Team

Steph is a social entrepreneur and community builder with operational experience in the U.S., Middle East, and South Asia. She was selected as an Echoing Green Climate Fellow, a Global Good Fund Fellow, a Grist 50 Fixer, a Kia Revisionary, and an Acumen Global Fellow, all of which recognize emerging leaders in social enterprise. She previously led sales and marketing innovation initiatives at d.light India, a solar products company powering areas without reliable electricity; spearheaded Acumen's renewable energy sector investment strategy in Pakistan; developed Middle East policy as the youngest Director at the White House National Security Council; and managed field operations in seven states for the first Obama presidential campaign. She holds a B.A. from Yale, a Master in Public Affairs (MPA) with distinction from Princeton, and an MBA from MIT, where she earned a certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. At MIT, she received the Paul and Daily Soros Fellowship, Legatum Fellowship, Public Service Fellowship, and Dean's Fellowship.

Responsible for finances, product development, solar developer relationships, and financial inclusion. Sandhya began her career in Barclays’ investment banking division in New York and London, advising on and executing public equity transactions for Technology, Media and Telecom companies, and was also deeply involved in Barclays Philanthropy. Her volunteer work included Endeavor, Women’s World Banking, and Barclays’ Social Innovation Fund. During graduate school, Sandhya worked at Buen Power Peru, a for-profit social enterprise that distributes solar lamps and water heaters to off-grid communities in Peru. She holds a BBA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she received the Sustainability Certificate.

Ahmad is a software engineer with years of experience in startups. He specializes in creating highly scalable software applications using modern micro-services based architectures, and has done so at projects including General Number, Ticketing Hero, and The Ticket Co. (PEG). Ahmad joined Solstice to make an impact on our world's carbon footprint by enabling technology that increases efficiencies for the solar industry and helps it thrive. He loves playing chess and creating open source libraries and developer tools.

Andrew brings some serious growth marketing experience from the software and eCommerce world. With a background in marketing and statistics, a soft spot for the arts, and a passion for data-driven growth, he's responsible for pushing growth metrics up and to the right. You can find him in a few different places, like your inbox (if you get our emails), our blog (if you read our content), and next to the coffee machine (he wakes up way too early and drinks too much coffee for his own good). He's crazy about wildlife, fitness, mountains, and his girlfriend. But instead of surfing the mountains, he now surfs the world wide web for inspiration on conversion, copywriting, and sexy landing pages.

Kelly has years of experience organizing to build community power. She serves on the Steering Committee and chairs the Policy and Intersectionality Working Group of the NY Energy Democracy Alliance, a statewide coalition advancing a just and participatory transformation to a renewable, equitable, accountable, and local energy system. Formerly a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State, Kelly helped achieve a humanitarian evacuation in Syria, advanced the U.S.-India bilateral relationship, and led an Ambassador-level review and overhaul of the goals and objectives of the U.S. Embassy to the U.A.E. In graduate school, she spearheaded a campaign to divest Princeton University's endowment from corporations complicit in human rights violations in the Middle East, which won majority support among the student body. Kelly is Co-Founder of Symbiosis, a confederation of neighborhood direct democratic institutions throughout North America building an ecological society from the ground up. She earned her B.A. cum laude and a Masters in Public Affairs (M.P.A.), both from Princeton. Kelly enjoys feminist art and spending quality time with her little cousins and malshi puppy, Lulu.

Taro leads Solstice’s community outreach efforts, helping to connect people with solar projects in their area. He has years of experience working directly with customers, both at large corporations, such as EF - Education First, and at small startups like AnyRoad. Originally from the Boston area, he attended Colby College, where he majored in International Studies and minored in Business and Japanese. He now turns his career towards fighting climate change, an issue that he cares deeply about. Taro and his fiance recently spent seven months traveling around the world, volunteering, building a travel website, and living out of carry-on bags! He loves being outdoors, and is a traveler, sports enthusiast, bike-commuter and quasi-vegetarian.

Sean is a community outreach specialist who has worked with a variety of organizations throughout New England to educate and engage citizens on issues of environmental importance. During his time with the Mass Energy Consumers Alliance, Sean developed and coordinated outreach campaigns to excite communities within Massachusetts about investing in local renewable energy generation and generate supporters for their Green Power Programs. His experience also includes employment with the Worcester Roots Project and Connecticut Rivers Alliance. Sean holds a Master of Science and Policy from Clark University where he resided as an International Development, Community, and Environment Fellow.

