Energy Development Staff

CREATING A BETTER ENERGY FUTURE FOR UTAH SINCE 2011

Meet Our Directors

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Emy Lesofski
Director
[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. 

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Harry Hansen
Deputy Director of Programs
[email protected]

  • OED legislative liaison

  • Oversees OED communications and media efforts

  • Oversees programs team and manages tax credit programs

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Dusty Monks
Deputy Director of Policy and Research
[email protected]

  • OED legislative liaison

  • Oversees Policy and Research team

  • Projects: Operation Gigawatt, Governor Cox's second term strategic plan, Utah's Strategic Energy Plan

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Debi Carty
Director of Finance
[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

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Jake Garfield
Legal Counsel
[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

  • OED operating budget and day-to-day financial operations including state purchasing and procurement and payroll.

  • Oversees federal grant funding

  • Coordinates legislative appropriation processes and administrative state and federal funding for the OED office

Meet Our Teams

Programs

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Anna Holmstead
Program Manager
[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.

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Poy Prasurtwong
Advanced Transportation Specialist
[email protected]

  • Manages GRIP 40103b - RELIEF, GRID 40101d, NEVI, REVI and UB ALaRD grants

  • Manages grants that focus on Grid expansion, enhance resiliency and EV charging station expansions

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Mary Parkinson
Energy Education Specialist
[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

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Madeline Miller
Program Specialist
[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

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Anna Larsen
Program Specialist
[email protected]

  • Assists in establishing Workforce Development Foundations

  • Assists in developing an in-depth energy workforce needs inventory

  • Assists with the Training for Residential Energy Contractors (TREC) grant

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Luke Voss
Program Manager
[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

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Alex Motro
Solar for All
Grants Specialist
[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 and Policy

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Tim Kowalchik
Emerging Technology Strategist
[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

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Tyson Bomsta
Economist
[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

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Cindi Eckhardt
Data Scientist
[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

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Adam Heilbronner
Geothermal Fellow
[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

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Toni Sierra
Executive Assistant
(801) 538-8732
[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

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Tracy M. Rees
Public Information Officer 
(385) 775-9253
[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

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Jayden Ellsworth
Contract Analyst
[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

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Cindy A. Jones
Communications Specialist
Graphic Designer
[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

Utah San Rafael Energy Lab

Research

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Jeremy Pearson
Director
[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

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Jaron Wallace
Research Engineering Manager
[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

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Eric Slater
Engineering Technician II
[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

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Kayden Alderson
Research Engineer
[email protected]

  • Conducts research and analysis of molten salts and other advanced energy technologies

  • Ensures safety, regulatory compliance and quality assurance of laboratory operations

  • Assists with grant writing and budget planning for new lab projects

  • Writes and reviews standard operating procedures and basic laboratory procedures

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Summer Clark
Administrative Assistant
[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