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.
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.
Nick De Vries
March 2025 to June 2029
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Commissioner de Vries’s career spans 30 years in renewable power generation, photovoltaic module design and manufacturing as well as service in the US Army.
He is currently employed as the Chief Technology Officer of Silicon Ranch, one of the nation’s largest independent solar power producers. In this role he is responsible for both the technological and ecological vision for the company. Previously he was the Senior Vice President for Asset Management where he was responsible for the operation of the company’s fleet of 150 solar power plants, totaling 2.7GW in 15 states. Department duties included power generation, energy forecasting, REC trading, NERC compliance, & power plant and substation operations and maintenance.
Commissioner de Vries is the Principal Investigator of a Department of Energy funded research project on an Integrated PV System Design and Management Platform for the Co-Optimization of Regenerative Cattle Grazing and PV Solar Generation. Outside of his own research, he serves as an industry advisor to multiple Department of Energy research programs focused on new technologies that improve the efficiency and reliability of solar panels.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University and has been awarded five patents in photovoltaic module and system design.
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.