As you may already know, our fearless leader Howard Choy has recently retired from his position at the County of Los Angeles and as the Board Chair for LGSEC. We would like to thank Howard for his outstanding service and dedication in furthering a clean and sustainable energy future for local governments and agencies throughout California, and wish him the best in his retirement. The LGSEC will miss his visionary leadership and indefatigable championship of the role of local governments in climate and energy efforts across the state. Demetra McBride will be representing the County of Los Angeles on the LGSEC Board in Howard’s place.
As we recognize Howard for his instrumental support and service over the past years, we would also like to welcome Jerry Lahr and Alejandra Tellez as the incoming Board Chair and Vice Chair of LGSEC.
Jerry is the Energy Programs Manager of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and works to develop and manage energy programs that benefit the citizens and governing agencies of the San Francisco Bay Region. He joined ABAG in 2000 as manager of the ABAG POWER Joint Powers Agency, the principle goal of which is to conduct pooled purchasing of electricity and natural gas on behalf of local governments and special districts. Jerry now has management oversight over all of ABAG’s energy initiatives, including the Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN).
Alejandra is the Sustainability Programs Analyst for the County of Ventura and manages the Ventura County Regional Energy Alliance along with other sustainability programs. The Ventura County Regional Energy Alliance is the County’s local energy efficiency clearinghouse and provides training seminars, project identification, technical project support and energy planning for municipal governments, school and community college districts, special districts and small commercial businesses. Alejandra also oversees residential programs in partnership with the counties of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo to connect utility customers and contractors with energy rebates, training workshops and customer programs.
Jerry and Alejandra look forward to working with the Board and broader membership to continue to advance the rights and resources of local governments in the areas of energy management and sustainability. Please join us in welcoming them to LGSEC leadership!