SEIA expands its executive team as advocacy work accelerates

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has expanded its executive team as the organization prepares for what it said will be a strong advocacy push in 2021.

Evelyn Butler will serve as vice president of technical services, leading SEIA’s work on a range of issues that facilitate continued solar growth and mitigate business risks for solar companies. Her portfolio will include work on solar codes and standards, workforce development, corporate social responsibility, and the circular economy including PV recycling, among other issues.

In her five years with SEIA, Butler has worked across the organization on issues related to best practices and codes and standards proposals. Through her work, she established SEIA’s PV Recycling Network, helped to create requirements for solar on new homes in California, and improved solar permitting through SolarAPP+.

Roderick Lewis is SEIA’s new vice president of member services, responsible for developing and driving all phases of the organization’s membership growth strategy, including recruitment, retention. and membership upgrades.

Lewis has led SEIA’s membership team since mid-2019 and has worked in association sales for more than 20 years. SEIA has set a goal for solar to reach 20% of all U.S. electricity generation by 2030, and Lewis is being tasked with ensuring that SEIA’s membership mirrors the industry’s growth and that the organization has the resources it needs to effectively advocate for a maturing industry.

In addition to his role as SEIA’s vice president of state affairs, Sean Gallagher will also direct SEIA’s federal regulatory affairs efforts. Gallagher previously represented the California Public Utilities Commission at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and has supported utility-scale solar project development on public and tribal lands. He has also worked on matters related to the Section 1603 Treasury Grant Program and the U.S. Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program.

SEIA said it will be filling additional positions under Gallagher to lead the industry’s advocacy on issues such as increasing renewable energy deployment on public lands, the implementation of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, fair treatment of distributed energy resources, fair electricity market rules and greater collaboration with Regional Transmission Organizations, and compliance with the Paris Climate Accord.