Meet Our Members

Dara Bortman - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Dara is the owner and CEO of Sustainable Solar Solutions in Pennsylvania. Previously, she cofounded Exact Solar, a leading installer of residential and small commercial solar energy systems in Pennsylvania and New Jersey since 2005 and the only company with extensive experience in solar PV (photovoltaic), solar water heating and solar pool heating systems.

In 2019, Dara was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Solar Energy Society where she uses her years of solar and environmental advocacy experience to help the decades old organization execute its mission to advance a sustainable solar energy future.

A member since 2016, Dara has been a vital advocate for E2’s state and federal advocacy efforts including joining E2 delegations to both Harrisburg and Washington D.C.

Ellington Ellis - Chicago, Illinois

Ellington is the cofounder of Global Battery Solutions and founding partner at Dynamic GBS, an innovative battery technology company. Dynamic GBS is an industry leader in remanufacturing and repurposing lithium-ion batteries, thereby extending their life and keeping them from landfills. Dynamic GBS now employs over 900 people in Hillside, Illinois.

Ellington has been an active E2 member in the Midwest since 2018 and during that time has been a strong advocate for state policies that advance renewables and storage.

Emily Reichert - Boston, Mass.

Emily is currently the CEO Emeritus for Greentown Labs, which she led for nine years from 2013 to 2022. As the company’s first employee, Emily was largely responsible for its astounding growth: Greentown Labs is the largest cleantech startup incubator in North America, with more than 500 companies having passed through its doors. The company recently opened a new, 58,000-square-foot office, lab and event space in the heart of one of the country’s hottest cleantech startup scenes. Combined, Greentown Labs’ companies have raised $4 billion in funding and created more than 24,000 jobs.

Emily’s involvement with E2 includes writing op-eds for influential inside-the-Beltway publications; signing advocacy letters aimed at securing U.S. Dept. of Energy funding for advanced research projects; joining fellow E2 members on Capitol Hill for frank, face-to-face discussions with key members of Congress about the clean energy sector; and speaking on E2-organized panels at national conferences.

Eric Berman - Seattle, Wash.

Eric is president and co-chair of an early-stage, sustainability-focused angel investor group. Founded in 2006, E8 has worked with dozens of private investors and innovative entrepreneurs in industries like renewable energy, energy storage, energy efficiency, precision agriculture, advanced materials and smart grid, among others. Eric began his career at Microsoft, where he worked for most of the 1990s, a period of rapid, record growth for the company. Later, he became a vice president at Expedia, a global travel technology company where Eric led the website’s customer experience team. Eric has a BS in electrical engineering and physics from MIT and an MS in electrical engineering from Stanford.

Eric has been instrumental in growing E2’s profile across Washington state. He has provided quotes for E2 press releases launching clean energy jobs reports in Washington state and has also joined E2 delegations to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress.

Garvin Jabusch - Boulder, Colo.

Garvin co-founded long-only Green Alpha Advisors in 2007 and currently serves as its chief investment officer. The firm has about $200 million in assets under management (as of summer 2019), and its investment strategy focuses on innovation-driven companies and limiting exposure to systemic risks like climate change. A former archeologist who worked on digs from Petra in Jordan to sites closer to his home in the American west, Garvin’s career in the investment industry began at Morgan Stanley, where he worked for five years as a vice president. At Green Alpha, the portfolios Garvin helps manage include a mutual fund and discrete, separately managed accounts with a minimum investment threshold of $1 million.

Garvin has been an E2 member since 2019. With E2’s support, Garvin testified in July 2019 in front of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. Garvin’s testimony laid out the risks climate change poses to the investment industry – and the opportunities for investing in sustainable, innovative businesses.

Jon Powers - Buffalo, N.Y.

Jon is co-founder of CleanCapital, a privately held investment platform that originates and manages the operation of clean energy projects across the country. CleanCapital has acquired more than $500 million of distributed solar assets with partners including BlackRock and CarVal Investors. Jon’s path to the clean energy industry began in the military. He was a captain in the U.S. Army and served in Iraq, then later worked in the White House as the federal government’s chief sustainability officer. Jon has been an E2 member since 2018 and is a regularly featured speaker at E2 summits and forums and on our monthly webinars.

Maureen Blanc - San Francisco, California

Maureen is a strategic marketing and communications thought leader who has helped create some of the most significant market segments, brands and companies in Silicon Valley from the 1980s and throughout the dotcom era. But over the last 15 years Maureen has worked in the non-profit sector focusing on marketing the environmental message to businesses and policymakers. Currently, Maureen is the founder and director of Charge Across Town (CAT), an educational organization that aims to advance the adoption of electric vehicles and clean transportation to help reduce carbon emissions.

Prior to CAT, Maureen was chapter director of E2’s Northern California chapter, where she oversaw the development, marketing, programming, and advocacy for E2’s largest chapter. She remains significantly involved in E2 advocacy efforts in Northern California.

Milton Pinsky - Northbrook, Ill.

Milton is co-founder and chairman of a commercial and residential real estate company that has acquired and operated nearly 50 multifamily properties and developed over 20 self-storage, senior and apartment communities. The company's current portfolio is worth about $1.4 billion, about half of which is stabilized and half in construction or lease up and stretches across 16 states. Milton is a graduate of the University of Illinois and has a law degree and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Milton has been an E2 member since 2018. He is a director of our Midwest chapter.

Peter Krull - Asheville, N.C.

Peter is CEO of Earth Equity Advisors, a leader in sustainable, responsible and impact investing. Founded in 2004, the firm manages $90 million (as of fall 2019) and has clients in over 20 states. Earth Equity Advisors is a Certified B Corporation and has been selected as a four-time Best for the World B Corp. He has been quoted in The Washington Post, US News & World Report, Investment News and several local publications. He was selected to the 2018 Investopedia 100 list of the one hundred most influential financial advisors in America and was one of the first individuals to earn the Chartered SRI Counselor™ designation from the College for Financial Planning.

An E2 member since 2013, Peter has joined us on trips to Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress from both parties. In North Carolina, he has been a vocal advocate for stronger clean energy policies at the state level and has penned op-eds in influential local and regional news outlets.

Troy Van Beek - Fairfield, Iowa

Following a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy SEAL teams, Troy in 2009 founded a small solar installation business in his native Iowa. His company, Ideal Energy Solar, now develops some of the largest commercial rooftop solar installations in Iowa and has grown to employ more than 30 people.
Troy is an active E2 member out of the Midwest chapter. He accompanied us to Paris for COP 21 in 2015; has been featured in videos shot and produced by E2 on location in Iowa; and in partnership with E2 Troy has authored a steady drumbeat of op-eds and Letters to the Editor explaining why – from his unique perspective as a special forces veteran and a clean energy business owner – we need smarter policies in Des Moines, Washington and beyond.