William Barber III
Founder and CEO; The Rural Beacon Initiative
William J. Barber III is an environmental and climate justice scholar and advocate, with nearly a decade of social justice organizing experience and deep academic training in both the science and the law behind environmental and climate issues. Barber is the founder and CEO of The Rural Beacon Initiative, a multi-member startup that provides consultation for groups looking to advance equity, climate justice, and environmental justice. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law and has worked with several environmental advocacy groups, including the UNC Law Center for Climate, Energy, Environment, and Economics; Clean Water for North Carolina; and Clean Energy Works.
Barber currently serves as a member of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Secretary's Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board, as well as co-chair for the North Carolina Poor People’s Campaign Ecological Devastation committee. He has worked as a field secretary for the North Carolina NAACP and served as one of a three-member leadership team for Moral Freedom Summer, a long-term voter mobilization campaign. Barber is also a Fellow for Environmental Justice and Civic Engagement at the Center for Earth Ethics.
Duanne Andrade
Chief Financial Officer; Florida Green Bank, Solar and Energy Loan Fund (SELF)
Duanne Andrade is Founder and President of Evolution Business Development Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sustainable business practices. Andrade achieved a Bachelor’s degree from NYU in Political Science and Economics and an MBA from the Harvard Institute of International Development (HIID) in cooperation with the Bolivian Catholic University.
Andrade has extensive experience in micro-finance, micro-lending, sustainability, strategic planning and clean energy projects, and is also an adjunct professor at the Anhuac University Latin American Center for Social Responsibility (CLARES). Andrade is responsible for providing strategic direction and oversight of the financial and operational aspects of the non-profit Solar and Energy Loan Fund (SELF). Andrade has served as SELF’s Strategic Advisor and CFO since January 2013.
Stacey Washington
Energy Specialist; South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff Energy Office
Stacey Washington holds a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University. She has 2 years of process engineering experience, and over 20 years of industrial and state government environmental sustainability experience. She currently works in the S.C. ORS Energy Office providing technical assistance and working with outreach, data, loan programs, incentives/rebates, and energy planning.
Carmen Bingham
Coordinator for the Affordable Clean Energy Project; Virginia Poverty Law Center Project
Carmen Bingham has worked in state government and advocacy for much of her career. Before coming to VPLC, she was the Chief of Staff for the minority leader in the House of Delegates, an aide to another House of Delegates member, a coordinator with the League of Conservation Voters, and staff at the Virginia Department for Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.
Bingham brings her desire for justice, and love of the environmental, and knowledge of state government to help magnify the voice of lower income Virginians so that their voice is heard when utility rates and options for the availability of energy efficiency measures are discussed at all levels of government and at agencies.
Therese Griffin
Manager, Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management; Dominion Energy South Carolina
Therese Griffin is the Manager for Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management for Dominion Energy (formerly SCE&G/SCANA Corporation). Since graduating, she’s done everything from hosting public affairs shows to corporate marketing and communications.
At Dominion Energy, Griffin leads a team that delivers energy efficiency programs to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Additionally, she continues to support renewable energy programs for residential and commercial customers.
Erin Rose
Co-Founder and Vice President of Social Equity; Three Cubed
Erin Rose, Co-Founder and Vice President of Social Equity of Three3, holds a Master of Science in Social Work (MSSW) from UT Knoxville with a concentration in macro-scaled social work in the areas of environmental policy and justice, community organizing, and administration, and a Master of Laws in international human rights from the University of Edinburgh. Her current work involves the design and implementation of studies targeting energy program impacts on households of low socioeconomic status.
Rose was project lead for the design and implementation of multiple studies under the national evaluation of the Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). She is the current PI for Three3's non-energy impact study of TVA's Home Uplift initiative (low-income weatherization pilot across the Tennessee valley).
