Our Board and Leadership Team

JANINE FINNELL is the Executive Director and President of Leaders in Energy.

Janine has worked on domestic and international projects as a researcher, writer, communicator, policy analyst, and program manager. She has consulted on energy alternatives, sustainable development policy mechanisms and education and outreach on clean energy technologies. Her career experience includes working for the U.S. Agency for International Development as a Foreign Service Officer as well as for IBM and DynCorp International. At IBM she worked on projects including green supply chain and the development of an IT sustainability platform for businesses and consumers.

Her work has been published in professional journals and magazines including Elsevier Journal, Resource magazine (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers), Choices (American Society of Agricultural Economics) and the Cogeneration Journal (American Society of Agricultural Engineers). She has a Masters from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Agricultural and Applied Economics (with a focus on international development and energy resource economics) and pursued Post Masters work at George Washington University in energy and environmental management and resource policy. She serves on the Board of the Association of Energy Engineer’s National Capital Chapter representing its Council on Women in Energy and Environmental Leadership (CWEEL).

BILL BRANDON is the Chief Technology and Research Officer and Vice President for Leaders in Energy.

Bill is deeply engaged with the biofuels and materials industry and also has a deep understanding of engines and alternative fuels. His articles have been published in Biofuels USA, Biofuels Digest, and the Leaders in Energy blog. Bill’s present focus is on technology integration and deployment, urban and farm wastes to energy and vertical or City Farming. Bill is an architect by training and his design/build firm has been engaged in substantial residential additions and renovations in the DC metro area. His designs have incorporated aspects of building energy efficiency including early adapter status of passive solar, super insulation, underground structures and ground source heat pumps. Bill has also been engaged in furniture manufacturing, starting a molded plywood furniture business in Belize and it was there that he first became involved in bio-based products and bioenergy.

JOHN GAFFIGAN serves as Treasurer.  John has led sales teams from start-ups through Fortune 500 organizations across a variety of technologies including Telecom, Datacom, InfoSec, Energy Efficiency, and Conservation Services. Schooled in the Jesuit tradition of service for others, John has a life-long passion of advocacy for organizations that improve the human condition. John was thus drawn to joining LERCPA due to its commitment to help individuals and organizations better steward of our precious natural resources. John obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the College of the Holy Cross.

FRANCOIS GIRAUD is the Digital Marketing Director and Chair of the Social Media Committee.

Born and educated in France, he was working on his doctorate in the Physics and Chemistry of Air Pollution when he moved away from science to pursue a Masters in marketing.  This was a calculated decision to bring a scientific mindset to a creative industry that had fascinated him for as long as he had appreciated the value of a strong brand.

Twenty-five years later, that decision has been repaid with the opportunity to live and work in several countries (France, the Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, and the US), applying his marketing skills to industries as diverse as telecommunications, IT, energy, and professional services. After fifteen years spent in London, Francois and his family settled down in Bethesda, Maryland in early 2019, when his wife was offered a great career opportunity in an international organization. Since living here, Francois has been refocusing his career path back to his first interest, i.e. sustainability and climate change.

LARA ILAO is Chair of the Circular Economy Working Group.  This Leaders in Energy group brings together professionals interested in learning about circular economy issues as well as implementing circular projects in the DMV Region.

A lifelong environmentalist and long-term DC resident, she is the founder and owner of Plastic Tree, a climate positive waste management company based in DC that collects for reuse in an effort to restructure the waste hierarchy toward reuse, while promoting other circular models in an effort to reduce waste and our reliance on overproduction. During her spare time, she is a mentor with the Global Co-Lab Network, a virtual “do tank” that empowers teens and millennials by helping them tackle particular Sustainable Development Goals within their communities and sharing their incubator projects and stories with other teens and millennials from around the world. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Goucher College.

KAIFI JAMIL is Research Assistant across all platforms.

He is an environmental advocate who is passionate about promoting clean, renewable energy for the good of the American economy and health of the nation’s many ecosystems. He became interested in the green sector after marching for Climate Justice in 2017 and completed a certificate in Climate Change from the University of Pennsylvania.

Kaifi earned a Bachelor’s degree in political science from The Johns Hopkins University, a J.D. in law from the University of Maryland School of Law, and M.S. in computer science from Bowie State University. He previously worked in federal IT consulting before fully pivoting toward a green career. He is actively looking to work in environmental policy, energy policy, or conservation. In his spare time he is fond of visiting parks and trails to commune with Nature, hiking, Pilates, ecological volunteering, reading science fiction and fantasy, and spiritual philosophy.

LINDA MANSDORF is the Director of Volunteers.

Linda is passionate about sustainability and is thrilled to be a part of the Leaders in Energy community. In addition to an MBA from Pace University in NYC, she holds a certificate in Conservation & Environmental Sustainability from Columbia University and is an LEED Green Associate. She is acutely aware of the need to radically change the way in which we use natural resources and of the need to communicate this to the general public. She has led presentations to business professionals on sustainability awareness. An accomplished professional, Linda has prior experience as a business analyst in the pharmaceutical industry and in academia.

DINA MANSOUR is a passionate advocate for environmental sustainability and social responsibility. Serving as both a Project Manager and Ambassador for Leaders in Energy, she actively contributes to volunteer projects aimed at advancing sustainable energy solutions and environmental stewardship.

