MassCEC Board of Directors

Secretary Rebecca Tepper

Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs

Secretary Rebecca Tepper oversees the Commonwealth's six environmental, natural resource and energy regulatory agencies.

In 2015, Rebecca Tepper joined the Office of Attorney General Maura Healey, first serving as Deputy Chief of EEB and Chief of AG Healey’s Energy and Telecommunications Division before being appointed Chief of the Energy and Environment Bureau. During her time at the AG’s office, she advised on energy policy and served as the state’s ratepayer advocate before regulators and courts. Prior to joining the AG’s Office, Tepper was General Counsel to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU), serving as the chief legal advisor and overseeing all DPU adjudicatory and rulemaking proceedings. Tepper also served as Director of the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board and represented the state on the Eastern Interconnection States’ Planning Council. Before working for the Commonwealth, Tepper was a partner at Rubin and Rudman in Boston, representing developers throughout the Northeast in siting, permitting, financing and contracting of renewable, distributed generation and conventional energy facilities. A graduate of Boston University School of Law and the University of Wisconsin, Tepper resides in Lexington with her husband and twin sons.

Dr. Yanlai Chen

Chief Research Officer at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

As Chief Research Officer at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dr. Chen leads cutting-edge work in numerical analysis, machine learning, and computational modeling. His career spans NSF-funded programs that open STEM doors for undergraduates, six doctoral dissertations supervised, and research that turns advanced algorithms into real-world climate solutions.

Dr. Chen received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2002, followed by a Master of Science in Computer Science and Engineering from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the School of Mathematics at the University of Minnesota in 2007. He then completed postdoctoral research training at Brown University before joining the Department of Mathematics at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in August 2010. Dr. Chen currently serves as a full professor and assumed the role of Chief Research Officer (CRO) at UMass Dartmouth in July 2024, where he oversees and fosters the university’s research enterprise.

President John B. Cook

Springfield Technical Community College

The sixth president of Springfield Technical Community College (STCC), Dr. John B. Cook was appointed in 2016.  As Chief Executive Officer, he manages an annual operating budget of $50 million, stewards a campus with one million square feet of infrastructure, oversees the efforts of 800 employees, and champions transformative experiences for the approximately 9,000 students enrolled in degree, certificate, and workforce training programs each year.

Dr. Cook holds a B.S. from St. Lawrence University in Psychology and Anthropology, a Master's degree in Community/Social Psychology from UMass Lowell, and a Ph.D. in Education (Curriculum/Instruction) from the University of New Hampshire. Active in the community, Dr. Cook serves on numerous boards including the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.

President Aisha Francis

Franklin Cummings Tech

Dr. Aisha Francis was named as Franklin Cummings Tech's (FC Tech) 13th President in 2021, making her the first female president in the college’s more than 100 year history after most recently serving as FC Tech’s Chief Executive Officer. During her time as CEO, FC Tech successfully navigated the transition to hybrid education, and led a seasoned staff firmly committed to the continued evolution of technical education in identifying and investing in new academic programs to provide additional training opportunities in high-demand fields. In her role as President, Dr. Francis will continue to focus on the development of a state-of-the art new campus in Boston’s Nubian Square, creating a visual presence for the College as an important asset in a vibrant community. Dr. Francis graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Fisk University and earned her Ph.D in English Literature from Vanderbilt University. Dr. Francis is civically active as a Trustee of WBUR, a member of the Boston Employment Commission, a member of the Advisory Board for the William Monroe Trotter Institute for the Study of Black Culture and a Judge for the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation’s Profile in Courage Essay Contest.

