Jim Horn is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Ulteig, an engineering consulting and technical services firm with offices in the United States, Canada, and Costa Rica. Since joining Ulteig in 2016, Jim has led the Human Resources and Business Services teams that have enabled 5x company growth while building and sustaining a people-centric, employee-owned culture.

Prior to joining Ulteig, Jim worked in various human resources roles for Donaldson Company, Target, and Northrop Grumman. He also spent several years as a tax consultant for Deloitte. He holds an MA in Human Resources and Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Accountancy from the University of North Dakota.

As a volunteer, Jim serves on a board for Prodeo Academy, a Minneapolis-St. Paul charter school, and has led and coached youth sports for many years.

Jim lives in Minneapolis, which serves as his launching point for lots of bicycle rides and travel with his wife. They have two adult children.

Charles Hua is the founder and executive director of PowerLines. Previously, Charles has advised the US Department of Energy on developing its grid modernization strategy, analyzed energy policy for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and advanced building electrification policy at Rewiring America. Additionally, Charles has advised Fortune 500 companies and international NGOs on sustainability issues and serves on the boards of Slipstream and Clean Wisconsin. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Charles organized a campaign that successfully petitioned his school district to become the largest in the US at the time with a 100 percent renewable energy commitment. For his work, Charles has been recognized by the White House as a 2018 US presidential scholar, by the Aspen Institute as a climate leader, and as an Energy News Network 40 Under 40 honoree. Charles holds an AB in statistics and mathematics from Harvard College.

Source: Mitchell, Christian | UChicago Civic Engagement 

Satish Jayaram  is the Vice President and General Manager for ABM’s eMobility and Microgrid  business. In this role, he is responsible for leading ABM’s turnkey infrastructure solutions for vehicle and fleet electrification business. Prior to joining ABM, Satish held several leadership positions over a period of 20 years at Cummins Inc., Where most recently, he led Growth Ventures and Innovation related to the company’s energy transition initiatives.  Learn more about Satish’s experience on LinkedIn.

Satish holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Accounting degree from Bharathiar University in India and completed The Wharton School’s General Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

John Lee is a civil engineer who retired in 2023 from Barr Engineering Co., where he worked for over 40 years. John served as the environmental and engineering consulting company’s president and CEO from 2013 to 2021. Prior to becoming president and CEO, John held a series of leadership roles at Barr, including Director of Business Development and Vice President of Finance. 

Throughout his career at Barr, John also led teams providing project management, engineering, and environmental services directly to energy and public sector clients. His work focused on managing multidisciplinary projects that involved planning, development, design, and operation of renewable and fossil-fueled electric generation facilities. 

Since John’s retirement, John and his wife, Beth, have enjoyed traveling, bicycling, cooking, and spending time with their four children and their families.

Christian Mitchell serves as the vice president for civic engagement for the University of Chicago. As vice president for civic engagement, he is responsible for overseeing the Office of Civic Engagement, including state and local government relations, as well as the Office of Business Diversity and Commercial Real Estate Operations. In this role, Mitchell is tasked with building civic engagement partnerships with academic and administrative units at the University and engaging community and corporate partners to build durable relationships and partnerships for economic opportunity on the South Side of Chicago and in the region. 

Source: Mitchell, Christian | UChicago Civic Engagement 

Mothusi Pahl joined the Great Plains Institute Board of Directors in January 2024 and serves on the Finance and Development Committees. He is principal at Hartwell & Loche, a strategic advisory practice focused on market creation and commercial strategy for energy, infrastructure, and utilities companies. Previously, he served as VP of business development and government affairs at Bill Gates-backed Modern Hydrogen, where he established commercial operations in natural gas derivatives for fuels and paving materials and secured international and domestic strategic partnerships and investments. Prior to Modern Hydrogen, he served as chief commercial officer at B3 Bar Holdings, a private equity firm, and led commercial operations for venture-backed technology companies, including ONDAKA and Alphabet Energy. Earlier in his career, he held progressive roles at Cummins Inc., including general manager for power generation in Southern Africa.

Mr. Pahl has over 20 years of experience across the energy value chain, from upstream to utilities, power generation, and industrial operations. He serves on the Advisory Council of the Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure and previously served on the executive committee of the Board of Directors of the Coro Center for Public Policy.

Mr. Pahl holds an MBA from Yale University and a BA in economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

With more than 25 years of electric utility experience, Priti Patel oversees Great River Energy’s transmission business. Her responsibilities include oversight of all aspects of transmission, including investment strategy, planning, permitting, construction, maintenance, engineering, project management, and field and system operations.

