The annual Intersolar & Energy Storage North America (IESNA) Flagship conference and trade show has grown into the event where the solar and storage industry comes to take stock of itself, and where the biggest players in financing, grid engineering, policy, and manufacturing compare notes on where the industry stands and where it’s headed.
Behind every track, panel, and keynote is a group of people who live this industry every day, and are shaping the 2027 program around the concerns that matter most right now: where the capital is moving, what the power grid needs, and where policy is helping or getting in the way.
This year’s advisory board brings together voices from financing, grid engineering, utility strategy, policy, market intelligence, and communications — eleven people whose day jobs put them at the center of where solar and storage are headed next. Find out who they are, what they bring to the table, and how their expertise is shaping the conference program.
Executive Director, NY-BEST
As the founding Executive Director of NY-BEST, Dr. Acker has grown the consortium to more than 175 member companies and built the BEST Test and Commercialization Center, alongside a 30-year career spanning Optiwind, Plug Power, and Texaco.
Over more than a decade, William has built the infrastructure — testing centers, industry coalitions, policy engagement — that turns a state’s storage ambitions into a functioning market.
Expect his perspective to inform sessions on state-level policy and industry ecosystem-building.
President & Co-founder, Sunrock Distributed Generation
A SunEdison co-founder and former DOE advisor, Claire has 30 years of experience scaling solar and clean energy platforms — including oversight of $11 billion in Recovery Act funding for renewable energy programs nationwide.
She’s also invested in 32 startups in under three years as Managing Director of the University System of Maryland Momentum Fund.
Expect Claire’s influence in sessions connecting developers and EPC partners with reliable financing for battery storage projects.
“There’s a real opportunity to better connect developers and EPCs with capital providers that have both financing capacity and safe-harbored equipment available. Helping bridge that gap can accelerate more projects from development to construction.”
Director of Decarbonization Strategy, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)
Melanie leads long-term decarbonization strategy at PG&E, working across utility sectors, emerging technologies, and regulatory policy. Her background spans clean fuels strategy at San Diego Gas & Electric, energy storage consulting at Strategen, and technology commercialization at DuPont.
Melanie’s work sits at an intersection every developer eventually has to cross — utility strategy, regulatory policy, and customer reliability.
Expect her experience shaping PG&E’s decarbonization pathways to inform sessions on utility partnership and grid-scale policy alignment.
Senior Project Manager – DER Interconnection Engineering, Xcel Energy
With over 13 years in electric distribution engineering, John provides technical and regulatory leadership for large DER projects across Xcel Energy’s multi-state territory, and has led stakeholder processes in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Minnesota.
Expect John’s utility-side experience to guide sessions on DER integration, interconnection modernization, and AI-enabled grid operations.
“We have made tremendous progress developing advanced DER technologies, but customers often experience inconsistencies when moving projects from concept to operation. By sharing best practices and focusing on practical solutions, we can accelerate DER deployment while maintaining safety, reliability, and affordability that customers expect.”
Executive Director, California Solar & Storage Association (CALSSA)
Brad has led CALSSA’s 600-member trade group since 2013, working extensively on rate design, interconnection standards, and grid services programs across the California legislature, CPUC, and CEC, building on 25 years of clean energy advocacy.
Expect Brad’s advocacy experience to anchor sessions on policy strategy and cross-sector collaboration.
“Intersolar has the space to really talk and build relationships. I love it when I have ten solid conversations as I’m making my way from one place to another.”
With over 35 years of experience in technology marketing communications and media relations, Gene now works exclusively with clean energy organizations spanning storage, solar, and software, helping them educate stakeholders, build brand credibility, and grow their businesses in a fast-moving and often noisy market.
Expect Gene’s communications lens to shape how the industry’s story gets told at the show, both on stage and in the press.
“As always, I look forward to gathering with like-minded professionals for networking and learning. IESNA attracts some of the smartest leaders in the clean energy industry and when they speak, I listen.”
Sylvia leads market intelligence for Wood Mackenzie’s global solar coverage and hosts the Interchange Recharged podcast, reaching 27,000 monthly listeners. She’s a regular voice in the Financial Times, Reuters, and CNBC on utility-scale solar, project finance, and AI-driven power demand.
Expect Sylvia’s data-driven lens to shape sessions on market forecasting, data center load growth, and the shift from deployment volume to deployment value.
“The gap I’d most like us to help close is reframing the industry’s conversation about the value of solar, not just the volume.” “I’d like for us to help push the agenda toward the harder, less headline-friendly questions: storage pairing, time-of-day value, and grid readiness.”
Ravi brings 20 years of commercial and technical experience in energy storage and solar, most recently as ESS business development director at Gotion, where he managed large developer accounts.
At Anza Renewables, he leads business and product strategy, supplier relations, and contract management. With two decades spent on both sides of the supplier relationship, Ravi brings a ground-level view of what it takes to move equipment and contracts from negotiation to deployment.
Expect his influence in sessions on procurement strategy and supply chain resilience.
With 25 years in power and renewables, Adam leads teams empowering residential, commercial, and institutional facilities to share resources for greater sustainability and resilience through Solarity’s EPC and IPP services.
Expect Adam’s perspective to shape sessions on commercial and community solar design, and navigating project risk after policy shifts like OB3.
“[What gives me optimism is how] sunsetting incentives provided a bridge from innovation to integrated designs (eg. carports, agrivoltaics) that have created lasting demand for solar on campuses and in communities.”
Pooja leads technical due diligence and risk assessment for utility-scale solar and storage projects across tax equity and debt transactions, having advised on more than $5 billion in financing across 15+ GW of projects.
Expect Pooja’s work to shape sessions bridging technical innovation with the financing structures that get projects built.
“My advice is to go beyond the sessions, ask questions, propose ambitious ideas, challenge perspectives, and build relationships. Some of the most valuable insights come from conversations you didn’t plan to have.”
With over 30 GW of generation and large-load projects and roughly 1,100 miles of transmission expansion behind him, Dr. Tabrizi has led major planning efforts across PJM, NYSERDA, and ERCOT — including offshore transmission strategy and multiple grid integration initiatives.
Expect Mike’s perspective to inform sessions on interconnection, transmission planning, and grid-support requirements for large loads.