Tom Galvin

Director, RESHydro

A 35-year environmental and energy industry veteran, Thomas Galvin serves as a corporate director for two Scotland-based energy technology companies, ResHydro (a hydrokinetic technology company) and Marine Fuel Conversions (a combustion system technology company focused on the use of biogas and biofuels for vessels operating in the Baltic Sea, The Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean). Mr. Galvin co-founded Boston-based energy management provider SourceOne. SourceOne’s market leading position and high-margin recurring revenue streams enabled the company to successfully capitalize its substantial growth ultimately leading to Veolia Energy acquiring SourceOne. Mr. Galvin’s entry into the deregulated electricity market began as the director of retail services in the eastern U.S. for PacifiCorp Power Marketing, an investor-owned utility based in Portland, Ore. Mr. Galvin directed competitive market initiatives focused at de-regulating electric commodity opportunities in Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts. Mr. Galvin’s co-founded an environmental consulting practice, Hygienetics. Hygienetics grew from a startup to a commercial success employing 300 professionals and operating seven offices in the U.S. and one in Germany. In the Hygienetics’s first year of eligibility, INC named it a Top 500 business. Mr. Galvin spent the early years of his career as a public servant. He served for seven years as the director of environmental management and energy planning at the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport). At Massport, Mr. Galvin was responsible for environmental compliance of capital development and operational initiatives. He managed all federal, state and municipal environmental agency relationships, communication and project permitting processes. At the time, Massport-wide environmental licensing and permitting comprised over $5 billion in capital development projects. Mr. Galvin also served as an environmental planner at the executive office of environmental affairs, administering area wide water planning studies mandated by the Clean Water Act. Galvin earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from St. Anselm College and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Massachusetts – Lowell.

Secretary Matthew Gorzkowicz

Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance

Matthew Gorzkowicz is the Secretary of the Executive Office for Administration and Finance. He has more than 25 years' experience in state finance and budgeting in the Commonwealth.

He has served as the Associate Vice President for Administration and Finance at the University of Massachusetts President's Office for more than a decade, where he has had a direct role in setting the University’s long-range administrative and financial goals and managed the development of an annual operating budget of $3.8 billion.

Prior to UMass, Secretary Gorzkowicz worked in the Massachusetts Senate, the Department of Mental Health, the School Building Authority, and the Executive Office for Administration and Finance under Governor Deval Patrick, where he served as Assistant Secretary for Budget and then Undersecretary.

He is a graduate of Northeastern University and lives in Winthrop, MA with his wife and two children.

Sven Karlsson

Previvor Edge, Co-Founder and COO

Sven Karlsson, CFA, MBA is a serial entrepreneur with a background in M&A, venture capital, and company building. He began his career in mergers & acquisitions at JPMorgan before moving to Boston in 2012. From 2013 to 2016, he served as a Senior Manager on the Investments team at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC).

He then transitioned into healthcare by co-founding Stellular Bio, a Harvard spinout biotech company, where he led finance, business development, and operations for a 50+ person team until early 2021. Since 2021, he has held fractional leadership roles as CFO, COO, and CEO across multiple startups, including Osmo Labs, where he helped scale the team from under 10 to over 50 employees. He is currently the co-founder and COO of Previvor Edge, a healthcare startup focused on expanding access to cancer risk reduction and early detection services.

Secretary Lauren Jones

Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development

Secretary Lauren E. Jones has more than 17 years of experience working in local and state government, non-profits, and the private sector, with a particular focus on workforce development. As Executive Vice President of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, Jones led the organization’s workforce development policy and strategy. She previously led the Massachusetts market for the nonprofit Apprenti, where she worked with companies to cultivate and diversify tech talent through registered apprenticeships. She also created and led the Business Strategy Unit for Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s Office of Economic Development, supporting business attraction and employer engagement in the city of Boston. Prior to that, she held several roles in the Patrick-Murray Administration, including Communications Director for the Executive Office of Labor & Workforce Development, Policy & Communications Director for former Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray, and Senior Program Manager of the Economic Development Incentive Program in the Office of Business Development.

As Executive Vice President of the Roundtable, Jones was the Co-Chair of the Workforce Solutions Group and served on the Board for the Massachusetts Workforce Association, the Executive Committee for the Alliance for Vocational Technical Education, the Board of Advisors for the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, the Boston Private Industry Council, and previously served on the Future of Work Commission. She is also on the Board of Trustees for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s New England Chapter and the Board of Directors for Girls on The Run Greater Boston. She holds a Master's in Public Administration from Northeastern University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Providence College. She lives in Boston.