Her career spans advising on exports and international trade in the energy and environment sector, lecturing on international business at HEC Montréal, pioneering high-impact initiatives at organizations like World Trade Center Montréal, and collaborating with the cleantech industry to address food waste and promote clean energy solutions.

Fluent in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic, Dina navigates cross-cultural communication channels adeptly. With a Master of Science (MSc) in International Business and a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Marketing from HEC Montréal, coupled with practical experience, Dina is poised to make significant contributions to any initiative focused on advancing environmental sustainability and social responsibility.

CAROL MCCAFFREY is Creative Director – Communications and Marketing. Carol oversees communications and marketing for LE, serving as content editor and artistic director on newsletters, promotions, events, videos and outreach, as well as on related facets of the website.

With a full career in communications, her rounded experience includes multiple fields including national print advertising, business-to-business marketing, and work as a writer and writers coach. Additionally, she has been a Hollywood film executive, directing the writing of screenplays, selecting projects for production, and advising on creative aspects of production. Her film credits include the original version of “The Stepfather,” (which inspired two sequels and two remakes in subsequent years). Vanity Fair chose this film as one of their top ten picks for the Oscars. Other credits include, “Without a Clue,” (starring Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley), as well as the period romance, “A Summer Story.” In D.C, Carol served as a working board member for the non-profit, The Actors’ Center (AC), where she chaired the Workshops Committee. She was the innovator of many new training offerings for AC members that resulted in sold-out workshops and classes, the models for which are still in use. As an actor, she has appeared on stage, in short films, and in national and regional commercials.

In all her communications and program development work, Carol has adhered to the conviction that real value and quality must be offered to the recipient, making it worth whatever time or money they might invest, most especially their time. She is a long-time vegan for environmental and ethical reasons. In 2011, she completed her Master Gardener training and advocates for native planting – everywhere – to support all earthlings, believing humans are one species of many, and all are equal.  Carol is happily astounded by the diverse environmental works being done on so many fronts, by so many people, all adding to the greater good!

ANANT MOHAN serves as a Program Consultant to the Leaders in Energy Ambassador Program drawing on his expertise from leading the program for numerous years.

Anant has more than sixteen years of experience within the commercial nuclear power industry in areas related to product development, process improvement, project leadership, and resource management. He is currently employed as a sales and business development manager at Framatome and is responsible for market development for its nuclear engineering services. Anant’s professional interests are in the areas of business strategy and strategic marketing and his passion lies in helping develop clean energy projects and infrastructure internationally to sustainably support the rapidly growing global energy needs.

Anant holds an MS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech and an MBA degree from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

VICTOR NWANERI serves as the Director for the Leaders in Energy Ambassadors Program, where he oversees the development of local and regional action networks within the US and internationally with an aim to sustainably scale the organization’s mission across the globe, while facilitating the program’s roadmap planning, strategy, and execution.

Currently, he is a senior product & program manager at Honeywell within their Building Automation division. In this capacity, Victor oversees the execution of a diverse service contracts portfolio, encompassing energy efficiency products and renewable energy projects. His focus lies in assisting federal, public, commercial, and industrial clients in achieving their corporate ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) goals.

Victor’s professional journey commenced within the esteemed General Electric (GE), where he participated in the Edison Engineering Development Program. Throughout his tenure at GE, Victor held various energy engineering positions across the U.S. Despite GE’s prominence as one of America’s most valuable companies at the time, Victor discerned that his passion lay beyond the realm of Oil & Gas. Thus, he made a pivot into the field of sustainability, driven by his aspiration to contribute to the global energy transition.

As a licensed professional engineer, Victor furthered his expertise at Bechtel, focusing on nuclear waste sustainability system engineering. His dedication to the field was underscored by his appointment as a STEM Presidential Management Fellow, subsequently serving the Department of Energy as a technical reviewer and working as a senior project engineer for the U.S. General Service Administration.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland and a Master of Science degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He also holds a Certificate in Product Management from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

DR. ELVIN YÜZÜGÜLLÜ is an Educator on Renewable Energy, Sustainability and Zero Waste.

Elvin is currently working with Energetics, and as an Adjunct Professor teaching graduate-level classes at The George Washington University’s Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Department. She is the founder of the consulting company, Full Steam Communications, using her knowledge of science, technology, the arts and marketing to assist companies in communicating their work in sustainability.

She started her career with Bachelors and Masters degrees in Environmental Engineering, which she supplemented with a Doctor of Science degree from George Washington University in Environmental and Energy Management (focusing on hydrogen technologies). Elvin brings a comprehensive, multi-faceted systems view of issues related to the way we create, consume, and manage energy. Throughout her career, she has been involved in analyses of a diverse array of clean energy technologies and issues, including techno-economic evaluations, market penetration analyses, technology deployment planning, and decision-making model development for consensus building. Her extensive experience and interactions with the federal government, national labs, and industry has provided her with detailed knowledge on critical energy issues, as well as the capability to understand and resolve concerns related to divergent stakeholders in the energy industry. Elvin has also been engaged in clean energy-related conferences in various countries, with roles such as keynote speaker, discussion panel moderator, conference organizing committee member, and abstract reviewer.