Meet the experts
Austria
Communication expert
Suzanne Whitby
Suzanne specialises in helping organisations and communities create sustainable futures. With 20 years of experience in communication, marketing, and facilitation, and many years of teaching scientists how to communicate complex research to non-experts, she is an insightful and effective communicator of climate- and sustainability-related topics. She holds a BA in Humanities, an MA in Classical Studies and is currently exploring ways to shift environmental thinking as part of her doctoral research at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Suzanne speaks English and German
Bulgaria
Legal expert
Snezhina Bozhikova
Shezhina has 10 years of professional experience in the renewable energy sector, advising on the construction and operation of photovoltaic power plants of more than 40MW in Bulgaria. She graduated from the University of Veliko Turnovo with a law degree. Shezhina speaks Bulgarian, English and Russian.
Technical expert
Svetoslav Obretenov
Svetoslav has 28 years of professional experience in the renewable energy sector, including in project management, project development, O&M, asset evaluation of hydro, wind, and PV plants. He graduated as M.Sc. from Technical University of Sofia with a mechanical engineer degree. He speaks Bulgarian, English and Russian.
Croatia
Technical expert
Ana Radovcic
Ana has 20 years of experience in energy auditing for buildings, companies and industries, and she is an ISO 50001 Certified Lead Auditor of Energy Management System. She has a master’s degree in engineering of architecture and urban planning from the University of Zagreb. Ana speaks Croatian, English, Italian and German.
Communication expert
Maja Krivokapic
Maja has more than 15 years of experience in the field of communication and started her own PR and event company in 2019. In the framework of EU- and IFI-funded projects, she had the opportunity to work in the sectors of economy, energy and environment, water and waste management, the business sector, and social welfare. She graduated from the Podgorica University in English and French Language and Literature. Maja speaks Montenegrin, Croatian, French and English.
Legal expert
Ivan Prskalo
Ivan has 12 years of professional experience in the construction, energy and telecommunication industry providing the full spectrum of legal services. Advising on a great number of large valuable projects in Croatia. He graduated from the University of Zagreb with a law degree. Ivan speaks Croatian and English.
Cyprus
Technical expert
Giorgos Elpidoforou
Giorgos is an Energy Engineer, and he has vast experience in various Energy sectors such as photovoltaics, Energy Audits, Energy design, and more. He is a holder of an MSc in Advanced Mechanical Engineering, and he is an Energy Auditor in Cyprus, and a Passive House designer approved by Passive House Institute. His main interest is to improve and help people’s life by promoting energy transition and Environmental comprehension. Giorgos speaks Greek and English.
Czech Republic
Technical expert
Jiri Tencar
Since 2012, Jiri has been working as a consultant in energy efficiency, energy audits, smart buildings, HVAC and construction designing in urban planning and building design, climate change city adaptation through advanced geospatial planning and 3D modelling and simulation technologies. He holds a master's degree in Structural Engineering and Architecture and a PhD in Sustainable Development and Industrial Heritage from the Czech Technical University. Jiri speaks Czech and English.
Legal expert
Katerina Palkovska
Katerina is a legal practitioner and researcher specialised in the field of International Dispute Resolution, Energy Law, International Investment Law and Public International Law. Katerina holds doctoral and master degree in law and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. She speaks Czech, English, German, Slovak and has a basic knowledge of French.
Denmark
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Technical expert
Ole Jakobsen
Ole has 25 years of experience with energy optimizing for industrial companies, the maritime area (vessel owners), farming and biogas plants. Experience in project development, R&D, project management, energy audits for industrial companies and vessels, energy optimization of industrial production and buildings, as well as ferries, fishing and merchant’s vessels. Marine Engineer by training from Aarhus School of Marine and Technical Engineering, Certified Energy Consultant for large enterprises by Danish Energy Agency, Project and Team management.
Ole speaks Danish, English, Swedish and Norwegian.
