Board of Directors

The current MCEC Board of Directors was appointed by Governor O’Malley in October 2008.

Ivan V. Lanier, Chairman

CEO of Greenwill Consulting Group, Ivan Lanier is widely recognized as a bipartisan energy and environmental industry government affairs representative. Lanier was recently appointed to the Corporate Roundtable of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. He is also a member of The Maryland State Troopers Foundation, The Washington Networking Group, The Maryland Washington D.C. Utility’s Council, The Minority Public Affairs Group, The Legislative Mentoring Group and The Queen Anne's County Grants Committee.

Dan Goodman, Vice Chairman

Goodman is the Entrepreneur in Residence Emeritus and Senior Fellow for Renewable Energy at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, and co-founded the Washington, D.C. area’s only biodiesel co-op.  He has held senior leadership roles in organizations focused on clean energy technology education, technology commercialization, business incubation, and early-stage venture capital. Goodman advises several Maryland lawmakers and officials on clean energy legislation and initiatives, and chairs the MCEC’s Finance and Budget Committee as well as the Executive Committee of the Maryland Clean Energy Technology Incubator @bwtech.

Ken Connolly

An executive with Goldman Sachs since 2008, Connolly is currently the firm’s vice president and director of Energy and Environmental Policy in the Office of Government Affairs. Previously, he served as staff director for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee where he advised 19 senators on energy, environment, infrastructure and climate change. He has also served as legislative director for Senator Jim Jeffords and as an advisor to the director of environmental policy during the Clinton administration.

Jeff Eckel

Eckel is President and CEO of Hannon Armstrong, a leading investment and merchant bank providing capital for energy and infrastructure assets. The firm is an active equity investor in geothermal, solar power and energy efficiency projects. Eckel’s experience spans 25 years and includes the creation and management of energy service companies as well as project and corporate finance functions. He has held senior executive positions as CEO of EnergyWorks (Bechtel’s early foray into renewable energy), as CEO of Wärtsilä Power Development (a leading international IPP developer for much of the 90’s), and with Booz Allen in its energy practice.

Malcolm Woolf

Woolf was appointed in June 2007 by Governor Martin O'Malley to lead the Maryland Energy Administration in its role to make Maryland more energy efficient, lower costs for consumers, and protect Maryland's environment from power-related pollutants. An energy expert at the national level and in the private sector, Woolf served as the Director of the National Governors Association's Natural Resources Committee, which shapes federal policy on energy, agriculture, the environment and natural resources. He also served as Counsel to the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and Senior Attorney with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Karen Galindo-White

As an energy management engineer, Galindo-White worked for Pacific Gas and Electric Company to reduce energy usage in California. She spent 15 years at the Maryland Energy Administration as Assistant Director working on energy performance contracting for state and local governments. Galindo-White worked for Select Energy and Ameresco as a project developer before joining Energy Systems Group in 2006 where she is currently an account executive and an accredited LEED professional.

Jeremy Butz

A mechanical engineer and a lifelong Maryland farmer, Butz currently holds leadership positions in two companies. Together with his three brothers, Butz manages the family’s Windridge Farm. Spanning 1,500 acres in Montgomery and Frederick counties, Windridge employs leading technology and traditional farming techniques to minimize herbicide and pesticide utilization while maximizing yields. It cultivates proprietary, high-protein, non-GMO soy beans which are used by local tofu producers. Butz is also a founder of Chesapeake Green Fuels, an Adamstown-based startup that converts animal fats and used cooking oil into an alternative to diesel fuel. Butz is a member of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, the Montgomery Agricultural Center Committee and the Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Jill A. Tarzian Sorensen

A senior innovation manager with 24 years of experience in intellectual asset and technology management, Sorensen is the founder of Bilyan, LLC, a business innovation lab and action network advancing the profession of technology management primarily in the health and energy sectors. Sorensen has co-founded two health innovation companies, launched an electric vehicle public-private partnership as a division of the International Center for Sustainable Development, helped raise $3.5 million in capital for technology and economic development, and advised on green economy strategies for Maryland jurisdictions. Sorensen presently is professional faculty at the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business, teaching social entrepreneurship and business ethics.

Isaac Opalinsky

A longtime professional in the solar energy industry, Opalinsky is a certified solar photo voltaic installer and HERS trained energy auditor. He has worked as Mid-Atlantic sales manager for Solar Works and currently serves as operations manager for Columbia-based Aurora Energy. He has served on the boards of the Potomac Region Solar Energy Association and the Maryland Conservation Council.