Virginia Clean Cities is served by a dedicated and skilled Board of Directors from all areas of the Commonwealth. The board has oversight over the general organizational structure of Virginia Clean Cities and is made up of stakeholders in good standing who have made significant contributions to the Clean Cities effort in Virginia.
Whitney Kopanko, Chair
Director of Marketing & School Bus Sales, Sonny Merryman
Whitney is the Director of Marketing and School Bus Sales for Sonny Merryman, known to many as “Virginia’s Bus Company.” She leads many areas, including grant and funding project management, new business and partnership development, customer education, community engagement, deployment support and performance analysis. Over the last three years, Whitney has worked with more than 50 Virginia school divisions to successfully procure and deploy their first electric school buses. In addition, Whitney has built relationships with many partners within the electric transportation industry, including Dominion Energy, ODEC and more. Whitney holds a BS in Business Administration and an MBA in Marketing.
Natalie Van Dyke, Vice Chair
Sales Director, Renewable Energy & Sustainability Strategies, Electratherm
Natalie is the Sales Director for Renewable Energy and Sustainability Strategies at Electratherm. Prior to this role, she was the transport sales manager for North America for Bitzer US, where she supported program innovation and technology integration of a range of Bitzer products. In this role she was involved in transit in bus and passenger rail, especially vehicle conditioning. Natalie has made community improvement, air quality, domestic energy security cornerstones of her work. Prior to this role, Natalie was Digital Marketing Manager at Sonny Merryman.
David Robinson, Secretary
Creative Director, Birch Studio; Co-Founder, EarthWork Collective
David Robinson is the Founder and Creative Director of Birch Studio. David has decades of experience providing creative and technical solutions to organizations. David excels in building relationships and problem solving. In recent years he has supported brands in the clean energy and real estate sectors.
David developed the Flux Report, a document that presents data for various clean energy technologies and presents them in a visually-engaging format. The Flux Report was adopted by a dozen Clean Cities Coalitions for distribution.
He earned a BS in Architecture from the University of Maryland and has advanced knowledge of Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver and is proficient in HTML, CSS, PHP and WordPress development.
Chelsea Jenkins Olivieri
President & Founder, COSOLVE
Managing Director, VTCRC at Newport News
Chelsea Jenkins is the President and Founder of COSOLVE as well as the Managing Director at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. She previously served as the Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade for the Commonwealth of Virginia. She was previously the VP of Government & Industry Relations for ROUSH CleanTech, the clean technology division of Roush Enterprises. There she led strategic efforts including building partnerships with government and nongovernmental organizations, product development strategy and managing regulatory, legislative and public policy initiatives for advanced clean transportation programs. She joined ROUSH CleanTech’s business development team in 2011, managing commercial, transit and school bus fleet accounts on the east coast. Prior to this role, Jenkins served as the Virginia Clean Cities executive director and program coordinator. A recipient of the 2009 Clean Cities Coordinator of the Year award, she was inducted into the Clean Cities Hall of Fame in 2011. Jenkins helped establish Valley AIRNow, an air quality outreach program and was instrumental in the development of a Virginia biodiesel production facility. Jenkins holds a degree from James Madison University in Integrated Science and Technology.
Robin Jones
Retired Energy Program Manager, Virginia Department of Energy
Robin Jones retired from the Virginia Department of Energy in 2021, after serving as program manager for biofuels, propane, electric planning and electric deployment projects. She served the Commonwealth of Virginia for more than 30 years.
A native of Petersburg, Virginia, Jones graduated with a bachelor degree in Economics from Southern Methodist University and was subsequently awarded a Master of Urban Planning by the University of Virginia and an MBA from the College of William and Mary.
Her knowledge of alternative fuels, green fleets, electric vehicles and federal programs was unmatched. Her division has expertly advised state agencies, nonprofit organizations, local government fleets and industry partners for many years.
On December 16, 2021, VCC recognized Robin with the Virginia Energy Public Service Award to honor her decades of commitment to advancing clean transportation in the Commonwealth. Robin resides in Richmond and is active in public service on a volunteer basis.
