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Speakers at

RECESS

Speakers at RECESS26 aren't just clean energy experts. They're builders, educators, community leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers, and advocates shaping a regenerative future that includes everyone. They bring bold ideas, lived experience, and a shared belief that the clean energy transition should work for people and communities. 

 

RECESS speakers don't talk at you; they talk with you. Our stage is designed to spark conversation and open doors. You'll hear from people building clean energy businesses in their communities, researchers turning data into action, and leaders who are reimagining what's possible when everyone is invited.

Inviting with Intention

Black, Indigenous, Brown, and other historically underrepresented voices.

The clean energy future only succeeds if all are welcome to shape the conversation. We intentionally elevate Black, Indigenous, Brown, and other historically underrepresented speakers leading a regenerative economy powered by people. 

Our voices represent the full energy ecosystem: students and seasoned executives, policymakers and environmental justice advocates, entrepreneurs just getting started, and those who've been doing this work for decades.

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Interested in Speaking?

Have something to share? We want to hear it.

RECESS is built by the community it serves. If you're working on something that moves clean energy forward, a research breakthrough, a workforce model, a community-driven project, or a story that needs to be told, we'd love to hear from you.

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2026 Speakers

Andre Perry

Senior Fellow - Brookings Institute

Brandie Ekren

Executive Director - Traverse City Light & Power

Chandra Farley

Chief Sustainability Officer - City of Atlanta

Colette D. Honorable

Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary - Exelon Corporation

Dannis Mitchell

Sr. Director of Operations Engagement - Barton Malow

Don Graves

Former Deputy Secretary - U.S. Department of Commerce

Dr. James Hildreth

President and CEO

Dr. Lonnie SuperSoaker Johnson

Founder and Chairman - Johnson Energy Storage, Inc.

Dr. Roland Mitchell

Interim Dean and E.B. Ted Robert Endowed Professor - Louisiana State University

Evette Hollins

Vice President, Customer & Community Engagement - DTE Energy

Gabrielle Pierre

Director of Strategy and Partnerships - University of Georgia, Founder and Editor in Chief - Georgia Network for Electric Mobility (GNEM)

Gilbert Campbell

Founder and CEO - Volt Energy

Gwen Mizell

Senior Vice President - Chief Sustainability Officer, Ameren Services

Hiram E. Jackson

CEO, Real Times Media & Publisher, Michigan Chronicle

Johnnie Turnage

Co-Founder - Black Tech Saturdays

Lorraine Cochran-Johnson

County Chief Executive Officer/Commissioner-Elect - Dekalb County, GA

Mayor Andre Dickens

City of Atlanta

Mayor Cherelle Parker

City of Philadelphia

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava

City of Miami Dade, FL

Mayor Regina Romero

City of Tucson, AZ

Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard

City of Mount Vernon, NY

Mayor Sheldon Neeley

City of Flint, Michigan

Mori Taheripour

Author, Educator, Speaker, Advisor

Nicole Gailliard

NRM Investments, LLC

President Dr. Quinton Ross

President - Meharry Medical College

President Dwayne Tucker

Tennessee State University

Ron Butler

CEO - ESSPI

Shaka Senhgor

President - Meharry Medical College - Shaka Senghor, Inc.

Shalanda Baker

Vice Provost for Sustainability & Climate Action - University of Michigan

Stacey Abrams

Former Georgia House Minority Leader

Tonya L. Berry

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer - CMS Energy Corporation and Consumers Energy Company

Warren Evans

County Executive - Wayne County, MI

Wendy Lewis Jackson

Managing Director - The Kresge Foundation

Previous Speakers

Ademola Fagade

Co-Founder - Synerfox AI

Ali Dirul

Founder & CEO - Ryter Cooperative Industries

Alicia Douglas

Founder and CEO - WaterRising Institute

Amanda Lawrence

Mobility Hub Director - Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Opportunity

Andi Crawford

Chief Revenue Officer - Next Street

Anika Goss

Chief Executive Officer - Detroit Future City

Anne Pentiak

State Administrative Manager - Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity

Ben Dueweke

Director - Michigan Climate Investment Hub

Brandie Ekren

Executive Director - Traverse City Light & Power

Brandy Brown, Ph.D.

Founder - Sadberry Singer

Brett Isaac

CEO, Navajo Power & Founder, Navajo Power Home

Brynn C. Cooksey, Sr., CEM, CMS

Owner and General Manager - Air Doctors Heating & Cooling Co., LLC

Carla Walker-Miller

Founder and CEO - Walker-Miller Energy Services

Catalina Lamadrid, PMP

President & Founder - INOVA Energy Group

Charlotte Gossett Navarro

Puerto Rico Chief Director - Hispanic Federation

Clarinda Barnett-Harrison

Director of Talent Development and Programming - Michigan Central

Colette D. Honorable

Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary - Exelon Corporation

Cortnie Squirewell

Innovation Team Director - Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University

Darren Riley

Co-Founder & CEO - Just Air Solutions

David Averbeck

Energy Advisor - Walker-Miller Energy Services

David Pitawanakwat

Indigenous Justice Coordinator - Legal Assistance of Windsor

Deeana Ijaz, Ph.D.

