Argus North American Biofuels, LCFS & Carbon Markets Summit

Rajinder Sahota

Deputy Executive Officer, Climate Change and Research, California Air Resources Board

Rajinder Sahota is the deputy executive officer, climate change and research, with the Air Resources Board whose primary portfolio of responsibilities includes management of the Cap-and-Trade Program, development and implementation of the State's AB32 Scoping Plan, and Energy Policy. Due to the global nature of climate change and interest in CA's programs, the role requires coordination and collaboration with subnational and national governments pursuing climate change mitigation action. Other climate programs within the division include the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, methane reduction strategies, and fuels initiatives. Prior to this position, Rajinder managed the design and implementation of the Cap-and-Trade Program, including its linkage with Quebec's program. She holds a BS and MS in Atmospheric Sciences from UC Davis.

Scott Lewis

President, World Energy

Scott has been in the renewable fuels industry for more than 20 years now and understands the importance of culture and government that values reduction in carbon as currency. His experience centers around building out and managing commercial programs for Biodiesel, Renewable Diesel, and now Sustainable Aviation Fuel production facilities. His advocacy in the U.S. and Canada for better policies governing the renewable and biofuel market has driven important and positive change for World Energy and the industry as a whole.

Today, Scott leads World Energy’s commercial SAF operations, helping to build strategic relationships with suppliers, customers, government officials, and joint venture partners.

Rebecca Boudreaux

President and Chief Executive Officer, Oberon Fuels

Rebecca Boudreaux is President and CEO of Oberon Fuels, a renewable fuels leader that converts waste to renewable dimethyl ether (DME) and methanol to decarbonize global carbon emissions across the shipping and propane industries, while enabling the hydrogen economy of the future. She built the world’s first commercial renewable DME production plant and drove the first commercial sales of propane blended with DME. She has also secured partnerships with and/or investments from industry leaders around the world, including Suburban Propane, Lipigas, DCC, Volvo Trucks, Mack Trucks and Ford.

Boudreaux has performed research at MIT, Princeton University, and National Starch and Chemical, which ultimately led her to co-found Intezyne Technologies, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on increasing the effectiveness of cancer treatments. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Polymer Science at the University of Southern Mississippi and a master’s and doctorate in Polymer Science and Engineering at the University of Massachusetts. In 2022, she was named a top 10 Industry Innovator by Butane Propane News.

Grant Zimmerman

Chief Executive Officer, Amp Americas

Grant Zimmerman is CEO and director of Amp Americas, a pioneer in converting dairy waste into carbon-negative renewable transportation fuel and power. He joined the company as senior vice president of business development in 2015, and assumed the role of CEO in 2016. As CEO, Zimmerman is focused on growing the market for RNG and other carbon-negative renewable products that combat climate change and improve air quality. Under Zimmerman’s leadership, Amp Americas’ operations have eliminated more than 1,400,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions per year, equivalent to taking about 300,000 cars off the road for one year. Prior to Amp Americas, Zimmerman was an associate principal at McKinsey & Company in the global energy and materials and corporate finance practices where he served clients in strategy and operations. Before McKinsey, Zimmerman served in commercial and finance roles with Enron and the Enron bankruptcy estate. Zimmerman earned his MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, graduating with high honors. He also holds a MPA and BBA, Honors from the University of Texas at Austin.

Bob Day

Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Darling Ingredients

Robert (Bob) Day is the Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Darling Ingredients. Bob joined Darling Ingredients in August 2023 with 30 years executive management and investment banking experience in agriculture, soft and energy commodity industries. Prior to Darling Ingredients, he served as partner at Ascendant Partners, where he was licensed with FINRA as a registered investment banking representative. Bob also previously served as CEO at Ceres Global Ag Corp. and Managing Director Asia at ED&F Man; and he held a variety of executive and senior management roles in Asia, Latin America and the United States over 19 years with Cargill. Bob holds an MBA from St. Thomas University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota.

Stephanie Potts

Senior Planner, Cap-and-Invest Program, Washington State Department of Ecology

Stephanie Potts is a senior planner for the Cap-and-Invest program at Washington State Department of Ecology. Stephanie worked on development of the program before it launched in January of 2023 and is now leading the work to explore carbon market linkage with California and Québec.

Bruce Fleming

Chief Executive Officer, Montana Renewables

Bruce Fleming is Chief Executive Officer of Montana Renewables, a controlled subsidiary of Calumet Specialty Products (NASDAQ: CLMT).

