

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.


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.


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
.png)
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)
.jpg)
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
.jpg)
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
.jpg)
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
.jpeg)
Morice Norris
NFL Athlete, Philanthropist, and Community Leader

Natalie King
Founder & CEO - Dunamis Clean Energy Partners, LLC

Nishaat Killeen
Director of Programs - Michigan Saves
.jpg)
Paul Douglas
CEO & Founder - The JPI Group
& CEO & Founder - CareerEquity

Paula Glover
President - The Alliance to Save Energy
.jpg)
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
.jpg)
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
.jpg)
Tepfirah Rushdan
Director of Sustainability - City of Detroit
%20(1)%20(1)%20(1)%20(2).jpg)
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
