Sam Cohen

President / CEO

Sam founded Energy Solutions in 1995 to provide utilities, governments and businesses with Demand Side Management (DSM) program design, marketing and implementation assistance. His vision for the company was – and still is – to create large-scale environmental benefits by creating market-driven solutions that make adopting environmentally friendly practices good for business. Since then, Sam has grown Energy Solutions from a one-person company operating out of his home to a nationwide company with expanded solutions that deliver best-in-class upstream programs, energy-efficiency codes and standards expertise, and demand response solutions to support renewables in the power grid.

As Energy Solutions has scaled, the company’s mission and culture have not changed. In 2013 Sam created an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) that made Energy Solutions’ employees owners in the business and, literally, invested in its success.

Sam received a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley and worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory while earning a master’s from the Energy and Resources Department at UC Berkeley. After completing his degrees, he went to work at a large consulting firm for three years before leaving to pursue his vision of creating a mission-focused company dedicated to addressing climate change.

Christopher Burmester

Chief Strategy Officer

Chris leads the overall strategic direction for Energy Solutions and provides the vision for the company’s development of new initiatives. He is the executive manager for integrated demand side management programs and oversees clean transportation, renewables, information systems, and intelligent grid services.

Before joining Energy Solutions, Chris was the CTO of Confoti, Inc., a consumer digital technology services company, and CEO of Formation Software services, a software contracting company supporting information systems for utilities, technology and financial companies including Pacific Gas & Electric, Hewlett Packard and Charles Schwab. He was also a research engineer in Apple’s Advanced Technology Group, a research associate at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and he lectured in Advanced Topics in Integrated Demand Side Management at Stanford University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Scott McGaraghan

Chief Operations Officer

Scott is the Chief Operations Officer at Energy Solutions where he leads the client services and operations teams to deliver best-in-class solutions in energy efficiency, distributed energy resources, solar and storage, clean transportation, and policy and ratings. He has over 30 years of experience driving impacts at EnerNOC, Nest, Google, Voltus, AutoGrid, and Uplight.

Scott earned an MBA at Stanford University and also holds a BS in Civil Engineering and an MS in Energy Engineering, from Stanford.

Jamillah Spears, PHR

Chief People Officer

Jamillah directs all Human Resources and Administrative functions at Energy Solutions overseeing and developing policies for recruiting, compensation, employee relations, organizational development, training, and team building. Her passion for people results in a vibrant work culture that supports talent from a variety of backgrounds and allows people to flourish. Through her skilled diplomacy and expert coaching, she builds partnerships across the organization to support innovative policies that foster continual learning and growth and set high standards, which are essential to achieving the company’s business objectives.

Jamillah brings experience, business acumen, judgement, discretion and vision (along with a healthy sense of humor) to her role. She is a certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR), a certified life coach and she holds a master’s degree in Business Administration.

Angela Rodriguez

Chief Financial Officer

Angela Rodriguez is CFO at Energy Solutions, where she provides executive level oversight over all of ES (Energy Solutions) along with strategic and leadership guidance. Angela has over 20 years’ experience as a CFO in Energy. She is a naturally cross-functional senior executive who has had oversight of functions ranging from finance, accounting, treasury, risk management and internal controls to business development, M&A and new business strategies. She has influenced $10B in revenue through new markets and acquisitions and catalyzed $5B in profitability with an astute focus on process improvement, talent management, regulatory compliance, and strategic growth.

David Weisong

Chief Information Officer

David is responsible for managing and directing software application delivery as well as corporate IT infrastructure and security. He has over 20 years of demonstrated success in Information Technology management both in the energy efficiency and commercial software domains. Throughout his career he has built high-performing domestic and offshore technical teams, architected scalable incentive processing systems and designed complex IT infrastructure in diverse high-growth organizations. Leveraging information technologies to increase productivity and enhance communication with an eye to security and regulatory compliance is his forte. In addition, David has also directly managed software application development in the retail point-of-sale market utilizing his EMV, PCI and PA-DSS expertise to accelerate time to market.

