Team – ca community power

Team – ca community power
Team
Our Team
Alex Morris serves as the General Manager of California Community Power (CC Power), proudly serving CC Power’s nine member CCAs to collectively provide electricity for 2.7 million customers across 112 municipalities across California. As General Manager, Alex oversees CC Power’s execution, strategy, and service to members as a major joint-action energy buyer and services provider.
Alex has deep expertise in the California electric system with over 17 years of experience in various energy management, strategy, environmental, and planning, and other duties. In previous roles, Alex served as the Executive Director of the California Energy Storage Alliance, an energy storage advocacy organization, as the Senior Vice President with an energy consulting firm, and in various managerial roles in multiple grid, procurement, and clean-energy divisions of major utilities, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric.
Alex also serves on the Grid Alternatives non-profit North Valley Board of Directors, supporting economic and environmental justice through renewable energy.
Alex has an Environmental Studies degree from UCLA and a master’s degree in business from the University of California, Davis.
Philippe Gerretsen is Director of Origination for CC Power. In this role, he contributes his knowledge and experience in power procurement, wholesale electricity markets, project management, and leadership to support CC Power’s procurement of renewables, energy storage, and other products to support its participating community choice aggregators’ compliance and decarbonization objectives.
Prior to joining CC Power, Mr. Gerretsen held a variety of roles over the course of three years at Nikola Corporation where he was responsible at various times for power procurement for hydrogen production, fueling station development strategy, policy development and advocacy, fuel cell electric vehicle market development and sales, and third-party hydrogen fuel sales. Mr. Gerretsen also represented Nikola on the Board of Directors of the California Hydrogen Business Council, where he actively engaged in shaping California’s policy towards hydrogen, particularly for mobility applications.
Prior to joining Nikola, Mr. Gerretsen worked at Southern California Edison for close to a decade, serving in a variety of roles that included managing a portfolio of contracted renewable and gas-fired generation assets, originating new renewable and energy storage agreements, developing strategies by which SCE could become a distribution system operator, project managing the power charge indifference adjustment working group before the California Public Utilities Commission, and supporting the development of the transmission and distribution budget and priorities during Covid-19.
Mark Burgunder is a Senior Originator for CC Power. Mark brings a broad understanding of energy procurement and policy to support CC Power’s efforts in soliciting for renewable and energy storage resources and managing a portfolio of power contracts on behalf of CC Power’s member CCAs.
Prior to joining CC Power, Mark spent 6 years at Southern California Edison (SCE) in a variety of roles primarily working in SCE’s contract origination team. In that role, Mark was responsible for leading negotiations for multiple solar and energy storage contracts and managing procurement activities for demand response capacity, community renewables, and local resource adequacy capacity. Mark also provided his subject matter expertise to shape SCE’s policy positions through written testimony at the CPUC and through stakeholder initiatives at the CAISO.
Jack Schaufler is a Project Manager for CC Power. Jack brings a diverse background in the energy sector to the CC Power team to oversee the transition of projects from development to operation on behalf of member CCAs, lead valuation efforts and exploration of mergers and acquisitions, and support long-term member objectives regarding emerging technology solutions and origination.
Prior to CC Power, Jack spent 7 years working on the operations and management of renewable energy assets, both with Strata Clean Energy and Skyline Renewables. He worked in a variety of roles, including 24/7 power plant control operations, regulatory compliance, and asset management. Jack recently completed an MBA from UC Davis specializing in energy finance and innovation and entrepreneurship, earning significant recognition from the university as a recipient of the distinguished Newberry Fellowship. After spending time in the venture capital and startup ecosystem, he joined CC Power in a part-time capacity during the summer of 2024.
Jack serves on the board of directors for United Solar Initiative, a non-profit providing solar energy to developing communities. Originally from North Carolina, he has a bachelor’s in sustainable technology from Appalachian State University.