Fleming was previously Vice President Mergers & Acquisitions at Tesoro Corporation and an officer of Tesoro Companies Inc. from 2004-2016. He founded and was Managing Director of Hong Kong-based Orient Refining Ltd 1997-2004, and served in various operations, business development and planning roles with Amoco Oil and Amoco Corporation from 1981-1996.

Fleming holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (Princeton University) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering (University of Delaware).

Ben Hengst

Deputy Office Director, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Ben Hengst is the Deputy Director of EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ), whose staff are located in Washington D.C. and Ann Arbor, MI. OTAQ is charged with developing and implementing EPA’s air pollution and climate change policies for the transportation sector, including light and heavy duty cars and trucks, off-road vehicles (including aviation and marine), and fuels. Ben’s portfolio includes a range of climate change, air quality, and energy topics, with a focus on developing and implementing fuels-related policies and programs.

Lisa Ryan

Acting Executive Director of Low Carbon Fuel Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Lisa Ryan is the acting Executive Director of Low Carbon Fuel Division at Environment and Climate Change Canada, where she is responsible for implementing the Clean Fuels Regulations, a key part of the Government of Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan to lower emissions by 40% from 2005 levels. Prior to her current role, Lisa led the team responsible for coordinating the implementation of the Regulations, and prior to that consultations and the development of many components of the Regulations themselves. Lisa has been with Environment and Climate Change Canada for over 15 years, starting with the Chemicals Management Plan and then as a regulator in the area of fuel quality. She has been a part of the regulatory development team for Canada's suite of national fuel quality regulations, including Canada’s Renewable Fuels Regulations and the Sulphur in Gasoline Regulations. Ms. Ryan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering with Distinction obtained from the Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Bill Peters

Interim Clean Fuels Program Manager, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

Bill Peters is the Interim Clean Fuels Program Manager for Oregon’s Clean Fuels Program, where he’s worked since 2016. He works on various aspects of the program from rulemaking to implementation and market monitoring. Prior to that he was a reporter and deputy editor for Argus Air Daily in Washington, DC and Portland, Oregon where he worked on covering North American carbon, emissions, and renewable electricity policy and markets.

Randy Delbert Letang

Chief Executive Officer, SGP BioEnergy

Randy is President and Chief Executive of integrated bioenergy company SGP BioEnergy. SGP BioEnergy develops industrial projects that leverage existing infrastructure and create industrial, economic and humanitarian impact for a global customer base. Randy is responsible for the firm’s overall global bioenergy business strategy, supply chain development and execution. He is a Caribbean-born entrepreneur, financier and operator and has helped launch, grow and re-position both start-ups and mature companies. He specialises in conceiving, developing and executing strategies and initiatives that drive revenue, growth, competitive market positioning, profits and shareholder value. Randy also serves in an advisory capacity at international non-profit the Institute for Conscious Global Change, which provides mapping and spatial modelling services to help governments and agencies meet the UN’s sustainable development goals.

Claudia Borchert

Climate Change Bureau Chief, New Mexico Environment Department

After joining New Mexico’s Environment Department in 2020 to work on climate change policy, Claudia Borchert became the Bureau Chief of NMED’s newly formed and the state’s first Climate Change Bureau in November of 2022. The Bureau’s current focus is promulgating the rules and the program to implement a clean transportation fuel standard for New Mexico, which the state legislature approved earlier in
2024. The Bureau is also currently implementing New Mexico’s Advanced Clean Cars and Advanced Clean Truck rule, which requires an increasing percentage of zero-emission cars and trucks to be delivered to the state. Also, with the assistance of a $3M EPA grant, the Climate Change Bureau, together with the leadership team of New Mexico’s interagency Climate Change Task Force, is developing a comprehensive climate action plan for New Mexico, that will consider how businesses, industry, governments, organizations, and individuals can take action to achieve the statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction target of at least 45% below 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050.

Matt Steele

Policy Analyst, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

Matt Steele is a climate policy analyst with Oregon DEQ. He joined the agency in 2020 as part of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program team and moved to the climate policy team in 2022. He works on the development and implementation of initiatives to address climate change, including the Climate Protection Program. Prior to working for DEQ he worked as a consultant focused on research, development, and implementation of projects aimed at improving biogas production and mitigating methane emissions.

