Members
Four commissioners are appointed to the Board by the Mayor with the concurrence of the City Council, in accordance with the City Charter. The Alameda City Manager also sits on the Board, as an ex officio fifth commissioner. The commissioners establish goals, approve major purchases, set direction, and create the framework for local control for the utility.
Christina Nagy McKenna
July 2021-June 2025
President Christina Nagy McKenna brings more than 30 years of energy industry experience to the Board. For the past 22 years she has worked as an instructor/trainer to energy companies and public agencies across the U.S. She has also served as a consultant to energy companies in the U.S. and Asia, studying issues including utility operations, energy efficiency, regulation, and market restructuring in the U.S. and European energy markets.
Prior to her consulting and training career, she worked for 10 years for PG&E. She worked directly with large commercial and industrial customers in the East Bay and represented PG&E to the California Public Utilities Commission. She also led a team of analysts as the director of the business and regulatory management group of the utility’s Gas Transmission Department.
President McKenna served as a coach for two local youth basketball organizations and was involved as a parent volunteer with several area schools.
She holds an MBA from Golden Gate University and bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration and German from California State University, Sacramento.
Elise Hunter
October 2022 to June 2026
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Vice President Elise Hunter brings 20 years of experience in the clean energy sector, including roles at PG&E, GRID Alternatives, Build It Green, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Her areas of expertise are in customer programs to incentivize clean technologies, electrification, resilience, and wildfire safety. In these areas, she has designed statewide programs and pilot projects, advocated to the California Public Utilities Commission and the state legislature, and successfully engaged community members to provide valuable feedback on the direction of emerging clean energy programs.
Vice President Hunter serves on the Board of Women Energy Associates, a Bay Area based network of women working in energy. She also serves as Co-President of the Alameda Family Collective, a local nonprofit dedicated to building community and knowledge sharing among Alameda families with small children.
She holds an MBA/MS from the University of Michigan's Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, and a BS in Earth Systems from Stanford University.
Jerry Serventi
February 2017-June 2024
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Commissioner Serventi brings over 35 years of engineering expertise to the Public Utilities Board. He retired as the director of engineering of the Port of Oakland after 30 years of service. In that role, he was responsible for the staffing, budgeting, and management of the engineering division. The division’s responsibilities included environmental planning and permitting, engineering planning, design, and construction management, maritime facilities maintenance, and the port’s utilities administration operations.
Commissioner Serventi has served on the boards of the Bay Planning Coalition and the California Marine Affairs and Navigation Congress. He was active in the American Society of Civil Engineers’ ports and harbor committee. In addition, he has volunteered for the Encinal High School sports program, the West Alameda Business Association’s Design Review Committee, and his church.
Commissioner Serventi holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a licensed civil engineer in the state of California.
Ryan Bird
September 2023 to June 2027
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Commissioner Bird brings over 12 years of experience in the clean energy sector to the Public Utilities Board. For the last decade he has worked at Energy Solutions, a consulting firm working with utilities across the country to design and implement customer programs. He currently leads the clean transportation and demand management practice areas for Energy Solutions, and has managed or worked on innovative projects in electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, demand response, grid management, energy efficiency, and solar technologies. Prior to Energy Solutions he worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on energy and water conservation projects at state-owned facilities.
Commissioner Bird is a volunteer with Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda, an active member of Temple Israel of Alameda, and a dedicated participant in Alameda Recreation & Parks co-ed softball.
Commissioner Bird holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science from Duke University.
Jennifer Ott, City Manager
Jennifer Ott, City Manager of the City of Alameda, has over 20 years of experience working in City government, including for the City of Hayward where she served as Assistant City Manager and Development Services Director and 13 years previously for the City of Alameda from 2005 to 2018 primarily as the Base Reuse and Transportation Planning Director.