About Us

OED leads the state's efforts to build energy ecosystems that meet Gov. Cox's goal of energy superabundance. From research to workforce development to education to large-scale infrastructure projects, OED is driving innovation, connecting partners, and protecting Utah's high quality of life.

Our Mission: Innovation and Collaboration

OED believes in innovation and collaboration: Innovation to drive technologies and bring them to market. Collaboration to accelerate development and deployment. By championing public-private partnerships and collaborating with industry, academia, national laboratories, and other state agencies, we aim to strike a balance between growth, energy resilience and environmental stewardship. Utah stands ready to lead the West and the nation in energy development.
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Our Team

Meet Our Directors

Emy Lesofski

governor's energy advisor/
OED Director

Emy Lesofski
[email protected]

Emy Lesofski was appointed as director of the Utah Office of Energy Development in October 2023. She also serves as energy advisor to Gov. Cox.  Emy brings extensive experience in federal appropriations and natural resources and environment policy. She oversees the policy and program staff, as well as the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab. 

Jake Garfield

deputy director

Jake Garfield
[email protected]

  • Researches and analyzes Federal energy policy and its impact on Utah.
  • Develops strategies to improve Federal energy policy and facilitate energy development in Utah.
  • Works with other state agencies and the Utah Attorney General's Office to challenge Federal energy policies that are harmful to Utah.
  • Engages in the Federal land use planning process to promote development of Utah's energy resources.

Jeremy Pearson

INSTITUTE director

Jeremy Pearson
[email protected]

  • Oversees USREL operations and staff.
  • Researches and commercializes advanced desalination technologies to enhance water resources in Utah.
  • Conducts advanced hydrogen production research with OxEon to provide solutions for the ACES Delta project and support growth of energy storage capacity in Utah.
  • Assists in researching and developing energy solutions for the state of Utah.

Harry Hansen

director of Government and
External affairs

Harry Hansen
[email protected]

  • OED legislative liaison.
  • Oversees OED communications and media efforts.
  • Oversees programs team and manages tax credit programs.

Dusty Monks

director of nuclear programs

Dusty Monks
[email protected]

  • OED legistalative liaison.
  • Oversees Policy and Research team.
  • Projects: Operation Gigawatt, Governor Cox's second term strategic plan, Utah's Strategic Energy Plan.

Debi Carty

finance director

Debi Carty
[email protected]

  • OED operating budget and day-to-day financial operations including state purchasing, procurement and payroll.
  • Oversees federal grant funding.
  • Coordinates legislative appropriation processes and administrative state and federal funding for the OED office.

Programs

ANNA Holmstead

Program director

Anna Holmstead
[email protected]

  • Manages SEP, SEP BIL, EECBG, GRID 40101d, GRIP 40103b, TREC and RLF programs.
  • Ensures regulatory compliance.
  • Department of Energy point of contact for monitoring and reporting.
  • Collaborator on various committees including energy security.

Luke Voss

energy Manager

Luke Voss
[email protected]

  • Manages Home Energy Rebates (HER,) Solar for All, RESTC and tax incentives programs.
  • Oversees team of program specialists.
  • Oversees grant program life cycle.
  • Identifies funding opportunities and generates necessary grant application documents.

Mary Parkinson

EnerGy Specialist

Mary Parkinson
[email protected]

  • Creates and executes education programs for K-12 and the public about energy in Utah/OED projects.
  • OED Program Intern Mentor.
  • STEM Outreach and events.
  • Creates content and manages OED social media accounts.

Madeline Miller

Energy Specialist

Madeline Miller
[email protected]

  • Manages energy-related projects and grants for the SEP team.
  • Assists in development and communications of the SEP program narrative
  • Implementation and oversight of the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (CPACE) program.
  • Contributes to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program.

Alex Motro

energy Specialist

Alex Motro
[email protected]

  • Manages Solar for All of Utah Program.
  • Creates outreach and support to inform Utah residents about solar energy.
  • Plans and executes financing, utility involvement, community agency support, long-term panel maintenance and recycling for Solar for All participants.
  • Provides feedback, review and support on various other state programs, projects and applications at OED.

