Seminars

James Marlow has extensive technology marketing, business development and policy experience. He has worked with Computerland, Lotus Development, IBM, and Yahoo!. He was the founder of two startups – Internet startup, AnythingSouthern.com, and CEO and Co-Founder of radiance Solar, he was a candidate for United States Congress in the 10th District of Georgia. He was part of 11 new business initiatives at Lotus Development and IBM. He is a graduate of Georgia Southern University and has completed the Georgia Tech Mid-Career Management Program. He has worked directly in the development, engineering, design, construction, and operations and maintenance of over 350 solar PV and energy storage projects at every scale. He served on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Solar Energy Industry Association, Georgia Chamber of Commerce Energy and Environment Committee and has been a founding Board Member and Vice Chairman of the Georgia Solar Energy Association.

As a Principal Consultant at Southface Institute, Mr. Jeff Foote works on BIT Building, a program designed for facility operators to guide them in the  implementation of performance improvements including energy efficiency; and EarthCraft, which provides training to builders, realtors and property managers that will enable the construction of properties that use 30% less energy. Mr. Foote has many years of experience working on different issues, including circular economy, clean-tech investments and corporate sustainability strategy, refrigeration and water stewardship. In addition to Southface Institute, Mr. Foote has also worked for 20 years at the Coca-Cola Company as well.

Mr. Shan Arora is the Director of The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The Kendeda Building is a multi-disciplinary, non-departmental education building. It is pursuing the Living Building Challenge – the world’s most ambitious building performance standard. As the first regenerative building of its scale in the Southeastern United States, the building sets a new standard for design and construction in a region known for temperature extremes and humidity. The project’s goal is to transform the built environment in the Southeast by advancing innovation, and by showcasing synergies between environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic development. Mr. Arora is currently on the Board of Directors of Georgia Interfaith Power & Light, a nonprofit that engages communities of faith in stewardship of Creation as a religious response to climate change, resource depletion, environmental injustice, pollution, and other disruptions in Creation.

Ms. Mandy Mahoney serves as the president of the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance. Prior to joining SEEA in 2011, Ms. Mahoney served as Director of Sustainability for the City of Atlanta under Mayors Reed and Franklin. Ms. Mahoney serves on the Advisory Board of the Turner Environmental Law Clinic at Emory University School of Law and on the Piedmont Park Conservancy Board of Directors.

She holds a master’s degree in environmental management from Duke University and earned a law degree and a bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental studies from Emory University. Selected to Georgia Trend’s 2016 “40 under 40” list and the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 2014 “40 under 40” list, Ms. Mahoney is also a graduate of LEAD Atlanta 2010; the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership 2010; and the 2011 American Council of Germany’s Young Leaders Program. She and her husband Sean are the proud parents of Paul.

Ms. Sandra Kwak is CEO and Founder of 10Power, a certified Benefit Corporation providing commercial-grade renewable energy internationally to communities that lack access to electricity. In Haiti, 10Power has developed and financed solar projects on water purification centers, health organizations and major international organizations. She is also a board member at the Foundation for Climate Restoration, working on solutions to bring the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere back down to 300 parts per million by 2050. Previously, Sandra worked with AutoGrid using big data from smart meters to save energy, scaling the company from prototype, through raising $14M, to a global brand. At Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Utility Sandra helped implement the ClimateSmart program. She has a Sustainable MBA from Presidio Graduate School, has taught “Race, Activism and Climate Justice” at SFSU and guest lectures at CCA and Stanford. Ms. Kwak sees renewable energy as the key to providing clean water, gender empowerment and access to regenerative technology – a concept explored in her TEDx talk “Fourth World Nation Building”