Our Team
Zeyneb Magavi
Zeyneb joined HEET in 2016 to collaboratively lead the Large Volume Leak Study which rapidly changed state policy and reduced methane emissions. Zeyneb then pioneered the concept of gas utilities delivering decarbonization through networked geothermal heat pumps, launching Gas to Geo and transforming HEET into a national thought leader for the thermal energy transition. Zeyneb also serves as guest faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health, guest lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and as a Senior Policy Advisor to the World Bank. Before entering the sustainability world, Zeyneb led the development of several technological solutions to health challenges in the developing world, and helped launch two start-ups. Zeyneb studied physics at Brown University and later studied global health and then sustainability at Harvard University. She is committed to creating and driving forward compassionate, multi-disciplinary and innovative solutions to the urgent challenge of climate change.
Angie Alberto-Escobar
Angie works closely with HEET’s executive director to develop national coalitions of gas utilities, environmental advocates, geo industry, and workforce to overcome obstacles by developing creative solutions with all stakeholders. Additionally, she manages the Learning from the Ground Up research project which studies the outcomes and impacts of the first utility networked geothermal installations. Angie holds degrees from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Sustainable Energy Economics, and Glendale College in Mathematics. She is committed to a just energy transition that prioritizes efficiency over profit.
Tony Berry
Tony Berry began his career in strategic communications as a public affairs specialist in the United States Army. Since then, he has provided trusted advice and counsel to leaders and brands across a variety of sectors. Tony’s expertise lies in crafting communication strategies that impact organizational goals. He has developed a deep understanding of reputation management and brand visibility. Tony’s approach to public relations is grounded in authenticity and ethical practice. He is also a part-time faculty member at Clark University (Worcester, MA) where he lectures on the ethical use of digital/social media. His work has received numerous industry awards at the local, regional and national levels. Tony studied communications at Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI). As a communications professional he is committed to ensuring the truthful flow of information into the marketplace of ideas.
Molly Fairchild
Molly works to improve access to Mass Save energy efficiency rebates and programs for low- to moderate-income residents in Boston. She has also worked with Breathe Easy at Home and BOND of Color to introduce Boston residents to induction cooking. Molly's experience in community engagement includes two years serving in the Peace Corps in Thailand, providing support services through the Chinle Agency of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, and developing a greenhouse gas emissions inventory for the Town of Wellesley, MA. Molly holds an MS in International Nutrition from Cornell University.
Katherine Fisher
Katherine Fisher joined HEET in 2019 as its Operations Manager and in 2023 transitioned to Director of Methane Emissions. Katherine studied environmental science at Brown University and wrote a thesis about nitrogen inputs to rivers in Rhode Island. She enjoys using the quantitative and scientific parts of her brain to help create the world she wants to live in. Before joining HEET, Katherine helped to launch a local solar panel installation company. She loves playing the piano and singing in Voices Rising, a feminist chorus.
Isabel Varela Gutierrez
Isabel is a geoscientist and joined HEET in 2023 as Director of Science for the Learning from the Ground Up (LeGUp) project at HEET. LeGUp is an ambitious research collaboration between a consortium of universities and two national labs that aims to study the impacts and scalability of networked ground-source heat pumps. Prior to joining HEET, Isabel worked for 14 years analyzing subsurface reservoirs in the oil and gas industry and more recently as a Research and Teaching Fellow at Harvard University. Isabel completed her BSc in Geophysical Engineering from Universidad Simon Bolivar in Venezuela and her PhD in Geophysics from Edinburgh University. Recently, she completed a certificate in Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage from Colorado School of Mines, and is in the final stage of completing a Masters in Sustainability at Harvard.
Andrew Iliff
Andrew works with the HEET team to bring together communities, workforce, utilities, regulators, policymakers and other stakeholders to accelerate the transition from gas to geothermal energy across the United States. Before joining HEET, Andrew worked closely with Dr Ashish Jha, the former White House Covid Response Coordinator, on public communications and the connections between climate change and health. Andrew holds degrees from Harvard and Yale in Social Studies, law, and African Studies. Outside of work, Andrew is a climate activist, JP Bike Dad, commissioned screenwriter, and singer/songwriter/guitarist in The Boundary Objects.
Eric Juma
Eric is deeply interested in how technological innovation, and its optimization through policy, knowledge capitalization, and other strategies, can be harnessed to solve the world's big problems. He is currently focusing on addressing the climate crisis through decarbonization. He leads IT at HEET, where he is involved in a variety of projects and areas of research, including the fiber optic temperature sensing of geothermal boreholes, techno-economic modeling of network geothermal systems, and quantification of methane leaks. He is also interested in impacting the development of Lake Victoria's aquaculture industry and blue economy, as well as restoring its biodiversity and ecosystem health.
