WENDY SANASSEE, DIRECTOR OF HAITI OPERATIONS
Wendy joined the EarthSpark team in February 2016 as a Community Engagement Associate in Les Anglais, Haiti. With a broad set of responsibilities, she collaborates with stakeholders within and outside the organization for the promotion and sustainable operations of EarthSpark's microgrids in Haiti. Her past experience includes water systems engineering, sustainable development analysis, and wildlife conservation in Mauritius. Wendy holds a BEng (Hons.) in Chemical and Environmental Engineering and an MSc in Project Management from the University of Mauritius. She is fluent in French, English, Haitian Creole and Mauritian Creole. ALLISON ARCHAMBAULT, PRESIDENT
During Allison's time as President, EarthSpark has built two town-sized, solar-powered smart grids in rural Haiti and has spun off a smart meter company, SparkMeter, to unlock business models for grid operators worldwide to expand energy access to low-income customers. Allison also helped spin-off Enèji Pwòp, a Haitian microgrid operator. Allison has consulted to clean energy companies, governments, and advocacy groups. She previously worked with 3TIER on large-scale renewable energy siting and integration and with GridPoint, an early clean tech company combining distributed energy storage, solar PV, and energy management. She holds a B.A. (hons) from Tufts University and a Master of International Public Policy degree from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
ESHA ASIF, Director of finance
Esha joined EarthSpark International in March 2022 to help with the finance function. Prior to EarthSpark, Esha gained diverse financial reporting and compliance experience across different countries including the UK, Netherlands, Mauritania, Pakistan, Canada and Cayman Islands. Amongst the companies she's worked at is Premier Oil, an FTSE 250 listed UK Oil & Gas Company. She has a Bachelors in Commerce and is pursuing her Chartered Management Accountancy qualification from the UK. She has also completed Exploration and Production Accounting from MDT International. Esha likes to bake, socialize with her friends and travel.
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JEAN THAYLORD, MICROGRID OPERATIONS MANAGER
Jean is a Haitian national and is fluent in the local culture and languages. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Rutgers University, he worked in the solar industry for several years both with Sunrun and SolarCity. Recently, he worked as a consultant on several energy projects, including a Microgrid expansion feasibility study in Haiti. He is very passionate about renewable energy and wants to use his skills to work towards energy access for remote communities in Haiti and other areas in the developing world. 
ADAM EBERWEIN, TECHNICAL LEAD
Adam directs on-site grid oversight for EarthSpark’s microgrid activities in Haiti. He also works to introduce and evaluate technologies for productive uses of electricity. Prior to joining EarthSpark, Adam worked as an internal engineering consultant in component performance in generation and distribution, energy efficiency analysis and testing at Pacific Gas & Electric Company. Adam is currently working towards his MS in Electrical Engineering from Michigan Tech University. He received his B.A. in mechanical engineering through California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) where he was also involved in the Engineers Without Borders Cal Poly chapter as a project manager and, later, a professional mentor. Chaitra Chambers, Administrative and Financial systems manager
Chaitra joined EarthSpark in Spring 2019. Her accounting and administration career spans over 20 years with a focus on supporting medium-sized, high-impact, growing firms. Chaitra has a bachelers degree from Catholic University. Before launching her firm, she was high school Spanish teacher. She is fluent in Spanish and speaks conversational French.
DOUG DANLEY, MICROGRID + Cooking TECHNICAL ADVISOR
Doug has designed a wide range of distributed generation and energy storage projects both in the US and in many countries around the world, ranging from off-grid solar-diesel hybrid systems in the Peruvian Amazon to utility-scale PV systems in the US. He recently completed a project with IFC and NRECA-International to help develop technical standards for mini-grids in Tanzania, and he is currently spearheading SUNSPOT, an award-winning electric cooking initiative for emerging markets. Doug has a degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. |
EARTHSPARK HAS launched TWO COMPANIES, each tackling a SPECIFIC ASPECT OF ENERGY Access
Enèji Pwòp (”Clean Energy” in Haitian Creole) is a Haitian microgrid operations company.
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SparkMeter provides microgrid operators in over 25 countries with smart metering and billing services.
