To decarbonize the energy sector requires expertise and commitment from all corners, and the LF Energy Governing Board welcomes such expertise and passion.
We’re pleased today to welcome two new members to the Governing Board: McGee Young, CEO and Founder of WattCarbon, and Marissa Hummon, CTO of Utilidata. Both members were elected by a vote of the General Member class.
Both executives, and their companies, represent crucial pieces of the decarbonization ecosystem.
WattCarbon develops decarbonization measurement and verification tools to track the carbon intensity of building energy use. The company helps users reduce carbon footprints by taking into account the availability of zero-carbon energy using data feeds and real-time grid carbon intensity values.
Companies often struggle to make the connection between their energy consumption and the availability of renewable energy making calculating carbon emissions difficult. WattCarbon helps resolve those challenges.
Utilidata is a venture-backed software company that optimizes the distribution of electricity through meter-embedded software and utility-integrated data processing and power flow controllers.
By continuously monitoring and optimizing the operation of the grid, we save energy, lower the cost of adding more solar generation, batteries and electric vehicle charging, and better detect power flow anomalies that can cause outages and fires.
The new members are well suited to offer expertise to the LF Energy Governing Board, which oversees business decision making, building alliances and growing membership and allocating the budget to the highest benefit of LF Energy projects.
Open Source Advocates
Both executives also embody the ethos of LF Energy, which is to foster open source solutions to solve the decarbonization crisis faster by working together.
Prior to founding WattCarbon in 2021, McGee served as CTO at Recurve, overseeing the development of two LF Energy projects, CalTRACK and the OpenEEmeter.
“Open-source, consensus projects are the lifeblood of innovation in the energy sector. Our systems must transition to become more sustainable, inclusive, equitable and just, which requires all of us to put aside our differences and work toward a greater good. Having been part of open-source projects for the past six years and collaborating closely with LF Energy for the past three years, I look forward to continuing to represent these values as a General Member,” McGee says.
Marissa is a scientist, entrepreneur, and public speaker, focused on helping governments and utilities achieve their clean energy goals. She has more than ten years of expertise in grid modernization, deployment of clean energy technologies, and system optimization.
“I believe in the mission and vision of open source software and systems as the key accelerant to the decarbonization of our electricity systems and electrification of energy use. Utilidata is building next-generation edge-of-grid computing and is committed to creating a platform that fosters interoperability, innovation, and customer choice,” added Marissa.
Expertise + Experience
Prior to Utilidata, Marissa oversaw product development for Tendril, an energy efficiency software company, and managed grid modernization research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Her patented technology, Orchestrated Energy, won the Edison Award for Best New Products and the Grid Edge Innovation Award from Green Tech Media.
Marissa was also recognized by Denver Business Journal as a top woman in energy in 2017. She currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Grid Forward Board, an organization focused on the unique challenges of grid modernization in the western U.S. Marissa graduated with a BA in physics from Colorado College as a Boettcher Scholar and holds a PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard University as an Altran Innovation Fellow.
Prior to Recurve, McGee served as a professor of political science at Marquette University for ten years. While at Marquette, McGee also founded two companies, MeterHero and H2Oscore, and served as the faculty entrepreneur fellow in the College of Business. In 2022, McGee helped organize the Carbon Data Specification Consortium and currently serves as the co-chair of the strategy working group.
LF Energy is sure to be stronger, more innovative and more successful with these new members on the Governing Board. We welcome and applaud them.