Stacy Kinnaly
Stacy earned her Certificate in Financing and Deploying Clean Energy from the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale in 2022, redirecting her skills toward a healthy planet. Stacy has over 30 years of experience in program management and organizational development and holds a degree in History and English from Dartmouth College. Her track record of mission-focused delivery ranges from multinational programs to local community engagement campaigns. Since 2023, Stacy has worked with the HEET team to write and manage grants and recently managed HEET's first-in-the-nation geothermal drilling tutorial program.
Mike Ring
Mike joined the HEET team in 2024. He has a background in fundraising for nonprofits and holds a Master's degree in Social Work. Before joining HEET, Mike worked in development for organizations focused on human services and affordable housing. Mike is passionate about environmental sustainability and looks forward to supporting the development team at HEET in anyway possible. In his free time, he enjoys playing and composing classical and electronic music, as well as trying out new restaurants and staying active outdoors.
Nopalzin Torres
Nopalzin joined HEET in 2023 as Director of Finance. Nopalzin began his career in advertising and marketing. Desiring to be part of a more mission-focused organization, he switched to the nonprofit world and has worked for a variety of organizations in the areas of youth development, the arts, and public health policy. Nopalzin studied biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT. In his spare time, he enjoys rail trail bicycling with his family.
Rachel DeFronzo Wheeler
Rachel joined the HEET team in 2022. She has a background in environmental science and holds a master’s degree in nonprofit management from Northeastern University. Before joining HEET, she worked as a program director for the New England Exotic Wildlife Sanctuary. Rachel is passionate about animals, the earth, and sustainability. She enjoys using her problem-solving and organizational skills to help facilitate growth at HEET and work toward a healthier planet for all.
Consultants
Mark Kleinginna
Mark has over 30 years of experience in the retail and wholesale energy business and is the founder of Integral Energy, a sustainability and energy consulting firm. His areas of expertise include utility cost of service and rate design, product development, pricing, risk management, operations, supply acquisition, planning, marketing, manufacturing, sales, and finance. Mark has testified on cost of service and rate design before New York Public Service Commission, four other state commissions, and at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. He was responsible for the dynamic removal of a 535 MW load from a control area in Ohio to a control area in Illinois in 2000. Mark was responsible for the development and first launch of the retail electricity industry leading managed product. He developed an innovative power procurement process for which he received a US patent.
Mark has advised many large utility, industrial and commercial clients over the course of his career on energy procurement, strategic planning, and risk management. He has also testified before five state utility commissions and at FERC. Mark earned a BS and MA in economics from Penn State and an MPS in renewable energy systems and sustainability. He has authored and co-authored many papers and presentations in the area of sustainability and currently teaches in the Renewable Energy Systems and Sustainability program at Penn State.
Natalie Narotzky
Natalie is the founder and principal of Branch Methods. As a consultant to HEET, Natalie supports the team in their organizational design and develops structures that foster the emergence and innovation within the small, brilliant, adaptive team that makes all of their work possible. Outside of this work, Natalie is a facilitator and strategic program designer who supports planting and broadcasting seeds of ideas around sustainability, climate change, and equity. She has served on the teaching team for the Harvard Executive Education in Sustainability Leadership Program since 2021 and managed programs for a decade at Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN), a robust network of local government sustainability, climate, and equity professionals. She holds an MS in Climate, Science, and Policy from the Bard Center for Environmental Policy and a BA in Environmental and Urban Studies from Bard College.
Asha Nigh
Asha manages strategic relationships with HEET’s scientific collaborators and recruits funding for these collaborations. She recently secured a grant from the Department of Energy that will allow HEET’s Learning From the Ground Up (LeGUp) research team to collect data from the first utility-led installations of geothermal networks in Massachusetts. Asha earned a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard and has worked for many years as a scientific writer and editor. She is excited to help HEET decarbonize heating and cooling, while lowering the impact of electrification on our power grid.
Kai Palmer-Dunning
Kai joined the HEET team in 2021. He has experience in energy efficiency, building decarbonization, environmental justice, grassroots community organizing, and local zoning policy. He is completing his B.S. in Liberal Studies at Northeastern University and pursuing a Masters of Architecture in Urban Design.