Scott Carroll is a Senior Analyst for CC Power, supporting the valuation and procurement of renewable energy and energy storage resources on behalf of CC Power’s nine member CCA’s. He contributes to project valuations, strategic planning, and data analysis to advance cost-effective, reliable, and sustainable energy solutions.
Prior to joining CC Power, Scott worked as an Analyst at Nikola Corporation, where he led several key projects supporting the development of hydrogen refueling infrastructure. He built the database to manage station data and designed the processes for capturing operational data at each site. His analysis of this data led to cost reductions in the total cost of hydrogen and assisted in the development of next-generation equipment in collaboration with partners.
Scott holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University where he majored in Statistics and minored in Mathematics.
Key Consultants
Shagun Tougas is a management consultant who provides project management and operations support services to CC Power. She is a co-owner and principal consultant at
Clean Energy Regulatory Research (CERR)
, which has been providing regulatory consulting services since 2017. Shagun has over twenty years of combined experience in program management and consulting in utility energy efficiency and distributed generation programs, coupled with project management and regulatory services to CCAs.  She has worked on energy efficiency-related projects for the California Energy Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States Agency for International Development, and regulatory and project management projects for the California Community Choice Association, Central Coast Energy Authority, and Ava Community Energy.
Prior to starting CERR, Shagun led a team at ICF International to further the adoption of the ENERGY STAR standard in utility energy efficiency programs. She also led teams at Pacific Gas and Electric Company to design, manage, and implement residential energy efficiency and solar programs.
Shagun holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business from San Jose State University.
Josh Nelson is a partner in Best Best & Krieger LLP’s Special Districts and Municipal Law practice groups and serve as General Counsel to CC Power.  Josh provides city attorney and general counsel services to cities, special districts and joint powers authorities with an emphasis on agencies providing utility services, including energy.  Josh provides similar special counsel services to community choice aggregators.  He has significant experience with all manner of joint powers agreements, including forming and advising joint powers authorities and public agencies that act as parties to joint powers agreements or members of a joint powers authority.  Josh holds a bachelor’s degree Cornell University and a law degree from UC Davis.
Nicholaus W. Norvell is a partner in Best Best & Krieger LLP’s Special Districts and Municipal Law practice groups and serves as Assistant General Counsel to CC Power. Nick’s practice involves general counsel and special counsel with a particular focus on joint powers agencies and other entities providing utility services, including energy, water, and wastewater.  Since 2019, Nick has served as general counsel or assistant general counsel to two community choice aggregators. Nick also serves as co-chair of BBK’s Open Government and Ethics Group, which provides counsel to public entities, officials, and agency managers on conflicts of interest, public integrity, and the Brown Act. Nick holds a bachelor’s degree in Government from Wesleyan University and a law degree from the University of San Diego.
Stephanie Smith is Best Best & Krieger LLP’s Director of Election Services, and provides Administrative and Board Clerk support to CC Power.  Before joining BBK, Stephanie served as city clerk for the cities of Murrieta and Lake Forest. Accredited as a Master Municipal Clerk by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks, Stephanie has more than three decades of experience in municipal government. Stephanie served on the California Municipal Clerk Association’s Executive Board, most recently as president in 2018-2019 and regularly provides advanced training to the CMCA and California Special Districts Association Board Secretaries. Stephanie holds a bachelor’s degree in Management from Purdue University.
Tony Braun, Braun Blaising & Wynne, serves as Special Advisor to CC Power.
For over three decades, Tony has provided counsel to California public agencies on all manner of regulatory, commercial, and legislative issues associated with the electric utility industry.
Tony practices before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission, CAISO, California Energy Commission, and California Legislature on a wide array of energy policy issues and wholesale market design. Tony was selected to serve as a public power representative on both the Transitional Committee and Governance Review Committee, whose recommendations lead to the creation of the Western Energy Imbalance Market Governing Body and the changes to CAISO governance to include joint authority of the Governing Body over EDAM and WEIM rules, and currently serves as a public power liaison to the Body of State Regulators.
