Manfred Grunert is Vice President, Government Affairs and Communications Americas. In this role, Grunert is responsible for government affairs and corporate communications for product, technology, production plants and business in the U.S. and the entire Americas region.
A 19-year employee of the BMW Group, Grunert has a deep understanding of the company’s history, having spent time as an archivist in his first role and later as Head of the Archives and the Historical Collection at BMW Group Classic. Additional key positions have included Head of Communication for MINI, BMW Motorrad and Aftersales and Head of the Digital Communications Team at the BMW Group Media House. In 2018 he became Head of Communications and Government Affairs for India, Asia and the Pacific. He began his current role in February of 2023.
Neil Pedersen recently retired as Executive Director of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, a position that he served in from 2015 to 2022. In that role, he provided strategic direction and oversight for TRB’s technical activities, including its annual meeting, which attracts 14,000 attendees; its 177 standing technical committees; its conferences and workshops; its webinar program, its library services; and its bibliographic database with over 1.4 million entries. He also provided executive leadership for TRB’s multi-modal cooperative research programs and its advisory services to the federal government.
Prior to joining TRB, Mr. Pedersen served in leadership positions for the Maryland Department of Transportation for 29 years, the last eight years as State Highway Administrator and Governor’s Highway Safety Representative. While at Maryland DOT, he served in a number of volunteer leadership positions for both TRB and for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, including as Chair of the TRB Executive Committee in 2011.
Marlon Boarnet is Professor in the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California and Director of the METRANS Transportation Consortium. METRANS is the center for transportation research at USC, and a partnership of the Price School of Public Policy, the Viterbi School of Engineering, and California State University – Long Beach. METRANS spans over 15 academic departments and programs at USC, with links to over a dozen universities in the U.S. and abroad. Prior to directing METRANS, Boarnet was the founding chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis at USC (2016-2022) and he served as Vice Dean for Academic Affairs in USC’s Price School from 2014 through 2015. Boarnet was chair of the Department of Planning, Policy, and Design at UC-Irvine from 2003 through 2006. Boarnet served as president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, the scholarly association of university planning departments and faculty members in the United States and Canada, from 2019-2021. Boarnet’s research focuses on land use and transportation, links between land use and travel behavior and associated implications for public health and greenhouse gas emissions, urban growth patterns, and the economic impacts of transportation. He is a fellow of both the Weimer School of the Homer Hoyt Institute for Real Estate and the Regional Science Association International. Boarnet has advised California state agencies on greenhouse gas emission reduction in the transport sector, the World Bank on transportation access as a poverty reduction tool, and numerous other public and private entities. He has been principal investigator on over four million dollars of research supported by agencies that include the U.S. and California Departments of Transportation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Boarnet’s academic web page is: https://priceschool.usc.edu/people/marlon-boarnet/.
Margo T. Oge is the former Director of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) at the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a position that culminated a 32-year career with the EPA. During her 18-year tenure as Director of OTAQ, Margo Oge was the chief architect of the most important achievements in the history of air pollution control in the U.S. transportation sector. These included programs that reduced emissions from gasoline and diesel-fueled automobiles, trucks, buses, and off-road vehicles by up to 99 percent. She led the EPA’s development of the first-ever national greenhouse gas emission standards for cars and heavy-duty trucks, helped establish the Renewable Fuels Standard, and was instrumental in establishing the United Nations process onglobal harmonization of transportation emissions standards, worldwide.
She is the Chair of the board of the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)and the Chair of the external Advisory Council for the Deloitte Center for Sustainable Progress(DCSP). She also serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the board of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), Distinguished Fellow with ClimateWorks Foundation, member of the advisory board of UCDAVIS Institute of Transportation and member of the advisory board of Climate Imperative Foundation. She has served as a member of the Volkswagen Group’s International Sustainability Council, a director of the National Academy of Science on Energy and Environment board and member of advisory committee of the US Global Change Research Program. She is the author of “Driving the Future: Combating Climate Change with Clean Cars” and is a contributor to Forbes. She has been a contributor tothe New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC, PBS, NPR, The Hill, Forbes, Fortune, Time and Huffington Post.
Jordan Choby is Group Vice President, powertrain for Toyota Motor North America, Research and Development. In this role, Choby is responsible for the development and integration of a wide range of powertrain technology into Toyota’s North America’s vehicle lineup, including engines, transmissions, and electrified powertrains including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, Battery-EV and Fuel Cell-EVs . His team’s focus is delivering products that meet the needs of the North American customer spanning from driving enjoyment to carbon reduction. Also, as Toyota moves into a New Mobility future, this team is also actively developing propulsion systems for commercial vehicles and energy ecosystem products. Choby has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Grove City College and a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University.
Michael Pimentel is the Executive Director of the California Transit Association, a nonprofit trade organization representing California’s transit industry, including more than 85 public transit and rail agencies statewide. In this role, Michael oversees the Association’s advocacy and member education programs, with special focus on transportation funding, climate change, and air quality initiatives. Before being selected as Executive Director, Michael was the Association’s Deputy Executive Director and Legislative and Regulatory Advocate.
Prior to joining the Association, Michael held various appointed positions in the administration of Governor Jerry Brown, serving most recently as Senior Legislative Analyst at the California High-Speed Rail Authority. In this role, Michael developed and managed the Authority’s legislative program, advised its CEO on legislative and budgetary issues and developments, and served as the Authority’s primary liaison to the State Legislature, the California State Transportation Agency, and the Office of the Governor. Previously, Michael served as a Legislative Assistant in Governor Brown’s office.