In addition to his work at HEET, Kai also works as the Buildings & Communities Associate at Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, assisting with state building code and decarbonization efforts in the Northeast & Mid-Atlantic region. He also serves on the board at Mass Climate Action Network (MCAN). Outside of work, Kai enjoys participating in community organizing around affordable housing and economic development in his neighborhood.
Board Members
Ana Maria (Ania) Camargo
Ania is co-founder and director of Case Associates, a management consulting firm that has provided assistance to not-for-profit organizations in Boston since 1999. She has always been actively involved in her community including serving as Chair of the Harvard Business School Community Action Program, President and Chair of the Beacon Hill Civic Association, and co-founder of Downtown Schools for Boston. Ania is currently a member of WBUR’s Executive Advisory Council and is volunteering on the campaign against methane leaks in Massachusetts for Mothers Out Front.
Bill Harkins
Bill has over 40 years of experience working for governmental agencies at the national, regional and state level. He worked for many years at U.S. Department of Labor as a Regional Economist and Office Director in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Evaluation and Research. Most recently Bill worked for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP) in many capacities including Division Director for Planning and Program Development, Director of Finance and Administration for Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup, and as the Department’s Director of Budgetary and Legislative Affairs.
Karen Martin
Karen worked for 25 years as an electrical engineer at Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies. Currently, she chairs the North Parish of North Andover Climate Justice Task Force and is involved with the Merrimack Valley Interfaith Group, formed in the aftermath of the gas explosions, working to improve energy efficiency and promote a just transition to renewable energy. She is on the board of UU Mass Action, the state UU social justice advocacy group. A nature and animal lover, she is a member of the MA Sierra Club Plant-based Planet team. Karen is politically active, advocating for making the response to climate disruption a priority in the Massachusetts legislature. Her three grown children and three grandchildren are front and center in her work for climate justice.
David Oliver
David is a mechanical engineer who specializes in product architecture, design strategy, and design processes to make the most of the opportunities presented by a design challenge. David has worked for twenty years as a Principal at the research and product development firm known as Cusp Development. He also founded the company From Concentrate, which commercializes products that are developed in house at Cusp. In general, David is interested in helping companies and organizations make well-executed engineering and design a core element of their institutions.
John Reinhardt
John has over 25 years experience in environmental policy analysis, including the role of Branch Chief for Industrial Wastewater Policy and Regulations for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) for two decades. John was also an environmental policy consultant for USEPA and many other federal agencies on subjects such as industrial wastewater, drinking water, toxic substance control strategy development, and hazardous waste. John also has extensive experience with nonprofit management through his work as a board president and member of the Mystic River Watershed Association for over 20 years. He is also currently a team leader for HEET’s energy-upgrade work parties.
Marilyn served for almost 24 years as chief legal counsel for the Child Support Enforcement Division of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, including seven years as deputy commissioner. She has extensive experience in drafting and implementing state and federal legislation, as well as managing major operational and systems changes in state government. For her work as an advocate for children, she received the Smith College Medal in 2003. Now an Access to Justice Fellow, Marilyn works with HEET and the Gas Transition Allies on political advocacy strategies to eliminate gas leaks and to create a legislative structure that will permit gas companies to distribute renewable thermal energy, thereby reducing the Commonwealth’s dependence on natural gas.
Advisory Board Members
Michael Blasnik
Michael is a national expert in residential energy efficiency. With 30 years in the field, he has specialized in analyzing the performance of buildings and appliances though both intensive research projects and large-scale analysis of utility billing data. He has performed many studies of real world retrofit energy savings for utilities, government agencies, and others. Michael invented zonal pressure diagnostics and developed the SIMPLE building energy model. He was a member of the RESNET technical committee, on the editorial advisory board of Home Energy Magazine, and on several BPI subcommittees. Michael is Nest Labs’ Senior Building Scientist.
Jonathan Buonocore
Jonathan is a research scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His research mainly focuses on evaluating the health impacts of energy systems and modeling health co-benefits of climate mitigation strategies and energy policies. He has evaluated air pollution related health impacts from a number of sectors, including electricity generation, transportation, buildings, and oil and gas production. He has also modeled the health co-benefits of strategies including further buildout of renewable energy in the U.S., federal carbon emissions standards on power plants, carbon cap-and-invest policies for transportation, and building electrification. His current research includes building methods to better incorporate equity and environmental justice concerns.
H.G. Chissell
H.G. Chissell is the Founder and CEO of Advanced Energy Group (AEG), a stakeholder mobilization platform for leaders and organizations committed to systemic change on climate, health and equity at the city and regional level. Previously, H.G Chissell served as Senior VP of Strategic Accounts for Viridity Energy, a software/service firm focused on virtual power generation and advanced energy optimization.
