Founding Entities & Charter Board

The NECSC was founded through a memorandum of agreement between the City of Chula Vista, California; San Diego State University; and the Gas Technology Institute, and with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy - Office of Policy and International Affairs.

Charter Board Members

Larisa Dobriansky	Dr. Paul Ganster	John F. Kelly
Dr. Paul F. Linden	Doug Newman	Dr. David Rohy
Denny Stone	Dr. Alan Sweedler	Dr. Ken Walsh

Larisa Dobriansky
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for National Energy Policy
U.S. Department of Energy - Office of Policy and International Affairs
Senior Advisor & Attorney, Baker & Hostetler, Washington, DC
Email: ldobriansky@bakerlaw.com

Larisa Dobriansky is senior advisor to the law firm of Baker & Hostetler on environmental and energy matters relating to clean energy technology commercialization, with a principal focus on developing new financing instruments, policies and institutional structures that can interact to spur innovation and manage deployment risks. Special areas of expertise are designing market development strategies, structuring risk-sharing public-private partnerships and facilitating local programs for integrating energy and environmental systems on a community-scale.

Prior to this position, Ms. Dobriansky served as deputy assistant secretary for National Energy Policy at the U.S. Department of Energy. There, she coordinated and provided strategic policy direction for Departmental activities to implement national energy policy objectives. As the lead for programs such as, the U.S. Clean Energy Initiative, Climate VISION and the APEC Task Force on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Financing, she focused on promoting deployment policies and financing instruments for strategic risk management and to address barriers to the commercial adoption of clean energy technologies. In representing DOE and the U.S. Government in bilateral and multilateral forums such as, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, G-8 Summits, the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe and the U.S.-China Joint Working Group on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she strived to foster effective public-private partnerships, technology transfer and market development through the building of local commercial infrastructure and enterprises.

As senior counsel in the Washington office of Akin Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P., her work dealt with a broad range of environmental and energy policy issues, corporate governance, project and carbon finance, and emissions trading. She joined that firm after serving in senior legal positions in the executive and legislative branches of the Federal Government (e.g., U.S. House Subcommittee on National Economic Growth, Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission).

Ms. Dobriansky received her B.S.F.S. cum laude in international relations and economics in 1973, J.D. in 1977 and L.L.M. in securities regulation and taxation in 1990 from Georgetown University. She is a member of the District of Columbia and Virginia Bars.

Dr. Paul Ganster
Director of the Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
Email: pganster@mail.sdsu.edu

Dr. Ganster is a social scientist with a specialty in Latin America. His initial years of research and writing were in the area of Latin American social history. For the past 20 years, his efforts have been directed toward policy questions of the U.S.-Mexican border region and the comparative study of border regions around the world.

Ganster's current research interests include border environmental issues, transborder governance issues, comparative border studies, and sustainable development in the border region. He serves on a number of regional advisory boards for organizations dealing with the border region. He is the current Chairman of the Southwest Center for Environmental Research and Policy, and is chair of the Good Neighbor Environment Board, a federal panel that advises the President and Congress about border environmental issues.

In addition to teaching at San Diego State University, Dr. Ganster has been a visiting professor at the School of Economics of the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California in Tijuana. He is also Associate Director of the Office of International Programs at San Diego State University.

John F. Kelly
Vice President, Endurant Energy
Oak Brook, IL
Email: john.kelly@endurantenergy.com

Mr. Kelly is currently director of research and development for Endurant Energy, an energy technology services firm developing sustainable energy systems for developers, cities, and commercial property owners across the United States. Mr. Kelly is currently leading a team of experts in the development of a "perfect power" or sustainable energy system for the Illinois Institute of Technology campus and the Hudson Yards development in New York City. Prior to joining Endurant, Mr. Kelly was the Director of Distributed Energy Technologies for the Gas Technology Institute in Des Plaines, Illinois, USA. Mr. Kelly established GTI's Sustainable Energy Planning Office. This new research initiative was designed to integrate energy and urban planning. Mr. Kelly provided product development, software development, and critical environmental and energy research direction to a group of professional engineers, planners and economists. Mr. Kelly co-led a team of experts that developed a 100 year sustainable energy vision for the San Diego Region in response to a national competition on Sustainable Urban Energy Design. Mr. Kelly worked extensively with the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Electricity and Office of Buildings on modeling and policy research to accelerate the integration of technology into existing and planned structures.

Mr. Kelly has performed extensive research and presented across the US regarding electricity deregulation, sustainable energy systems, and energy policy. Prior to joining GTI, Mr. Kelly providing consulting services to the electric industry for 17 years. Including five years with Duke Energy as the Manager of Specialty Engineering Services.