Forrest handles development, grant writing, and content creation at Solstice. Previously, over a yearlong Princeton in Asia Fellowship and a two-year world bicycle tour, he developed 360 By Bike, an independent journalism project aimed at understanding and documenting the global impacts of climate change and the energy transition. In his years on the road, he saw first-hand the inequalities inherent in our current energy systems, and resolved to use his skills to help democratize ownership and control of the next generation of energy resources. He graduated from Whitman College in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (BBMB) and Spanish.

Jackie is passionate about climate change and bringing renewable clean energy awareness to the forefront so future generations can live a happier healthier life. As part of the Solstice Outreach Team, she brings 25 years’ experience in commercial and residential sales with a focus on community revitalization. She is currently a member of various nonprofit organizations and has previously held office on several boards. Jackie and her husband are lifelong residents of Central New York. Together they have raised four children and have six grandchildren. She is an avid runner that enjoys road races, mud runs and Spartan competitions, as well as attending local theater and art events.

After a successful career in sales and management in multiple industries, Alex joined the renewable energy field in 2009 to focus on implementing green energy and energy efficiency. Most recently before Solstice, Alex trained sales representatives at a large solar company while educating customers in New York and New Jersey of the benefits of solar. Having joined Solstice, Alex is looking forward to giving all that he has to make the solar dream a reality for all Americans.

Ian manages Solstice’s internal operations, which includes anything and everything inside the organization that supports the team and helps Solstice fulfill its mission. Prior to Solstice, Ian held operations and sales roles at technology companies including PowerDash and Cambridge Computer Services. He also participated in Solstice’s Fellowship program during the summer of 2016 as a Policy and Business Strategy Fellow. Ian received his MBA from Boston University and Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College. Outside of Solstice, Ian is actively involved in Net Impact Boston, and is an avid guitarist and concert goer.

Tim recently graduated with a Masters in Sustainability and Environmental Management from the Harvard University extension school where his coursework included classes in social entrepreneurialism, sustainable product design, international development, and sustainability leadership. During his studies, Tim developed a strong interest in social enterprises that are employing innovative concepts to address social and environmental challenges. Prior to graduate school, Tim pursued his passion for the outdoors through a variety of positions which included work as a ski patroller, backcountry ski guide, naturalist and educator, sales and inventory manager at a surf film startup, and EMT. He has also founded a location-based lifestyle clothing and apparel brand. Outside of work, Tim enjoys surfing, sailing, reading, and exploring new places – both in New England and further abroad.

Edward has ten years of experience working as web developer for nonprofit organizations on issues of renewable energy, energy efficiency, water management and recycling, and is passionate about both technology and the environment. He holds a B.S. in Computer Sciences from Dr. Jose Matias Delgado University in San Salvador and has experience with several programming and database technologies. When not at work, he enjoys traveling, working out at the gym, and spending time with family and friends.

Moh has nine years of professional experience in branding, communications strategies, and business development for for-profit and nonprofit organizations. He manages the development of Solstice's digital platform, and develops our visual communications strategy. Moh participated in the Middle East Web Design Awards in 2009, where he was ranked as the #1 Best Rich Internet Applications Designer in the Middle East and North Africa.

Christie joined Solstice as a Content Marketing Fellow in the summer of 2017 following her graduation from Northeastern University, where she studied International Relations and Journalism. In early 2018, Christie took on the role of Operations Associate. She manages all recruitment processes, for-profit fundraising, and executive assistance. Christie spent most of 2018 living in Medellin, Colombia, working remotely for Solstice and learning Spanish. She has since returned to Cambridge to work full-time. In her free time, Christie can usually be found practicing yoga, longboarding, or eating dumplings.

CeCe is an Operations Associate with a passion for color-coding, list-making and continuous improvement. From roles such as summer camp counselor in New Hampshire and volunteering at the New England Aquarium, CeCe has always had a respect for the natural world, and desire to preserve it's beauty. Prior to joining Solstice she worked at the MIT Energy Initiative in an operations role. In her spare time she enjoys playing tennis, biking around Boston, petting any dog she encounters, and long odds cooking experiments.

Matteo has always been passionate about the environment, but never found a way to get involved until he joined Solstice. After graduating from Emmanuel College in 2016 with a degree in Psychology and Neuroscience, he began exploring jobs that would allow him to do what he does best: connecting with others. Since graduation, he has continued his summer tradition of caddying at The Country Club in Brookline, while using his winters to travel. These activities are his two biggest passions, and when he’s lucky, he gets to do both at the same time.