Michael received a Master of Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. In 2023, Michael was recognized for his advocacy on behalf of California’s transit industry in leading industry publications, including Capitol Weekly’s Top 100 and Mass Transit Magazine’s 40 under 40. Michael currently serves on the California Energy Commission’s Advisory Committee for the Clean Transportation Investment Plan and on the Advisory Boards for the multicampus University of California’s Institutes of Transportation Studies as well as for the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies and the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies. He was a fellow with the New Leaders Council in 2015 and served on the NLC Sacramento Chapter’s Advisory Board from 2019 to 2021. He was a fellow for the California Association of Councils of Governments’ California Academy for Regional Leaders in 2019.
Sean Waters is the Vice President of Product Compliance and Regulatory Affairs for Daimler Trucks North America (“DTNA”) and Detroit Diesel Corporation (“DDC”). His responsibilities include supporting the development of smart emission and transportation policies by directly encouraging research into numerous areas affecting heavy-duty commercial products. He has also worked with regulatory agency leadership on standard-setting initiatives, most recently on heavy-duty engine and vehicle greenhouse gas standards. In addition, Mr. Waters has extensive knowledge of other heavy-duty regulations such as for criteria emissions, onboard diagnostics, fuel quality, and safety. He serves on the Board and Executive Committee of the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (“EMA”) where he provides advice, counsel, and recommendations on the scientific and technical aspects of programs related to commercial truck emissions control strategies and safety technologies.
Chris Birdsall is the Manager of Exxon Mobil’s Economics and Energy Division. In this role, he leads a team of economists, modelers, and researchers that explore economic and energy topics for ExxonMobil.
Mr. Birdsall has a degree in Chemical Engineering with highest honors from the University of Florida. He joined ExxonMobil as an engineer in 1996, and has progressed through a number of manufacturing, technology, and commercial roles over the last 25+ years. He has held management positions in ExxonMobil’s Polymers, Basic Chemicals, Lubricant Basestocks, and Technology Licensing businesses.
Outside of work, Mr. Birdsall serves on the advisory board for the chemical engineering department at the University of Florida. He is also a proud supporter of the United Way and Desire Street Ministries for their work serving communities in need.
Mr. Birdsall has been married to his wife, Julianne, for over 25 years, and together they have two children.
In April 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Patty Monahan to be one of the five commissioners on the California Energy Commission. She serves in the Energy Commission’s Science/Engineering position and is the lead commissioner on transportation, industrial decarbonization, hydrogen, and ports, and she is second for the Disadvantaged Communities Advisory Group. She has dedicated her career toward advancing clean energy technologies and cutting harmful pollution, with a strong focus on equity and transportation.
Before joining the Energy Commission, she served as the transportation program director at the Energy Foundation, where she guided campaigns across the United States that advanced electric transportation, more efficient vehicles, and cleaner transportation fuels. She worked for the Union of Concerned Scientists in several roles, including Director of the California office and Deputy Director of Clean Vehicles. She also worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and several energy-related consulting firms.
Commissioner Monahan received the 2019 Advocate Award from Plug-In America, the 2019 Public Sector Leadership award from Forth Mobility, and the 2022 California Clean Air Award from the Coalition for Clean Air.
Commissioner Monahan received a Bachelor of Science degree from UC Berkeley and holds a Master’s degree in the Environment and Resources Program with a certificate in Energy Analysis and Policy from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
John Boesel is the President and CEO of CALSTART, the leading clean transportation industry organization in the United States. Over the past 29 years John has become a leading expert with extensive experience in building the clean transportation industry.
CALSTART has more than 300 member companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. In the past three years the organization has doubled in size and now has more than 140 employees and offices in five states.
Since John became President and CEO in 2001, CALSTART’s impact has increased significantly and grown into a national organization that is now playing a global leadership role. CALSTART has organized and mobilized industry support for policies that advance strong vehicle efficiency and emission standards in California and nationally. In 2022, CALSTART will manage incentive programs for the State of California and distribute approximately $750 million in funds. In 2021, CALSTART announced a Global Memorandum of Understanding whereby 15 nations commited to strong zero emission commercial vehicle targets.
Boesel initiated and leads the CALSTART Investor Council (CIC). The council includes representatives from venture capital firms, a pension fund, and a leading corporate strategic venture group. Boesel communicates frequently the CIC members to help secure funding CALSTART member companies and identify future trends and strategies that will increase private investment in the industry.
Earlier in his career John worked in the State legislature as a legislative aide for California Assemblyman Sam Farr. In that capacity, John was Farr’s point person on legislation that was signed into law that made the oil companies strictly liable for all damages associated with oil spills. In 1987 John taught English to graduate students in Yunnan Province in the People’s Republic of China. From 1989-91 John worked as a commercial loan officer for Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco. In 1991 John worked with a broad and diverse coalition that was successful in getting federal legislation passed that placed fisheries and the environment as higher priorities for the management of the extensive network of federally owned and managed dams and canals in California.
John is a member of the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies Board of Advisors and was recently appointed to be a member of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Mobile Source Technical Review Subcommitee. From 2014-2018 John was a member of the Advisory Board of the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center at Stanford University.
John received his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of California, Davis. In 1989, he earned his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) at the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley.