Board of Directors

Dr. Karen Wayland

Chair of the Board

Dr. Karen Wayland is a nationally recognized expert in energy and environmental policy, with extensive experience in government and non-profit leadership. Through her firm, kW Energy Strategies, she provides strategic consulting on grid modernization, coalition building, and communications to clean energy companies, environmental organizations, local governments, and foundations. Dr. Wayland’s prior experience includes the U.S. Department of Energy and work on energy and climate legislation for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and then-Majority Whip Senator Harry Reid. She currently serves on DOE’s Electricity Advisory Committee, chairing the Smart Grid subcommittee, and holds board positions with the Energy Futures Initiative Foundation, Keystone Policy Center, and the Center for Sustainable Energy.

Robert H. Edwards Jr.

Vice Chair of the Board

Mr. Edwards focuses on working with companies who are driving the energy transition. Rob is an energy industry executive and strategic advisor on global Next-Gen energy solutions and investments. Rob brings more than 20 years of diverse leadership and advisory experience supporting senior decision makers in the private sector (JPMorgan Chase, Tesla, Edison Mission Energy, DTE Energy), and in government (Department of Energy Loan Programs Office). As a recognized thought leader in Next-Generation Energy Solutions, he brings together public and private stakeholders to develop, structure, and implement multibillion-dollar energy projects in the United States and around the globe, furthering society’s transformation to a decentralized, decarbonized, durable, digital grid.

As a strategic visionary and senior legal counsel, Rob has closed more than $15 billion in project financings and M&A energy and infrastructure transactions in South East Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America and the United States. He has significant experience facilitating key transactions in the energy storage, renewable energy, electric vehicle, conventional energy, and utility markets for corporations, investors and governments throughout the U.S. and globally.

Rob excels in working cross-functionally with legal, finance, sales, and operations to develop innovative solutions that help clients and customers achieve sustainability strategies worldwide. In 2010, Rob was selected by Vantage Point Partners to participate in its 100 Clean Tech Leaders held at the Sundance Mountain Resort in Sundance, Utah and in 2015 Rob was selected as one of 21 nationwide leaders to participate in the National Renewable Energy Lab’s Executive Energy Leadership Program.

Rob proudly served as a Senior Presidential Appointee (non-career SES) at the Department of Energy during the Obama Administration and again with the DOE Loan Programs Office where he led the Outreach and Business Development Division.

Brittney R. Powell, Esq.

Treasurer of the Board

Brittney Powell is an Attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Fox Rothschild LLP, where she advises clients navigating complex international trade, corporate, and environmental matters. She is an ardent advocate and promoter of sustainability and the adoption of clean energy and technologies.

Brittney also currently serves on the Board of Directors of Operation International Gift of Knowledge, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which provides access to education to children in rural Uganda. She also maintains active memberships in the Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment and various bar associations.

Brittney was raised in Hampton, Virginia, and resides with her husband in Riverdale, Maryland. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Virginia, a Master of Arts in Public Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Richmond. She also completed an executive-level program to earn a Master of Science in Natural Resources with a concentration in global sustainability.

Ben Link

Board Member

Ben Link serves as the Deputy Director of the Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI) and an Associate Research Scientist at the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering. In his role, Mr. Link leads ROSEI’s Impact initiatives, encompassing state and federal energy policy, technology commercialization, and strategic corporate partnerships. He is also a key member of the ROSEI leadership team, responsible for recruiting top-tier energy faculty to Johns Hopkins University. Prior to joining ROSEI, Ben held senior management positions in global health equity, including Executive Manager of the Johns Hopkins Alliance for a Healthier World and Director of Executive Affairs at Partners In Health. Appointed by the Moore-Miller Administration, Ben will serve a four-year term on the MCEC Board. He holds an MPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, an MSW from the University of Maryland, and a BA in Political Science from Connecticut College.

Jerry T. Sanford

Board Member

Jerry T. Sanford brings three decades of experience in public policy, corporate development, public-private partnerships, utilities & energy, financial services, and economic development to the MCEC Board. His extensive career includes senior roles at the Maryland Department of Commerce, the Alexandria (VA) Economic Development Partnership, Washington Gas/WGL, and the Montgomery County (MD) Economic Development Corporation. Currently, Mr. Sanford serves as Managing Director, Business and Economic Development Officer for Harbor Bankshares Corporation (HBC), a Federal Reserve-regulated bank holding company headquartered in Baltimore.

