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.

Dr. John C. Wall has more than 40 years of industry experience in internal combustion engine technology, fuels and emissions, and in global engineering organization development. He served as Chief Technical Officer of Cummins Inc., retiring in 2015. As he progressed from research and product engineering into engineering leadership, Wall remained directly involved in the most critical technology programs for low emissions, powertrain efficiency and alternative fuels and in energy and environmental policy. He also led the growth of Cummins’ technical organization from 1,000 engineers, mostly centered in the U.S., to more than 6,000 engineers globally, establishing new technical centers in India and China. Prior to joining Cummins in 1986, Wall led Diesel and Aviation Fuels Research for Chevron. His interests today are in low/zero-GHG transportation power technologies, especially commercial transportation and industrial applications, and related supporting infrastructure. He is an advisor to the Activate/Cyclotron Road clean energy incubator, the International Council on Clean Transportation, the UC-Davis Institute of Transportation Studies and ClearFlame Engine Technologies. He serves on the boards of Achates Power and Ad Astra Rocket Company. He has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and as a Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a recipient of the SAE Horning Memorial Award and Arch T. Colwell Merit Award for research in the area of diesel fuel effects on emissions, the ASME Soichiro Honda Medal for significant engineering contributions in the field of personal transportation, the California Air Resources Board Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Thomas W. Zosel Individual Achievement Award for career accomplishments in diesel emission control. Wall holds SB, SM, and ScD degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Roland Hwang is the director of the Climate and Clean Energy program at the Heising-Simons Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2021, Roland was the director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Climate & Clean Energy Program. He has also worked for seven years at the Union of Concerned Scientists directing their Transportation program. He is an expert on clean vehicle and fuels technologies and policies, energy demand forecasting, and air pollution regulation. Roland currently serves on the U.C. Davis Institute of Transportation Board of Advisors, the Pacific Gas & Electric Sustainability Advisory Board, and the 50×50 Transportation Initiative Commissioner. Previously he has served on numerous advisory panels and committees, most recently for the California Plug-in Electric Vehicle Collaborative, the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Fuel Economy, the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Barriers to Electric Vehicle Deployment and the U.S. EPA Mobile Source Technical Review Subcommittee. Roland was also part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Davis, and a master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley.

Dr. Jennifer Dill is a professor of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University, where she also directs the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) and the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), a U.S. Department of Transportation university transportation center. Dr. Dill’s research focuses on the relationships between transportation, land use, health, and the environment, with a focus on bicycling and walking. Dr. Dill also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Transit Center, a New York-based foundation. Prior to entering academia, Dr. Dill worked as an environmental and transportation planner in California.

James Corless is the executive director of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG). He has led the creation of a national model to accelerate infill development through the region’s innovative “Green Means Go” program, the development of a 1,000 mile regional trails vision to provide more active transportation options, helped the region secure over $1 billion in state funding for local transportation projects, and spearheaded the initiation of Civic Lab, the region’s first government solutions accelerator. Other milestones include the creation of a regional Youth Leadership Academy, the development of SACOG’s first ever racial equity framework and action plan and a new regional economic Prosperity Strategy in partnership with the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, Sacramento Metro Chamber, Valley Vision and the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce.