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Julie McNamara is a senior energy analyst with the Climate & Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. In her role, she analyzes state, regional, and national policies relating to clean energy development and deployment. Her research includes electricity system resilience, state and federal power sector transition policies, and the implications of variations in carbon pricing policy design. Previously, she worked to develop proactive and adaptive risk management frameworks at MIT’s Program on Emerging Technologies, and served as an environmental scientist supporting federal and state agencies at ERG, an environmental and public policy consulting firm. Ms. McNamara holds an M.S. in technology and policy from MIT, and a B.A. in biology and political economy from Williams College. Energy transition: As an analyst within a science-based advocacy group, my work centers on informing the policies that shape the energy transition at hand. This includes conducting technical analyses to understand the implications of various policy choices, as well as communicating those findings in ways that are actionable to decision-makers and the broader public alike. Career trajectory: I have long had an interest in policy and economics alongside science and analysis, but opportunities to concurrently undertake both can be rare. In doing technical work for federal agencies, I learned enormous amounts about how to conduct such analyses, but did not have the ability to shape the questions being asked. Following graduate school, where I studied the intersection of science, technology, and policy, I joined the Union of Concerned Scientists, which has afforded me the chance to conduct technical work in service of shaping and informing broader policy goals.
Peter McPhee
Director, Clean Heating & Cooling — Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
I'm working to solve one big issue: that 30% of Massachusetts’ emissions come from heating. My job is to figure out how to reduce heating emissions to a tiny fraction of that. In practice, I have to come up with a plan, convince people to invest state money in it, and then deliver the plan. And then I need to keep key decision-makers engaged in the plan for long enough to make it work. I’ve made what at the time seemed like drastic changes in career path. The first of these was when I left college after 2 years and became a carpenter. The second of these was when I left carpentry after two years and went back to school. I ultimately attended four colleges before getting my undergraduate degree at UMass Amherst at 25. By that time, though, I was intensely interested in medical applications of engineering and started doing a Ph.D. in biomechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins. After a couple years of that, though, I realized academic research wasn’t the right fit for me. This coincided with a growing obsession with climate change and energy. I made a third hard decision and abandoned the pathway I chose in order to pursue something I felt enormously driven by. I took a job with a European energy consultancy (now DNV GL) which exposed me to a wide array of energy topics, which was enormously enriching. It ultimately led me to establish a wind energy practice at this consultancy. I transitioned these skills to helping develop clean energy industries and projects at the state’s clean energy development agency. I’ve been working for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center for nine years, and it has been an incredible experience and privilege to be part of making the Commonwealth a leader in clean energy. In my current role as Director of Clean Heating & Cooling at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, I championed and gained buy-in for approximately $65 million of programs to support the development of industries that have the potential to reduce our heating emissions by an order of magnitude. These programs contributed to developing a clean heating industry, seeded programs in other states, and supported the transition of 20,000 Massachusetts homes and businesses to clean heating systems.
Sandhya Murali
Co-Founder and COO — Solstice
Sandhya is Co-founder and COO of Solstice, an award-winning social enterprise dedicated to expanding access to clean energy to all Americans through community solar. Community solar enables residents to support local clean energy at no upfront cost and save money on their electric bill every year. Solstice enrolls households and community organizations in shared solar farms, creates financing innovations that expand access to underserved Americans (the EnergyScore), and provides frictionless subscriber management software for community solar projects. Prior to joining Solstice, Sandhya worked at Barclays’ investment banking division in New York and London, advising and executing public equity transactions for Technology, Media and Telecom companies. She was also deeply involved in Barclays’ philanthropy work with Endeavor, Women’s World Banking, and Barclays’ Social Innovation Fund. Sandhya holds a BBA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she received the Sustainability Certificate.
Paul Murphy
Head of Engineering – Ørsted
Paul serves as Ørsted's US Head of Engineering. In addition, Paul serves as a Deputy EPC Director for Ørsted's utility-scale offshore wind project in the US northeast. Prior to joining Ørsted, Paul served as Deepwater Wind's Vice President of Operations & Engineering. At Deepwater, Paul was deeply involved in the development, construction and operations of the Block Island Wind Farm - the first offshore wind farm in the U.S.. Prior to joining Deepwater Wind, Paul served as a director of strategic planning for a mayoral initiative in New York City government. Paul earned graduate degrees in civil and environmental engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and the Technology and Policy program from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Francis O'Sullivan
Senior Vice President, Strategy — Lincoln Clean Energy
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