Dr. Salvo Vitale

Board Member

With a strong background of over 15 years of legal experience in the areas of corporate governance, business law and extraordinary transactions, Dr. Vitale has worked in the fields of international commercial law and renewable energy. Dr. Vitale is responsible for the organization of the company in terms of general strategy, commercial development, operational structure and financial results. In addition to the above, he oversees all contracts, business commitments, formal legal arrangements and agreements for the portfolio of projects in the US and Europe. Dr. Vitale joined the Toto Group in 2011 and previously practiced law in Rome, Italy at Bonelli Erede law firm. Salvo attended Guido Carli International University (LUISS) in Rome, Italy, where he earned his Master Degree in Law and PhD in Commercial Law.

Whitney Washington Boles

Board Member

Whitney Boles is managing director for customer products for Constellation. In this role she leads the customer products and portfolio integration teams that manage new and existing power and natural gas products.

Prior to her current role, Whitney was senior manager for offsite renewables. In that role she was responsible for helping commercial and industrial customers achieve their sustainability goals through Constellation’s offsite renewable solutions and the development of new offsite renewable products. Prior to that, she served as Chief of Staff to the CEO of Constellation and the President and CEO of Exelon Generation in which role she managed the operations of the Constellation Leadership Committee and drove the priorities of the executives, including responsibility for the annual Constellation business plan, among other initiatives. Whitney joined Constellation in 2014 as an in-house transactional attorney supporting Constellation’s wholesale energy business.

Prior to joining Constellation, Whitney practiced law at Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom, focusing on energy project development, financing and mergers and acquisitions.

Whitney received her Bachelor of Arts in Government from Harvard College and her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

Whitney resides in Baltimore County, MD with her husband and children.

Kelly Speakes-Backman

Ex Officio Board Member

Kelly Speakes-Backman is the Director of the Maryland Energy Administration under the Moore-Miller administration. A nationally recognized energy executive with over 25 years of experience in energy and environmental issues, her experience spans public, NGO and private sectors, including most recently building and managing a public affairs organization at Invenergy, an American-based multinational power generation development and operations company.

Prior to this, Kelly served as Acting Assistant Secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. She was the first CEO of the Energy Storage Association, where she led policy, external relations, and industry leadership efforts for the organization. She was also a commissioner of the Maryland Public Service Commission in the O’Malley-Brown administration, where, as an adjunct to the commission, she served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Co-Vice Chair of the NARUC (National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners) Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment, and member of the EPRI Energy Efficiency & Grid Modernization Public Advisory Group. Kelly has held leadership positions in the private sector at United Technologies, Wärtsilä, SunEdison, and The Alliance to Save Energy.

Dr. Eric D. Wachsman

Ex Officio Board Member

Dr. Eric D Wachsman, Director of the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute, is the William L. Crentz Centennial Chair in Energy Research and a Distinguished University Professor with appointments in both the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Maryland. He received his Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from Stanford University, and his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.

Dr. Wachsman is President of The Electrochemical Society (ECS) and Editor-in-Chief of Ionics. He is a Fellow of both ECS and the American Ceramic Society; elected member of the World Academy of Ceramics; the recipient of the 2017 Carl Wagner Award from ECS; the 2014 Sir William Grove Award from the International Association for Hydrogen Energy; the 2014 Pfeil Award from The Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining; the Outstanding Invention of 2013 award from the University of Maryland Office of Technology Licensing; the 2012 Fuel Cell Seminar & Exposition Award; and the 2012 HTM Outstanding Achievement Award from ECS.

His research is focused on solid ion-conducting materials and electrocatalysts, and includes the development of solid-state batteries, solid oxide fuel cells, ion-transport membrane reactors, and solid-state gas sensors, using advanced ion conducting materials. He has more than 270 publications and 35 patents/patent applications on ionic and electronic transport in materials, and their catalytic properties, and device performance, and to date three companies have been founded based on these technologies.