Northern California Solar Energy Association

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Carla Brown

Executive Assistant

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Deborah Burstyn

Communications Consultant

Elaine Hebert has about 13 years of service on the NorCal Solar board. She’s been interested in solar since the late 1970s and started her renewable energy career as a volunteer for Boston’s Urban Solar Energy Association in the early 1980s. Before earning her B.S. degree from University of California/Davis in Environmental and Resource Science, she worked in the wind energy industry and continued to volunteer in solar. In 2005 the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) awarded her the prestigious Rebecca Vories Award for outstanding volunteer efforts supporting ASES’s mission. In 2007, ASES named her an ASES Fellow.

Elaine works at the California Energy Commission and has been there since 1994. Her current position is in the Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program, where she manages contracted research work in zero energy homes and sustainable communities. In her spare time she renovates a 1910 Victorian house to be as “green” as possible.

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Vice-President  

Darren Malvin has extensive experience with Alternative Energy projects. he presently serves on the solar Subcommitte of the Bolinas Community Center and is leading the fundraising efforts to install solar on the center. Darren is the President of the American Solar Corporation, whcih designs, installs, and finances residential and commercial solar projects.

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Patty has an MBA from UC Berkeley and a B.S. in Natural Resources Management from Colorado State University. She spent 3 years working for the U.S. Forest Service and sees her association with NorCal Solar as a return to those roots. Her exposure to the solar industry is primarily as a consumer; she and her husband installed photovoltaic panels in 2008 and enjoy watching the meter readings decrease.

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Claudia Wentworth is the President of Quick Mount PV, a PV, solar thermal, HVAC, and satellite code compliant roof mount manufacturer sold throughout the US and Canada.  Quick Mount PV manufactures in the US a standard mounting product line sold through distribution. QMPV also does custom manufacture mounts for commercial, industrial and residential applications. Claudia Wentworth Board President of the Northern California Solar Energy Association an ASES chapter, helping the Photovoltaic, Solar Thermal and Passive Solar markets bring education to the consumer for new market penetration. Claudia has been granted one utility patent and currently has a few more pending in the mounting field. Claudia is certified NABCEP PV with entry level of knowledge and is an Adjunct Professor at Diablo Valley College and sits on the Advisory Board of Solar Universe Network. Claudia held a seat on the Intersolar North America Conference Committee 2009 as she did in 2008.  Claudia Wentworth has been active in the solar industry for over ten years and the green building and construction industry for more than twenty.

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Mr. Hamon is a Principal and Senior Electrical Engineer with Hamon Engineering, an electrical engineering consulting firm focusing on commercial, institutional, and utility PV system design. He is a graduate of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo where he received a BS degree in electrical engineering and MS degree in electrical and control systems engineering; a U.S Navy submarine veteran; and a licensed professional engineer in the state of California.

He is also Vice Chair of the IEEE Power & Energy Society's Oakland / East Bay Chapter; is active in Engineers Without Borders, San Francisco Professional Chapter; and is a contributor to the PV Industry Forum on changes to NEC code section 690.

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Bruce is a partner in the Oakland, California law firm of Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean, where he practices in the firm's business, land use and real estate groups.  He also is the General Counsel of firm client Clif Bar & Company (the maker of energy bars and other great-tasting foods for athletes, women, children and people on the move). As a real estate, land use, and business lawyer for 26 years, Bruce has represented companies and entrepreneurs in a very broad mix of matters and in hundreds of real estate and business transactions.

Bruce holds an undergraduate degree in Earth Sciences and Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

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Donald Aitken

Dr. Donald Aitken, a LEED^TM Accredited Professional, is currently Principal of his own consulting company, Donald Aitken Associates, Affiliate Faculty Member at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, and Senior Consulting Scientist for the Energy Department of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Previously he has been a staff research physicist and astrophysicist at Stanford University, where he founded and directed three laboratory research programs, and founder and Chairman of the Department of Environmental Studies at San Jose State University, where he was named "Professor of the Year". Dr. Aitken has also served as the Executive Director of the Western Regional Solar Energy Center for the U.S. Department of Energy, and Senior Staff Scientist for Renewable Energy Policy and Economics with the Union of Concerned Scientists. He has over 100 publications in these various fields.

Andy Black is owner of OnGrid Solar performing Solar Financial Analysis & Purchaser¹s Consultations. He specializes in the financial payback of solar electricity systems. He holds a Masters in Electrical Engineering and a Certificate in Marketing. He is a NABCEP certified solar installer. Andy is also a board member of the American Solar Energy Society, former board member and Treasurer of the NorCal Solar Energy Association and Solar Tour coordinator for the annual San Jose Solar Tour.

Phone: (408) 428-0808.

Tom Chatagnier

Mr. Chatagnier has been teaching electrical, electronics and computer courses at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, CA for 23 years. In the last 6 years, he has started courses in Alternate Energy Systems and Photovoltaic Design and Installation. The present PV Design course is NABCEP approved to offer completing students the opportunity to take the Entry Level Exam by NABCEP. Tom has worked with electric cars, wind systems and biodiesel.

David Springer

A 1973 graduate of the University of California at Davis, Mr. Springer now manages operations, and participates in mechanical design, technology development, market transformation, standards development, and other projects, and is currently leading one of the four National Renewable Energy Laboratory Zero Energy Home program teams. He is an ASHRAE member and serves on the board of the Radiant Panel Association.

Tom Starrs

Tom Starrs is vice president and chief operating officer of the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (www.b-e-f.org), a charitable and nonprofit corporation dedicated to encouraging and funding activities and projects that lead to greater reliance on clean, environmentally preferred renewable power and to healthy, sustainable fish and wildlife habitat in the Pacific Northwest.

Joe McCabe

Joe has been involved with the solar industry for the last 18 years. Currently Joe is Vice President of Business Development at Ascent Solar in Colorado. He is on the Advisory Council of Solar Today Magazine and is Chair Elect of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) Solar Electric Division. He has been on the Board of Directors of: ASES; NorCal Solar; the Potomac Region Solar Energy Association; and Solar Cookers International. Joe is a life member of the Colorado Renewable Energy Society and ASES.

Joe has a Master's of Nuclear and Energy Engineering, University of Arizona; an MBA, Regis University; and a BS in Mechanical Engineering, University of Dayton; and is a licensed Professional Engineer.