Skip to content

Team

MEET OUR TEAM

We take great pride in our ability to recruit and retain top talent to keep pace with the ever-changing and increasingly complex renewable energy markets and technologies.

Senior Management

Pete Candelaria

Chief Executive Officer
Learn more

Saad Shamsi

Chief Operations Officer
Learn more

Eivind Osterhus

Chief Financial Officer
Learn more

Erica Engle

Chief Commercial Officer
Learn more

Matt McCluskey

Chief Development Officer
Learn more

Randy Sawyer

General Counsel
Learn more

Leah Garvey

SVP Finance
Learn more

ALL TEAM

Chad Freckmann In-Project Land Administration
Jon Gunther IT Specialist III
Daniel Tarin Performance & Optimization Manager
Bianca Krukiel VP Human Resources
Bonnie Hoover GIS Manager
Nabil Wilf Director Capital Markets
Ryan Craddock Project Manager
Katie Ellis Site Finding Specialist
Nick Andrews Project Delivery Manager
Maya Kuhman Commercial Manager
Ilana Ginsberg Sr Strategy & Market Analyst
Saad Shamsi Chief Operations Officer
Virat Kapur Transmission Planning Engineer
Victoria Alexander Sr. Development Manager
Jarod Foteh Senior Accountant
Brianne Eberline Environmental Permitting Manager
Danny Cassiday Senior GIS Developer
Lance Jameson Director of Project Delivery
Telly Manos Sr. Development Manager
Ben Spear Policy Manager
Eric Bryant Project Developer
George Rissky Director HSSE
Olu Adeyemo Senior Project Planner
Ayesha Asif Sr. Manager, Risk & Compliance
Kalli Bruce Interconnection Engineer
Shaun Murphy Director of Transmission & Interconnection
Trevor Gach Site Acquisition Manager
Val Newcomb VP Economic & Community Development
Kerri Smith Human Resources Manager
Stewart West Director of Site Acquisition
Cody Burttschell Project Manager
Nico Galleguillos Lead Project Engineer
Patrick Hawks Transmission Innovation Manager
Thomson Gross GIS Analyst
Travis Wilkinson Senior Financial Analyst
Matt McCluskey Chief Development Officer
Ken Drewry Site Acqusition Manager
Manan Bhagat PV Engineer
Jason Gleason Sr GIS Analyst
Rachael Shipley Supply Chain Coordinator
Frank Langley Accounting Manager
Mitchell Gaucin Senior Site Manager
Riley Grant Senior Valuation Analyst
Corey Falgout Transmission Engineer
Pilar Torres Performance Engineer I
Tyler Rocha Business Systems Manager
Jim Halley Sr. Director, Engineering
Daniel O’Connell Site Acquisition Analyst
Sudie Bhat Director, Project Controls
Collin Edgar-Smith Sr. Interconnection Engineer
Willem Grobbelaar Interconnection Engineer
Belete Demisse Sr. PV Engineer
Jarod Constable Geotechnical & Civil Project Delivery Manager
Peter Grobbelaar Director, Power Delivery
Reeve Ashcraft Economic Development Manager
Ayush Londhe Financial Analyst II
Renee Sotelo Director, Contracts & Procurement
Jordyn Curtice Project Finance Manager
Peggy Phillips Land Acquisition Manager
Julie Subiono Sr. Office Manager
Christopher Roy PV Engineer
Ryan Staine Senior Legal Counsel
Petra Jobran Performance Engineer
Lisa Escobedo Lead Accounts Payable Specialist
Clinton Eddy Project Manager
Dave Dempsey Project Manager
Allison Bowers GIS Specialist
Lisa Nguyen Senior Accountant
Rob Propes Senior Development Manager
Branden Elliott Sr. Manager, Land Acquisition
Jeff Chang Director, Development
Jessica Lemon Land & Lease Administrator
Logan Kidd Communication Specialist
Jaime Johnson Project Controls Manager
Patrick Walshe Sr. Director, Reliability Engineering
Jacquelyn Manley Executive Assistant
Heer Shroff Sr. Interconnection Coordinator
David True Sr. Director of Origination
Jonathon Giuffria Owner’s Engineer
Willie Perez-Marcucci Lead SCADA Engineer
Iaroslav Samsonov Financial Reporting Manager
Goodwin Smith Site Acquisition Specialist
Andy Hill Total Rewards Manager
Ken Gorvy VP Land
Jeff Hudson VP Asset Management
Oscar Rodriguez Interconnection Project Manager
Opal Desaire Director, Treasury
Shaun Cavey Sr. Civil Engineer
Brenda Burns Accounts Payable Manager
Clint Abrams Director, Construction

LEADERSHIP TEAM

We are proud to lead an experienced team hailing from industry leading utilities, developers and financial institutions. Together, we’re powering a clean energy future.

