Jeff is a cross-cultural dealmaker with a passion for solving problems and building projects that improve people’s lives today without compromising the livelihood of future generations. During his twenty years of experience as a business developer, entrepreneur, and lawyer, Jeff has contributed to the development and financing of major energy and infrastructure projects in more than 15 countries on five continents. Most of these projects were built in challenging jurisdictions and required sophisticated structuring, but this does not stop Jeff from finding and fighting for simple solutions to difficult but solvable problems like energy poverty in Africa. Jeff speaks fluent Japanese and for more than ten years he worked in Japan in the business of building civil infrastructure and as a lawyer advising on outbound energy related lending and investments. Since returning to California, Jeff has been supporting clients who develop and finance distributed renewable power assets in the United States. A native Californian, Jeff earned a law degree from Stanford Law School, a Master of Pacific International Affairs from the School of Global Policy and Strategy at University of California, San Diego and a bachelor’s in Political Science from University of California San Diego.

Jim Lambright has a wealth of experience leading and advising organizations operating at the intersection of global finance, business, and government. He is currently Professor of Practice at the University of California San Diego School of Global Policy & Strategy. 

Jim’s leadership roles include serving as chairman and CEO of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, overseeing a $60 billion credit portfolio with exposure to over 150 countries in support of U.S. exports. 

At the height of the Global Financial Crisis, Jim led the deployment of the U.S. Treasury Department’s $700 billion in relief funds as chief investment officer of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.  He chaired the TARP Investment Committee and built the team, policies, and programs to execute more than 600 investments in financial and automotive companies, including AIG, Citigroup, and GM.

Jim has also served in senior executive roles in the energy industry, including as head of M&A and strategy for Sempra Energy, a Fortune 500 utility and mid-stream company.  He also served as COO, CFO, and board member of a venture-backed renewable energy company.

He is on the boards of United Capital and PeacePlayers International.

Lambright earned a law degree with honors from Harvard Law School and a bachelor’s degree with distinction from Stanford University.

Ellen is the president and founder of Sustainable Energy Solutions, a professional services company that promotes the increased use and deployment of clean energy technologies and services as a means to support economic development and reduce poverty in developing countries. Ellen is also the director of the academic programs on International Energy Management and Policy and Sustainable Energy Policy at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.  In 2008, she founded Arc Finance, an organization that promotes and expands access to end-user finance for modern energy. Since 1996, Ellen has been a senior consultant for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on sustainable energy. She has previously worked for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  She is a member of numerous organizations including the board of directors of Arc Finance; the United Nations Foundation Energy Access Practitioner Network, United Nations Development Programme’s External Advisory Group; the Advisory Board of Earthspark International; and the Advisory Board of Simpa Networks. Ellen has a Ph.D. in Geological Oceanography and began her career as an Exploration Geophysicist in the oil and gas sector.

David Victor is a professor of international relations at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and co-director of the Deep Decarbonization Initiative at UCSD. His research focuses on highly regulated industries and how regulation affects the operation of major energy markets.

David is the author of "Global Warming Gridlock," which explains why the world has not made much diplomatic progress on the problem of climate change while also exploring new strategies that would be more effective.

Prior to joining UCSD, David served as director of the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development at Stanford University, where he was a professor at Stanford Law School and taught energy and environmental law. Earlier in his career he also directed the science and technology program at the Council on Foreign Relations and led the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.

David’s research interests surround energy policy—electric power market reform and rural energy development; climate-change policy, and the role of technology, innovation and competition in international development.  His Ph.D. is from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and he has an A.B. from Harvard University. He has published 200 articles and books in venues that include Nature, Science, International Organization, The New York Times, Finance Times, Climatic Change, and the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. He is a member of the advisory council for Nature Climate Change, a board member of Climatic Change, and joined the board of the Electric Power Research Institute in 2013.