Paul works with the outreach team at Solstice, allowing him to combine his interest in advancing clean energy with his passion for community organizing. Paul earned a degree in Materials Science and Nanoengineering from Rice University, where he helped push school policy to be more supportive of low-income students. Before moving to Boston, he worked in the field organization and analytics team of the Alex T for Texas campaign. Paul likes to be described as an intrepid outdoorsman, and you will often find him bouldering, enjoying the fact that he lives in a bike-friendly city, or petting other people's dogs.

Scott shares Solstice’s mission with the world through blog and media content. Prior to joining our team, he worked as a researcher and writer at Harvard Kennedy School, where he wrote about government innovations in emerging data systems and technologies. Scott joined Solstice to apply his passion for writing to a powerful movement for environmental and social good. A lifelong swimmer and outdoor enthusiast, he can be found diving into the ocean, admiring local wildlife, climbing trees, or writing Frost-esque poetry.

René is a rising senior majoring in Civil and Environmental Engineering and minoring in Statistics and Data Science at MIT. In his department, he has conducted research on how to make infrastructure inspections using drones more effective in uncertain communications environments. He is the current president of Class Awareness Support and Equality (CASE), where he has lead numerous efforts in combating food insecurity, increasing financial literacy, providing access to winter clothing, and tackling other issues related to financial insecurity. He has been involved in numerous initiatives that promote wellness and equality at MIT, student-led and otherwise.

Avni handles programmatic opportunities in the Eastern US, contributes to Solstice's data analysis research projects, and helps maintain relationships with Solstice's wide network of community solar and low-income inclusion policy advocates. Her experiences at the University of Oregon as a Graduate Teaching Fellow and a participant in her union shaped her desire to contribute to a just transition towards a zero-carbon society. When she isn't at work, you can find Avni biking around Cambridge, struggling through French literature, or baking bread with her perpetual supply of overripe bananas.

Eddie is an international student from Hong Kong studying information system and operations management at Suffolk University. As a Data Analyst Intern, he is responsible for Outreach project reporting and forecasting. Eddie previously worked as a sales and operations intern at a startup, and joined Solstice because he wanted to do meaningful work by bringing positive change to our environment. Eddie identifies himself as somewhat-minimalist. He enjoys coffee, long walks, and horror movies.

Biba works with the marketing team at Solstice as a Public Relations Fellow, communicating Solstice’s message and exciting news to the media. A Senior at Boston University, Biba studies Public Relations and Political Science. She spent a summer in the Appalachian Mountains working as an Outdoor Coordinator, and was able to act on her love for outdoor adventure on BU’s urban campus by working at the rock climbing wall. Biba is the Vice President of Operations for PRLab, a student-run PR agency, and a soprano for her a cappella group, In Achord. So (don’t) ask her to sing!

Serra is a Communications student at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Her prior experience in outreach and operations at a renewable energy startup fueled her passion for clean energy access and environmental justice. As the Operations Fellow at Solstice, she is excited to be a part of an amazing team with an amazing mission of solar for all. In her free time, she can be found around town taking pictures or reading in cafes with a latte in her hand.

Brent is a recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. He joins Solstice after working as a field organizer for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, where he developed a passion for community organizing. He’s excited for this new opportunity to combine that passion with his interest in fighting climate change. In his free time you might find Brent playing board games, binging TV shows, or going for a run.

Sruthi is excited by the way that Solstice combines renewable energy and social justice. She is currently pursuing a M.S. in the Technology and Policy Program at MIT. She is interested primarily in energy policy and the economics of electricity markets, and is working with local utility companies to research policy initiatives to decrease electricity consumption. Sruthi has worked in the past with solar companies, on biomass energy, and researching the design of nuclear reactors. Prior to attending MIT, Sruthi received her BS in Mechanical Engineering from University of California, Berkeley. Sruthi loves hiking, cooking, running, dancing, and meeting new people!

Yassine is a recent graduate of Cadi Ayyad University in Morocco. He joined Solstice as a software engineering fellow to sharpen his skills while developing technology that will promote solar and preserve the environment. Yassine previously worked as a software engineering intern at a startup, where he specialized in creating beautiful web applications using modern frameworks and technologies. In his free time, you might find him reading blogs and articles or playing soccer.

Our office pups play a vital role at every step of our work. Andres' Popeye (Top Left) often comes to work in knitted sweaters or his trademark nautically-themed diapers. Kaia (Top Right) belongs to Sandhya and likes to stand guard by the office doors. Kugo (Bottom) is a constant dog-sitting client of Christie, and he can often be found chasing down sticks in the front lawn.