Abbey Brown

Clean Fuel Standard Technical Lead, Washington Department of Ecology

Abbey Brown is the Technical Lead for the Clean Fuel Standard at the Washington Department of Ecology. She has spent her career working on climate, energy, and air quality policy for governments and non-profits in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Washington State, including Environmental Defense Fund and the World Resources Institute’s NDC Partnership. She holds a B.A. in Political Studies from Bard College and a M.A. in International Environmental Policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

Arjun Patney

Low Carbon Originator, bp

Arjun Patney serves as Low Carbon Originator at bp, where he transacts high quality offsets in compliance and voluntary markets. Across North America and Asia, his 25+ years of experience in the environmental field span business, technical, and policy spheres. Prior roles in the carbon market include sourcing voluntary credits at Natural Capital Partners, leading policy engagement at the American Carbon Registry, and establishing the U.S. carbon trading business at Cargill. He holds a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an M.S. in environmental management and policy from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Don Gilstrap

Manager of Fuels Regulations, Chevron

Don Gilstrap is the Manager of Fuels Regulations at Chevron, leading a team of experts on fuel specifications and state and federal clean fuels programs. In his 26-year career at Chevron, he has worked in Finance, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Strategy. For the past 12 years, Don has focused on fuels compliance, leading regulatory affairs and supporting Chevron’s growing renewables portfolio.

Dan Lieberman

Global Sustainability Strategy & Engagement Lead, Nuseed

Dan Lieberman joined the Nuseed Carinata global team May 2023 in the role of Sustainability Strategy & Engagement Lead. Dan brings over two decades’ experience at the climate-energy nexus across the public and private sectors in both consulting and industry. At Nuseed, Dan is advancing the Carinata program’s sustainability strategy and engagement with external stakeholders globally. His work is focused on unlocking opportunities to remove atmospheric carbon, regenerate soil, and grow non-food sustainable energy sources that can replace fossil oils.

Prior to joining Nuseed, Dan spent 16 years at Chevron, where he held various roles that spanned corporate strategy and sustainability, communications, and government relations, serving most recently as Senior Advisor for Climate Policy for global legislative and regulatory affairs.

Dan has previously held roles in corporate strategy and as a managing consultant for the consulting firm ICF International. There he helped public and private sector clients develop and navigate nascent carbon markets and approaches to greenhouse gas management and accounting. In the standards space in particular, Dan led or contributed to numerous publications on the estimation, modeling and forecasting of GHG emissions and markets and contributed to the development of methodologies and tools under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism, the WBCSD/WRI GHG Protocol, IPCC Good Practice Guidelines, US EPA Inventory of GHG Emissions and Sinks, and others.

In addition to his extensive sector experience Dan also earned an M.B.A. in Strategic Environmental Management from the George Washington University School of Business, and a B.S. in Economics and Environmental Science from Brandeis University.
Dan and his family reside in Livermore, California.

Carrie Song

Senior Vice President, Commercial, Global Renewable Products, Neste

Carrie Song is currently the Senior Vice President at Neste, the world’s leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel and a forerunner in developing renewable and circular feedstock solutions for polymers and chemicals. She leads the commercial operations of Neste’s Renewable Products business unitin the Americas, Europe, and APAC regions. She oversees financial performance deliveries, end to end value chain optimization, and business development of Neste’s full renewable product portfolio. Carrie joined Neste in 2020 and in her previous role as the VP Renewable Road Transportation, she was responsible for Neste’s increasing development and expansion efforts in the Americas region. Carrie has a track record of success in driving business growth for various Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries, including global commodity trade, capital goods, consulting, energy, and oil and gas. Carrie holds a BA in Economics, a Master in Management, and a Master in Marketing

Keith Sawyer

Manager of Alternative Fuels, Avfuel Corporation

Keith Sawyer, manager of alternative fuels for Avfuel Corporation, has worked in the energy business since 1977, including 10 years in the aviation industry. After a 40-year career with Chevron, Sawyer joined Avfuel—a leading independent global supplier of aviation fuel and services with 650+ branded FBOs and 3,000+ fueling locations worldwide—in 2016 as its regional business development/supply chain manager where he was responsible for developing and nurturing relationships with fueling locations throughout the Western U.S., Canada and Alaska. To further capitalize on his expertise in the fuel market, Sawyer became Avfuel’s manager of alternative fuels in 2017, leading all aspects of evaluating and developing the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market and its suppliers and securing SAF supplies for Avfuel’s customers while representing Avfuel within the environmental and fuel supply chain groups associated with GAMA, NBAA, NATA and IBAC. During Sawyer’s tenure at Chevron, he oversaw petroleum and natural gas product supply chain management, cargo operations, general aviation business, branded programs, aviation investments, and marketing in various markets, operating out of Perth, Western Australia; Houston, Texas; San Ramon, California; Almaty, Kazakhstan; San Francisco, California; and Vancouver, British Columbia. Sawyer received a bachelor’s degree in economic geography from the University of British Columbia, as well as completed the university’s executive development program, and Alberta’s Banff School of Management business and marketing development program.