Estonia
Communication expert
Marian Männi
With over 20 years of experience in journalism and media-related research, Marian holds a double MSc degree in “Journalism, Media, and Globalization” from Aarhus University and the University of Hamburg. She was awarded the highest investigative journalism award in Estonia for a series of stories that took down a minister. In recent years, she has mainly been writing about Estonian science and scientists. Marian speaks Estonian, English, Spanish and German.
Legal expert
Ksenia Korolkova
Ksenia is a legal practitioner with over 5 years of experience in energy and environmental law, focusing on all legal aspects of renewable energy projects.
She holds a master's degree in law from the University of Tartu. Ksenia is fluent in English, Estonian, and Russian languages.
Finland
Technical expert
Alexander Izmaylov
Alexander has 13+ years of experience in the nuclear industry and project management with a dedicated focus on nuclear licensing, safety, oversight, technical documentation development, reviews and running regulatory dialogue. In particular, he successfully managed licensing of nuclear power plant projects (3600 Mwe in total) in Finland (Hanhikivi) and Belarus (Ostrovec) including leading licensing project team and works. He also has experience working in nuclear commissioning organization. In nuclear regulatory authority, Alexander arranged and conducted successful joint projects, inspections and emergency exercises with foreign nuclear regulatory bodies which led to exchange of best regulatory practices and regulatory improvements in Russia and abroad. Alexander graduated from Moscow Engineering Physics Institute. He speaks English, Finnish and Russian.
Legal expert
Lotta Aho
Lotta has extensive professional experience working both as a consultant and in government and intergovernmental institutions with international energy and environment policies and carbon and clean energy finance. She has also conducted research on how climate change policies impact the energy sector and holds a PhD is in Economics and Business Administration from Aalto University and a Master of Law from University of Helsinki. Lotta speaks Finnish, English, Spanish and Swedish.
France
Communication expert
Paul Floren
Paul is an accomplished multilingual communication professional experienced in building innovative external and internal strategic campaigns for both European and U.S. based companies in energy, environment, banking, consulting, and other industrial sectors. He graduated from the American University of Paris. Paul speaks English and French.
Technical expert
Sébastien Duraffourg
Sebastien has 17 years of professional experience in electricity distribution. He has been involved in several projects with more than 70 utilities all around the world, dealing with smart metering, underground distribution, houses and buildings connection. He also designed low and medium-voltage lines as well as managed line installation on the field. He is a mechanical engineer graduated from INSA Lyon in 2006. He speaks French, English and Norwegian.
Germany
Legal expert
Inga Rovbutas
Inga Rovbutas, an expert with a firm experience in project management and research in such topics as renewable energy, energy efficiency and urban renewal in the housing sector. She is a holder of LL.M in Business Law from HTW Berlin with a focus on Tax Law and European legal regulations. Main focus is on legal regulation and official requirements for housing sector in EU, with main core in Lithuania and Germany. She speaks fluently Lithuanian, German and English.
Communication expert
Urszula Papajak
Urszula specialises in bridging the communication gap between technology, policy and citizen energy experts in the field of energy communities, smart energy solutions and energy sharing. She has experience in project management and development, facilitation, consulting research projects and developing policy recommendations. She holds a Master's Degree in Journalism, Media and Globalisation and International Relations. She studied at Denmarks Journalisthøjskole, Aarhus University, University of Amsterdam and University of Swansea and Łódź University. She speaks German, English and Polish.
Technical expert
Felix Ernst
Felix graduated from FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg as a Materials Science Engineer and holds an additional Bachelor’s degree in Economics and social sciences. He has more than 5 years of experience in developing technology dealing with energy conversion like hydrogen-electric fuel cells or solar cells as well as project work focusing on economic aspects of energy transition and its impact on markets and societies. Motivated by a multidisciplinary approach, he likes to challenge questions regarding green energy topics from multiple perspectives, to understand the needs of various stakeholders and find adapted solutions to increase added value and contribution to social welfare. Felix speaks German, English and French.