Mr. Geof Syphers is the Chief Executive Officer of Sonoma Clean Power, a position he has held since the program’s inception in 2013. Under his leadership, SCP serves 500,000 people throughout Sonoma and Mendocino counties with cleaner power at competitive rates.
Prior to his current position, Mr. Syphers worked for 20 years as an energy consultant to PG&E, SCE, SDG&E, large corporations and local governments. His work spanned solar thermal and nuclear power systems design, utility-scale microgrids in India and California, 24/7 renewable power systems, and utility energy efficiency program implementation. He has overseen the design, permitting and construction of over $3 billion of low-income housing, homeless shelters, libraries, fire stations, city halls and port infrastructure, and was a founding Director of DNV’s Green Building Group.
Beth is Executive Director of the California Community Choice Association (CalCCA). CalCCA supports the state’s community choice aggregators (CCAs) through regulatory and legislative advocacy, technical guidance, and promotion of best practices. She has extensive policy experience working with government agencies, non-profits, and private sector interests on innovative solutions to complex energy, climate, and environmental issues. Beth served five years as senior advisor to environment and conservation cabinet ministers in the New Zealand parliament. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Queen’s University in Canada, and a Master of Science from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.
Brightline is a California-based environmental justice nonprofit organization that works to empower communities and create sustainable environments. While advocating for clean energy and related infrastructure in our communities, our organization pursues equity through programs in job training, air quality monitoring, and youth leadership.
Sarah Xu is Brightline’s senior policy associate leading Brightline’s policy work on California’s energy future. Over the past few years, Sarah’s work on offshore wind, energy reliability, and energy resiliency has included legislative advocacy, policy analysis and research, and community engagement. Sarah’s work also supports expanding local community capacity to lever public comment and engagement opportunities. Sarah also leads Brightline’s work on building decarbonization policy and co-leads youth empowerment programs.
Rick has been an environmental/climate activist since 1970, when the first Earth Day took place and his (first in the nation) high school chapter of the Sierra Club sent his senior class to clean up an oil spill (1/18/71) on San Francisco Bay. He and his wife became life members of the Sierra Club in 1994 and continue supporting positive environmental strategies. Rick took initial steps to start Peninsula Clean Energy in 2014 when he visited a board meeting of Marin Clean Energy in San Rafael to ask for their help in San Mateo County. Rick is an experienced organizer in the realms of politics, unions and decarbonization. As a former Councilmember and Mayor of the City Of San Mateo, Rick has broad experience as a board member and executive board member at Peninsula Clean Energy, the Association of Bay Area Governments committees, the League of California Cities Governance, Governance Transparency and labor Relations policy committee , and many other organizations. Rick is currently very active in California’s huge struggle to build much-needed energy and water efficient housing in existing urban areas. Additionally, Rick is working to further modern transportation policy to help move people to cleaner and more energy efficient, transportation modes. Rick continues to work with others in the trenches, struggling to bring more renewable energy along with Workforce and environmental justice for all Californians.
Alex is the Research and Advocacy Director for the San Francisco Electrical Construction Industry, the labor- management committee of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 6 and the San Francisco Electrical Contractors Association.
Throughout his career Alex has been a catalyst of groundbreaking campaigns and organizations to advance sustainable development policies, projects, and practices with public agencies, the private sector, and diverse communities. As an organizer, researcher, and analyst with extensive experience in housing policy, environmental, labor, economic development, and urban issues, he has organized campaigns to clean up toxic site, advance clean energy projects and policies, install green infrastructure, and implement high road workforce development policies.
Alex has conducted research and authored reports for public agencies, environmental advocates, and labor organizations. He is active in shaping the redevelopment of neglected urban neighborhoods and is committed to ensuring labor rights, social justice, and accountability in urban development in San Francisco and throughout California.
Specialties: economic analysis, sustainable development and environmental policy, water and energy infrastructure planning, corporate research, community organizing, and legislative development.