Earl Holle

Renewable Fuels Commercial Optimization Manager, Phillips 66

Earl Holle is Manager, Renewable Fuels Commercial Optimization for Phillips 66, a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company. He is responsible for optimizing renewable feedstock, production, and sales. He has 38 years’ experience at Phillips 66 and held leadership roles in engineering, operations, reliability, strategy, business development and optimization. Since 2019, his focus has been scaling renewable fuels production including sustainable aviation fuel. Earl graduated from Kansas State University with a Bachelors’ degree in Chemical Engineering.

Matthew Botill

Division Chief, California Air Resources Board (CARB)

Matthew Botill is a Division Chief at the California Air Resources Board. Matthew is responsible for overseeing several of the state’s climate programs, including the Scoping Plan, Cap-and-Trade Program, and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Matthew also serves as the agency’s policy lead for natural and working lands, including their relationship to carbon neutrality.

Kevin Barker

Senior Manager, Energy and Environmental Affairs , SoCalGas

Kevin Barker is Senior Manager of Energy and Environmental Affairs at SoCalGas. His role includes overseeing proceedings, rulemaking and funding opportunities at the local, state and federal government level. Prior to joining SoCalGas in 2020, Kevin served as the Deputy Director of the Fuels and Transportation Division at the California Energy Commission and 8 years as Chief of Staff to the Chair of the California Energy Commission. He has bachelor’s degrees in Environmental Science and Film Studies from the University of California at Irvine.

Sean Newsum

Managing Director, Environmental Affairs, Airlines for America

Sam Wade

Director of Public Policy, RNG Coalition

Sam Wade serves as the Director of Public Policy at the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas. Previously Mr. Wade worked as Chief of the Transportation Fuels Branch at the Californian Air Resources Board, where he oversaw the Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program for four years. In other roles at CARB, Mr. Wade served as Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs, developed the Cap-and-Trade rule, and authored portions of California’s first Greenhouse Gas Scoping Plan. He’s also worked in energy policy at Pacific Gas and Electric and with a bioenergy/biochar start-up. Sam holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from U.C. Davis, a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hawaii, and an M.P.A in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University.

Patrick Serfass

Executive Director, American Biogas Council

Patrick Serfass is Executive Director of the American Biogas Council. Patrick has led the American Biogas Council since he helped create it in 2010. The American Biogas Council now represents nearly 400 organizations and 5,000 professionals as the voice of the US biogas industry. The ABC is dedicated to maximizing carbon reduction and economic growth using biogas systems. Beyond biogas, Patrick has more than 20 years’ experience growing clean energy industries, like solar, hydrogen, biochar, and woody biomass. In Patrick’s early career, he was a physical oceanographer, architectural engineer and designed unmanned deep ocean vehicles. Patrick holds a Bachelor of Arts in Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College.

Kristine Clark

Director of Clean Energy Technology, CF Industries

Kristine Clark is CF Industries' Director, Clean Energy Solutions. In her role, Kristine is responsible for strategy and commercial aspects of decarbonization at CF Industries including carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), renewable power, and clean hydrogen production. She also supports market development strategy for low-carbon fertilizer, including demonstrating value through biofuels and food and beverage value chains. Prior to her time at CF Industries, she was a manager of gas capacity planning at Xcel Energy and a process engineer at Black and Veatch. She studied chemical engineering at the University of Oklahoma.

Courtney Unruh, SAF & Sustainability Engagement Director, Unruh

SAF & Sustainability Engagement Director, Alaska Air

Dan Kim

Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, NXT Clean Fuels

Dan has served as Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, NXTClean Fuels since 2022. Dan is currently leading work with select stakeholders to advance scalable ecosystems to accelerate economical production and delivery of energy/fuels to decarbonize industry and transport sectors.