Greece
Technical expert
Georgios Zisopoulos
Georgios is a Scientific Associate at CERTH/ CPERI. His main research activities are related to the development of computational tools and methods for the dynamic simulation of thermodynamic systems and processes with proven experience related to thermochemical energy storage with RES-driven power production units, commercial full-scale plant for alternative fuel production, CO2 capture and utilization technologies, and solutions on supporting the green transition of Greek islands. He has worked on several European research projects. He holds a master's degree in Mechanical engineering from the National Technical University of Athens. Georgios speaks Greek, English and German.
Legal expert
Ioanna Christopoulou
Ioanna is a highly experienced energy lawyer with business insight, focusing on all legal aspects of renewable energy projects (solar, offshore/onshore wind, hydro, energy storage, biofuels and biomass), as well as energy efficiency and smart cities solutions. Skilled in foreign investments, European funded programs as well as project finance, M&A and legal due diligence. She graduated from the University of Athens and the University of Essex. Ioanna speaks English, Greek and French.
Technical expert
Maya Andreou
Maya has worked as an electrical engineer in various fields relevant to the energy sector. She is co-founder and CEO of Community Energy River, a company that offers consulting services and educational workshops for clean energy production, energy-saving, and energy cooperatives. Her main interests are promoting energy production at the local level and energy transition to a sustainable energy mix, based on Renewable Energy Sources, protecting the environment, and increasing energy self-sufficiency. She graduated from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens. Maya speaks Greek, English and German.
Technical Expert
Konstantina Mentesidi
Konstantina Mentesidi is an Electricity Markets Expert with more than 13 years of knowledge and experience in the electricity sector and more than 7 years professional experience in competitive electricity markets. She has experience in the fields of Electricity Markets Design, Power Systems’ Modelling, RES & flexible resources integration in the electricity markets’ secondary regulation, and in project management. She holds a Ph.D. and MSc in Renewable Energies. Konstantina speaks Greek, English and Spanish.
Hungary
Communication expert
Bettina Dézsi
Bettina is a research associate at the Regional Centre for Energy Policy Research (REKK) in Budapest. Bettina has worked on a very wide range of energy market-related topics, from the analysis of the regulation of biomass markets to participating in the adaptation of the Hungarian TIMES model. She completed her bachelor's degree in applied economics at Corvinus University of Budapest and her master's degree in economics at Eötvös Lóránd University. Bettina speaks Hungarian and English.
Technical expert
Kamilla Kurdi
For the past 8 years, Kamilla has been working as a consultant in energy management. She specializes in corporate energy management including implementing and operating an ISO 50001 Energy Management System and energy procurement. Her mission is to reduce energy costs through optimizing energy consumption and to minimize ecological footprints. She obtained a master's degree in Building Services and Process Technology from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Kamilla speaks Hungarian, English and German.
Legal expert
Tamas Hampel
Tamas is a Hungarian bar admitted lawyer with more than 10 years of relevant legal experience in commercial, energy and environmental law. He holds a JD and an MSc degree from the University of Pécs, and an MSc degree from the University of Aberdeen. He was appointed and awarded a scholarship by the Scottish Government. He worked as an attorney in an international law firm and worked for multinational companies as a legal counsel. Tamas speaks Hungarian and English.
Iceland
Technical expert
Kári Jónsson
Kári graduated from the Technical University of Denmark as a Sustainable Energy Engineer and has over 5 years of experience with a variety of projects relating to renewable energy and the environment. Throughout his educational and professional career, he has acquired a comprehensive understanding of the main challenges faced during the energy transition toward alternative sources of energy. He is dedicated and ambitious and has a solid technical and logical foundation in mechanical engineering on which to come up with creative but realistic solutions to the challenges at hand. He truly cares for the well-being for the people of this planet and the environment and is dedicated to contributing to a new balance between the two. Besides his native Icelandic, Kári speaks English and Danish.
Ireland
Communication expert
Ellen McDonough
Ellen has more than 40 years of experience in marketing, communication, and teaching. Her expertise makes her excellent in stakeholder engagement and effective communication of complex energy related topics. Ellen holds a bachelor's degree in communication and management, an MBA and MSc in Management for Sustainable Development. Ellen speaks English.