Clint Abrams

Director, Construction
Learn more

Sudie Bhat

Director, Project Controls
Learn more

Ken Carson

Director, Information Technology
Learn more

Opal Desaire

Director, Treasury
Learn more

Ken Gorvy

Vice President, Land
Learn more

Peter Grobbelaar

Director, Power Delivery
Learn more

Jim Halley

Sr. Director, Engineering
Learn more

Jeff Hudson

Vice President, Asset Management
Learn more

Lance Jameson

Director, Project Delivery
Learn more

Bianca Krukiel

Vice President, Human Resources
Learn more

Shaun Murphy

Director, Transmission & Interconnection
Learn more

Val Newcomb

Vice President, Economic & Community Development
Learn more

Renee Sotelo

Director, Contracts & Procurement
Learn more

David True

Sr. Director, Origination
Learn more

Nabil Wilf

Director, Capital Markets
Learn more

Stewart West

Senior Director, Land Acquisition
Learn more

About

Urban Grid, a leading independent power producer, facilitates a rapid and sustainable energy transition by developing high-quality renewable energy projects, fostering community partnerships, and serving as a good land steward. Our company is positioned to own and operate its facilities while cultivating a land management system that benefits farmers, communities, and the natural world through agrivoltaics. Urban Grid maintains a delivery-focused approach with the goal of being a good neighbor, corporate citizen, and trusted energy solutions partner. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, with teams situated strategically throughout the United States, Urban Grid has a long history of contributing to the clean energy economy. In addition to 940 megawatts currently under construction, we are actively developing a growing portfolio of more than 12,000 megawatts of solar PV and 7,000 megawatts of co-located and stand-alone energy storage.

Urban Grid is a portfolio company of Brookfield, one of the world’s largest owners and operators of renewable power and climate transition assets.

With an initial focus on smaller C&I projects as owner/operator, the strategic Urban Grid team quickly began to build a valuable asset portfolio and a steady cadre of customers for solar PPAs. By 2014, the firm had transacted thirty projects in eight states with a growing roster of partners spanning corporates, municipalities, colleges and electric coops.

The initial team had grown to ten employees headquartered in Maryland and despite the rapid growth and success with power offtake, there was a sense among the leadership that Urban Grid could have a bigger impact. The decision to pivot to utility-scale solar development was solidified in 2014 and well underway with a 400MWac operational solar PV portfolio and a move to its Richmond, Virginia headquarters. The company’s growth accelerated in 2016 with an equity investment by Susgen, a UK-based renewable investor, which enabled Urban Grid to expand its team to 30 and further grow its development pipeline. With the pipeline maturing, Urban Grid finally sold its first utility-scale projects, totaling 240MW, to Dominion Energy launching into the Utility Scale market.

In January 2022, Brookfield Renewable U.S. acquired Urban Grid. Chief Executive Officer Mitch Davidson said of the pairing, “Adding Urban Grid’s high-quality pipeline of clean energy projects presents an exceptional opportunity for Brookfield Renewable to further establish itself as the leading renewable energy provider in the country.” The acquisition tripled Brookfield Renewable’s U.S. development to 31,000 MW of capacity.

Today Urban Grid is building its first owned and fully developed power facilities which are set to begin commercial operations in early 2024.

Urban Grid, a leading independent power producer, facilitates a rapid and sustainable energy transition by developing high-quality renewable energy projects, fostering community partnerships, and serving as a good land steward. Our company is positioned to own and operate its facilities while cultivating a land management system that benefits farmers, communities, and the natural world through agrivoltaics. Urban Grid maintains a delivery-focused approach with the goal of being a good neighbor, corporate citizen, and trusted energy solutions partner. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, with teams situated strategically throughout the United States, Urban Grid has a long history of contributing to the clean energy economy. In addition to 940 megawatts currently under construction, we are actively developing a growing portfolio of more than 12,000 megawatts of solar PV and 7,000 megawatts of co-located and stand-alone energy storage. 

 Urban Grid is a portfolio company of Brookfield, one of the world’s largest owners and operators of renewable power and climate transition assets.

"Developing the most competitive projects in the market is driven by analytics and passion. I rely on both, leaning on the tools of the trade and my MS in Environmental Science, I know the work I do makes a difference."
Bonnie Hoover, GIS Manager