Executive Director

Alex Thornton

Alex Thornton currently serves as Executive Director of the LF Energy Foundation, where he works to cultivate open source technology and standards for rapid energy system decarbonization.

Alex has nearly two decades of experience in applying technology for energy and climate impact. He previously held a diverse set of roles across the US and Europe in startups and public companies. Prior to LF Energy, Alex served in leadership positions at energy and climate innovators including Cleartrace, Sunrun, Locus Energy, and Imperfect Foods, as well as advisory roles with other climate tech companies. Before that, Alex consulted on energy policy for the European Commission and performed due diligence on utility-scale solar projects throughout the world. Alex brings his full breadth of experience to bear at LF Energy to accelerate the energy transition.

Director of Ecosystem, AI and Energy Systems

Alexandre Parisot

Director of Communications

Dan Brown

Dan Brown oversees all marketing and communications operations for LF Energy. He has held a variety of marketing-related roles at the Linux Foundation, including heading marketing for the foundation’s events and training businesses. Dan previously held senior roles in B2B technology-focused public relations agencies in London, San Francisco, and Chicago. He holds a BS in Public Policy and Management from the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles and an MA in Public Communication and Public Relations from the University of Westminster in London.

Director of Program Management

John Mertic

John is an open source veteran with a career spanning two decades. He has been a part of multiple aspects of open source communities, including a contributor, community leader, and in open source foundation leadership and strategy.

Senior Project Coordinator

Yarille Ortiz

Yarille Ortiz has managed international meetings, trade shows, and programs, primarily in South America and Asia, for over 15 years. Yarille is an experienced Project Coordinator assisting with the day-to-day and ongoing projects for the Linux Foundation team. Yarille currently lives in Rochester, NY with her four children.

Executive Director (In Memoriam)

Shuli Goodman

Shuli Goodman (1957-2023) was the founder and Executive Director of LF Energy, a Linux Foundation project that supports open source innovation in the energy and electricity sectors. LF Energy’s ambition is to accelerate the energy transition and the decarbonization of the world’s economies. Having spent the early part of her career enabling some of the world’s largest companies in the world to become Internet-ready, she brought her digital-first, cross-industry background to the electricity sector. With a doctorate in Organizational Systems focused on innovation and the energy transition, Shuli had a uniquely multi-disciplinary approach to solving complex, interdependent problems. She had nearly three decades experience in the startup and ongoing support of governance and multi-stakeholder engagement bodies that have been convened to enable decision-making and provide steering capacity for high-visibility and/or high-risk initiatives. Her goal was to inspire, train, and enable 10,000 developers, in the next 10 years, to digitally transform the world’s power systems.