Eric has been working for over 15 years to create a vibrant, just, and climate-resilient community, Central Coast, and beyond. Eric is Coordinator for the CCA Workforce and Environmental Justice Alliance pursuing standards for clean energy projects at California’s CCAs. He recently received a Master’s of Public Policy from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, focused on energy democracy, equity, decarbonization, and resilience. Eric is founding member and current Chair and Co-Executive Director for the SLO Climate Coalition, an organization which brings together community expertise, creativity, and resources to champion high impact regional climate solutions that inspire other communities to do the same.
Previously, Eric managed Energy, Utilities, and Sustainability at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, He was also founding partner and Senior Energy Engineer for Stockman’s Water & Energy, a San Luis Obispo based company helping to optimize water & energy use on Central Coast Farms and Vineyards. Eric also served as co-author and local team lead on the California Energy Commission funded RESCO project examining the potential to develop renewable energy sources in San Luis Obispo County.
Danielle Osborn Mills joined the California ISO in May of 2023 as a Principal of Infrastructure Policy Development in the Infrastructure and Operations Planning group.
Prior to joining the ISO, Danielle worked in clean energy development as a Senior Manager, Political and Regulatory Affairs for Pattern Energy and Director for American Clean Power – California, where she led California policy activities to grow the market for clean, reliable, affordable energy. She has served in policy roles with the Large-scale Solar Association, the Center for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Technologies. Danielle has a B.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan and a M.P.A. from the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington.
Cody Hill leads the battery energy storage business for REV Renewables, and his group is currently operating 615 MW of battery energy storage projects in the CAISO footprint serving CCAs, IOUs, and Direct Access customers. Cody holds BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering and has been working in the energy storage industry since 2010.
Kate Kelly provides land use, project management, and governmental relations consulting to conservation organizations and public agencies. Kate focuses on land use policies and planning for siting and procurement of renewable energy that balances the protection of natural and cultural resources with meeting climate goals. She is engaged in energy policy, planning, and procurement proceedings at the California Public Utilities Commission, California Energy Commission, California Independent System Operator, and local governments. As a consultant to Defenders of Wildlife, Kate has been a leader in their California Renewable Energy Programs and works to incentivize siting of renewable energy projects in least-conflict areas with low natural and cultural resource value as an essential strategy for accelerating renewable energy development and protecting vital natural and cultural resources.
Kate has over 30 years of land use and environmental planning, public policy, conservation transactions, and organizational management experience. She is equally well known for her work with government agencies, the development community, landowners, and stakeholders to craft and implement agricultural mitigation policies, programs, and procedures. During her tenure as Yolo Land Trust’s Executive Director, Kate implemented an extensive governmental relations program that facilitated the Land Trust’s success in public policy, implementation of farmland mitigation, conservation transactions, and community support.
Kate is the principal author of:
► Smart from the Start: Responsible Renewable Energy Development in the Southern San Joaquin Valley provides a suite of recommendations and implementation strategies for environmentally sensitive renewable energy development.
► Conserving California’s Harvest: A Model Mitigation Program and Ordinance for Local Governments provides a comprehensive guide to assist local governments in developing and implementing farmland mitigation programs and the use of conservation easements.
Erica Brand is a Project Manager with the California Energy Commission’s Siting, Transmission, and Environmental Protection Division. She is staff lead for infrastructure and land use planning and a project manager supporting the 2025 SB 100 Report. Previously, Ms. Brand served as director of the California energy program at The Nature Conservancy, where she worked on state and regional policies related to clean electricity and land conservation. She led a team that focused on decarbonizing the electricity grid, providing science and policy analysis to state and federal regulatory agencies that develop and implement clean electricity policies. Erica previously served on the Board of Directors of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies. Before joining The Nature Conservancy, she worked as a senior environmental policy specialist at Pacific Gas & Electric Company, focusing on utility operations and habitat and species protection. Erica holds a Master of Science degree in environmental management from the University of San Francisco and a Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.