The theme of David’s career is to strategically help move organizations to their next level growth with deep knowledge and experience in advanced software architecture & design, SaaS, PaaS and IaaS development strategies and IT security and compliance initiatives. Prior to working at Energy Solutions, David served as Vice President of Information Technology at Ecos Consulting (ENGIE Insight). While there he designed and managed EcosTracker, a high-volume incentive-processing system, used to process more than $35 million in incentives for nearly 100 utility clients. There he also served as a technical expert on the 80 PLUS® certification standard.

Dana Cofer

Executive Vice President, Client Services

Dana is responsible for engaging with and developing markets across our Distributed Energy Resource, Policy & Rating and Energy Efficiency departments. She also oversees all proposal development to ensure our strategy aligns with market needs. Dana brings almost 30 years of energy efficiency and business experience and has held senior level positions at PECI, CLEAResult, Uplight, and Consortium for Energy Efficiency.

LeAndra Archuleta

Vice President, Growth Management & Strategy

LeAndra is a recognized leader in the industry and was an elected member of the Association of Energy Services Professionals (AESP) Board of Directors for nine years. At Energy Solutions she oversees business development, sales strategy, key account management, product development and management across all practices, and marketing.

LeAndra brings more than 20 years of professional experience in designing, managing, and implementing large-scale energy efficiency, demand response, and distributed energy resource programs within both regulated and non-regulated electric and gas utilities.

Prior to joining Energy Solutions, LeAndra held senior level positions at Ecova, Nexant, Inc., CLEAResult, Pacific Gas & Electric Company and ICF International.

Daniel Cornejo

Vice President, Business Strategy

Daniel started with Energy Solutions in 2004 as a Program Manager on the California Statewide Upstream HVAC and Motors Distributor Rebate Program. Throughout his tenure, Daniel oversaw the HVAC Practice Area, which launched the nation’s first Variable Refrigerant Flow distributor offering, and the Energy Efficiency Department, which has the nation’s largest and most successful implementation track record of midstream and upstream programs.

As the Vice President of the Business Strategy Department, he has the broad responsibility to oversee Energy Solutions’ current and future business strategies. Daniel uses his innovative and motivating skills to lead a cohort of teams in market development, market transformation, and strategy to guide Energy Solutions to achieve large scale environmental impacts. To succeed, his team is focused on the following functions: emerging technologies, environmental social justice, decarbonization, product and product launch, policy engagement and strategic planning.

Mike McGaraghan, LC

Vice President, Policy & Ratings

Mike leads Energy Solutions’ Policy & Ratings Department, which includes the company’s building codes & appliance standards practice as well as other legislative and administrative policy consulting services. This team has conducted technical and market research for over 100 product categories and supported the adoption of dozens of new efficiency standards and energy code updates. In his role as Vice President, Mike oversees a portfolio of policy work impacting the built environment, and covering measures including water heating, HVAC, electric vehicle charging, demand response, water efficiency, industrial processes, electronics, and white goods. Mike formerly led the lighting-related standards team, managing Energy Solutions’ efforts in the development of standards related to LED lighting, lighting controls, outdoor lighting, fluorescent lamps and ballasts, and the phase-out of incandescent lighting. Prior to his standards work, he worked extensively on incentive program design and local government energy efficiency program implementation.

Christine Riker

Vice President, Distributed Energy Resources

Christine leads the Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) Department which implements programs in three main areas: Clean Transportation, Demand Management and Solar/Storage. The team operates voluntary incentive programs across the country to increase the adoption of these clean energy technologies while maintaining a stable grid. Christine provides strategic and operational leadership and has led a period of exponential growth for the DERs Department. In addition, Christine’s breadth of knowledge spans utility program design, software development project management, marketing and implementation, for energy efficiency, demand response, renewable energy, energy storage and zero net energy programs. She is active in the industry holding multiple leadership positions with PLMA, the leading demand response industry organization, and volunteering as an instructional teacher for over 17 demand management trainings.

Monica Blakeslee-Kish

Senior Director, Energy Efficiency

Monica oversees program implementation in the West in Energy Efficiency. She has over 25 years of direct experience providing client management, program management, business development, change management, program strategy and design, and channel management. She is a collaborative, resilient, and outcome-focused expert with extensive experience and demonstrated success in driving business performance through meticulous program and team leadership and refined process improvement abilities. Monica provides program management expertise and oversight to a variety of programs across the country focusing on residential and commercial upstream, midstream and downstream programs.