Mr. Kelly received a B.S. degree in Energy Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in 1982 and a Certificate in Environmental Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in 1995. Mr. Kelly is a certified Project Manager and a Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Illinois.

Dr. Paul F. Linden
Blasker Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering
Chair, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Email: pflinden@ucsd.edu
Website: www.mae.ucsd.edu/RESEARCH/LINDEN/linden.html

Dr. Linden is a fellow of both the American Physical Society and the Royal Meteorological Society. Prior to joining UCSD in 1998, Linden was a faculty member and Director of the G.K Batchelor Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1971. Linden has more than 160 publications in peer-reviewed journals on the topics of geophysical, environmental and industrial fluid dynamics. The flows encountered in natural and industrial contexts are usually turbulent and have variations in density which produce strong buoyancy forces. Linden's research focuses on the physical processes involved to obtain a greater understanding of the underlying principles governing these flows. He has received recognition for the application of his work in fluid dynamics to environmental engineering to create more "energy efficient" buildings in the U.K. and more recently in the U.S. He is a member of the scientific advisory board for San Diego County.

Doug Newman
Director, National Energy Center for Sustainable Communities,
Principal, Community Planning Consultants, Chicago, IL
Adjunct Professor, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
Email: doug.newman@necsc.us

Mr. Newman has 27 years of experience as a professional planner, policy analyst and program manager specializing in sustainable urban and regional infrastructure development, technology transfer initiatives and related training for government and utility personnel. His pioneering work in this field has been credited with the establishment of the sustainable urban energy research program at the California Energy Commission, and has informed the early development of similar research and development agendas at the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. His recent projects have involved initiatives that:

Advance the design of integrated emergency energy systems to support critical municipal serves during the disruption of conventional energy supplies;
Encourage Federal, state and regional government agencies to accelerate municipal and industry adoption of energy-efficient technologies and best practices for water, wastewater, solid waste and air quality management services;
Enable municipal and private development practitioners to design, build, and finance resilient and resource-efficient master planned communities; and that
Promote advanced sustainable design and corporate governance of large-scale municipal infrastructure projects, both domestically and abroad.

Mr. Newman maintains a Chicago-based community planning practice, serves as the Director of the National Energy Center for Sustainable Communities, and is an adjunct faculty member in the College of Engineering at San Diego State University. He has developed numerous professional training programs on energy-efficient community development and has delivered them in Australia, China, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, and the United States. Previously, he served as manager of energy and environmental programs at the Gas Technology Institute, as a marketing consultant for several Fortune-500 companies, and as a senior policy analyst and program manager for the U.S. Departments of Justice and Commerce/NOAA and for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Newman began his Federal career as a Presidential Management Fellow after earning Masters Degrees in Urban and Regional Planning and Public Policy and Administration and a Bachelors Degree in Urban Studies and Planning.

Dr. David Rohy
Principal, Rohy Consulting Associates, San Diego, CA
Adjunct Professor, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
Former Commissioner & Co-Chair, California Energy Commission
Email: rohy@sbcglobal.net

Dr. Rohy is the principal in an energy consulting practice specializing in distributed generation, sustainable communities, energy impacts on the environment and energy strategies. The firm's clients include Fortune 500 companies and start-up companies and the practice focuses on advancing technology to enhance energy efficiency and to improve environmental compliance. Dr. Rohy also serves as an adjunct professor at San Diego State University in the Department of Physics and as the Co-Director of California Energy Commission grant programs. These include: the Energy Innovation Small Grant Program, providing funds to individuals and small companies to prove the feasibility of innovative electricity concepts; the BERG program, providing funding to develop technology to improve building energy efficiency; and other programs providing funding to research in the areas of natural gas and transportation.

Dr. Rohy has authored, co-authored and edited many publications on renewable energy resources and the interdependence of water and energy in the U.S. - Mexican border region. He was also a major technical contributor to the award-winning U.S. entry to the International Competition for Sustainable Urban Systems Design. Highlights from the design are available from the NECSC in the DVD entitled "Energizing Sustainable Cities: The Power of Planning & Design".

From 1995 to 2000, Dr. Rohy was Commissioner and Vice Chairman of the California Energy Commission. During this period he served as the Presiding Member of the Budget and Management Committee, managing the 450- person organization and annual expenditures of ~$250 million. He also served as the Presiding Member of the Research and Development Committee, where he designed and managed the $62.5 million annual public interest energy R&D program

Dr. Rohy received his B.A. in Physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his Ph.D. in Experimental Solid State Physics from Cornell University. From 1967 to 1970 he was employed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Subsequently he was employed by Solar Turbines, Inc., a major turbine manufacturer in Southern California, where he was the Director of the Advanced Turbine Systems program, until his appointment to the California Energy Commission.

