Marina Golden:
Marina is an engineering manager at Recurrent Energy working to decarbonize the grid by installing large solar and storage systems. Recurrent is a top US solar developer, with over 2.3 GW of operating solar projects, and 5GW project portfolio including an 180 MWh storage project. Recurrent Energy is a subsidiary of the 3rd largest solar manufacturer in the world, Canadian Solar.
Deeply dedicated to fighting climate change, she has previously helped install some of the first solar+storage systems at SunPower. Also at SunPower, she oversaw designing and launching the #1 US commercial rooftop and carport solar product, Helix, as an Engineering Program Manager.
Prior to her solar tenure, at Environmental Systems Design, she led engineering and energy design and optimization for the most iconic and sustainable high-occupancy buildings in the world such as Tour First in Paris, Willis and Hancock Towers in Chicago.
Marina is a licensed Professional Mechanical Engineer and is a LEED Accredited Professional. She is currently working on her MBA at the Wharton School of Business. Marina is from Moldova and graduated Cum Laude from Illinois Institute of Technology’s Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering department.
Arila Barnes:
Arila Barnes is the managing director of AXM Software LLC, a small company providing “Architecture as A Service” and incubating software products in the IoT space focused on renewable energy for the consumer and improving women health. Arila has a tenure as Principal Software Architect with GE Digital building the Industrial Internet for GE Renewables Energy (Digital Hydro Plant, Digital Wind Farm), and improving the reliability of the traditional grid with Grid Analytics by GE Digital Energy. She was the co-founder of Pluto Health Innovations Inc, and a Principal Text Analytics Architect with SAS Institute Inc.
Ruchi Shah:
Ruchi has 7 years of experience in sustainability across real estate and consulting sectors, helping companies reduce operating costs and manage climate risks. Currently as a Senior Sustainability Manager at Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) – one of the largest affordable housing developers in San Francisco, she implements energy, water, and waste management strategies for a portfolio of 45 buildings. Under her leadership, TNDC met their water and energy reduction goals ahead of their 2023 schedule as part of the National Better Buildings Challenge.
Prior to TNDC, Ruchi has worked with Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF), a non-profit based in Washington D.C. where she conducted energy and water data analysis of over 500 buildings and secured $2.7 million in utility rebates to pursue energy efficiency projects. Before SAHF, she worked at AvalonBay Communities, Inc., a national real estate investment trust (REIT) where she assisted in developing the corporate sustainability program and managed external reporting and stakeholder engagement. Ruchi is a LEED Green Associate, holds an M.S. in Environmental Studies, Sustainability from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and a B.Tech in Biotechnology from Mumbai, India.