Research

Tim Kowalchik

research director

Tim Kowalchik
[email protected]

  • Supports OED  Policy & Research efforts.
  • Investigates new technologies or innovations to determine if they fit Utah's needs and energy attributes.
  • Assists in the OED Nuclear Pathway's series, Utah's Nuclear consortium and helps facilitate the overall conversation about nuclear energy in Utah.
  • Researches the grid and systemic energy to determine possibilities, challenges and how Utah can effectively meet its energy needs.

Tyson Bomsta

energy Economist

Tyson Bomsta
[email protected]

  • Supports OED Policy & Research efforts.
  • Supports legislative mandates such as the Decommissioned Asset Disposition Authority, Energy Landscape and Forecast Study, Fuel Reserve Feasibility Study and Energy Attribute Modeling.
  • Determines financial impact of proposed energy policies and ensures that new legislation is supported by data-driven, thorough research.

Cindi Eckhardt

Data Scientist

Cindi Eckhardt
[email protected]

  • Supports OED  Policy & Research efforts.
  • Supports legislative mandates to ensure decisions are data-based.
  • Assists in making complicated concepts and analyses useful and understandable.
  • Develops and oversees the energy forecasting model in collaboration with NREL.

Adam Heilbronner

Geothermal Fellow

Adam Heilbronner
[email protected]

  • Researches barriers and incentives to geothermal production in Utah to help enhance baseload grid resilience.
  • Establishes policy for the legislature and regulatory departments of the state that assist in taking power-generating and direct-use geothermal from demonstration to commercialization.
  • Develops policy around the way major power-demand projects can best be sited, receive power and operate in the state while protecting the broader Utah consumer.

Administrative Support

Tracy Rees

Public Information Officer

Tracy Rees
[email protected]

  • Serves as OED's primary contact for media inquiries.
  • Assists in writing and creating talking points, presentations and a range of internal and external communications.
  • Manages the OED website.
  • Provides writing and editing support to the OED teams as needed.

Cindy Jones

Communications Specialist

Cindy A. Jones
[email protected]

  • Conceptualizes and designs materials to help educate and inform the legislature and other government entities, local educators and Utah residents  about OED objectives and Utah's energy resources.
  • Assists PIO in maintaining and updating the OED website.
  • Helps obtain, organize and curate OED's media assets including photos, graphics, and videos.
  • Assists PIO in supporting in-office communications, projects and operations.

Toni Sierra

Executive Assistant

Toni Sierra
[email protected]

  • Provides administrative support to the OED office.
  • Manages OED office calendars.
  • Coordinates and facilitates OED events.
  • Assists OED teams with travel and finance.

Jayden Ellsworth

Contract Analyst

Jayden Ellsworth
[email protected]

  • Drafts, reviews and manages contracts, including Scopes of Work, Memorandums of Agreement, and compliance sections for various projects.
  • Coordinates with stakeholders, teams and organizations to ensure clear objectives, requirements and deliverables are met.
  • Streamlines workflows and ensuring accuracy in documentation to improve efficiency and support project goals.

Utah San Rafael Energy Lab

Jaron Wallace

Lab Director

Jaron Wallace
[email protected]

  • Works with USREL engineering team to lead energy engineering projects.
  • Founder of the Rural Utah Science Symposium.
  • Radiation Safety Officer.
  • Leads numerous grant applications to bring projects to USREL.

Kayden Alderson

Research Engineering manager

Kayden Alderson
[email protected]

  • Conceptualizes and designs materials to help educate and inform the legislature and other government entities, local educators and Utah residents  about OED objectives and Utah's energy resources.
  • Assists PIO in maintaining and updating the OED website.
  • Helps obtain, organize and curate OED's media assets including photos, graphics, and videos.
  • Assists PIO in supporting in-office communications, projects and operations.

Eric Slater

Engineer Technician II

Eric Slater
[email protected]

  • Conducts analytical tests and basic experiments to support research projects.
  • Assists in creation, implementation and documentation of Quality Assurance/Quality Control procedures.
  • Performs routine maintenance and calibration of laboratory equipment, troubleshoots issues, and coordinates repairs.
  • Collaborates with USREL team to investigate innovative and sustainable methods for recycling lithium batteries.

Summer Clark

Administrative Assistant

Summer Clark
[email protected]

  • Provides administrative support to USREL lab and office.
  • Prepares and organizes meeting materials.
  • Greets and assists visitors.
  • Assists lab staff with travel and finance.