Denny Stone
Manager, Economic Development
City of Chula Vista, California
Email: DStone@ci.chula-vista.ca.us

Denny Stone is the City of Chula Vista ’s Economic Development Manager. Prior to joining the City he spent over 25 years in the private sector in marketing, business development, program management and organizational development positions. Mr. Stone is responsible for citywide business attraction, expansion and retention and related economic development initiatives including the City’s innovative University Park and Research Center - a 450-acre sustainable campus of public and private universities and research organizations from the U.S. and Mexico. With a focus on international issues related to energy, the environment, trade and security, the campus will be the first truly collaborative bi-national university campus in the country.

Representing the City of Chula Vista, Mr. Stone is also the Co-Administrator of the National Energy Center for Sustainable Communities (NECSC), a collaborative research institute that is focused on improving the energy efficiency of large-scale commercial, industrial and residential development. The City of Chula Vista ’s partners in the NECSC include San Diego State University ’s Center for Energy Studies, the Gas Technology Institute and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Mr. Stone received a degree in Business Administration from Western Michigan University.

Dr. Alan Sweedler

Assistant VP for International Programs
Director, Center for Energy Studies

San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
Email: asweedler@sciences.sdsu.edu

Alan Sweedler is currently the Assistant Vice President for International Programs at San Diego State University, where is also the Director of the Center for Energy Studies and Environmental Sciences Program and Professor of Physics. Dr. Sweedler is a well-know expert on energy use and its environmental effects, with a special focus on the U.S.-Mexico Binational Region. He is a member of the San Diego Association of Government’s (SANDAG) Energy Working Group and its Border Energy Issues Group, which he played a central role in establishing. He is also a founding member of the Renewable Energy Working Group, a collaborative effort between the University, public agencies and the private sector and founding member and past Board Chairman of the San Diego Regional Energy Office.

Dr. Sweedler has co-edited four books, written 10 book chapters and published over sixty journal articles in energy science and energy planning, especially at the local and regional level. His regional focus has been energy planning and policy and the impact of energy use in San Diego and the California -Mexican Binational Region. Some of his recent publications include Energy Issues in the U.S.-Mexican Border Region, Air Pollution in the California-Baja California Border Region, Power Plant Development in the California-Baja California Binational Region.

Dr. Sweedler graduated cum laude from City University of New York with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1963 and received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, San Diego, in 1969. He was a Ford Foundation Fellow at the University of Chile from 1970–72 and a research physicist at the Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory from 1972 to 1978. In 1978 he joined the faculty at San Diego State University. Dr. Sweedler was chosen as one of two Congressional Science Fellows in 1985 and served for one year in the U.S. Senate, working in the office of Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) on energy, security and U.S.-Mexico issues. In 1995, he was elected President of the San Diego Chapter of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, and also was on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Chapter of the World Affairs Council from 1994 to 1998. In 1999, he received the International Scholar of the Year Award from the San Diego Chapter of Phi Beta Delta, the international honor society. He is a member of the Pacific Council on Foreign Relations, the west coast arm of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Dr. Ken Walsh
Associate Professor
AGC-Paul S. Roel Chair of Construction Engineering and Management
J.R. Filanc Construction Engineering and Management Program
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
Email: kwalsh@mail.sdsu.edu

Dr. Walsh is currently on the faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at San Diego State University, where he directs the J.R. Filanc Construction Engineering and Management (CEM). His research interests have included production processes and process improvement in residential construction, energy efficiency of the residential housing stock, simulation in construction settings, environmental impacts of construction, and construction econometrics. He is a leading developer of methods for econometric comparisons of construction, having been instrumental in the development of methods used by the World Bank for this purpose. He has conducted research on behalf of the Construction Industry Institute, the World Bank, the National Science Foundation, and the Environmental Protection Agency, among others.

Ken is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Construction Institute, and the Geo-Institute. He has been active in the Construction Industry Institute as a researcher and a member of the Research Committee for over 10 years. He has served as editor and host for the Construction Research Congress, and is a specialty editor for the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. He holds the Edmund Friedman Young Engineer Award for Professional Achievement from ASCE, the Daniel W. Mead Award for Engineering Ethics, and the National Teaching Award from the Associated Schools of Construction.

In addition to a 15-year academic career, Dr. Walsh also worked in industry for several years, as a design professional and owner's representative. He served as foundation designer for many important bridge and transportation projects in Arizona. Dr. Walsh holds BSE, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from Arizona State University, and is a registered professional engineer.

A dyed-in-the-wool Sun Devil, Dr. Walsh holds BSE, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from Arizona State University, and is a registered professional engineer.

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