Lifetime Achievement:  S. David Freeman, Senior Advisor with Friends of the Earth.   Freeman has more than four decades of experience directing federal, regional and local energy policies.   Freeman was appointed Chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority by Jimmy Carter in 1977, where he stopped the construction of eight large nuclear power plants and pioneered a massive energy conservation program. Subsequently, Freeman served for two decades as general manager of several large public power agencies including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the New York Power Authority, the Lower Colorado River Authority and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. He was appointed by Mayor Villairaigosa as President of the LA Board of Harbor Commissioners and more recently, served as the LA Deputy Mayor for Energy and the Environment. Freeman is a renowned expert on clean energy, efficiency and the risks of nuclear power. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech, and an L.L.B. from the University of Tennessee. He wrote “Energy: The New Era” (1974), “Winning Our Energy Independence: An Energy Insider Shows How” (2007), and more recently, “All-Electric America” (2016) and a biography entitled “The Green Cowboy” (2016).

World War II/Traditionalist: Louise Meyer, Co-founder of Solar Household Energy.  Meyer is passionate about solar and clean cooking methods and the benefits it can bring people living in developing countries.  Louise’s interest in solar cooking began more than twenty years ago while she was working in the Ivory Coast. She saw first-hand how women neglected their craft due to the need to forage for firewood from increasingly remote locations; saw how they suffered lung and eye problems from smoky fires. She began searching for alternatives. The technology for garnering solar energy for cooking and techniques to allow its use by villagers has melded her teaching and organizational skills. Louise co-founded and is the director of Solar Household Energy, Inc., a non-profit organization that conducts education and advocacy initiatives to foster the use of solar ovens and clean cookstoves in such countries as Kenya, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Chad, Haiti, Mexico, Peru and Bolivia.  Meyer graduated from the University of Maryland with a Masters in French and German language and literature and earned a degree in international development from the African Institute in Geneva, Switzerland.

Baby Boomer: Dr. Kam Ghaffarian, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer, X-Energy.  Ghaffarian is a visionary entrepreneur dedicated to creating companies that focus on operating with the highest integrity, promoting employee well-being, and delivering the best technical solutions to customers.  Ghaffarian founded X-energy LLC in 2009 to address the world’s most serious energy and global climate challenges. Through X-energy, he is working to become a world leader by providing next-generation energy solutions that will make a lasting contribution to the planet with clean energy technologies.  Ghaffarian started his entrepreneurial career in 1994 by founding Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Inc. (SGT), a government services company focusing on IT, Engineering, Science Applications, and Mission Operations. SGT has become NASA’s second largest engineering services provider, employing over 2,400 people and generating annual revenues of approximately $500M. Prior to SGT, Ghaffarian held numerous technical and management positions at Lockheed Martin, Ford Aerospace, and Loral, among others.   Ghaffarian holds a B.S. in Computer Science, a B.S. in Electronics Engineering, a M.Sc. in Information Management, and a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems.

Gen X: Lori Arguelles, President and CEO of the Alice Ferguson Foundation in Maryland.  Arguelles brings more than 25 years of experience in executive management, public relations, and government relations to her position as President & CEO of the Alice Ferguson Foundation (AFF) which is dedicated to furthering green building and sustainable living practices. The AFF is located on the Potomac River and operates a “Living Building” in their environmental education center. The Living Building provides a holistic/circular economy approach–not only solving energy issues, but considering water use, wastes, and materials, while also serving as a hands-on educational resource. The Living Building Challenge is the world’s most rigorous proven performance standard for buildings that use a regenerative design framework. AFF also works to protect the local watershed. Prior to joining the AFF, Arguelles served as the Vice President of Media and Policy Strategy for the marine conservation non-profit organization SeaWeb, and she was the founding President and CEO of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. Arguelles earned her undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism and political science from Northern Arizona University and her master’s degree in public communication from American University.

Millennial: Camila Thorndike, Carbon Pricing Campaign Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network. Originally from Oregon, Camila Thorndike is a lifelong activist with a passion for climate protection. In DC, she leads a carbon price and rebate campaign for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, her primary focus since co-founding Our Climate and the national “Put a Price on It” campaign.  After graduating from Whitman College in Washington State, Thorndike worked for the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution; led outreach for an Arizonan urban planning campaign; and spearheaded engagement for COAL, a musical theater project on fossil fuels.  Thorndike also worked with DC youth on energy efficiency in low-income households, as part of the Mayor’s Green Summer Jobs Program. Thorndike is a Udall Scholar, Sitka Fellow, listed on Mic50 and Grist50, and member of the Young Climate Leaders Network.  She has a B.S. in Environmental Humanities from Whitman College.