H.G. graduated from Swarthmore College, studied architecture at Drexel University and currently serves as Chair of the IEEE Grid Edge StartUp Showcase and recently finished serving on the board of NECEC and the Advisory Group for the Puerto Rico 100 Study. In March 2021, H.G. Chissell received the President's Award for Excellence in Leadership from the National Society of Black Engineers Boston Professionals.
John Ciovacco
John is the President of Aztech Geothermal, LLC., an engineering-driven heat pump design, installation, and consulting company based in New York. He often serves as a resource to a wide array of stakeholders regarding the latest renewable and energy efficiency technologies, government incentives, and financing options. John presents regularly on heat pump related topics including whether electric heat pumps are ready to replace natural gas. He led the Ground Loop Design Group during HEET’s Utility-Scale Geothermal Charrette at MIT’s January Session. John has been a registered party to seven NY-based public utility rate cases (e.g., National Grid Con Edison) representing the New York Geothermal Energy Organization (NY-GEO) as a board member. John is an IGSHPA Accredited Geothermal Installer, a Building Performance Institute (BPI) Certified Contractor, and a Certified Green Professional with the NAHB. John received his B.S. in mechanical engineering from Union College.
Don Lessard
Don is a highly respected expert in sustainability and global business strategy. With a passion for guiding large-scale energy and infrastructure projects, he has spent his career helping companies align their strategies with sustainable practices. As a professor and program leader, he’s been at the forefront of education, designing impactful courses and programs at MIT and the Asia School of Business. He’s also recognized globally for his contributions to international management, making complex concepts accessible to executives and professionals aiming to make a real difference in their industries.
Nathan Phillips
Nathan is one of the country’s leading researchers in methane emissions from natural gas leaks under urban streets as well as an expert in a surprising variety of other areas. He has researched and published groundbreaking reports on gas leaks in cities such as Boston, Washington DC, and New York City. He is Director of Boston University’s Earth House Living Learning Community and a professor in the Department of Earth and Environment. His areas of research include global change biology, tree physiology, and the structure and function of resilient resource distribution systems, human or natural.
Jason Taylor
Jason began as a volunteer at HEET and was immediately made a team leader weatherizing windows. (Perhaps this is the reason he is often seen wearing dirty overalls.) He has been training workers for the last 12 years at the Green Jobs Academy, the ABCD Weatherization Lab in Mattapan, and at Roxbury Community College. Jason also trains Mass Save weatherization crew chiefs and continues to work for Byggmeister Associates as their air barrier specialist. He has written air-sealing curricula for community colleges, MassCAP, and HEET and presented air-sealing techniques for NESEA/Boston, NESEA/New York, the Department of Energy, and the Studio for High Performance Design and Construction.
Kannan Thiruvengadam
Kannan grew up near his family farm in India. He left a career in technology to work on climate and community resiliency. He runs Eastie Farm, an urban farm in East Boston that fosters food security and environmental stewardship. He managed the construction of the first geothermally powered greenhouse in the region, which is now a community asset for all-year food distribution/growing and education. He also serves on local (Friends of Belle Isle Marsh), city (Community Preservation Committee and Conservation Commission), and state (Executive Committee of the Massachusetts chapter of the Sierra Club) organizations.
Brock Yordy
Brock Yordy is the proud father of two future geothermal drilling professionals, a third-generation driller, and owner of The Developed Well Group. He attended college at Western Michigan University, where he studied groundwater science and environmental policy. After college, Brock was hired by Baroid IDP, where he attended Halliburton’s drilling fluids academy. Once he graduated, Brock volunteered for challenging industrial drill projects worldwide. He desired to experience every drilling condition, situation, and application available. In the past Twenty-five years, Brock has documented his experience with successful drilling projects and, more importantly, the failures. His project documentation has helped him build credibility as a global drilling expert and industry educator in the geothermal, water, and construction drilling industries. His career has allowed him to experience the geothermal, water, and construction industries with multi-national teams in metropolitan and remote areas. He has treated all this experience as a graduate school in the science of drilling. Brock teaches and trains drillers for state drilling associations, IGSHPA, NGWA, DoE, DoL, the International Operators Union, and HEET. Brock is the Co-Founder of the Geothermal Drillers Association, whose mission is to advocate for drilling education, safety, professionalism, and the next generation of geothermal drilling professionals. Brock’s technical papers, articles, podcasts, and newscasts are published weekly at TheDriller.com.