Technical expert
Pádraig Lyons
Pádraig Lyons is the Head of Group at IERC. He has held roles across academia and in industry including a senior strategy role with the Irish Distribution System Operator (DSO), ESB Networks and as Lecturer in Electrical Power Systems at Newcastle University, UK.
Pádraig received his BE degree in electrical and electronic engineering and a MEngSc degree in electrical engineering (range extender hybrid electric vehicles) from University College Cork, Ireland. He furthered his education by obtaining a PhD degree from Durham University in Durham, UK. Pádraig speaks English.
Italy
Legal expert
Giuseppe Galeota
Giuseppe has more than ten years of experience as a lawyer in contracts, industrial and competition, international trade and company, renewable energy, and EU funding. He graduated from the University of Bari Aldo Moro. Giuseppe speaks Italian and English.
Communication expert
Agnese Metitieri
With a bachelor’s degree in Energy Engineering, Agnese specializes in environmental communications to act at the interface of technology and dissemination. She works to bridge gaps from knowledge to action and from action to storytelling for energy transition, sustainability, climate change and circularity solutions. Agnese now has 7 years of international experience as a communication and sustainability consultant, innovation manager, climate impact assessment coach and entrepreneurship mentor. She speaks Italian, English and French.
Technical expert
Edoardo Barabino
Edoardo graduated in Applied Physics from the Technical University of Munich and specialized in Design and Technology in his PDEng at the Eindhoven University of Technology. He has been working at the cross-section between academic research and industrial implementation throughout various projects, studying solutions for energy communities, the reuse of waste materials, the reduction of scraps in the foundry, and the development of plastic solar panels. He collaborates with ESCOs on the setting up of renewable plants and performs energy certification for buildings. He speaks Italian, English, and German.
Latvia
Legal expert
Ilana Taivane
Ilana has close to 10 years of experience in legal work and policies and regulations, with more than 5 years’ experience in the energy sector. Ilana has a bachelor’s degree in humanities and law, a master’s degree in law and is currently pursuing a PhD in law. Ilana speaks Latvian, Russian, English and has basic knowledge of German and French.
Technical expert
Kārlis Grīnbergs
Kārlis’ expertise ranges from research in numerical simulations for burning process optimization to working in target groups in order to improve energy efficiency laws. He is an engineer by training and has a master's degree in power engineering and an MBA. Kārlis speaks Latvian, English and Russian.
Lithuania
Technical expert
Mindaugas Lukoševičius
Mindaugas has more than five years of experience in the construction sector, including in infrastructure, civil and energy projects. He works as a Project Manager, responsible for the development of wind and solar projects. He graduated in Civil Engineering at the Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. Mindaugas speaks Lithuanian and English.
Legal expert
Inga Rovbutas
Inga Rovbutas, an expert with a firm experience in project management and research in such topics as renewable energy, energy efficiency and urban renewal in the housing sector. She is a holder of LL.M in Business Law from HTW Berlin with a focus on Tax Law and European legal regulations. Main focus is on legal regulation and official requirements for housing sector in EU, with main core in Lithuania and Germany. She speaks fluently Lithuanian, German and English.
Luxembourg
Communication expert
Christine Calmeau
Christine has more than 20 years of experience in journalism and media, including working as a journalist for the private television channel RTL Belgium and producing news programmes in Europe, the United States, the Middle East, Colombia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Africa. In 2020, she became spokesperson for the Belgian Minister of Defence, and in 2021, she founded her communication agency CC Com. She graduated from the University of Liège. Christine speaks French, English and German.
Malta
Communication expert
Ivan Sulev
van has 15 years of experience in which he has been able to successfully combine business strategy with an improved customer and user experience (UX), through the exploits of innovative technologies.
During these years he has managed to forge extensive experience in collaborative projects and project management for Horizon 2020, INTERREG and Erasmus+ programme in several areas as well as their commercial and business applications.
Ivan is fluent in English, Greek, Serbian, Croatian and Bulgarian.
