Annual Conference

Nic Abel is the Cofounder and CEO of Finev Inc, which develops an Electric Vehicle (EV) financing platform, specifically designed for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Previously he served as the Business Development & Partnerships for B2B Payments & Lending at Amazon.

Nija Ali serves as DC Water’s Director of Fleet Management, where she is responsible for setting the overall direction of DC Water’s enterprise-wide fleet management organization and strategy. Nija oversees and manages internal fleet operations, including life-cycle management, acquisitions, decommissions, maintenance and repair, and the Fleet Management Information System. Nija’s Fleet Forward action plan brings a transparent, collaborative approach to seeking resolutions by consistently engaging with internal and external stakeholders to ascertain business needs and process improvements.

Kathy Bergren is the Director of Federal Government Relations for Gevco, Inc, where she manages day to day operations to shape federal policy outcomes. Prior to joining Gevco in 2023, Bergren led biofuels advocacy for the National Corn Grower Association as Director of Public Policy for Renewable Fuels for six years, representing the nation’s corn farmers and NCGA affiliated state organizations. Bergren also has 13 years of experience in the US House of Representatives, including as Legislative Director/Policy Advisor for a senior member of the House Agriculture and House Finanancial Services Committee.

Dr. Glass’ credentials include serving more than 30 years as a research and engineering professional in academia and the consulting engineering industries. Throughout his distinguished career, he has held important positions as a teacher, researcher, and consulting professional in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Dr. Glass is a trainedProfessional Environmental Engineer, with a doctorate that focused on the microbiological processes involved in wastewater treatment engineering.

Julie Gurnee is a Climate Mitigation Specialist with Fairfax County’s Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination and has been working for Fairfax County since 2012. In her current role, Julie manages Fairfax County’s Electric Vehicle Readiness Strategy, supports the Charge-Up Fairfax Program, and works on the Green Business Partners Program. She was recently nominated to serve on the Loudoun County Environmental Commission as their Clean Transportation Subject Matter Expert. Throughout her career, Julie has focused on advancing sustainability and conservation initiatives across the Northern Virginia region.

Kristen Harbeson has been the political director at Maryland LCV since 2015, following five years as senior staff for Chairman Maggie McIntosh in the House Environmental Matters and Appropriations Committees. During that time, she has been a key lobbyist in many of the landmark environmental bills that have passed the Maryland General Assembly.  She also leads much of the accountability work at Maryland LCV, including the annual legislative scorecard. Kristen’s approach to advocacy is grounded in a spirit of partnership and collaboration between advocates, experts, and lawmakers. Kristen is a graduate of Hampshire College and the University of Delaware.  She is a 25 year resident of Baltimore City, where she spends time with her other interests: baking, reading, dancing, cats, and spreadsheets.

Jill Hamilton is Founder and President of Sustainable Energy Strategies, Inc. (SESI). She has more than 25 years of consulting experience in the alternative transportation fuels industry. Over the past 20 years, Jill and her team have raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the biofuels industry.

Edward Hubbard is RFA’s General Counsel, a role he has filled since July 2011. In addition to general counsel duties, he leads RFA’s efforts in advancing its tax and international trade public policy agenda. As part of his lobbying and government relations outreach, he works to promote a policy framework that encourages greater production and use of ethanol.

Prior to joining RFA, Edward served as Legislative Director and Counsel in the office of U.S. Representative Albert Wynn. He advised former Congressman Wynn, who was a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, on legislative activities and helped manage the office and its staff. He also oversaw the Congressman’s regional whip duties, Maryland Delegation leadership responsibilities, and Chair activities for the CBC Small Business Task Force, Hydrogen Caucus, and Wireless Caucus.

As Mayor, Emmett has built durable partnerships with leaders at the county, state, and federal levels. He currently serves on the boards of the National League of Cities, the Maryland Municipal League, and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, and he is a past president of the Prince George’s County Municipal Association. These roles give Greenbelt a voice in critical regional and national discussions—on housing, transportation, sustainability, and economic growth.

Dr. Kabir, has represented District 1 for the past 12 years. Prior to making College Park his home, he lived in England, where he received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, and in Canada. For his day job, he works as an information architect for the Federal Government. He has also taught Cybersecurity at the University of Maryland for eight years.

R. Earl Lewis, Jr became MDOT Maryland Transit Administration’s (MTA) first Director of Zero Emission Bus Infrastructure in March of 2023. He has been with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) for over 22 years. He is proud to be a member of the MTA Team of Transit Professionals that successfully moved the MTA’s 7 Battery Electric Buses (BEBs) into revenue service in late January 2024. This is the beginning of a large-scale transition by MTA toa primarily Zero Emission Transit Bus fleet over the coming years and decades. Earl was part of the MTA Team that recently was awarded the APTA 2025 Bus Emergency Management Gold Award for its’ Battery Electric Bus First Responder Training Program.

Deron Lovaas has worked on state and federal transportation policy for more than three decades. He’s Chief of Environment and Sustainable Transportation in the Secretary’s office at the Maryland Department of Transportation. His team’s portfolio includes climate mitigation and resilience, vehicle electrification, active transportation, and environmental compliance and innovation. He worked for more than 20 years at the Natural Resources Defense Council before joining MDOT, leading initiatives and projects focused on transportation, utility, housing, and clean vehicles policy. Before that he worked with other nonprofit advocacy groups including the Sierra Club, and he served briefly with the Maryland Department of the Environment. Deron graduated from the University of Virginia.

Bio coming soon

Bio coming soon.

Ingrid Scott Watson (formerly Harrison) was elected in the November 2022 General Election to her first term on the Prince George’s County Council and represents Councilmanic District 4. Council Member Watson’s longstanding history of community service in the county spans 27 years. In November 2018, she was elected to the Prince George’s County Democratic Central Committee, Legislative District 23B. In November 2019, she was elected to an At-Large seat on the Bowie City Council. In this capacity, she served as Council Liaison to the Public Safety and Diversity committees; the Bowie Racetrack Executive Board; and spearheaded development of the Youth Advisory Committee. Council Member Watson’s previous employment includes Government Affairs Manager, Children’s National Hospital; Outreach and Communications Manager, Employ Prince George’s; and Community Outreach Coordinator, Prince George’s County Council District 4 office.

Paul serves as Director of Public Affairs and Federal Communications for Clean Fuels Alliance America, leading communications efforts and media outreach on federal policy priorities. Since joining Clean Fuels Alliance America, Paul has helped members build robust relationships with members of Congress and provided effective tools to educate stakeholders about the effectiveness of federal policies and the benefits of biodiesel and renewable diesel.