Richard Boehler

Senior Director, Business Development & Strategy

As Senior Director, Business Development & Strategy, Rich manages our product and sales strategy for lighting nationwide. With over 16 years in the energy efficiency field, Rich brings experience from utility, trade industry and from consulting perspectives. Rich has helped numerous utilities be successful in building sound DSM programs all over North America.

Sheryl Bunn

Senior Director, Operations

Sheryl leads the Business Operations team who support company growth, operational efficiencies, project risk management, data analytics, budgeting and forecasting. She is currently spear-heading the planning of a significant ERP modernization initiative. Her Business Operations leadership team includes Corporate Operations & Insights, Corporate Services & Systems and Corporate Administrative & Facilities Services. Sheryl has over 10 years of experience in energy efficiency and carbon mitigation projects and over 20 years working in environment conservation and sustainability. Additionally, she has nine years of experience managing technology solutions projects. 

Dawn Dzedzy

Senior Director, Marketing

Dawn leads the marketing strategy and directs the creative production for Energy Solutions and its programs. With more than 20 years of experience with high profile brands like Saks Fifth Avenue, WalMart, Lucy Activewear, Mattel and more, Dawn brings a customer-focused product marketing discipline to our projects. She has built strategies and integrated campaigns across multiple channels—from traditional media to mobile, social and experiential and is passionate about creating the most impactful and resonant campaigns that drive excitement and participation.

Nancy English

Senior Director, Information Systems

Nancy is the leader of people and process. She oversees project management, resource planning, contract management, and Development Operations for the Information Systems department. With over 20 years of experience in financial, retail, and environmental consulting sectors, Nancy provides strategic and operational leadership to keep up with the growth of Energy Solutions. Her expertise lies in streamlining operations, implementing DevOps practices to enhance collaboration and efficiency, aligning resources with organizational goals, and driving impactful projects that support innovation and operational excellence. Nancy’s commitment to excellence has positioned her as a trusted leader in managing complex projects and fostering organizational success.

Patrice Flynn

Sr. Director, Distributed Energy Resources

Patrice oversees a skilled team delivering a complex state-administered solar program in the Midwest which supports solar development ranging from residential to community solar and focuses on climate justice and employment equity. She has over 18 years of direct experience implementing efficiency and demand response contracts providing leadership, client management, and design of commercial and residential programs. Her passion for sustainability and experience with utility, regional, and government clients across the country has resulted in a thoughtful and measured approach to problem-solving and mitigating risk. She applies a background in adult education to train and inform others and enjoys managing and mentoring staff as well as collaborating toward goals.

Eric Foryan

SR. DIRECTOR, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Eric leads the growing Information Technology department and its various functions including infrastructure, support, and fulfillment. With IT as his primary focus for over 25 years, he also draws upon experience in cross-functional leadership, quality management systems, and software development to provide new perspectives to team members. Eric has led several major platform rollouts over the course of his career in hybrid environments. He holds a BS in computer science at Washington State University.

Jessica Kramer

Senior Director, Energy Efficiency

Jessica leads Energy Solutions’ clean heating programs overseeing TECH Clean California, the largest statewide heat pump program in the country. She has more than 18 years of experience in energy efficiency implementing a broad range of programs in commercial, residential, industrial, agriculture, and EVs and e-bikes. Here expertise spans upstream, midstream, and downstream program designs for IOU’s, publicly owned utilities and federal, state and city governments. Before focusing on energy efficiency, Jessica received a JD Degree from William Mitchell College of Law and is a former attorney.

Alex MacCurdy

Senior Director, Energy Efficiency

Alex has over 20 years of experience designing, managing and directing implementation of various utility program models. He has implemented and overseen efforts targeting small commercial, retail, commercial office, multifamily, public sector, and institutional sectors and applied program delivery models that include prescriptive, direct install, and upstream. He specializes in designing and deploying targeted marketing campaigns for interior and exterior advanced lighting technologies, lighting and HVAC controls, and roof top unit cooling technologies. For each of these efforts, Alex works closely with market actors to understand their perspectives and ensure the best program result.