Prior to NXTClean Fuels, Dan focused on the development of sustainable alternative energy platforms (synthetic fuel, electric and hydrogen) with the Pilot Company, Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary and one of the largest travel center networks in North America. Dan was also the former Chief Financial Officer of World Energy, industry leading producer and distributor of SAF, RD, and biodiesel and one of the first producers of SAF in the world.

Dan has been active in the global energy sector for 30 years in operating companies and financial institutions which included ExxonMobil, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. Dan earned a MBA from Yale University and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University.

Scott McDonald

Director, ADM

Geoff Tauvette

Executive Director, Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (C-SAF)

Geoff is a senior leader in commercial aviation and an engineering professional at the forefront of airline sustainability with more than 25 years of experience in integrating aviation fuel procurement, environment, and climate risk management, giving him a unique perspective on creating a sustainable aviation fuels market in Canada to support decarbonizing the aviation industry.

His past responsibilities have centred around setting direction on aviation environmental sustainability strategies, being an industry advocate in the design of aviation climate policy and regulatory measures and reducing aviation emissions through stakeholder collaborations to advance the use of sustainable fuels and other emissions reduction initiatives.

Geoff holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in civil engineering. He is also an ambassador with the Alberta Energy Futures Lab, a sustainability-driven, innovation-focused initiative whose vision is to accelerate the clean transition of Alberta’s energy system and a board member of the Clean Resource Innovation Network.

Andrea Ayala

Senior Manager, Environmental Sustainability, United Airlines

Andrea Ayala leads United’s short-term decarbonization strategy for freight forwarders through the Eco-Skies Alliance, and customer emission reporting as a Senior Manager of Environmental Sustainability. She participates in multiple workgroups creating the frameworks to scale up voluntary SAF usage. Through collaboration with corporate customers United has uplifted over 11 million gallons of SAF since 2021. Andrea received both her Bachelor of Science in Engineering and Master of Energy from Texas A&M University.

Kristine Klavers

Managing Director - Low Carbon Petroleum & Refining, EcoEngineers

Kristine Klavers has been working in the global energy industry for 30 years and has deep experience in the entire energy chain including energy commodity markets, refining operations and vehicle engine design, petrochemicals and transportation fuels markets. Since moving to the U.S. in 1996, she has worked in energy market consulting, first launching and building the global consulting business at Hart Energy, focusing on global fuel quality, biofuels and refining. At Argus, Ms. Klavers built their Americas consulting business reflecting subject matters from crude, gas, LNG, metals, fertilizers, petrochemicals and biofuels and biomass. Prior to coming to the U.S., she worked as a process engineer designing refineries for JGC in Japan and as an Oxygenated Fuels Specialist for Arco Chemicals (LyondellBasell) in the United Kingdom. She holds a Master of Science in chemical engineering from Twente University in the Netherlands, and Tokyo Institute of Technology holds a patent for her methane coupling catalyst. Ms. Klavers actively participates in the National Petroleum Council; she acts as a coach in Women of Energy; and she is the president of the Norwegian American Chamber of Commerce.

Steve Csonka

Executive Director, CAAFI (Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative)

Steve is a commercial aviation professional with 38 years of broad, strategic airline, aviation OEM, and SAF experience. Over his career, Steve has been a strong industry advocate who has worked in roles of developing pragmatic solutions to the challenges of aviation growth, and such engagement led him to accepting the current CAAFI Executive Director role in 2012. CAAFI (the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, www.caafi.org) is an industry partnership fostering the development and commercialization of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). CAAFI engages in public-private-partnership activities designed to convene the group of participants needed to stand up an entirely new industrial sector.

Steve also continues to serve in leadership, steering committee, consultancy, and BOD roles with multiple aviation industry organizations in areas of applying technology and business concepts to enable commercial progression with SAF, both through the work of CAAFI, as well as independent activities through his consultancy.

Kurt Kovarik

Vice President of Federal Affairs, Clean Fuels Alliance America

Kurt serves as Vice President, Federal Affairs for Clean Fuels Alliance America, leading members in advocating federal policies that support the industry’s growth. Since joining Clean Fuels Alliance America, Kurt has helped the industry secure a long-term extension of the biodiesel tax incentive, preserve important protections against unfair international trade and ensure the integrity of the Renewable Fuel Standard program. Kurt continues to organize the industry’s advocacy for equitable tax, infrastructure and environmental policies.
Prior to joining Clean Fuels Alliance America, Kurt worked for more than 20 years in the office of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), leading efforts on the Renewable Fuel Standard, the biodiesel tax incentive and increased use of clean fuels. An Iowa native, Kurt graduated from Luther College with a degree in political science.

