Executive Director

ROBIN SWANHUYSER - TWENDE SOLAR

Robin joins Twende Solar with ten years of experience in nonprofit operations and logistics, event production, community engagement, and international development. Prior to joining Twende Solar, Robin was the Program Director at the Biennial of the Americas, where she managed events and programming to promote rising leaders, build community and create educational learning opportunities across borders. Robin is fluent in Spanish and has worked and studied abroad in Mexico, Argentina and Nicaragua, where she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 2014 to 2016.

Board Chair

Betsy Kauffman - Energy trust of oregon

Betsy Kauffman has deep roots in the renewable energy field. She has worked at Energy Trust of Oregon since 2005, currently heading up the organization’s renewable energy programs. Under her leadership, the programs have funded more than 20,000 commercial, residential, and large-scale solar projects and more than 20 hydro and bio projects. Prior to joining Energy Trust, Betsy worked at For the Sake of the Salmon where she managed the Salmon-Friendly Power program, one of Oregon’s first programs to allow utility customers to choose a renewable power option. Betsy is also the chair of the board of the Clean Energy States Alliance, a leading bipartisan US coalition of state energy organizations working together to advance the rapid expansion of clean energy technologies.

Board Vice Chair

catherine klebl - Awakening to Heal

Catherine has been part of several collective teams including the Village Free School and staff collective at People's Food Coop. She believes it is possible to come together around issues and find common ground through hearing and listening to each other. Additionally, she has been fortunate to work with several organizations whose work focuses on social, disability and racial justice in the past few years. Catherine likes to co-lead with others who share a common vision. She has served on Twende Solar's JEDI team and continues to work for justice and equality within and outside our organization.

Board Treasurer

tia hansen - Microsoft

Tia has an extensive background in renewable energy, energy access, and energy efficiency. She currently sits on Microsoft's renewable energy team working to achieve their ambitious goals of 100% renewable by 2025 and 100/100/0 with zero percent of their energy generated by carbon sources by 2030. She also works on incorporating environmental justice into energy procurement. Prior to Microsoft, Tia worked in the renewables microgrid space across India and Africa. Additionally she has volunteered with Engineers without Borders, leading projects in Tanzania and Kenya. She enjoys traveling, cooking, and playing outside with her two pups.

Board Secretary

Robert Sander, esq. - TRITEC AMERICAS

Robert Sander grew up in Portland, Oregon, and is a graduate of Oregon State University, and The University of San Diego School of Law. He has worked in solar PV on an international scale for several years, focusing on utility scale distributed energy systems. He currently works for TRITEC Americas, Inc. in the role of Associate Corporate Counsel where he helps with the day to day operations of the company. Robert brings his industry experience and connections to bear with the sole goal of helping further Twende Solar’s mission in any way possible.

Board Director

Erik anderson - Distributed Solar development, llc

An outward bound trip into the woods of Maine as a teenager sparked Erik's wonder of the natural world and his degree in conservation biology fostered his passion for sustainability that ultimately led him to his first job in the solar industry as an installer back in 2007. Since then Erik's career in the solar industry has given him the opportunity to take experiences from small contracting businesses and private distribution companies to the largest publicly traded manufacturing conglomerates. Traveling the country and the world through this work has brought Erik to a place of deep respect for the commonalities that all humans share which feeds his life's work of actively helping to build a better world and sharing of the knowledge he has been given.

Board Director

MAX CHRISTIAN - New Leaf Energy

With over 20 years experience as a solar operations executive, international project developer, and innovative green builder, Max Christian brings a plethora of insight and global connections to Twende Solar’s mission. After playing a key leadership role in growing a successful solar integrator in Colorado, Max moved to Perú as a consultant supporting community development, renewable energy and climate change mitigation initiatives and is now back on the West Coast as a Business Development Manager working in energy storage.

Co-Founder & Board Director

John Grieser - Elemental Energy

Armed with an education in Renewable Energy Engineering, John started Elemental Energy in 2010 as a means to make the biggest impact on the "front lines" of sustainable energy. Specializing in solar photovoltaic systems, John works with clients in Portland, the greater Pacific Northwest, and internationally, to help find creative solutions to their energy needs. John’s passions lie in utilizing his professional experience and skills to: increase access to energy and communication; spur education and entrepreneurialism abroad; promote worldwide renewable energy implementation.

Board Director

Alex Jahp - Solar Energy International

Alex Jahp currently works for Solar Energy International (SEI) where he puts his extensive experience in solar PV to work as a curriculum developer and instructor in English and Spanish. He began his career in the renewable energy field after becoming interested in solar PV upon seeing firsthand the impact that it was having in rural Africa and Latin America. Passionate about working for social justice globally and addressing climate change, he saw the potential that renewable energy offered to simultaneously have an impact on both challenges. He since worked designing, building, and managing PV projects ranging from hundreds of watts for energy access in Peru and Guatemala to megawatts for decarbonization in the United States. He is a NABCEP PV Installation Professional, a PMI Project Management Professional, and a 2022 Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI) fellow.