Legal expert
Lara Borg Bugeja
Lara is a Maltese warranted lawyer with over 15 years of experience in administrative law, procurement, EU policy and decision making with a special interest in project management, ESG and the environment and energy sectors. She works in the energy sustainability sector. She holds a Doctor of Laws and a Magister Juris in EU law degree from the University of Malta, and she speaks Maltese, English and Italian.
Montenegro
Technical expert
Igor Kovacevic
Igor has 25 years of experience in the energy sector, working in modelling, design, research and implementation of energy projects. His experience is coming from private and public sectors, as well as research institutions across Europe. Igor has a bachelor's and a master's degree in mechanical engineering and a PhD in material science and engineering. He speaks Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian and English.
Communication expert
Maja Krivokapic
Maja has more than 15 years of experience in the field of communication and started her own PR and event company in 2019. In the framework of EU- and IFI-funded projects, she had the opportunity to work in the sectors of economy, energy and environment, water and waste management, the business sector, and social welfare. She graduated from the Podgorica University in English and French Language and Literature. Maja speaks Montenegrin, Croatian, French and English.
Legal expert
Vidak Stanić
Vidak is an experienced corporate lawyer with regulatory frameworks insight. With more than 10 years of experience in the telecommunications sector, he specializes in corporate governance, public procurement, competition and data protection. He graduated from the University of Montenegro with a law degree. Vidak speaks Montenegrin and English.
The Netherlands
Legal expert
Job Swens
Since 2008, Job has been working as a consultant in legal, technical and fiscal aspects of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. He holds a master's degree in Applied Physics from Delft University of Technology and is currently finalising a degree in Law at the University of Groningen. Job speaks Dutch, English, German and French.
North Macedonia
Technical expert
Lazar Gechevski
For 35 years, Lazar has been working as an energy sector consultant, specializing in areas such as Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy Sources, Energy Management, and the development of energy policies, strategies, and action plans. He earned a BSc degree in the energy field from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and an MSc degree in industrial engineering and management from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, both at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje.
Lazar has extensive experience in supporting the Government with the development of national legislation and ensuring alignment with EU energy policies. He is fluent in Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian, and English.
Social energy engineer
Vanja Djinlev
Vanja Djinlev is a social energy engineer working on the intersections of science and society, applying transdisciplinary engineering principles to energy systems while also considering the social, environmental, and economic impacts of these systems. He obtained a MSc degree in energy engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy, a Master in cooperation and development degree from University of Pavia, Italy, and is currently pursuing his doctoral degree at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Vanja speaks Macedonian and English and has an intermediate knowledge of German and Italian.
Poland
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Technical expert
Artur Harutyunyan
Artur is an Energy Management Specialist with over 14 years of experience in power engineering having strong background in the field of Renewable Energy project management and Energy Management of thermal power plants, commissioning and maintenance of steam boilers, steam turbines and gas turbines. Artur holds a PhD in Power Engineering from the Warsaw University of Technology. For his creative and innovative conceptual solution proposed in his PhD work for combined cycle gas turbine power plants technology, Artur was awarded a diploma with distinction (excellence) by the Scientific Council of the Discipline of Environmental Engineering, Mining and Energy of the Warsaw University of Technology. Artur speaks English, Polish and Russian.
Legal expert
Wojciech Szopiński
Wojciech has more than seven years as a lawyer, in a wide range of issues concerning energy, environmental and natural resources law. He advises on regulatory and contractual issues, as well as on environmental aspects of real estate transactions, mergers and acquisitions and financing processes. His experience also involves environmental litigation. He graduated from the Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań. Wojciech speaks Polish and English.
International partnerships expert
Sylwia Slomiak
Sylwia has over 15 years of experience within international cooperation focused on climate change and energy transition, having worked with municipal self-governments, ministries and the third sector. She has worked for the Swiss, UK and Australian government administrations within international programmes and policy. She cooperates closely with international city networks, especially Eurocities, NGOs and local authorities across Europe, with much focus on mentoring for local authorities and promoting other-than-subsidies financing options for local climate action. Since 2020, Sylwia has also supported the European City Facility as Country Expert for Poland. She is also advisor to the board of the Association of the Wisloka Basin Communes, a member of the Polish Evaluation Society and a former member of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers programme.
