challenges facing the energy and transportation system by balancing the needs of diverse stakeholders with what is technologically feasible.
Prior to joining PNNL, Peacock was the Oregon Liaison at the Bonneville Power Administration, where she worked to enhance the agency’s regional relationships. In that role, she worked across the business process automation business lines with multidisciplinary teams to ensure internal awareness and understanding of regional and state policy’s implications on Bonneville. She previously held several senior positions at the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC). Her last position there was as the director of policy where she was responsible for implementing legislation, stakeholder engagement, and developing legislative proposals. Notably, she worked with Commission staff on the implementation of transportation electrification programs and modernizing utility regulation.
Before the OPUC, Peacock worked for Oregon Department of Energy as a senior policy analyst focused on renewable energy, transportation, and electricity policy. There she also acted as the co-coordinator of the Columbia-Willamette Clean Cities Coalition.
She holds a Master of Public Affairs in environmental policy and natural resource management from Indiana University and an undergraduate degree in political science and public policy from North Carolina State University. She lives in New Bern, North Carolina.
Alexa Voytek | Deputy Director of Programs, Innovation & Transportation, Communications at Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
Alexa is TDEC OEP's Deputy Director of Programs, Innovation and Transportation, and Communications. Alexa serves as the Principal Investigator for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) State Energy Program, oversees OEP’s sustainable transportation and alternative fuels programming, and assists with the administration of a variety of funding sources, including the State of Tennessee’s initial allocation under the Volkswagen Settlement Environmental Mitigation Trust, the State’s annual allocation under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act Program, and the implementation of formula funding under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program. Alexa also serves as the Coalition Director for U.S. DOE’s Clean Cities Middle-West Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition, through which she acts as a technical resource for fleets and individuals evaluating alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies. Alexa is Co-Chair of the National Association for State Energy Officials’ (NASEO) Transportation Committee and also serves as the Governor’s designee to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Regional Energy Resource Council, which provides guidance on how TVA manages its energy resources against competing objectives and values.
Prior to joining TDEC, Alexa interned with the UN Division for Sustainable Development and the U.S. Consulate in St. Petersburg, Russia. Most recently, Alexa served as Asst. Account Executive for the public relations firm Ketchum, Inc., where she was assigned to energy and technology related projects. Alexa holds an M.A. from Columbia University in Russian, Eastern European, Balkan, and Eurasian Studies and graduated summa cum laude from Duke University, with a B.A. in History and Russian Language / Area Studies
10:30-12 PM: Local Government Success Stories
A panel of local governments share the outcomes of successful federally funded electric transportation programs from development through implementation
Janet Miller | Clean Energy Program Coordinator for the City of Savannah
Janet currently serves as the Clean Energy Program Coordinator for the City of Savannah Office of Sustainability. She is responsible for supporting the implementation of the 100% Savannah Plan which pledges to meet 100% of community-wide electricity needs with clean and renewable energy by 2035 and 100% of community-wide energy needs with clean and renewable energy by 2050. A central focus of her efforts revolves around discovering creative approaches to leverage the clean energy transition in order to redress past injustices and create opportunities for frontline, fence-line, and low-income communities.
Janet recently graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Health Science. While a student, she worked as a Climate and Health intern for the New Orleans Health Department. She focused on how minorities who live near industry-caused pollution are disproportionately affected by climate change and used the only Superfund site in New Orleans as her case study. She is very passionate about environmental public health, environmental justice, and renewable energy. When she’s not working, Janet enjoys sleeping, eating, watching football (GO DAWGS!!!), traveling, hiking, and binge-watching television.
Brian Blackmon | Director of Sustainability for the City of Knoxville
Brian Blackmon is the Director of the City of Knoxville’s Office of Sustainability. He joined the office in 2014 as the Sustainability Project Manager, and has overseen the implementation of the City’s emission and energy reduction strategies since. His office manages city-owned public EV charging, installs fleet charging for city operations, and works with private network providers like Tesla, Rivian, and Blink to increase available public charging in the City of Knoxville. Brian and his team of four work with internal departments and external stakeholders to lead Knoxville into a lower-carbon future.
More information about the City's Sustainability initiatives may be found at:
knoxvilletn.gov/sustainability.
Rick Longobart | Fleet Operations Manager for the City of Raleigh
Rick Longobart is a highly accomplished management professional with proven leadership skills and a track record of award-winning performance in the public service sector. Mr. Longobart has been active in the Fleet industry for over 40-years. Mr. Longobart is currently the Fleet Operations Manager for the City of Raleigh in North Carolina. Vehicle Fleet Services was recognized as the #1 large fleet and overall, #1 fleet nationwide out of 38,000 municipal agencies in 2023.
