Speaker 2023

Bio

Len is a Senior Energy Specialist currently with the Pacific Regional Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He worked in ADB’s South Asia Regional Department from 2009-2020 where he processed and implemented ADB loans, grants and technical assistance and has experience of covering India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan as well as on regional energy projects. With regard to rural energy related support, Len led a team that processed the $618 million Bangladesh Power Sector Enhancement and Efficiency Improvement Project that had a key component supporting rural electricity distribution infrastructure creation and technical assistance support on energy-based livelihoods. He has also led the team for the approval of the first results-based lending program in the power sector in SARD in the state of Maharashtra to support energy access for agricultural customers using HVDS.

Prior to ADB, Len was a senior manager with one of the Big 4 consulting firms where he worked on due diligence for private sector investments, regulatory capacity building and projects with ADB, World Bank and DFID. Len has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Delhi University and a post graduate diploma in management from the Indian Institute of Management at Ahmedabad.

Bio

Loan is a climate change expert and the advisory manager of the Green Climate Innovation Company Limited (GreenCIC) in Viet Nam. She graduated from Hanoi University of Science and Technology of Viet Nam and hold Master Degree in Development Policies and Practices from Graduate Institute Geneva, Switzerland. She is currently the PhD candidate in Climate Change and Sustainability of Euclid University. She started to work for GreenCIC from 2011 and has participated in several advisory services on climate change policies, institutional set-ups and project development for the carbon market, both domestically and internationally. She was the Climate Change Expert in the project on Impact Assessment of EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and Carbon Tax Design for Viet Nam funded by the Energy Transition Partnership in Viet Nam in 2022 to provide recommendations for the government of Viet Nam to respond to CBAM. She has also participated in awareness rising and capacity building for enterprises in Viet Nam to prepare for CBAM implementation.

Bio

Ms. Varrick is CEO of CORE International, Inc. and Officer-in-Charge of the Enhancing Equality in Energy for Southeast Asia (E4SEA) Activity. Ms. Varrick provides change management and capacity building services to clients worldwide. Her special expertise is in the energy sector where her work has included projects and programs in energy efficiency, clean energy production and use, renewable energy systems, and rural energy services. She has worked in over 60 countries and has been responsible for multi-year energy projects in India, the Republic of Georgia, the Turkish Cypriot Community, Thailand, and throughout Southern Africa for clients such as USAID, DFID, SIDA, and GIZ. Prior to joining CORE International, she was the Senior Country Manager for Central and Eastern Europe and the Country Manager for Africa Middle East for the US Trade and Development Agency. She holds an MA in International Economics from the University of Leuven, Belgium and a BA in Political Science and Communications from Central Connecticut State University, USA. She is certified in Human Performance Improvement from the Association for Talent Development and in Professional Leadership from the Creative Leadership Institute.

Bio

Loit started her career in public policy in 2005 with the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines as government liaison and coordinator for the legislative, trade and investments, taxes and tariffs, and industrial relations committees. She worked with Chevron in its geothermal energy assets in the Philippines from 2011 to 2021, where she engaged government stakeholders, industry associations, and host communities to advocate for policies that support the renewable energy sector. Before joining AWS, Loit was a senior officer with the Global Green Growth Institute, where she managed capacity development activities on climate-resilient agriculture and led the policy advisory on scaling rooftop solar energy systems in public buildings. She obtained a master's degree in public policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, and a bachelor's degree in Broadcast Communication from the University of the Philippines-Diliman.

Bio

"Lorraine H. Akiba is President/CEO of LHA Ventures. She is a recognized thought leader with technical expertise and knowledge in the development of Hawaii’s renewable and clean energy policy and both state and federal regulatory frameworks. Given her diverse professional experience she provides senior policy advisor services in other regulated industry sectors and expertise for development of corporate environmental, social and governance goals and metrics for publicly traded companies. Ms. Akiba works with international agencies and ministries including the Government of Barbados Ministry of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneurship; the Inter-American Development Bank; the Asian Development Bank; and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency on energy and economic development policy activities and engagements. She served from 2012-2018 as a commissioner on the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission which presides over all regulated public utility matters including electric, gas, private water and wastewater, telecommunications, water transportation and motor carrier transportation utilities. She continues to remain active with the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners International Committee in peer to peer regulatory review programs sponsored by USAID and the U.S. State Department. Prior to this appointment, she worked in private practice as a law partner at McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon LLP and Cades Schutte LLP. She headed the Environmental Practice Groups at both law firms with an emphasis in environmental and natural resources law in addition to her commercial and business litigation practice. She holds many leadership roles in various national and international organizations including the Interstate Renewable Energy Council Board of Directors and the US-Japan Council. Ms. Akiba previously served as member of the Advisory Council to the Board of Directors of the Electric Power Research Institute; the Board of Directors of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and its Energy Resources and Environment Committee; the U.S. DOE and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Future Electric Utility Regulation Advisory Group and the State and Local Efficiency Action Network (SEE Network) Financial Solutions Working Group. Ms. Akiba holds a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and graduated with honors from the University of California at Berkeley with a B.A. in political science."

