Emerging Leaders Program

Karo’s experience in the PV industry, dating back to 2009, combines hands-on system installation, design, inspection, commissioning and troubleshooting with a passion for technical training and curriculum development. Karo advocates for increasing worker safety by fostering their understanding of PV systems. Karo has been a curriculum developer and technical trainer for Solar Energy International since 2013. In her current role as AES Clean Energy’s Technical Training Manager, she spearheads workforce development through creative technical content and training, and stakeholder collaboration. Karo is a NABCEP PVIP certified since 2014, sits on NABCEP’s Board of Directors, and participates as a member on NEC CMP 13.

As Global Head of Asset Management, Mark will be instrumental in shaping innovative, best-in-class solutions for our customers. He will lead the design and implementation of scalable processes and systems that optimize operational portfolio performance and drive competitive advantages through AI, machine learning, and data analytics. Mark brings 18 years of diverse experience as an entrepreneur and executive leader across several high-growth technology sectors. His expertise spans distributed and centralized renewable energy, data centers, wireless technology, network security, and general aviation. Mark Culpepper has held leadership roles in the solar energy industry, including General Manager for Global Solar Solutions at Zeitview, a leading solar inspection business, where he scaled solar asset management. He was also CEO and Founder of Precision XYZ, a drone-based data service provider for solar energy assets. Under his leadership, Precision XYZ revolutionized solar asset monitoring with drone technology, enhancing precision and data accessibility. Mark started his career in the solar industry in 2006 at SunEdison, where he served as Chief Technology Officer and General Manager for Global Services. He pioneered many industry standards, including the creation of the first 24/7 operations center, growing the business from $20M in assets to over $1.5B by 2011. Mark holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (BSFS) from Georgetown University, with a focus on International Economics.

Jason joined the Renewable Energy Industry in 2014, he has worked in development, construction, operations and asset management in his career. Jason Currently is the Sr. Vice President of Project Execution and Asset Management at Sunraycer where he leads the procurement, engineering, pre-construction, construction and asset management teams. Jason oversees both utility scale PV and BESS projects.

Elise is a co-founder at Engramiq, the Site Memory for solar and storage asset operations. Engramiq takes unstructured site information like emails, PDF reports, and data rooms and turns them into an AI Context Layer and automated workflows to reduce manual work, and find hidden site performance insights. Previously, Elise grew companies including Heliolytics (solar analytics), Ki Hydrogen (green hydrogen production), and Beam (offshore wind subsea inspections). Her prior experience involves digital strategy consulting and product management with PwC/Strategy&. She is passionate about bridging technical innovation and operational excellence to accelerate the clean energy transition.

on Previtali is CEO and Co-Founder of New Energy Diligence (NED). Over 25+ years, his career has spanned data center infrastructure, server optimization, and networking, as well as solar, energy storage, wind, fuel cells, microgrids, O&M, asset management, and project finance. He established the technical due diligence practice at a major US bank that serves a large share of the US renewable energy market. Jon is an instructor at UC Merced PACE Division, holds a BS from Stanford and an MS from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He serves on multiple industry boards and advisory committees. A consummate optimist with a love for humanity, he is driven by his passion for the environment, the wellbeing of all people, and drawing on biomimicry to discover and develop sustainable technologies.

Edwin founded Solarplaza company in 2004. He is a senior PV expert and started in the photovoltaic solar energy business in 1994. He has experience as a solar energy consultant and project developer in more than 200 PV projects. Edwin holds a Master’s degree in Chemical engineering and previously worked in the Chemical industry before starting his first consultancy company in PV in 1994.