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board of advisorsJean etienne charles
Jean Etienne Charles holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Long Island University/C.W. Post and an Associate degree in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Farmingdal. Jean participates in a variety of philanthropic and social initiatives aimed at improving the living conditions of Haitians in Haiti. He is currently the Director and Chairman of Comité de Relèvement des Anglais a New York (“CRAN”), a local Haitian Community based-organization in the U.S. Diaspora located in New York.
Richenda Van Leeuwen
Richenda Van serves as Executive Director for Energy Access, Energy and Climate at the UN Foundation. Mrs. Van Leeuwen currently serves on the board of SELCO India, a leading renewable energy company focusing on delivering energy solutions for low income households, and advises a number of renewable energy companies and non-profit organizations globally. She holds both Bachelor’s of Science and MBA degrees from the University of Durham, UK.
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Scott Sklar
Scott Sklar runs a clean energy technology optimization and strategic policy firm, The Stella Group, LTD. Sklar co-founded the Congressional Solar Caucus in the mid-1970’s. In addition to his work with The Stella Group, Sklar serves on the Boards of Directors of three national non-profits: Business Council for Sustainable Energy, Renewable Energy Policy Project, and The Solar Foundation. He also serves as Steering Committee Chairman of the Sustainable Energy Coalition.
RACHEL MCMANUS
Rachel worked as Country Director and Executive Director from 2012 to 2019. With vast experience in project management in Haiti and fluent Haitian Creole skills, she oversaw the expansion of the Enèji Pwòp brand nationally and streamlined business practices and operational oversight. She has a background in gender, conflict and international development and earned her BA (Hons) in International Studies and MSc in International Conflict from Kingston University. After 7 wonderful years, Rachel formally left EarthSpark in 2019 but remains actively involved as an advisor.
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board of directors
Elizabeth Wallace
Elizabeth Wallace is a leader in the field of financial sector development; small and medium enterprise finance; and clean energy finance, in particular for off-grid areas. With deep experience leading organizations, her recent and on-going projects include advisory for seed and venture capital funds (all sectors), design of two nationwide off-grid clean energy supplier and end-user finance facilities, and development of a pipeline of grid-connected and off-grid clean energy projects. Ms. Wallace actively works with development finance institutions (e.g. KfW), special programs (e.g. Sustainable Energy for All), and companies / funds.
Johanna Mendelson Forman
Johanna Mendelson Forman is an Adjunct Professor at American University’s School of International Service. She is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Stimson Center, where she heads the Food Security Program. Her frontline experience as a policy maker on conflict and stabilization efforts drove her interest in connecting the role of food in conflict, resulting in the creation of Conflict Cuisine®: An Introduction to War and Peace Around the Dinner Table, an interdisciplinary course she teaches at the School of International Service at American University in Washington, DC.
Her groundbreaking work on food in conflict zones is derived from her distinguished career as a practitioner and policymaker in the United States government, the United Nations and the World Bank. Her experiences working as an expert on conflict and stabilization efforts from Haiti to Rwanda led her to this effort to connect food with conflict. She also is highly regarded as a regional expert on Latin America and the Caribbean, with extensive field experience in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Central America, Colombia and Brazil. Her full bio is available here.
Her groundbreaking work on food in conflict zones is derived from her distinguished career as a practitioner and policymaker in the United States government, the United Nations and the World Bank. Her experiences working as an expert on conflict and stabilization efforts from Haiti to Rwanda led her to this effort to connect food with conflict. She also is highly regarded as a regional expert on Latin America and the Caribbean, with extensive field experience in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Central America, Colombia and Brazil. Her full bio is available here.
daniel Schnitzer
Dan founded EarthSpark in 2009 and has served on the board ever since. Dan left his role of Executive Director of EarthSpark to run Sparkmeter, Inc., the smart meter technology company that was spun out of EarthSpark in 2013. Dan remains engaged on EarthSpark fundraising, strategy, and partnerships. Dan received his Bachelors degree from the University of Chicago in Physics, Economics and Environmental Studies and received his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in the Department of Engineering & Public Policy. At Carnegie Mellon, his research focused on solutions to increasing the utilization of renewable energy in the United States electricity sector and on best practices for energy access microgrids around the world.
partners and funders
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