Prior to joining GRE in 2017, Patel served in management roles at the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) in the areas of transmission system planning, competitive transmission development, and regulatory and member relations.

Prior to MISO, Patel served in management roles at Xcel Energy in the areas of transmission development, corporate strategy and planning, and as an assistant general counsel. She began her career as an attorney at the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and in a private law practice.

Patel also currently serves on the boards of directors for the Midwest Reliability Organization, a regional electric reliability council under North American Electric Reliability Corporation.

Deidre Sanders, PhD, has more than 20 years of experience in energy policy related to environmental justice, equity, and climate change. She is founder and principal of her own consulting firm, ArkSpring Consulting, which aids businesses, governments, and nonprofits in advancing environmental justice, economic justice, and social justice objectives. Previously, she served as Senior Managing Director of Energy Equity, Research, and Impacts at ILLUME Advising, and before that policy director at East Bay Community Energy Authority in Oakland, California. At East Bay Community Energy Authority, Sanders developed and implemented policy strategy to ensure the agency met objectives related to greenhouse gas reductions and community benefits. She was also the Environmental Justice Manager at Pacific Gas and Electric Company in San Francisco.

Sanders’ volunteer work includes the American Association of Blacks in Energy public policy committee. Previously she held a place on the US Environmental Protection Agency’s National Environmental Justice Advisory Council and the California League of Conservation Voters.

She developed a tool, the Environmental Justice Community Continuum of Power, to help communities and community stakeholders assess their power relative to other stakeholders. While with ILLUME Advising she co-authored a paper on the challenges of siting electric vehicle service infrastructure in marginalized communities. Her other published articles include “Ignoring Environmental Justice Concerns is Risky Business,” which was published in Triple Pundit, and “Redefining Disadvantaged Communities” on the East Bay Community Energy blog.

Sanders earned her PhD in political science from Claremont Graduate University and her undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California.

Lotte joined the Great Plains Institute in 2026 and is president and chief executive officer. Lotte strengthens organizational strategies, partnerships, and services to tackle the biggest climate and energy implementation challenges of our time. Her career spans business, nonprofit, and government roles in the buildings and energy sectors.

Previously, Lotte served as executive director at the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT), a national nonprofit focused on policies and programs that drive demand for high-performing buildings. Under her leadership, IMT supported dozens of real estate companies in developing their business case for building performance and helped state and local governments to design and implement building performance policies and programs. She also brings deep utility-sector experience, including work on energy efficiency, demand response programs, and utility regulation.

Lotte is co-founder of the Housing Multiplier Project, which works to solve local housing shortages while accounting for extreme weather and affordability. Through that work, she has built partnerships with policy makers and advocates with interests across resilience, energy, finance, and housing development. As a consultant, she was instrumental in building a multi-stakeholder technical assistance strategy to implement the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, intended to increase investment in clean energy, transportation, and buildings across the country.

She holds a BA from Wellesley College and an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

Christa Velasquez is a recognized leader in the philanthropic impact investing field. Currently a consultant with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, she has also served as Director of Lumina Impact Ventures, Director of Social Investments at the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. Christa has been a lecturer at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy since 2012, where she teaches courses on the business of nonprofits and the evolving social sector, nonprofit management, philanthropy and impact investing.  

Christa has served on the board of various nonprofit organizations including Aeris (formerly CDFI Assessment and Ratings System), American Visionary Art Museum, Coastal Enterprises, Inc., Mission Investors Exchange (formerly PRI Makers Network) and National Writing Project. 

She has a B.A. in Latin American studies from the University of Chicago and an M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management.

Scott Zastoupil is the Chief Financial Officer at Climate Imperative. He is responsible for the organization’s financial strategy and ensuring its financial health and sustainability. He provides executive oversight of the finance and grants teams, overseeing resource allocation, internal controls, grants management, risk management, and financial reporting.

Previously, Scott was the CFO at Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, leading the Foundation’s finance and operations, including IT and grants administration. He was named a 2024 Nonprofit CFO of the Year by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. During his tenure at the Foundation, he also served as Controller and later as Interim President & CEO.  Previously, he started his career as an auditor with Ernst & Young before moving to RBC Global Asset Management. He enjoys volunteering and has served as Treasurer and Board Chair of multiple non-profit organizations.

Scott earned BBA and Masters of Accountancy degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a certificate in Business, Environment and Social Responsibility. He is an active CPA in the state of Minnesota, where he lives with his wife. He enjoys reading, hiking, and playing basketball.