Laura Hutchinson

Manager, RMI

Laura is a Manager with RMI’s Climate Aligned Industries program. She focuses on market mechanisms that can facilitate decarbonization of heavy industries including aviation, oil and gas, and steel.

Laura currently is working to accelerate the decarbonization of the aviation sector by scaling the use of a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) certificate system through the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA). She also co-leads the Book and Claim Community for heavy transport in partnership with the Smart Freight Centre. Previously at RMI, Laura helped develop a sectoral transition strategy for steel within the Mission Possible Partnership, and helped create MiQ — a methane emissions performance certification system for natural gas.

Krista Sutton

Principal Process Engineer, New Energy Risk

Krista Sutton joined the New Energy Risk’s due diligence team in 2022 as principal engineer where she leverages a breadth of knowledge in the downstream and midstream oil & gas industry to help energy transition projects get financing. Her varied career has involved project development, design, commissioning, startup, optimization, and day-to-day operations of multibillion-dollar refining assets around the world spanning many different fuels’ technologies, both conventional and biofuels, including commissioning the first Ecofining Renewable Diesel unit during her time at UOP.

Jeremy Baines

EVP, Commercial, EcoCeres

Jeremy Baines is currently the chief commercial officer at EcoCeres, the global producer of pure renewable fuel, including sustainable aviation fuel. In this position, he focuses on feedstock strategy, logistics, supply chain optimisation and sales. He is passionate about driving sustainable growth through innovation and committed to finding solutions to help the world transition to Net Zero.
Baines comes from VARO Energy, where he was also chief commercial officer. Previously, he spent more than 20 years at Neste, where he most recently served as president for Neste US. He initially started his career in the energy sector as a product trader after serving in the British Army.
Baines holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the City University of London. He currently lives in Zug, Switzerland, with his family.

Ian Thomson

President, Advanced Biofuels Canada Association

Ian Thomson is President of Advanced Biofuels Canada (ABFC), the national trade association for advanced biofuel producers and developers, feedstock suppliers and fuel distributors. Its members are Canadian companies that are global leaders in commercial production of a range of synthetic fuels and advanced biofuels from sustainable feedstocks, with more than 14bn litres of installed annual capacity worldwide. ABFC members include Canada’s leading technology innovators, which are actively developing new clean liquid fuels production and distribution assets in Canada. ABFC has provided over 15 years of guidance in Canadian federal and provincial fuels, carbon pricing, and climate policy. Ian currently chairs a federal advocacy coalition of non-fossil clean fuel trade associations and NGOs focused on an effective federal Clean Fuel Standard.

Dani Charles

Co-Founder, Veriflux

Dani Charles is the co-founder of Veriflux, a U.S. EPA-funded platform for end-to-end renewable traceability, circularity and bio optionality. Mr. Charles is an experienced executive, entrepreneur and technologist who has designed, developed and deployed multiple innovative solutions to solve complex technical challenges across both the private and public sectors. He has been invited to speak in front of multiple U.S. Congressional Committees, has worked closely with Federal and State government agencies, has been featured in articles, on radio and on podcasts, and is frequently asked to present in front of industry groups on topics such as renewable energy, technology and innovation.

Daryl Maas

Chief Executive Officer, Maas Energy Works

After finishing up a career in the US Air Force in 2007, Daryl Maas returned to his hometown in a dairy community in northwest Washington. He discovered many of his friends in dairy families were interested in deploying digester technology to capture energy from animal waste. He developed and commissioned his first biogas facility in 2009.

In 2010, Daryl moved to Redding, CA with his family and founded Maas Energy Works (MEW) to explore the large growth opportunities in the renewable sector there. MEW completed its first California dairy digester in May of 2013 on Van Warmerdam Dairy in Galt, California. Since 2013 MEW has successfully completed 58 digesters with an additional 73 projects currently in development throughout the United States. Starting in 2016, Daryl and MEW served as the lead project developer for the first successful RNG pipeline cluster in the United States. Since then, MEW has duplicated that cluster model four times, overseeing the installation of over 100 miles of biogas gathering lines and four separate utility interconnections across the nation.

Jennifer Haley

Chief Executive Officer and President, Kern Energy

Jennifer Haley is President and CEO of Kern Energy – an independent, family-owned and operated transportation fuel company in the Southern San Joaquin Valley that has proudly fueled California for 90 years.

When Haley took the helm of Kern Energy in 2018, she stepped into an incredibly dynamic and challenging operating environment as she guided Kern Energy to a more public and collaborative approach to navigating California’s energy evolution. Under Haley’s leadership the company has gone from being one of the first refineries in the nation to produce renewable diesel to now having produced over 57 million gallons of renewable diesel while continuing to provide 1% of the state’s gasoline and 3% of its diesel fuel.

Haley serves on the Board of the California Chamber of Commerce, the Foundation Board of the California Science Center and the Advisory Council for the Stereotype Project Foundation. Haley earned her J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law and her B.A. in History from the University of San Diego.

Luis Poch Rodrigo

Chief Executive Officer and Founder, UCO Trading

Paola Rodriguez Masiu

Head of Research and Trade Analytics, STX Group

Paola is the Head of Research and Trade Analytics for the STX Group, a leading global Environmental Commodity Trader. She is responsible for the company’s views on markets and macroeconomics, including the outlook for different low-carbon products, equity and credit markets, and political risk.

Before joining STX Group she was Head of Market Intelligence for CEPSA Trading, responsible for the floor’s market views, covering the range of oil sector activity from upstream, through refining, to demand forecasting. Prior to this she was Vice President of Downstream Services and Product Manager of Oil Market Analytics at Rystad Energy, an independent energy research and business intelligence company. Prior to joining Rystad Energy, Paola was a Geophysical Engineer at PGS in Oslo.

Paola has an engineering degree in geophysics from USB, MSc. from NTNU and a MA in International Energy from the Sciences Po’s Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA). She works closely with different stakeholders in the industry and is frequently quoted and interviewed by several news outlets, specialized publications, and think tanks. Her research and analysis have been quoted +100 times in different media outlets. She has been a speaker at the CERA week, ARGUS conferences, PetroSpot, Rystad Energy Events among others.

Chris Hairel

Vice President, Consulting, Argus

Jessica Dell

Editorial Manager, Environmental Markets, Argus

Jacqueline Reigle

Manager, Biofuels Outlook & Analytics, Argus

Andrew Craig

Vice President, GHG Programs, California Bioenergy LLC

Andrew Craig joined California Bioenergy in 2017 and currently serves as the Vice President of Greenhouse Gas Programs. CalBio is a leading developer of dairy digester projects which produce renewable energy derived from cow manure. The methane captured by CalBio’s projects reduce over 1 million metric tons of CO2e per year. Andrew's role is to oversee the successful generation of LCFS and RIN credits which serve as the primary revenue streams for the creation of carbon-negative gas and electricity. Prior to CalBio, Andrew worked at the Climate Action Reserve, a non-profit organization established to create voluntary offset standards and administer aspects of California’s Cap & Trade program. Andrew has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Riverside, and a master's degree in Carbon Management from the University of Edinburgh.

Enzo De Biase

Licensing Business Development Manager, NextChem Tech., NEXTCHEM

Enzo De Biase as Licensing Business Development Manager, is in charge of promoting SAF initiatives involving NextChem technologies in the Americas and European area. He brought in NextChem his international experience as technology provider gained through the licensing of proprietary technologies in the field of fertilizers and their derivatives gained in Saipem and Eurotecnica and the track records of Business Development for technologies related to Green Chemistry and energy transition from Eni Versalis. He got a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering with an honored graduation thesis about Biomass Pyrolysis.

Campbell Howe

Senior Advisor, Loan Programs Office, U.S. Department of Energy

Campbell Howe is a Senior Consultant with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office. At DOE, she helps lead efforts on the Pathways to Commercial Liftoff, which seek to catalyze and align public and private investment into clean energy technologies, including clean hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel.

The Loan Programs Office has tens of billions of available loan and loan guarantee authority to finance and de-risk high impact and commercial-scale projects that help the U.S. reach its decarbonization goals. LPO serves as a bridge to bankability for innovations across clean hydrogen, advanced nuclear power, critical minerals and materials sourcing and processing, advanced vehicles manufacturing, and other industrial decarbonization technologies. As of July 2024, LPO has nearly $300 billion in loans requested across 209 active applications across the country.