Heidi Werner

Senior Director, Policy & Ratings

Heidi manages Energy Solutions’ building codes practice, which supports updates to building codes on the national, state, and local levels. She currently coordinates the California Statewide Utility Codes and Standards Team’s advocacy activities for the California building code, managing seven utility clients and overseeing 18 consulting firms. Since 2009 when she started working on California’s building code, Heidi has managed the execution of over 25 public stakeholder meetings and has contributed to the successful adoption of 54 unique code changes. Previously, Heidi evaluated technical and economic feasibility and advocated for the adoption of nonresidential solar-ready requirements for California’s building code and water efficiency requirements for toilets, urinals, faucets, and shower heads for California’s building code and appliance standards.

Who We Are

About Us

Our History

Energy Solutions was founded 30 years ago because we knew there was a better way to protect the environment.

From our beginning in CEO Sam Cohen’s home office in 1995, we have focused on practical solutions that have the most impact possible.

Since then we’ve not just evolved with the clean-energy industry; we’ve driven change within it.

Our Culture

Our people are why we love to come to work every day, and why our clients love to work with us.

We’re mission-driven, not ego-driven (remember, we started in a home office). Our growing team of employee-owners across the country are bright, passionate people who are invested in our mission and our future success.

Who do we hire? Our founders look for smart, motivated people with “good kindergarten skills” — curiosity, respect, teamwork, and a healthy sense of fun.

We help our employees grow through mentorship, professional development, and countless opportunities to contribute to the team. Many of our senior leaders rose through the ranks because we invested in their potential.

While shared values unify us, we also know that diverse experiences and points of view makes us stronger. We work hard, support each other, and don’t take ourselves too seriously.

Our Culture

We provide a healthy work environment including floating holidays and flexible hours to sustain productivity and promote work-life balance.

Professional Development

We value curiosity and support lifelong learning. Our employees take advantage of annual stipends to improve their skills for the future.

IDEA

(Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility)

We know that change often starts from within, and it’s why we are building an organization that reflects the diversity of our world and creating a workplace culture that is inclusive and fosters belonging.

Community Engagement

Our employees’ passion for sustainability doesn’t stop at work. Many of us volunteer after hours to support environmental and community causes.

We’re Hiring!

Our team is working on solving one of the most critical problems of our time – how to have a healthy planet and a sustainable economy. Sound like fun?

Come work with us

Our Leaders

Sam Cohen

President / CEO

Sam Cohen

President / CEO

Christopher Burmester

Chief Strategy Officer

Scott McGaraghan

Chief Operations Officer

Jamillah Spears, PHR

Chief People Officer

Angela Rodriguez

Chief Financial Officer

David Weisong

Chief Information Officer

Dana Cofer

Executive Vice President, Client Services

LeAndra Archuleta

Vice President, Growth Management & Strategy

Daniel Cornejo

Vice President, Business Strategy

Mike McGaraghan, LC

Vice President, Policy & Ratings

Christine Riker

Vice President, Distributed Energy Resources

Monica Blakeslee-Kish

Senior Director, Energy Efficiency

Richard Boehler

Senior Director, Business Development & Strategy

Sheryl Bunn

Senior Director, Operations

Dawn Dzedzy

Senior Director, Marketing

Nancy English

Senior Director, Information Systems

Patrice Flynn

Sr. Director, Distributed Energy Resources

Eric Foryan

SR. DIRECTOR, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Jessica Kramer

Senior Director, Energy Efficiency

Alex MacCurdy

Senior Director, Energy Efficiency

Heidi Werner

Senior Director, Policy & Ratings

Who We Are

About Us

Our History

Our Culture

Our Culture

Professional Development

IDEA

Community Engagement

We’re Hiring!

Our Leaders

Sam Cohen

Christopher Burmester, PhD

Scott McGaraghan

Jamillah Spears, PHR

Angela Rodriguez

David Weisong

Dana Cofer

LeAndra Archuleta

Daniel Cornejo

Lisa Konopelski

Mike McGaraghan, LC

Christine Riker

Joel Zahlan

Monica Blakeslee-Kish

Richard Boehler

Sheryl Bunn

Kevin Cote

Dawn Dzedzy

Nancy English

Patrice Flynn

Eric Foryan

Lowell Kaufman

Jessica Kramer

Keefe Long

Alex MacCurdy

Heidi Werner

Mike Wong

Our Mission