Courtney S. Young
Director of Electrification, Dominion Energy
Courtney S. Young is the Director of Electrification Dominion Energy Virginia. With a tenure of 17 years at Dominion Energy, Courtney currently leads a team dedicated to advocating, educating and providing electric vehicle charging solutions and infrastructure for Dominion Energy Virginia’s 2.8 million customers. In this role, Courtney ensures that electrification initiatives align with the company’s strategic goals and contribute to advancing energy efficiency and sustainability. Courtney joined Dominion Energy in 2008 as a Customer Projects Designer and has since held several
positions Power Delivery, Customer Experience, Electrification and Energy Conservation. In 2016, Courtney received Dominion Energy’s Benjamin J. Lambert Volunteer of the Year Award. She has also served on the Advisory Council for the Women’s Center at Tidewater Community College and as the Communications Chair of the American Association of Blacks in Energy, which provides professional
development and college scholarships for STEM education. Courtney received her undergraduate degree in business from Virginia State University and her MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Roarke Katherman
Business Development Manager, Eastern Region for Clean Energy
Roarke Katherman joined Clean Energy, the largest provider of renewable natural gas in 2022 to support the trucking industries need for alternative fuel solutions. He is responsible for the education, development and growth of the natural gas heavy duty trucking industry. Roarke is focused on developing long term fueling agreements, service contacts and new public and private infrastructure to benefit the immediate need for a cost effective and sustainable fueling solution. He has served as a member of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and is a graduate of McDaniel College.
Erick Pinzon, Jr.
Regional Director, Drive Electric Tidewater
Erick Pinzon, Jr. is the Regional Director for Drive Electric Tidewater and in this role, he served as a long-term volunteer for the Virginia Clean Cities coalition beginning in 2014. He is also the co-owner of Electrified Marina, an all-electric boat experience company. Erick was VCC’s 2016 Stakeholder of the Year and was personally responsible for successful negotiations of hundreds of electric vehicle charger infrastructure deployments in Virginia. He has owned more than a dozen electric vehicles and currently runs several businesses. In his prior professional career, Erick worked at Tesla from 2012 to 2021, and previously served as a master technician with Checkered Flag BMW.
Morgan Whayland
Director of Government Affairs, Virginia Natural Gas
Morgan Whayland has served the Board since 2019 and is the Director of Government Affairs at Virginia Natural Gas (VNG). Morgan is transitioning from the apprentice role on the Board to the leadership seat for VNG. In her professional role, Morgan works on state energy policy and engages with local governments throughout VNG’s service territory. Morgan also has prior experience working within a Virginia local government and managing government relations, environmental and resilience programs. Morgan received her Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and a Bachelor’s in Economics and Foreign Affairs also from the University of Virginia.
David Gelman, Treasurer
Consultant
Dave Gelman is a mechanical engineer, attorney and project manager with over 40 years of experience in clean energy and transportation. Dave is a regular volunteer and advisor to VCC and a member of its policy committee. He has conducted technical, regulatory, legislative and policy analyses of advanced vehicle technologies for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and the Congressional Research Service, as well as for a number of state-level programs. Dave has conducted strategic planning for major alternative fuel vehicle programs including Clean Cities, participating in the original national program plan. He has also lead strategic planning activities for DOE, as well as prepared a regional strategic plan for Mid-Atlantic coalitions including Virginia. Dave has a long history of involvement with VCC, having worked with four of the coalition’s executive directors.
John Phillips
President, Phillips Energy
John Phillips is Co-owner and President of Phillips Energy, Inc. and JCB Transport, Inc. John oversees all fuel delivery operations and new products and services. He has over 25 years experience in the fuels industry. His expertise includes extensive work with conventional as well as alternative fuels delivery and refueling infrastructure. He has assisted multiple municipalities and private fleets through the transition process from conventional to alternative fuels. His vision for the future allowed Phillips Energy to be one of the first companies in Virginia to offer three different alternative fuels in one retail location. John was educated at Virginia Wesleyan College and is a Class A Contractor in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Cassandra Frysinger
Energy Program Coordinator, Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative
Cassandra Frysinger has spent her career at the intersection of environmental policy and clean energy – working to make sustainable technology accessible and practical for the communities she calls home. As Energy Program Coordinator at Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative, she helps guide the cooperative’s 85,000 members through the transition to solar, electric vehicles, and other distributed energy solutions. As part of Virginia’s broader network of electric cooperatives, her work shapes how clean energy reaches rural communities across the Commonwealth.
A Harrisonburg native, Cassandra brings a personal stake to this work. Her years at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality gave her a ground-level understanding of how air quality and energy policy shape the health and vitality of Virginia communities and deepened her conviction that clean energy isn’t just good policy, it’s good business. She is passionate about the technologies and market conditions driving that future forward and is committed to ensuring Virginia’s cooperative communities aren’t left behind in the transition.
Cassandra holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Virginia and an MS in Integrated Science and Technology from James Madison University. She lives in Rockingham County with her family.
Mike Morris
Business Development, Blossman Gas Inc-Alliance AutoGas
Mike brings over 24 years of experience in the energy sector, he is passionate about driving innovation and sustainability through alternative fuels. As a Business Development Specialist at Blossman Gas Inc., He successfully crafts strategic partnerships, drives market growth and champions sustainable energy solutions. His professional focus on propane AutoGas and propane powered small-engine applications has proven to reduce costs and emissions across North American fleets.
Mike thrives on building lasting partnerships and driving growth through education and advocacy for cleaner energy alternatives.