Bio

Ms.Ma Dingling is the Director of Regional Planning Department of Ningbo Development Planning Research Institute .She holds a Doctor's degree of the history of science from ShangHai JiaoTong University. She joined Ningbo Development Planning Research Institute in 2009 after graduation.She was appointed as the Director of the Regional and Planning Research Department in 2019 with main focus on urban development strategy and policy recommendations, climate change response (carbon reduction), environmental protection and resource conservation, development planning and research as well as strategic planning and study on significant issues.

Bio

Madura Watanagase is the Manager for Competitive Procurement at USAID Southeast Asia’s Smart Power Program (SPP). Her main role at SPP is to establish a Center for Competitive Procurement, which will serve as a one-stop-shop for resources and assistance on procuring energy and energy services. She is also part of the team that oversees the Corporate Clean Energy Alliance, a USAID initiative that brings together like-minded corporations to share ideas, strategize, and advocate for policy that expands opportunities for clean energy investment and procurement. Before joining SPP, Madura worked on its predecessor program, USAID Clean Power Asia, which supported the government of Laos to design the country’s first solar pilot auction. As an RE policy specialist, she developed the evaluation criteria for the solar pilot auction. Prior to entering the energy field, Madura was an economic research assistant at the Federal Reserve Board and consultant at the World Bank, respectively. Madura holds a B.A. Hons in Economics from Williams College and an M.A. in International Development from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Bio

Mahfuz is currently working as Project Manager- EU Switch Garment project for GGGI Cambodia. He joined GGGI HQ in Seoul, South Korea in August 2019 and later in March 2021 he was mobilized to GGGI Cambodia Team. In GGGI Cambodia, Mahfuz is managing a sustainable energy portfolio including Switch Garment project, ESCO Eco system development project as well as capacity building for industrial energy efficiency i.e. USAID funded project “Creating Jobs in Sustainable Garment Sourcing”. Prior to joining GGGI he worked as Senior Advisor- Sustainable Energy for GIZ Bangladesh. Mahfuz started his sustainable energy career in 2009 by joining Bangladesh’s leading renewable energy and energy efficiency financing company named Infrastructure Development Company Limited. Over the past one decade he was involved in several sustainable energy interventions namely Solar Home Systems, Solar irrigation, solar minigrid, solar roof-top as well as energy efficiency interventions for industries. Mahfuz holds Masters’ degree in Renewable Energy from the University of Oldenburg, Germany.

Bio

Maraida Licerio has more than 15 years of experience in greenhouse gas (GHG) measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) from facility-level inventories to project-level mitigation actions including third-party audits of facilities and projects implementing MRV systems for climate action. She is currently the senior advisor on climate change mitigation of GIZ Philippines and ad hoc focal for the coordination of initiatives on carbon market mechanisms. She is primarily the national coordinator of projects implemented by the global cooling program, GIZ Proklima, the bilateral implementing agency of the German government to the Montreal Protocol, promoting an integrated ozone and climate protection approach. She is also a qualified GHG verifier for Bureau Veritas SA.

Bio

Dr. Maria Teresa M. Fajardo is a full-time faculty member of the Department of Science Education of the College of Science and Technology Education of the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP) Cagayan de Oro City Campus for the last 15 years. She served the university in various capacities including Program Chairperson, Accreditation Task Force Chair, and at present, as Director of the Extension and Community Relations Division and GAD (Gender and Development) Focal Person. She strategically connects USTP to various communities and organizations for sustainable projects for human and economic development. She is an active researcher with publications in international, ISI and Scopus Indexed Journals. She also has a number of externally and institutionally funded research and extension projects.
A mother of two young men, she is a firm believer in women's empowerment, having been an engineer with industry experience of seven years.

Bio

Fritzie Vergel is driving the activities of the UNOPS Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP) in the Philippines as Country Program Coordinator. ETP is a regional program that supports governments achieve their clean energy targets and accelerate the transition to low-carbon energy systems. In the Philippines, ETP promotes energy efficiency through the Energy Efficiency Innovation Window (EEIW) and through a Demand Side Management technical assistance project. ETP also supports offshore wind sector development, enhancing energy regulations, and battery energy storage system market mechanisms. Fritzie has over ten years of experience working on clean energy policies, financing, capacity building, and energy access. Prior to joining ETP, she was part of ADB's Sustainable Energy for All Initiative for Asia and the Pacific and has worked with USAID, and UNDP under the DREAMS Project.

Bio

Brenda brings more than 9 years of experience in entrepreneurship and innovation. She is currently the Philippines country manager for New Energy Nexus, a global non-profit organization that is committed to building equity in the global clean energy economy through innovation and entrepreneurship. Together with her team, they have numerous programs for ecosystem building and entrepreneur support with the goal to accelerate the rate of energy transition in the country. Prior to joining New Energy Nexus, Brenda has been working with over 200 entrepreneurs through the Philippines’ largest tech startup accelerator. She has a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship from the Philippines.