MEET THE TEAM
Get to Know Us: Behind the Scenes at DEFL
At Drive Electric Florida, we are not just a team; we are a community of individuals committed to propelling the electric vehicle revolution forward. Together, we are steering the charge towards a sustainable and electrifying future.
Board of Directors
Kenneth Hernandez, Chair
As the visionary Chair of Drive Electric Florida, Kenneth Hernandez brings invaluable expertise from his role at TECO Energy. With a keen eye on the horizon, Kenneth leads the Board with a commitment to advancing clean energy solutions.
Jennifer Szaro, Vice-Chair
Jennifer Szaro, Vice Chair and a vibrant force behind Drive Electric Florida, serves as the Vice President of the Association of Energy Services Professionals (AESP). Her strategic thinking and industry insights adeptly steer the organization's mission in a manner that leaves a lasting and influential impact.
Alisha Lopez, Treasurer
Alisha Lopez, the financial backbone of Drive Electric Florida, takes on the role of Treasurer. Drawing from her experience at the Southeast Florida Clean Cities Coalition, Alisha expertly manages our financial resources, ensuring a solid foundation for our initiatives.
Josh Cohen, Secretary
Josh Cohen, our meticulous Secretary, hails from SWTCH, an end-to-end EV charging and energy management solution Josh ensures our organization runs smoothly, with a focus on the details that keep Drive Electric Florida at the forefront of sustainable transportation.
Brad Davis,
Kimley-Horn
Brad leads Kimley-Horn’s Florida EV planning practice and brings more than 15 years of transportation planning experience to the firm’s EV planning projects, often working at the intersection of multimodal mobility, technology, and community design.
Peter Westlake,
Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC)
Pete is the Manager of New Products and Services. He launches new strategic programs and initiatives at OUC. OUC is a vertically integrated Municipality that serves Electricity and Water to Orlando, parts of Orange and Osceola counties.
Stan Cross,
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE)
Stan joined the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in 2019. Stan leads SACE’s dynamic Electric Transportation Team, working across the Southeast to advocate for public policies and regulatory reforms, help state agencies and municipalities plan for and transition to EVs.
Jason Gaschel, Florida Power & Light
Jason Serves as the Project Director, Electric Vehicles for Florida Power and Light where he focuses on EV Programs around Policy and Education Initiatives. Jason was a integral part of building Drive Electric Florida as a founding member, and actively contributes to DEFL working committees.
Loyd Graves,
Duke Energy
Loyd manages Duke Energy’s Transportation Electrification programs. Loyd brings over 20 years of experience in the energy sector and provides invaluable insight to the DEFL Board, as well as the DEFL Policy Committee.
Bruce Edelston, Energy Policy Group, LLC
Bruce brings Over 30 years of experience in electric utility industry, with a focus on the analysis of regulations and legislation and providing companies with a strategic understanding of their implications. He currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Alliance for Transportation Electrification and the Policy Chair for Drive Electric Florida.
Committees
Policy Committee
Outside of Drive Electric Florida’s Board of Directors, this committee will engage most directly with the EV Roadmap processed forth in SB7018, as well as developing other recommendations necessary to facilitate local ordinance adoption, draft legislation, and regulatory proposals that advance electrification.
Visit DEFL's Policy page to Learn more and access current and past policy documents.
Chair: Bruce Edelston, Alliance for Transportation Electrification
Co-Chair: Matthew Chen, Blink Charging
Infrastructure Committee
This Committee will focus on ensuring the successful deployment of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) by identifying best practices related to project development and execution. Specifically, the group will identify both barriers and opportunities in areas such as project financing and incentive or grant opportunities, site selection, permitting, utility distribution planning, supply chain issues, interconnection processes, site commissioning, ongoing operations and maintenance of both light duty and MHD EVSE units.
Chair: Alisha Lopez, Southeast Florida Clean Cities Coalition
Co-Chair: Brad Davis, Kimley-Horn
Education, Equity, and Outreach Committee
The Education, Equity and Outreach committee will focus primarily on educating various stakeholders across the state, as well as developing and implementing programmatic considerations for Drive Electric Florida to sponsor or partner on, such as Ride and Drives. The committee will also conduct outreach to, and engage with under-exposed populations, commercial partners, state and local elected officials, transit authorities, and regional planning councils to set reasonable goals, facilitate fleet conversion, and promote electrification. The equity components will focus on policies that ensure the benefits of electrification are shared broadly throughout society, particularly for low income and fixed-income residents of Florida. Additionally, the committee will identify inclusive strategies for utilities, regulators and state and local policymakers to consider as Florida matures as a market for electric transportation. There may be a possible communications component to develop and amplify Drive Electric Florida’s messaging.
Chair: Pete Westlake, Orlando Utilities Commission
Staff
Sydney Purcell, Association Executive