Commissioner Elizabeth Mahony

Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources

Elizabeth Mahony most recently worked for Attorneys General Andrea Joy Campbell and Maura Healey as an Assistant Attorney General and Senior Policy Advisor for Energy. Elizabeth served in the Energy and Telecommunications Division, focusing on utility clean energy procurements, solar program development, clean energy rate design, consumer protections, and legislative engagement. Before joining the Attorney General’s Office, Elizabeth was Acting General Counsel for the Department of Energy Resources and Committee Counsel to Benjamin Downing, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy before that. Prior to her work in the energy field, Elizabeth was an associate at a small litigation firm in Quincy, Massachusetts, and was Public Affairs Director for the late Senator Susan C. Fargo (D-Lincoln). She is the Chair of the Consumer Liaison Group at ISO New England and is a member of the Boston Bar Association’s Energy Committee. Elizabeth is a graduate of Marist College and Suffolk University Law School. She lives in Walpole.

President Marty Meehan

The University of Massachusetts

Marty Meehan, the 27th president of the University of Massachusetts, is the first undergraduate alumnus to lead the system. He was named to the presidency after eight successful years as chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where he propelled that institution forward by every important measure of higher education. During his tenure, UMass Lowell achieved record growth in enrollment, student retention and funding for research and scholarships. The campus underwent a stunning physical transformation with new academic buildings and residence halls, upgraded academic and research facilities, and enhanced student activity spaces. Meehan represented the 5th Congressional District of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2007, where he served on the House Armed Services and Judiciary committees. Widely respected as a reformer, he established a national reputation for his legislative leadership in transforming campaign finance laws and protecting the public from the health risks of tobacco use. Previously, he served as Massachusetts deputy secretary of state for securities and corporations and he was the first assistant district attorney of Middlesex County.

Meehan graduated cum laude from UMass Lowell in 1978 with a degree in education and political science. He earned a master’s degree in public administration from Suffolk University in 1981 and a juris doctor from Suffolk University Law School in 1986. He holds honorary degrees from Suffolk University, Green Mountain College in Vermont and Shenkar College of Engineering & Design in Israel.

Secretary Eric Paley

Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED)

Eric Paley is the Secretary of the Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED). He has worked to shape the innovation economy for more than 25 years as both a successful entrepreneur and a leading venture capitalist. As co-founder and Managing Partner of Founder Collective, Paley helped build one of the world’s highest-performing seed-stage venture capital funds, with an investment portfolio that included groundbreaking technology companies across diverse sectors such as transportation, media, healthcare, consumer, advanced manufacturing and enterprise software, including Uber, The Trade Desk, Omada Health, Cruise Automation, Whoop, Formlabs and Airtable. Before Founder Collective, Paley founded and led Brontes Technologies, a hard-tech startup that commercialized novel 3D imaging technology from MIT to enable advanced manufacturing in dentistry. Paley continued to lead the company after its acquisition by 3M in 2006. Paley holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College. He lives in Cambridge with his wife and two children.

Lisa Theriault

Manager of Business Development at IBEW Local 103 / National Electrical Contractors Association

Lisa Theriault has been in the electrical industry for over 20 years. She joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW Local 103) and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) as the Business Development Manager 8 years ago. Lisa has mainly concentrated on clean energy, renewables, and legislative issues in the electrical industry and has been responsible for forming partnerships with industry professionals while growing market share. Lisa has served on the Board of State Examiners of Electricians and the Massachusetts Net Metering and Solar Task Force. She has a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Suffolk University and lives in Franklin with her husband.

Grace Wang, PhD

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Elected by the WPI Board of Trustees, Grace Wang, PhD, became WPI’s 17th president on April 3, 2023. She is also a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.

Working closely with faculty, staff, students, trustees, alumni, and other partners, Wang leads WPI with a strong focus on enabling transformative, distinctive STEM education that prepares students for a rapidly changing world; fostering a highly immersive campus experience centered on well-being, belonging, and community; and growing high-impact research, innovation, and entrepreneurship that address complex societal challenges.

In 2022, Wang was appointed by the White House to serve on the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee. She is a council member of the Government-University-Industry-Philanthropy Research Roundtable at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She is a member of the Board of Governors for the New York Academy of Sciences. She also serves on the Board of Massachusetts High Technology Council and FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). Wang was named a National Academy of Inventors fellow in 2024.

Grace received her PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University, and has worked at IBM, NSF, SUNY and most recently The Ohio State University as executive vice president for research, innovation and knowledge, and as a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.