Rick also worked for three different municipal agencies in California for 32 year and led the City of Santa Ana Fleet to 3rd Best Fleet overall, #1 Mid-Size Fleet in the country, and 3rd 100 Best and Greenest Fleet in the Nation in 2014. Rick also served as a member of MEMA and was President for 10- years. He is also past chair of the NAFA Pacific Southwest Chapter and currently is on the Board of Directors for the Southeast Government Fleet Managers Association in the region that represents 6 states. Mr. Longobart is co-founder of Longobart-Ross Consulting, PROFIT$ Software and EV Seamless Transition Group, where he helps fleet across the Nation including Canada to become more efficient, effective, and productive organizations.
www.longobart-ross.com www.seamlessevtransition.com
FACILITATORS
Dr. Stephen A. Smith | Executive Director, SACE
Dr. Stephen A. Smith has 30 years of experience affecting change for the environment. Since 1993, Dr. Smith has led the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) as its executive director. Under Dr. Smith’s leadership, SACE has grown to be a premier voice for clean energy issues in the region.
Dr. Smith currently serves on the State of Tennessee Energy Policy Council and on the Knoxville Mayor’s Climate Council. He also serves on the board of Floridians for Solar Choice. In the past, he has served on the North Carolina Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change and the North Carolina Climate Action Planning Advisory Group, the South Carolina Climate, Energy and Commerce Advisory Committee, and two terms on the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Regional Energy Resource Council.
Dr. Smith holds a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Tennessee and a Bachelor of Science in biology from Kentucky Wesleyan College. In 2009, he and his family commissioned a 7.1-kilowatt rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) system on their Knoxville home. Dr. Smith’s other areas of interest include flying, sailing, scuba diving, and beekeeping.
Stan Cross | Electric Transportation Policy Director, SACE
Stan joined the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in 2019. Stan leads electric transportation policy and utility reform efforts across the Southeast. Previously, Stan led and co-founded Brightfield Transportation Solutions—a start-up that designs and deploys solar-integrated electric vehicle charging stations. Stan also served as a transportation electrification consultant for the Cities of Raleigh and Charlotte, NC, and the Energy Foundation.
Stan’s decade of experience in the electric transportation trenches demonstrates that developing innovative and supportive state, municipal, and utility policies is central to unlocking the electric transportation market. Stan’s leadership has been recognized by the US D.O.E. Clean Cities Partner Award and the NC Sustainable Energy Association Clean Energy Business Community Initiative Award. Stan currently serves in a leadership capacity to the Southeast Electric Transportation Regional Initiative, Georgia’s Electric Mobility Innovation Alliance, Drive Electric Florida, Plug In North Carolina, South Carolina’s Electric Vehicle Stakeholder Initiative, and Drive Electric Tennessee.
Prior to his work with transportation electrification, Stan led Warren Wilson College’s Environmental Leadership Center and was recognized as NC’s 2007 Environmental Educator of the Year. Stan received a BA in Psychology from Skidmore College and his Masters of Arts and Science from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, with concentrations in climate change and creative writing.
Dory Larsen | Senior Electric Transportation Program Manager, SACE
Dory joined the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in 2017 and was named Senior Electric Transportation Program Manager in 2023. She is working to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles by promoting the growth of electric vehicle ownership and supporting EV friendly policy and programs. Central to her work is educating and engaging stakeholders, identifying strategic policy to propel EV usage, and advocating for comprehensive EV infrastructure. She serves on the Board of Drive Electric Florida and Chairs the Tarpon Springs Sustainability Advisory Committee.
Before joining SACE, Dory worked as an instructional trainer and as a science educator in the public-school system. She also led a community action campaign to keep massive development from changing the landscape of the Anclote River. She is a graduate of the University of South Florida with a Master of Public Health degree and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Florida Southern College. She is passionate about helping people see the strength in working collectively to solve problems. She is an avid reader and lover of the Florida sunshine where she and her husband are raising their two sons.
Meg Jamison | Executive Director, SSDN
Meg loves bringing change makers together to make our world a better place. She currently focuses her work on social impact networks and building capacity to advance sustainability initiatives among local governments across the United States. Meg is the Director of the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network (SSDN) where she has worked since 2015.
Meg has extensive experience in network building and network direction. In 2016 she supported the Regional Partner Networks Program for the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN), and served as interim director of the Green Cities California network from 2017 to 2018. With a background in city planning, Meg provides expertise in community engagement, sustainable development, and smart growth planning practices.
She has consulted with the internationally recognized urban economics firm, Urban3, and is experienced in rural economic development and local food system economies. Her food systems work includes coordinating the City of Austin’s first Urban Agriculture Program, consulting with SCALE, Inc. to complete food hub feasibility studies. Meg’s experience in local economic development spans from coordinating small town revitalization programs with HandMade in America to directing the northern Arizona office of Local First Arizona, the largest local business coalition in the country.
The sum of this experience results in optimistic thinking and determined problem solving that helps connect people, move projects forward, and develop place-based solutions.