Dylan Connelly, President, Affordable Solar

Dylan is the Director of Commercial and Community Solar Development at Affordable Solar.

He is a professional engineer and joined Affordable Solar in 2018 after spending a decade designing cutting edge sustainable buildings.

Karen Paramanandam, Vice President, UNIRAC

Karen has worked in solar for over a decade. She was first introduced to the world of solar in New Mexico. She often says that she accidentally fell into solar as a career. She took a hands-on course designing and installing solar PV in Santa Fe and has been hooked ever since. 

Karen believes that anyone and everyone can do one small thing every day to a make difference in the world.

Glenn Felty, Secretary, SunState Solar, Inc.

Glenn is the Founder and CEO of SunState Solar, a local Albuquerque company serving the Albuquerque-Santa Fe metro.  A lifelong entrepreneur, Glenn saw a significant opportunity in the market in 2018 to launch and develop a locally focused solar sales and installation business. 

As he often says, there’s nothing better than making a living making a difference.  When he’s not busy building the company, Glenn enjoys all aspects of living in a state with such a great outdoor lifestyle including golf, tennis, hiking, biking and much more.

Chris Hilkert, Treasurer, Solar Works Energy

Chris Hilkert, a seasoned professional with a unique blend of experience in hospitality management and solar installations, serves as the Operations Manager at Solar Works Energy. Known for his jovial personality and relentless drive, Chris has been a part of the Solar Works Energy team since 2016.

As a holder of the esteemed NABCEP Installer Certification, Chris brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in solar installations to his role. He has also completed more SolarEdge training than any other individual in the United States, a testament to his commitment to continuous learning and staying at the forefront of the            industry.

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Andrew Stone, New Mexico People's Energy Cooperative

Andrew Stone is president of New Mexico People’s Energy Cooperative. He is a lifelong solar enthusiast and was instrumental in planning and running The First Annual Solar Fair at UNM in 1977. He built passive solar homes in the ’80’s and permitted the first PNM grid-tied PV system in 2005. In 2008, he received the first Tesla Model S in New Mexico. In 2016, he added one of the first grid-tied Tesla powerwall battery storage systems to make a residential nanogrid.

Andrew advocates for community ownership of solar resources as an active board member of the Renewable Energy Industry Association, and devotes his time to the Legislative, PRC and Community Solar Committees to bring good solar legislation & policy to New Mexico. He is a member of NREL’s National Community Solar Partnership and served on the board of The American Solar Energy Society.

He spent 27 years working Steve Jobs, NeXT Inc. and Apple Computer as a third party software developer, retiring early in 2015 to bring solar to the people of New Mexico.

Katherine Wyszkowski, Sunnova Energy

Katherine Wyszkowski is the Government Affairs Associate at Sunnova Energy International. Her advocacy work focuses on behind-the-meter solar and storage policy at federal, state, and local levels. She is also serving as a board member of the Arizona Solar Energy Industry Association. Katherine earned her Master of Science at the Colorado School of Mines in Natural Resources and Energy Policy.

Adam Harper, OE Solar

Adam Harper is the Founder/Principal of OE Solar. He is a profound PV expert and visionary through his advocacy to help inspire others from New Mexico and beyond. He lives by the idea that we must not only learn how to anticipate change, but we must also learn how to create it.

In 2020 Adam worked as a leader in making solar energy affordable to all by working with organization such as REIA, CCSA and SEIA to get the Community Solar Energy Act (SB-84) passed. Fourteen years into owning OE Solar, Adam and his partner, Galina Kofchock, (Co-owner) have grown the company to a multi-million-dollar energy development and EPC; servicing commercial, government, municipal and industrial clients, as well as Sovereign Nations.

Adam is NABCEP PVIP certified and holds the qualifying electrician license for the company with 25+MW of solar experience. He currently serves on the boards of NAIOP, Commerical Real Estate Development Association of NM, Central NM Home Builders Association, Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., and is an active industry partner of the CNM Trades Advisory committee. 

Corey Asbill, Organ Mountain Solar & Electric

Corey Asbill is the founder and CEO of Organ Mountain Solar & Electric in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He holds dual certifications from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) and has been actively involved in the solar industry since 2001. He began his career as an electrical engineer at NMSU’s Southwest Technology Development Institute and transitioned into a sales role with Positive Energy Solar back in 2013. When the opportunity arose to open his own business in 2018, he jumped at the chance and started Organ Mountain Solar & Electric.  

David Waters, Somos Solar 

David’s 20 years in the energy sector include Photovoltaics, Transmission/Distribution Construction & Design, Energy Efficiency Programs, Smart GRID/Cities, Supervisory Controls and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Steam Generation plants, including new technologies in Hydrogen production.  Before joining Somos David held positions with Public Service Company of New Mexico designing and implementing solar site designs and community solar programs, as the Head of Design Engineering in Distribution and Transmission Operations.  After PNM he served as the Regional Operations Director for Itron Inc. running programs across the Southern United States with major Utilities in Energy Efficiency, Smart GRID, PPA’s, and Smart Metering solutions to offset Distributed Energy Resources (DER) with earlier roles at National Laboratories supporting the Department of Energy as a Sr. Program Manager.  David holds a M.S. In Operational Management from Cornell University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Mexico including a PMP Certificate and OSHA 10, 30, 501, & 510 Accreditations. 

Randy Sadewic, Positive Energy Solar 

Randy Sadewic joined Positive Energy in 2004 as a co-owner with the Company after completing one year of study at San Juan College in Farmington.  He began to work with CCAE and Ben Luce to negotiate the first rooftop solar REC incentives at the PRC with PNM in 2005 and continued work off and on.  He joined the REIA board in 2021 and then was president for 2022 and 2023. He joined EMNRD working groups with grid modernization in Sept 2020 and then began work with Sky Standfield in 2021 with IREC to support the interconnect rules through completion. He continues to work to clarify the new interconnect rules with PNM and REIA.

Jeff Franchell, CED Greentech SW

Jeff is a life-time resident of New Mexico, a graduate from UNM with BBA, worked in the hospitality industry for his early life, then residential real estate for 10 years helping people buy and sell homes in the local area until a tiny bubble popped in 2008.  By 2010, he was enjoying a new Green-Initiative created job with a local whole-sale distribution/installation company until 2017.  Since, he has been working with Greentech Renewables here in Albuquerque in an outside sales role.  He is passionate about solar and sustainable living and enjoy the benefits of his own solar system wanting to be sure he’s doing his part so future solar converts have the opportunity.