Board Director

Cynthia Leung - moxion Power co

Cynthia Leung is a sustainability-oriented super connector with over 12 years in the energy sector. She is the Founder & CEO of Soluminos, a social enterprise focused on deploying solar charging stations for remote power applications. She worked on the Clinton Foundation's Islands Energy Program with the Clinton Climate Initiative and supported the development of over 1 GW of utility solar projects at SunPower. She volunteered with Twende Solar in 2016 for the solar plus storage installation at Stephen Mazujian Middle School in Siem Reap, Cambodia. She holds an M.S. in Sustainability Management from Columbia University and a B.A. in Quantitative Economics and a minor in Global Sustainability from UC Irvine. She is passionate about sustainability, building connections, and empowering the next generation with the ability to address climate change.

Board Director

YinG Liu

After 15 years in management consulting, brand strategy, and software partnership, Ying Liu decided to transition to clean energy as it is one of the few industries that is truly improving the world at scale. Her experience in strategic planning, insights and analytics, operational efficiency, and non-profit board service focused on social equity will support Twende's next stage of growth and impact. She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BA in Business Administration from the University of Washington. In the winter, Ying spends her weekends instructing alpine and telemark skiing at Mt. Hood Meadows.

Board Director

Kirsten Midura - Engines for Change

Kirsten Midura is a change agent with 13+ years of expertise in sustainability, international development, community building, impact entrepreneurship, and social good. She has worked with nonprofits, consulting firms, start-ups, and federal agencies on their strategic planning, change management, evaluation, and program design and implementation. Kirsten is the Founder and Executive Director of Engines for Change, a 501(c)(3) that uses motorcycles as tools for environmental and social good, and she has served on the Boards and Advisory Boards for organizations such as GlobalPDX, Rally for Rangers, and Women Riders Now. She is thrilled to be a part of the Twende to help make meaningful impact in the world of electrification.

Co-Founder

Brandon Little - elemental energy

Brandon’s interest in renewable energy began during his college days—while studying pre-med with the goal of becoming a surgeon, he ran a side business focused on investing stock in the sustainable energy industry. This belief transitioned into a full-fledged interest when he realized that, solar, rather than medicine, was the dominating force for change that he wanted to be a part of. With that, he returned to the Oregon Institute of Technology to earn a degree in Renewable Energy Engineering. After working at Elemental Energy for several years and participating in multiple international solar PV installations, Brandon joined John Grieser in forming Twende Solar.

Twende Solar selects site for 2022 Solar Games equipment donation

solar power world - July 2022

For the past couple of years, Intersolar North America (ISNA) and Energy Storage North America (ESNA) have teamed up with Twende Solar, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering under-resourced communities with renewable energy systems. The goal of the partnership is to provide energy-impoverished communities with greater access to lighting, cooking, communications and education through donations from the Equipment Sponsors of ISNA/ESNA’s annual Solar Games installer competition.

Queets Community Center gets Solar Panels; First on the Quinault Indian Nation

Nugguamn - April 2021

QIN has its first solar panels! Thanks to Twende Solar, the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), volunteer installers and electricians and Quinault volunteers looking to learn solar installation skills, there is a 22.5 kW solar array on the Queets Community Center. The installation took place from February 25th to the 28th.

When the good outweighs profit: Solar companies go philanthropic 

Solar power world - november 2020

When Oregon solar installer Elemental Energy’s founder John Grieser traveled to rural Tanzania for college credit ten years ago, he found that residents didn’t have consistent access to electricity. Recognizing that solar could provide energy where the African country’s electrical grid didn’t reach, Grieser and other Elemental Energy employees founded Twende Solar, a standalone nonprofit focused on both international and domestic philanthropic solar development.

The Village That Discovered Light

Your Perfect Peru - October 2019

The lack of electricity in the remote village of Mushuk Llamas caught the attention of a Twende Solar volunteer while vacationing in Peru. Members of the off-grid community agreed that solar was the ideal power source for their homes, school, and medical center. Twende Solar stepped in to deliver a 7.2kW array with battery backup.

Companies take Twende Solar’s Photovoltaic Oath to provide renewable energy to communities in need

Solar Power world - September 2019

Manufacturer Unirac joins solar contractors Elemental Energy and SunPower by Milholland Electric in taking Twende Solar’s Photovoltaic Oath, committing to use their expertise and resources to help further Twende’s mission to empower energy-deficient communities by implementing renewable energy systems worldwide.