Portugal
Communication expert
Filipa Ferreira
Filipa is a communications strategist with over 20 years of experience in corporate brand, social media and public relations. Filipa holds a bachelor's degree in communication sciences. She speaks Portuguese, French, English and Spanish.
Legal expert
Nicole de Almeida Ivo
Since 2017, Nicole has been working as an adviser for the public sector, with experience in topics such as Energy, State Aid and the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).
Nicole graduated from NOVA University in Lisbon with a law degree, specializing in Environmental Law and Climate Change and holds a Master’s degree with a focus on Sustainability.
Nicole speaks Portuguese, English, and Spanish.
Technical expert
Gonçalo Cristóvão dos Santos Queirós
Gonçalo brings more than 6 years of extensive experience in project management and consultancy, with a strong focus on business development plans, technical expertise, and market research. With a master's degree in Materials Engineering from the University of Porto and a postgraduate degree in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University, his expertise spans decarbonization strategies including carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), biofuels and cutting-edge energy storage solutions. Proficient in Portuguese, English and Spanish
Romania
Legal expert
Claudia Cojocaru
For the past 8 years, Claudia has been working as a legal counsel at the electricity transmission system operator in Romania, dealing with corporate issues, energy law and public procurement. She has a Law degree from the Titu Maiorescu University and a MSc degree in European Law and International Political Relations from the National School of Political and Administrative Studies, Bucharest. Claudia speaks Romanian and English.
Technical expert
Dan Bandrabula
Dan has 12 years of experience in the Energy Field. He worked for different companies as a specialist in energy production, energy procurement, energy efficiency, energy decarbonization and sustainability.
Dan has a Master’s degree in Management of Electric Systems and he is an internal auditor for ISO 50001. He speaks Romanian and English.
Technical expert
Miloš Banjac
Miloš is a full professor at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Thermo-mechanics. Apart from his academic career, he has also worked in the Ministry of Mining and Energy of the Republic of Serbia in the capacity of Minister’s assistant, where he managed the sector for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Sources for a decade. Miloš has overseen several significant energy projects in Serbia, including national initiatives funded by KfW, -funded projects, and SECO-donated projects and all in the area of EE and/or RES and also he was leading the government effort to follow the EU legislation and transpose them in the national legislation development in alignment with domestic policy. He has a Master's degree and a PhD. in mechanical engineering. Miloš speaks English and Serbian (Croatian, Bosnian, Montenegrin).
Serbia
Slovakia
Technical expert
Ján Rajzinger
Ján has more than 20 years of experience in various industries and energy fields, such as Production and Distribution of Electricity and Heat, Renewable Energy Sources, Natural gas, Reliability Centered Maintenance, and lecturing activities at the university (Courses Thermodynamics, Heat transfer etc.). He also works in the areas of ISO 50001 (Energy Management System) and ISO 55000 (Asset Management) group of standards.
He is a holder of an MSc in Mechanical Engineering, PhD in Power Engineering, and post-graduate studies in Energy and Environmental Management and Economics.
Ján speaks Slovak, English and Italian.
Legal expert
Maja Stanišič
Maja has an interdisciplinary background, as she worked in diplomacy, academia and private sector. With that, she has a proven track record of legal research and project management. She is specialized in EU energy law and its integration in Slovenian legislation, including regulatory developments that refer to energy crisis. Maja holds two bachelor's degrees in Law and Political science and a master’s degree in Law. She speaks Slovenian, English and German.
Communication expert
Ksenija Koren
Ksenija has 20 years of experience in the fields of communication, journalism and energy. She is a leading communicator of the first MW of the largest solar power plant in Slovenia - the Prapretno Solar Power Plant. During her career she served as head of communications for the largest electricity producer in Slovenia HSE, specializing in projects of hydro power plants on the Sava river. Ksenija graduated from political sciences and holds a MSc in American Investments to Slovenia. She is native Slovenian speaker, she also speaks English and Croatian and is able to communicate in German.
