Team

Tanya Barham

CEO

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Tanya has 20 years of experience as an innovator, entrepreneur, technologist, and utility nerd building enduring practices and products, including a successful business exit. From 2016-2019 Tanya helped reformulate and re-start PECI, securing millions in non-dilutive funding for execution of all aspects of technical service, product development, operations and commercialization of PECI’s grid edge products. In 2019 PECI spun off its technical and grid-edge products as Community Energy Labs with Tanya at the helm. Tanya’s speciality is in leading systems and people to set the stage for the high achievement culture necessary to iterate and scale. Tanya is fluent in Swedish and functionally proficient in Danish, Norwegian and Icelandic.

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Christopher Kitching

Fractional CFO

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Chris has 30 years of financial experience, spending half of that time in VC and PE investor roles and half as an executive in various hardware and software technology companies. More recently, Chris has supported various energy transition companies as a fractional CFO and/or advisor. Chris holds a BSEE and MSEE from Stanford University where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and also an MBA from Harvard Business School.

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Guillermo Vargas

Senior Software Engineer

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Guillermo has 5 years of experience as a backend software engineer, specializing in distributed systems. He started out in big tech, but has pivoted to climate tech in pursuit of a career with stronger ethical fulfillment and impact. Guillermo tries his best to minimize carbon consumption in his daily life, and is excited about the opportunity to help communities achieve the same goal at a larger scale. His personal interests include playing games, home cooking, and casual birding. Guillermo is fluent in Spanish.

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Diana Patton-LoveCooksey

Senior Full Stack Engineer

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Diana has over 3 years of experience as a full-stack software engineer and nearly a decade of experience designing software and managing projects in the SaaS space. They were drawn to software engineering out of a desire to build solutions to tough problems in companies using technology to make the world a better place. Diana holds an MS in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins. Outside of work, they enjoy board games and woodworking.

Mohamad El Hariri, PHD

Data Scientist

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Moe is a researcher and machine learning scientist with a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Florida International University (FIU). Moe's research revolves around leveraging the potential of deliverable energy flexibility through the use of machine intelligence to achieve national decarbonization goals. His work includes managed EV charging, grid interactive buildings, transactive energy, and load profiling among others. Moe joined CEL’s team as an energy consumption modeler for load forecasting applications and is currently working on evaluating machine learning frameworks for balancing building occupant comfort at the lowest possible cost and carbon emissions. Moe previously was an Assistant Professor of Renewable Energy Systems at Colorado School of Mines where he taught Integration of Renewable Energy and High Power Electronics. Moe is also a volunteer Project Manager and Event Organizer at M.Powering Lebanon, a non-profit focused on utilizing renewable energy to help address the energy crisis in Lebanon. Moe is bilingual in Arabic and proficient in French.

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Leslie Anderson

Project Manager

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Leslie has over a decade of experience in project management and process optimization across the real estate and financing industries. She holds two BS degrees in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management and Environmental Economics and Policy from UC Berkeley. Her ability to navigate and become a subject matter expert across industries showcases her adaptability and commitment to continuous learning. Leslie is a dedicated advocate for sustainability, with a track record of fundraising for global causes. In her free time, she enjoys being with her dogs and surprising her partner with increasingly unique but mostly delicious recipes.

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Jason Hutson

Customer Operations Team Lead

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Jason brings over 15 years of experience in Customer Technical Support, specializing in hardware and software solutions. He is dedicated to delivering exceptional customer service, going beyond merely resolving technical issues to genuinely empathizing with and addressing customers’ concerns. Passionate about sustainability and climate change, Jason actively volunteers for conservation efforts and advocates for positive climate policies. He participates in state park clean-ups and restoration projects, supports environmental conservation initiatives, and is committed to promoting sustainable practices both professionally and personally.

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David Peterson

Operations Manager

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David has over 25 years of broad-ranging experience providing operations management, project management, and operational leadership across tech, non-profit, entertainment, and real estate industries. He holds a BFA degree in Fine Arts from Loyola Marymount University. Working at CEL has emboldened his commitment to combating climate change. In his free time David is passionate in his support for non-profit performing arts organizations. He sings with and produces concerts for several choral groups in Portland, Oregon.

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Husnain Dogar

Junior Mechanical Engineer

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Husnain is a recent Mechanical Engineering graduate from Heriot-Watt University. He is elected as an Associate Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). He has done several research-based projects and worked closely with the industries like Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) in UAE. His final year research project was awarded Dubai's best project certificate award by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, UK (ImechE). He loves brainstorming on thermodynamic systems such as HVACs, Chillers, and Heat Pumps. He is also closely working with the IoT industry where he provides custom-engineered solutions to regulate, monitor and improve the energy usage, air quality and temperature/humidity of commercial and residential buildings. Husnain is bilingual in Urdu and fluent in AutoCAD, MATLAB & WITNESS Horizon.

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Lauren Coartney

Technical Content Writer

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Lauren has over a decade of experience in communications, specializing in content strategy, social media, and executive ghostwriting for organizations operating in complex and highly regulated sectors. She holds a degree in Literature from the University of California, San Diego. She has worked in environmental services, higher ed, and health care, helping companies translate technical, policy, and data-driven work into clear, compelling narratives for public and internal audiences. Her ability to quickly build subject matter expertise across disciplines reflects both her intellectual rigor and adaptability. Lauren is motivated by work that addresses large-scale social challenges and, outside of consulting work, enjoys spending time with her family and being a substitute high school English teacher.

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RESEARCH PARTNERS

Donghun Kim

Berkeley Lab

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Sang woo Ham

Berkeley Lab

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Korbaga Woldekidan

NREL

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Thibault Marzullo

NREL

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Hui Zhang

UC Berkeley Center for the Built Environment

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Carlos Duarte

UC Berkeley Center for the Built Environment

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Charlie Huizenga

UC Berkeley Center for the Built Environment

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Paul Rafferty

UC Berkeley Center for the Built Environment

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Advisors

Lindsay Baker

Building Science Advisor

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Nimalan Mahendran

Enterprise ML Advisor

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Jennifer Worrall

Former CEL CTO

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Joseph Todd

Technology Commercialization Advisor

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Karim Al-Khafaji, PhD

Sustainability Products Advisor

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Michael Korcuska

Product & Consumer Advisor

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Daniella Latham

Product Marketing Advisor

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Ahlmahz Negash, PhD

Power Systems Advisor

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Nate Kinsey

Building Decarbonization Advisor

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Bryan Hannegan, PhD

Customer Owned Utility Advisor

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Lorenzo Kristov, PhD

Power System Policy Advisor

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Christina Dyrness Williams

Communications Advisor

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Melanie Adamson

Marketing and Brand Advisor

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Roger Gray

Utility Operations Advisor

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