Equitable Paths to EV Charging
Sustainable San Mateo County’s 28th Annual Indicators Report was unveiled on October 24, 2024, at a free in-person event at the Sobrato Shoreway Conference Room at 350 Twin Dolphin Drive in Redwood City. The event featured experts discussing the challenges of meeting EV charging demand both equitably and efficiently. The report and the speakers made recommendations regarding what local leaders and residents can do to expand access to this climate-saving infrastructure.
Watch the recording of the event
At the event, SSMC’s Indicators Report Program Manager, Simone Vallone, shared some of the key findings and highlights of the Indicators Report, along with recommendations for next steps. Other speakers included:
- Esther Conrad, Research Manager at Stanford’s Bill Lane Center for the American West, explained the current barriers to expanding EV charging, new research on charging issues related to city/county fleet transitions to ZEVs and the policies needed to overcome these barriers
- Melanie Jasper, Associate Program Manager for Transportation Electrification at Peninsula Clean Energy, highlighted the EV Charging programs Peninsula Clean Energy offers and the importance of collaborating with city and county governments
- Terence Kyaw, Director, Redwood City Public Works Services Department, spoke about what Redwood City and other cities are doing to expand access to publicly available chargers and where they face the biggest constraints
- Dean Kunesh, EV Onboarding at PG&E, addressed the challenges related to grid capacity and infrastructure needs
About the Speakers
Panelist: Esther Conrad, Research Manager, Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University
Esther has worked for over 20 years in the environmental field, with a focus on environmental policy and governance. In her current role, she manages research projects related to policies to drive the expansion of zero emission vehicles in California, fire management and water policy. She regularly engages undergraduate students in her research. Previously, Esther directed community engaged learning for environmental sustainability at Stanford’s Haas Center for Public Service, and worked closely with SSMC in this context. Esther holds an undergraduate degree from Stanford, and graduate degrees from University of Cambridge, Columbia University, and UC Berkeley.
Panelist: Melanie Jasper, Associate Program Manager for Transportation at Peninsula Clean Energy
Melanie supports transportation decarbonization by working on programs that accelerate EV adoption. She manages Peninsula Clean Energy’s EV Ready Program which provides funding and free technical assistance for EV charging projects. Her work on this program includes exploring workforce development opportunities and collaborating with industry leaders to reduce barriers to EV adoption.
Prior to Peninsula Clean Energy, Melanie worked in a variety of mechanical engineering roles. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, where she focused on sustainability and energy systems modeling
Panelist: Terence Kyaw, Director, Redwood City Public Works Services Deparment
Terence manages a full-service public works services department that includes climate action and sustainability, water, recycled water, wastewater, storm drains, fleet and facilities, and public right-of-way divisions. He has been an assistant director and director for over 12 years and has 32 years of public service with the City of Redwood City. Under his leadership, Redwood City constructed one of the first public electric vehicle charging stations project in San Mateo County. He is dedicated to working with community members from all backgrounds and various environmental-focused groups for issues relating to climate change. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from Menlo College and an MBA from Notre Dame de Namur University.
Panelist: Dean Kunesh, EV Onboarding, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Dean has been with PG&E’s Clean Energy Transportation group for over 5 years and consults customers seeking to transition their fleet to battery electric vehicles. Prior to this role, Dean was PG&E’s Transportation Account Manager supporting the needs of large trucking companies, transit agencies and railroads. As a native of California, he worked at High Tech Fortune 500 companies in Silicon Valley as a Quality Engineer and in Field Marketing. Dean has a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial & System Engineering from San Jose State University and did Masters work in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
We are grateful to our 2024 Indicators Report sponsors!
To sponsor the upcoming Indicators Report, contact sponsor@sustainablesanmateo.org.