Spain
Technical expert
Rosa Alonso
Rosa is an engineer with more than 17 years of international experience with focus on innovative projects in the built environment, working on energy efficiency, renewable energy systems and sustainability, developing more sustainable projects, programmes and activities. She holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from De Montfort University, UK, and a master's degree in Renewable Energy Management from INIEC, Spain. Rosa speaks Spanish, Galician and English.
Legal expert
Jorge Serdà Jaumot
Jorge has more than 5 years of experience in the full performance of international and local complex engineering projects which includes a large number of renewable energy projects in Spain and Italy advising in all legal frameworks and contract management related to the development, financing, construction, transaction, and operation of a Project. Concretely he has been involved in several renewable energy projects of more than 500 MW overall. He graduated from the University of Barcelona and ESADE with a law degree and master’s in international business law respectively. Jorge speaks Spanish, Catalan and English.
Slovenia
Sweden
Ukraine
Technical expert
Alexandra Sitnikova
Alexandra has more than five years of experience in the energy field, working with energy modelling and energy demand calculations for residential and commercial buildings. The calculations also included solar energy output and use in buildings. Alexandra has also worked with the Swedish Environmental Assessment Method for Buildings and assessed the building’s energy and environmental performance and indoor climate. For the assessment of the indoor climate in buildings, she has performed modelling and calculations for indoor temperatures, cooling and heating load and daylight level in buildings. Alexandra has a strong interest in sustainability in buildings and renewable energy. Alexandra holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences from Saint-Petersburg State University and also an extra two-year education as an Energy specialist for buildings from KYH Stockholm in Sweden. She speaks Swedish, English, Russian and Spanish.
Sustainability / Communication expert
Shanar Tabrizi
Shanar graduated from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology as an environmental engineer with a focus on energy systems and industrial ecology and has more than eight years of experience in climate adaptation and mitigation projects. Shanar has experience in various local and international climate topics, including e-waste, plastic recycling, green communities and movements and gender-just local climate solutions. Shanar has been a consultant for various United Nations organizations for several years and has an extensive network in academia, civil society and IGOs working in the climate space. Shanar speaks Swedish, Danish, English and Farsi.
Technical expert
Oleksandr Shumelda
Oleksandr has more than 16 years of professional experience in national and international projects in energy efficiency, energy security, municipal energy management and strategic energy planning throughout Ukraine, and he also has experience in the Eastern Partnership countries. His consulting is used by donors and commercial customers to implement their projects in Ukraine. He graduated from Lviv National University with a degree in Political Processes and Institutes. Oleksandr speaks Ukrainian, English, Russian and Polish.
Technical expert
Maksym Karpash
Maksym is the Vice-Rector for International Affairs and Strategic Development at King Danylo University. He holds a Doctorate and Ph.D. in Technical Sciences from Ivano- Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas, specializing in pipeline evaluation and metalwork properties. In his role at King Danylo University, Maksym oversees international education and research, manages communications with foreign partners, and handles strategy development. He has served in key roles such as Advisor to the Head of Administration on Science and Innovation at Ivano-Frankivsk State Regional Administration and served as a Trainer and Accreditation Expert at the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance. Beyond academia, Maksym is the Co-Founder and CEO of Science City "New Energy" and Program Coordinator for NGO "Bureau of Research, Innovations and Technologies". He has been actively involved in various research projects, leading or participating in over 45 initiatives, including projects focused on climate change mitigation, hydrogen-gas mixtures compatibility testing, and energy recovery from municipal solid waste etc.
Legal expert
Valeriia Lada
Valeriia is a Ukrainian-qualified lawyer with over five years of experience in domestic dispute resolution, as well as international commercial and investment arbitration. She has a particular interest in renewable energy and environmental law. She holds a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Law from reputable Ukrainian universities. Valeriia also received her LL.M. degree in International Dispute Resolution from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in 2023. Valeriia speaks Ukrainian and English.
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