Board of Directors

Vice Chair | Louis Petrik, CEO Longhorn Solar
Louis holds a B.A. in Marketing from Southwest Texas State University and considers himself an accidental environmentalist. Before adding solar to the business offerings, he knew nothing about the environment or climate change. He now proudly wears the “Tree Hugger” badge. Louis has been an entrepreneur for 26 years and has run Longhorn Solar for 13 years. He is NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) certified in PV Technical Sales and PV Installation Profession.

Treasurer | Dub Taylor, WDT Consulting LLC
For more than 25 years, Dub Taylor has helped advance cost-effective, clean energy technology and policy through his work in the public sector. For twenty years, Dub was Director of the Texas State Energy Conservation Office (SECO). Before SECO, he was with the Texas Railroad Commission’s Alternative Fuels Research and Education Division. At the federal level, Dub served on and twice chaired the U.S. Department of Energy’s State Energy Advisory Board (STEAB). Originally appointed Chair by President George W. Bush’s Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, he was again appointed to this role by former Energy Secretary and Texas Governor Rick Perry. Dub currently serves on the boards of PACENation, the National Association of State Energy Officials Institute, Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation and the Austin ISD Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee. He is a member of the Austin-San Antonio Chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers, the Texas Chapter of the Energy Services Coalition, and the Texas Solar Energy Society.

Ramsey Cripe is a Senior Consultant at Schneider Engineering, with extensive experience working with municipally-owned utilities and electric cooperatives throughout Texas. He provides his clients with expertise relating to the ERCOT market, rate design, and policy development and implementation. This work includes supporting renewable energy goals and directives, from managing the incorporation of wind and solar assets into wholesale portfolios to the design and deployment of two rate tariff programs dedicated to local nonprofits and low-income customers, which are supported by energy from community solar projects. These programs have been recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy for developing new and innovative ways to increase solar access and presentations to the Texas Public Power Association and Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute. Ramsey holds a BA in Political Science from Purdue University and a Master in Public Service and Administration from the Bush School at Texas A&M University.

Cris Eugster is the CEO and co-founder of Evergreen, a high-integrity climate platform that brings new sources of capital from companies of all sizes to the energy transition. Prior to Evergreen, Cris held a number of senior executive positions in the power sector. He was the COO for CPS Energy, one of the largest public power companies in the US, where he led the utility’s transformation to clean energy resources including achieving Vision 2020 goals of 1500 MW of renewables and 771MW of energy efficiency and demand response — as well as shutting down two coals plants 15 years ahead of schedule. Cris was the first Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Houston, reporting directly to Mayor Bill White. Prior to that, Cris was a Partner at McKinsey focused on technology and energy practices. Cris holds a Ph.D from MIT in electrical engineering where he studied and published extensively in the area of quantum transport in nanostructures. Cris has also served on a number of boards and task forces including Chairman of SEPA, member of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Puerto Rico (appointed by Governor of Puerto Rico), DOE State Energy Advisory Board, and others. 

Amy Heart is Vice President of Public Policy with Sunrun. Sunrun has been offering home solar and storage solutions in Texas since 2017, serving Houston, DFW, Austin and San Antonio communities. Amy helps to lead Sunrun’s policy team, deploying policy solutions to expand home solar, storage, and electrification solutions. Amy works across the country to develop strategic partnerships and localized solutions to increase access to rooftop solar and storage, including low-income solar initiatives and NAACP Solar Equity Initiative. Prior to joining Sunrun in 2014, Amy worked with the City of Milwaukee developing municipality-led solar programs, solar permitting, and workforce opportunities. Through her previous work at the Midwest Renewable Energy Association, Amy worked to develop and expand nationally-accredited training programs and educational opportunities through the Midwest. Amy Heart is a graduate of Marquette University Law School and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

John Pouland is currently a consultant based in Austin. He previously served as Vice President for Government Affairs and Solutions at Philips where he worked with a team across federal, state and local governments on public policy issues and procurement opportunities. Prior to joining Philips, John held a similar position at Siemens where he helped start their public sector business development program. He served as Regional Administrator of the Southwest for the US GSA during the Clinton administration and was Executive Director of the Texas General Services Commission under then Governor Ann Richards. John began his career as an attorney in private practice in Dallas. He received his J.D. from the University of Houston, and his B.A. from the University of Texas. 

Alison Silverstein is an independent consultant, strategist, researcher and writer on electric transmission and reliability, energy efficiency and technology adoption issues. She has worked for decades to advance the use of clean energy and advanced grid technologies as part of a reliable, resilient, affordable energy system. Her work on major federal electricity efforts includes the U.S. Department of Energy’s Staff Report on Electric Markets and
Reliability, three national transmission congestion studies, the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative framework, and the industry-wide advancement of synchrophasor technology. Silverstein’s recent work focuses on ERCOT market design and power system reliability and the value of demand-side solutions to balance supply-side measures in ERCOT. Silverstein worked as a senior advisor to Chairman Pat Wood, III, at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 2001 through 2004. She has also worked at the Public Utility Commission of Texas and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. She lives in Austin, TX.

John Hall. As President and CEO of HARC (Houston Advanced Research Center), John leads a respected and reputable organization engaged in research and policy analysis to forge effective and sustainable solutions to Texas’ huge climate resilience and climate justice challenges. For more than three decades, John has been a renowned thought leader and practitioner advocating for air quality, the environment, communities and climate. Before coming to HARC, he chaired the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC), the predecessor agency to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Under his leadership, he merged environmental programs from several state agencies to form the TNRCC, create a framework to manage the Edwards Aquifer that was subsequently enacted into state statute; established Texas’ first Task Force to identify and assess environmental justice issues; and develop and implement a set of pollution prevention initiatives that catalyzed major reductions in air toxics and hazardous waste in the state.