The power of community
The power of community
Our board members are essential to the operations of ASES and hail from all corners of the solar and renewable energy field. They are tasked with ensuring our programs are aligned with the ASES mission. Board elections are held annually and by special appointment. For more information, please contact chair@ases.org.
Chair
A physicist and musician, Ben returned in 2008 to live among the beautiful mountains of Vermont (which he holds dear) after 14 years in New Mexico, where he served as president and an educator with the New Mexico Solar Energy Association, and advocated with NMSEA and and other environmental nonprofits to pass significant renewable energy legislation in the state. He also spent 14 years at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the theoretical physics division, where his specialty was nonlinear dynamics, a branch of which is known colloquially as “chaos theory,” and where he also served as renewable energy program manager and conducted research in renewables. His background in nonlinear dynamics sensitized him to the potential for rapid global climate change and inspired his focus on sustainability and renewable energy. He is a Physics Professor at Vermont State University, where he teaches physics, renewable energy science, electricity & electronics, and acoustics. Besides his physics Ph.D, he holds a B.S. in Sound Recording, plays keyboards and other instruments, and conducts research on vintage synthesizers. He is also an avid hiker, and a student of Chinese and French.
Vice Chair
Abraham has spent the bulk of his 25-year professional career working on solar and other renewable technologies from the point of view of research (performance modeling, reliability, manufacturing), grid integration (systems analysis, inverter technologies), and applications ranging from rural development to large-scale PV power plants. He feels fortunate to have had the opportunity to work on solar as part of an educational institution, an investor-owned utility and a national laboratory, where he led a $15M/year R&D program.
His experience includes work as a research engineer at Southwest Technology Development Institute (SWTDI) at New Mexico State University (NMSU) from 1995 to 2000, system planning engineer at Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) from 2000 to 2008, and research lead in renewable systems integration at Sandia National Laboratories since 2008, where he currently serves as Program Manager for Energy Efficiency and manufacturing, and Program Deputy for Secure Energy and Earth Systems. Between 2014 and 2019, He also managed Sandia’s Solar and Distributed Systems Integration Department.
Secretary
Dara, along with her husband Mark, owns and operates Exact Solar, which installs residential and commercial solar energy systems in NJ and PA. They are proud to be one of the only installers in the Greater Philadelphia area that installs solar electric/PV, solar water heating, and solar pool heating systems. Dara manages Sales, Marketing, HR and IT for the company. After 15 years, Exact Solar has a reputation for exceptionally high quality installations, award-winning customer service, deep community connections and effective environmental policy advocacy. Exact Solar is a “business for good” that provides living wages for their employees, donates time and services to those in need in their local community, and runs almost 100% on clean, renewable, solar energy. To be successful at defining company strategy and moving clean energy forward in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Dara partners regularly with local environmental groups and non-profits to share how solar energy systems work, how they reduce fossil-fuel usage and increase grid resiliency, all while saving consumers money. Dara graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Computer Science Engineering degree in ’91.
Robert is an international renewable energy development specialist who has worked in over 40 countries for the past 35 years. He has implemented thousands of RE projects utilizing solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, and biomass technologies. Robert has been an ASES member since 1990 and has served as Chairman of the Texas Solar Energy Society, as well as President of the El Paso Solar Energy Association.
Robert is a retiree from New Mexico State University after 25 years as the International Manager for the Southwest Region Solar Experiment Station and still teaches NMSU RE courses. He was Technical Manager for the DOE/USAID Mexico Renewable Energy Program for Sandia Labs; Winrock International (WI) wind energy manager for the USAID Dominican Republic Electrical Energy Sector Project; Texas Tiger Team lead for the DOE Solar America Initiative; and instructor for the NREL Wind Energy Applications Symosium. Robert was the World Bank solar consultant for the Honduras Proyecto de Infraestructura Rural, and Nicaraguan Programa de Energía Renovables in Zonas Aisladas. He was Chief Engineer for the USAID Afghanistan Clean Energy Program. He worked with WI and SunDanzer in Kenya to develop direct drive solar milk chillers for the USAID Powering Agriculture Energy Grand Challenge. He is presently collaborating with Sheladia and the Asian Development Bank on solar water pumping for Bangladeshi farmers, as well as with WI and SunDanzer and the International Fund for Agricultural Development on direct drive solar chillers for fish preservation in East Africa.
Robert earned a B. S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a MBA from NMSU. He is a returned Peace Corps volunteer from the Dominican Republic. Robert grew up on the Mexican border in El Paso where he still lives and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese
David S. Ginley’s current activities are in the areas of the general class of defective transition metal oxides including high temperature superconductors, LiTMO2 rechargable Li battery materials, ferroelectric materials, transparent conducting oxides and electrochromic materials. Another focus of his work is on the development of new nanomaterials for organic electronics and as biofilters etc.
Dr. Ginley’s work is directed primarily at the development of new atmospheric processing approaches to photovoltaics.
Some of Dr. Ginley’s work in progress is on the development of high quality materials (single crystal films) by pulsed laser deposition, sputtering, IBAD, and characterization of the materials in the doped and undoped states by optical and transport measurements. In addition to developing a fundamental understanding of the interrelationship of structure and electronic properties, Dr. Ginley and his research group are applying what they learn to improved devices, i.e. batteries, frequency agile electronics, photovoltaics, electrochromics and flat panel displays. To transition these results to more practical approaches, they are investigating the development of nonvacuum, direct writeable electronic materials. This is done through the development of nanoparticulate and ink based precursors. This involves the synthesis of the nanoparticles, development of inks and ink deposition techniques, derivation of a fundamental understanding of the sintering behavior of nanoparticles and the evolution of the bulk structural and electronic properties.
Dr. Ginley’s work has developed new inks for metallization and the development of highly anisotropic oxide nanoparticles. Currently, Dr. Ginley is also the principal investigator (PI) on new programs in the areas of combinatorial materials science for high throughput discovery of new electrooptical materials including transparent conducing oxides, nitrites and borides.
Sydney is the Sustainability Specialist for Goodwill Industries International, where her work is centered on coordinating sustainability initiatives and projects in collaboration with Goodwill’s 150+ member organizations. Prior to her work at Goodwill Industries International, Sydney served as the Community Engagement Coordinator for RE-volv, a nonprofit solar energy organization that helps other nonprofits across the country go solar. At RE-volv, Sydney managed RE-volv’s volunteer Solar Ambassador Program, communications, and community engagement efforts.
Marc is an expert in solar energy with over a decade of field experience in academia and industry. He is currently a Senior Consultant at Clean Power Research where he helps power the energy transformation by researching cost-effective and environmentally-sound pathways
As a licensed architect for over 30 years, Debbie has designed hundreds of Passive Solar homes for clients across the United States and Canada in many climate zones. Her Bachelor of Architecture degree was obtained from the University of Arizona. She wrote and published a book on Passive Solar design – The Sun-Inspired House: home designs warmed and brightened by the sun. The book and her design philosophies incorporate Passive Solar Design Strategies; Guidelines for Home Building developed by NREL, and are continuously evolving to adapt to low-energy construction methods, climate changes, and housing and energy technologies. Her work has been published in Fine Homebuilding, Home Energy, Mother Earth News, Solar Today, and Home Power. Debbie is president of Sun Plans, Vice-Chair of the ASES Solar Buildings Technical Division, on the steering committee for the National Solar Tour, and a newly elected member to the ASES Board of Directors. She looks forward to assisting ASES with their goals of sharing knowledge and technologies of the many uses of solar energy in general as well as interacting with others who share her passion for Passive Solar technologies.
In 2017, Dr. Muddassir Siddiqi began his tenure as the President of the Central College, one of the colleges under the Houston Community College System, and home to seven state-recognized Career and Technology programs, including the award-winning Fine Arts, Fashion Design, and Honors College programs. He has been active in creating collaborative and progressive initiatives alongside stellar teams at the district and college with local high schools, four-year institutions, business and industry partners, and community-based organizations to create inclusive, diverse, and equitable opportunities for students. Dr. Siddiqi has served in several positions at local, state, and national organizations. He is currently serving on the Board of Directors at Association of International Educators (NAFSA), Board of Directors at the National Asian/Pacific Islander Council (NAPIC), and Commissioner at the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU).
Dr. Siddiqi received his Ed.D. in Adult Education from Northern Illinois University (NIU); a Master of Business Administration from Northern Alabama University (UNA); and a master’s in industrial technology from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).
Dr. Siddiqi has a passion for teaching, and, over the past 15 years, he has taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate level courses at the various universities. He has also extensively presented at the national and international conferences.
Karen Soares is a small business owner with over 20 years of combined experience in leadership, technology, training, communications and energy. She has a creative knack for developing and deploying automated environments to increase and improve productivity for customers.
For the past 8 years, Ms. Soares has been a dedicated energy consultant who has been intimately engaged in building systems, centered on energy efficiency, auditing, quality assurance and training. She has trained more than 100 participants on Green IT & Energy for Colleges and Non-Profit organizations. She is a dynamic leader who values excellence in her work, believes strongly in quality standards and process improvements.
Ms. Soares holds principal positions with Go Eagle Energy, LLC, (GEE) and GENNX Technologies. She currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Barber-Scotia College Inc. (B-SC), a private, co-ed, Historically Black College (HBCU), located in Concord, NC, founded in 1867 by Rev. Luke Dorland, who was commissioned by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), to ‘find a place’ and establish an institution in the South, to educate the daughters of freed slaves.
In 2008 Barber-Scotia College saw the need and demonstrated a commitment to educating students in alternative energy technologies, when the institution became the first and only HBCU to offer a degree in Renewable Energy. The College is developing the technical workforce, while ensuring a diverse population is on the front lines, shaping the Energy sector. “We are building a model of Institutional Advancement and Excellence and we are dedicated to the effective training of future professional leaders to serve our changing world.” As Chairman, she leads the charge for the College’s mission to build the “Campus of the Future” for the future.
It is her desire to help underserved communities and expand the ASES organization’s reach by sharing its mission and values with students and institutions across the globe to make an impact on preserving the environment for future generations.
Ms. Soares is currently pursuing a Master of Science Degree in field of Engineering Law from the College of Energy Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Henry brings the hands-on experience of a wide range of solar thermal systems. Described as “a visionary,” Henry founded Solar Wave Energy in 1978. Over the last 30 years, he has been involved in all aspects of the design, installation and service of solar thermal systems – including overseeing site-built and factory-built collectors and systems, and servicing most of the many types of solar hot water systems used in the Northeast. Henry brings the detail analysis of these mechanical system operations from years of installation and system assessment. He bought his first data-logger back in 1978 and has been looking at sensors ever since. He has taught conference workshops, trade school classes, and programs for teachers. Henry has been honored with the “Cambridge First Day” award given by MIT and the City of Cambridge for his work preserving the environment – and the Distinguished Service Award from the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. He continues to consult on solar thermal designs for building applications.