Chief Strategy Officer - Our Next Energy (ONE)

Derric Scott

Founder and CEO - J29:7 Planning & Development Corporation

Derrick Meeking

Director of Workforce Development - Walker-Miller Energy Services

Diana Fuller

CEJA Division Manager - Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

Dion Williams

Group Director of Community Relations - Detroit Medical Center

Don Graves

Former Deputy Secretary - U.S. Department of Commerce

Donna Givens Davidson

President & CEO - Eastside Community Network

Dr. Crystal Miller

Head of Policy and Government Relations - Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy, University of Arizona

Dr. Donna L. Bell

Chief Product Officer - Dunamis Charge

Dr. Michael Dorsey

Director & Chair - Rob & Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Service

Dr. Quintin T. Ross, Jr.

President - Alabama State University

Dug Song

CEO, Song United & Co-Founder, Song Foundation

Ericka A. White

State Director - Illinois SBDC Network - Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

Erin Reddick

Founder - ChatBlackGPT

Gilbert Campbell

Founder and CEO - Volt Energy

Glenda Thomas

CEO & President - Electra Grid Solutions, LLC

Gwen Mizell

Senior Vice President - Chief Sustainability Officer, Ameren Services

Hiram E. Jackson

CEO, Real Times Media & Publisher, Michigan Chronicle

Jackie Bliss

President of Services - Franklin Energy

Jerrell Wylie

Energy Analyst - City of Ann Arbor, Michigan

Jessica Williams

Chief Operating Officer - Green Home Experts (GHE)

Johnnie Turnage

Co-Founder - Black Tech Saturdays

Jonathan Jenkins

Owner, General Manager - Target Air HVAC

Justine Johnson

Chief Mobility Officer - Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, State of Michigan

Keith Henderson

Manager of Technical Operations – Workforce Development, PECO - President, AABE Delaware Chapter

Kelly Veney Darnell

Chief Operating Officer, ACP and President, Clean Power Institute

Kianna Scott

CEO - SmarterHelp, Inc.

Kristol Simms

Vice President, Clean Energy Transition, Economic, Community and Business Development - Ameren Illinois Company

Laura Chavez

Managing Director - Per Scholas

Liliana Gonzalez, RA, LEED ND, PMP

Development Manager - Cinnaire

Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist

State of Michigan

Madeline Walker Miller

CEO - NexTiles, LLC

Manann Donoghoe

Senior Research Associate - Brookings

Maria Lewis

Director of Community Impact and Allied Networks - Building Performance Association

Mario Swaiden

Founder - Drone Capital

Marva Goodson, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice - Arizona State University

Mayor Mike Duggan

City of Detroit, Michigan

Mayor Sheldon Neeley

City of Flint, Michigan

Meishka L. Mitchell, AICP, PP

President & CEO - Emerald Cities Collaborative

Melia Howard

Deputy Mayor - Office of Michael E. Duggan, Mayor of Detroit

Mori Taheripour

Author, Educator, Speaker, Advisor

Morice Norris

NFL Athlete, Philanthropist, and Community Leader

Natalie King

Founder & CEO - Dunamis Clean Energy Partners, LLC

Nishaat Killeen

Director of Programs - Michigan Saves

Paul Douglas

CEO & Founder - The JPI Group
& CEO & Founder - CareerEquity

Paula Glover

President - The Alliance to Save Energy

Quinn Parker

Founder & CEO - Encolor

Regina Strong

Environmental Justice Public Advocate - Michigan's Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy (EGLE)

Rob Lockett

Executive Director - LISC

Robert Blake

Founder and CEO - Solar Bear

Roderick A. Hardamon

CEO & Chief Strategist - URGE

Rodney Cole

President, DTE Foundation and DTE Corporate Citizenship

Ron Butler

CEO - ESSPI

SaLisa Berrien

Founder and CEO - COI Energy

Sally Talberg

CEO - Michigan Saves

Sauda Ahmad-Green

Real Estate Developer -
S&S Development Group, LLC

Scott Alan Davis

Vice President of Inclusion and Economic Development - SEEL, LLC

Shalanda Baker

Vice Provost for Sustainability & Climate Action - University of Michigan

Sneha Ayyagari

Director of Policy - Rising Sun Center for Opportunity

Stacey Abrams

Former Georgia House Minority Leader

Tameshia Bridges Mansfield

Founder & Principal - Beloved Praxis Consulting

Tanya Saldivar-Ali

Business Development Director - AGI Construction

Tepfirah Rushdan

Director of Sustainability - City of Detroit

Tolulope Sonyui, MD

Emergency Medicine Physician - Detroit Medical Center

Tony G. Reames, Ph.D.

Director, Detroit Sustainability Clinic - University of Michigan School of Environment & Sustainability

Tonya L. Berry

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer - CMS Energy Corporation and Consumers Energy Company

Vickie Lewis

Owner, President/CEO - VMX International

Wendy Lewis Jackson

Managing Director - The Kresge Foundation

Contact

Want to attend? Want to learn more about sponsorships? Leave your information and we’ll be in touch.

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