Michael Rensing

Director, Advisory - Energy Compliance Services , Weaver

Dr. Michael Rensing is Director, Advisory - Energy Compliance Services - Regulatory Consulting at Weaver. He was part of the British Columbia public service for 20 years. As Executive Director of the Low Carbon Fuels Branch, Electricity and Alternative Energy Division at the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Low Carbon Innovation, Michael led the development of BC's Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program. This program has been responsible for approximately 30% of the emission reductions achieved by the province of British Columbia, making it one of the most successful low-carbon fuels programs in North America.

Michael is the 2021 recipient of the BC Bioenergy Network’s Sector “Champion” Award for outstanding leadership and contribution to the bioenergy sector in BC. At Weaver he provides strategic advice and guidance to companies seeking to understand low carbon opportunities and prosper in the new low carbon economy.

Michael holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Victoria.

Katie Sullivan

Managing Director, IETA

For nearly 20 years, Katie’s been a trusted leader and facilitator on market solutions to tackle climate change and drive clean private capital at scale. She leads policy advocacy and strategy on behalf of IETA’s 350+ multi-sector business members across the Americas and globally. Katie participates on numerous steering committees and sits on Boards of the Climate Action Reserve and the International CCS Knowledge Centre. She remains actively involved in climate advisory groups and expert panels for multiple business low-carbon start-ups, non-profits and governments. Prior to IETA, Katie worked at ICF International as a Senior Associate.

Josh Bledsoe

Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP

Josh Bledsoe advises clients on complex infrastructure and development projects, particularly those utilizing renewable or low-carbon technologies. He has broad experience in the permitting, entitlement, environmental review, and financing of cleantech projects; and also handles related administrative and judicial challenges. Mr. Bledsoe has deep experience with climate change law, including California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (commonly known as “AB 32”) and associated Air Resources Board regulations such as the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and the Cap-and-Trade Program. He guides clients to monetize the low-carbon attributes of their products or services under various carbon pricing and regulatory regimes. He also possesses in-depth knowledge of the California Environmental Quality Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act (and its state and local counterparts throughout California), the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act and the Warren-Alquist Act.

Joe Berti

Chief Executive Officer, P6 Technologies

Joe Berti is an established entrepreneur who has been focused on delivering software solutions in the sustainability and supply chain domains. He launched P6 Technologies in January of 2023 delivering a software-based solution LCA solution for renewable fuels, biogas, and chemicals. Prior to joining P6, Joe was Chief Product Officer at IBM for Sustainability software, a 1.5B+ software unit that handled ESG, weather, supply chain, and AI related applications. In 2018, Joe sold Oniqua to IBM, a global supply chain
software company that reduced waste in the MRO spare part inventory domain for Oil & Gas, Chemical, Energy, and Mining companies. Joe is also the author of https://thebookonsoftware.com

Derek Six

Chief Operating Officer, ClimeCo

Derek Six joined ClimeCo in 2015 after serving as CEO of Environmental Credit Corp. He has been working in environmental markets since 2006. In addition to overseeing operations at ClimeCo, Derek directs the Products group, leading ClimeCo’s portfolio of environmental commodity offerings. Derek has been deeply involved in Cap-and-Trade and Offset policy, including co-founding the Business Alliance for Climate Action (BACA), co-founding the Carbon Offset Provider’s Coalition (COPC) and participating in the Compliance Offset Developer’s Association (CODA), the Verified Emission Reduction Association (VERA), and the Climate Action Reserve ODS workgroup.

Alicia Robinson

Co-Founder & COO, Elevate Climate

Alicia is the Co-Founder & COO of Elevate Climate, an expert advisory firm based in Sacramento that specializes in carbon market design, implementation, and assessment. Over the last six years, the Elevate Climate team has designed, evaluated, and researched cap-and-trade programs, carbon taxes, and carbon offsets on six continents for over 50 clients. Through Elevate Climate's California Carbon Market Insights subscription, Alicia and her team offer carbon market stakeholders timely and comprehensive coverage of California carbon market policy developments. Prior to Elevate Climate, Alicia worked as an attorney in the climate change and white-collar practices of top-5 law firms Davis Polk & Wardwell and Latham & Watkins. Alicia received her B.A. from Stanford University and her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

Bryan Sievers

Director of Government Relations, Roeslein Alternative Energy

Sasha Merigan

Energy Analyst, California Public Utilities Commission

Richard Corey

California Representative, IETA