Meet The speakers and contributors

In his role as Senior Solutions Engineer, Emerging Technology at Geotab, Bade Akinsanya works with organizations looking to effectively deploy, manage, and operate Electric Vehicle & Shared Mobility solutions in fleet based applications. Utilizing his background in powertrain electrification, Bade serves as a technology subject matter expert on EV fleet management, Shared Mobility, and telematics solutions used to empower public and private-sector customers to meet and surpass sustainability targets via data-driven insights. Bade holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Applied Science in Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering from the University of Waterloo.

Dexter is the founder and CEO of OpConnect, Inc., an electric vehicle charging solutions company based in Portland, Oregon. Dexter is a serial entrepreneur, having founded two previous companies in the aviation industry. His previous start-ups include a successful exit with a 68X return on the original investment and a contract software development company that has been in business since 2002. Dexter holds a MS in Aerospace Engineering and an MBA, has over 25 years of engineering, leadership and business development experience is a founding member of Dream Corps’ Green For All Business Council, which is dedicated to bringing clean technologies to low income communities and communities of color.

Tamara currently serves as the CEO and President of Tamara Thinks LLC, a management consulting firm, and Director for People of Color in Green Spaces (POCIGS). She has helped organizations improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace through culture change, policy development, technology implementations, training, and community engagement. Tamara strives to champion environmental justice by creating economic opportunities for disadvantaged communities that have been historically marginalized and overburdened by pollution and underinvestment in housing, transportation, and health care. Tamara earned a Bachelor's in Biochemistry at Oakwood University, an HBCU, a MBA from Florida International University, and is currently working towards a doctorate of education in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California. She has spoken to thousands of youth about the importance of shaping their own educational and professional destiny and not allowing the world to define it for them. She has two children, loves to read, and enjoys learning about new cultures.

College: Oakwood University Medical School: Loma Linda University School of Medicine Surgical Residency: Washington Hospital Center, Washington D.C. Research Fellowship: Johns Hopkins University Surgical Oncology Fellowship: Wake Forest University

TBD

Rhonda Freeman has over twenty years of experience working in the area of Public Health in program development, planning, and evaluation. She has developed innovative and effective programs that have dealt directly with various social/health issues (perinatal, immunizations, access to health care, obesity, preconception, infant mortality, etc.,) which have provided a great benefit to improving the health and well-being of the communities of San Diego County. Ms. Freeman currently serves has the Chief of the Maternal, Child, and Family Health Services Branch, within the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency Public Health Services Department. She oversees three major units within the Branch, the Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Unit, Chronic Disease and Health Equity Unit, and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Evaluation Unit. These Units implement programs that serve thousands of families to help improve health and wellness and decrease health disparities among diverse and vulnerable populations by using innovative and evidence-based approaches, creating environments and policies that promote health equity, leveraging partnerships to strengthen systems of care, and promoting healthy behaviors and communities. Programs under Ms. Freeman’s leadership include Black Infant Health, CalFresh Healthy Living, Comprehensive Perinatal Services Program, Perinatal Equity Initiative, Child Health and Disability Prevention, Office of Violence Prevention, Oral Health, Tobacco Control Resource Program, and many others. Originally from Los Angeles County, Ms. Freeman moved to San Diego to attend the University of California San Diego where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics and continued her studies at San Diego State University where she received her Master’s in Public Health with an emphasis in Health Service Administration. Ms. Freeman’s primary professional goal is to ensure all families regardless of economic and/or social attributes are healthy, safe, and thriving. She is compassionate and dedicated in her efforts of empowering families to access needed services, building resiliency, increasing knowledge, and becoming self-sufficient. She has been a vital component in increasing community awareness regarding multiple health and social issues such as, the importance of a medical/dental home, immunizations, perinatal care, and the impacts of social determinants of health. In addition, she has played a major role in systematic changes ensuring health assessments, interventions, and policies are implemented into ongoing business practices to help better serve and meet the needs of communities.

John Jackson is an urban planner experienced in transportation planning, medium-duty electric vehicle (EV) conversion practices for transit agencies, and project management. A Senior Program Manager for U.S. Transportation Programs at the Center for Sustainable Energy, he oversees two East Coast programs that provide rebates for residents purchasing light-duty passenger EVs. He has over 6 years of direct experience with urban and transportation planning, clean transportation, climate change policy, public policy, and project and program management. John has an M.S. in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon and a B.A. in Geography from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Paola Santana is a lawyer, public procurement expert and tech entrepreneur, creating the next breakthrough in government systems. She's the founder and CEO of Social Glass, a software ecosystem using Artificial Intelligence to power high-performing governments. Previously, she co-founded Matternet, a Silicon Valley company pioneering drone logistics networks. Under her leadership, Matternet engaged with The White House, US Congress, FAA, and NASA to enact the first drone regulation in the United States in 2016, and became the world’s first drone delivery platform authorized for permanent operations over a populated city in 2017. She co-established the Dominican Republic’s Constitutional Court, and worked at the National Elections Court coordinating the Elections Litigation Chamber. She has also collaborated with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the OECD, developing striking public infrastructure projects and strategic partnerships integrating exponential technologies. She’s best known for her ability to create things from scratch at the intersection of the public, private and regulatory domains, and for her track record introducing cutting-edge technologies into highly-regulated markets. Her most recent experience includes co-drafting the public-private partnership enabling the first multi-state Hyperloop system in the United States. A Fulbright scholar and graduate from George Washington, Georgetown and Singularity University, she’s been featured as CNET Top 20 Latin in Tech, Forbes Top 50 Women of Power in Central America and the Dominican Republic, LinkedIn Top 10 Professionals Under 35 in Enterprise Tech, and served as Lead of the UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Unmanned Aircraft Systems Advisory Group and appointed member of the first FAA Drone Advisory Committee. She’s currently Faculty at Singularity University, and Mentor for the Social Entrepreneurship Labs Incubator at Stanford University and Google AI.

Angela is the Transportation Electrification Portfolio Manager at Seattle City Light. She is implementing the Transportation Electrification Strategic Investment Plan to decarbonize transportation in Seattle. Her teams are designing, implementing, and managing projects in public transit, fleets, residential areas, and more. Before Seattle City Light, Angela was an Air Quality Specialist at the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency where she managed the Department of Energy’s Western Washington Clean Cities Coalition to implement strategies and programs to reduce transportation emissions.

Dr. Pete Thimmaiah is a project manager for the Zero-Emission Transportation initiative and a strategist for developing global Green Fleets Practice at Jacobs. Prior to joining Jacobs, Pete managed a core team to deliver the B.C. government’s $50 million CLEANBC programs on zero-emission fleets. Pete led the Go Electric Fleets Program, Commercial Vehicle Incentive Program, and the West Coast Electric Fleets Program. His focus has been on modelling procurement, ROI analysis and life cycle analysis, including community engagement and outreach. Pete has a Ph.D. in Alternative Energy Engineering and several scientific publications on clean energy technologies. He has led joint collaborative research on fleet electrification barriers, trends, and opportunities, including the life cycle analysis of zero-emission vehicles.