Steering Committee

  Southern Energy Network Steering Committee

Steering Committee at Winter 2008 meeting at Cloudland Canyons State Park, Northwest Georgia

Colin Hagan
Colin has served on SEN's Steering Committee for 2 years and is a 2007 graduate of Furman University in Greenville, SC, where he studied Political Science and English. Colin now lives in Greenville, SC, where he serves as the South Carolina Global Warming Research Fellow with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Upstate Forever. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, hanging out with his canine friend, Franklin, and spending time outdoors.

Eva Hernandez
Eva Hernandez is a National Field Organizer for MoveOn.org, focused in the great states of North Carolina and Tennessee. Before joining the MoveOn.org staff, Eva was the Organizer Director for Dogwood Alliance, running corporate campaigns to protect Southern forests from unsustainable industrial logging practices.  After graduating with a B.S. in Environmental Policy from the University of Kansas, Eva became a Green Corps organizer during which time she took a role in securing Dogwood Alliance’s historic agreement with Bowater.  Eva has also worked with Corporate Accountability International and as an assistant director for the US PIRG’s citizen outreach office in Washington, DC.  Eva currently serves on the Board of Directors for Environment North Carolina.  Eva is inspired and motivated by the work of all the young climate organizers in the Southeast, and is passionate about developing leaders in the environmental and social change movement in the region.

Ellie Johnston
Ellie is a senior at the University of North Carolina Asheville studying biology. Ellie was co-chair of UNCA's Active Students for a Healthy Environment (ASHE) in 2007-2009 and was the 2008-2009 UNCA Student Government Executive of Sustainability. As well as working to make UNCA a more sustainable place, Ellie is involved locally with the Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute, busy statewide with the North Carolina Youth Climate Coalition, and of course active regionally with the Southern Energy Network Steering Committee. She has conducted undergraduate research on university environmental literacy curricula and also the effects of climate change on fly populations. Ellie enjoys spending time outside—breathing clean air, climbing mountains, and biking.

Stephanie McBrien
Stephanie is a junior at Georgia State University, where she is studying Cultural Anthropology. She is the co-president of the school's Sustainable Energy Tribe, which focuses on encouraging action and discussion about community building, environmental justice, and sustainability. Her interests include anything involving the outdoors - be it camping, hiking, or gardening - and she works as a Naturecrafts staff member at a local summer camp. Stephanie believes that mutual growth and collaborative action are the two strongest tools we have and she loves nothing more than to see passionate folks joining together to help one another!

Richard Merritt
Richard D. Merritt, is a senior and International Studies major at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. As a student leader, Richard has initiated several sustainable programs with a focused on strengthening the student/administrative relationship. As the current Co-Director of Morehouse College's environmental group Students Endeavoring for Enlightened Environmental Decisions (SEeED) and a member of the Morehouse College Sustainability Committee Richard's primary work focuses on running the college's Presidential Climate Commitment and Campus Climate Challenge working groups. In addition, Richard focuses on strengthening the Metro Atlanta Students for Sustainability and Georgia Students for Sustainability organizations. Richard is also a youth representative for United Nations Environmental Program's Kick the Carbon Habit Campaign.

Reagan Richmond
Reagan is a Junior at The University of Tennessee, where she has been active with UT's student environmental organization, Students Promoting Environmental Action in Knoxville (SPEAK) for the past three years. She currently serves as the organization's Co-President. She has worked on numerous renewable energy initiatives on campus and recently headed a campaign for a responsible coal purchasing policy which has now been adopted by the university. Beyond UT, Reagan is involved with Tennessee Alumni and Students for Sustainable Campuses (TASSC), which works for statewide renewable energy policies. With TASSC she has also worked closely with Save Our Cumberland Mountains to continue to bond youths and community members in the fight against MTR. From this work she served as a youth member with the Appalachian Coal Field Delegation at the 2006 UN Commission on Sustainable Development. Reagan also works as an intern for the Southern Energy Network coordinating for the Southeast Student Renewable Energy Conference, as well as serving on the steering committee.

Matthew Roberts
Matthew Roberts is a high school senior in upstate South Carolina and is the Co-facilitator of the Southern Energy Network. Matthew got his start in environmental work fighting mountain-top removal in Kentucky and continued with anti-nuke work in SC. Matthew's work is mainly focused around community organizing for sustainability and increasing awareness to become good stewards of the earth. As a side project, Matthew is building a biodiesel-hybrid-solar VW bus.

Alex Tapia
Alex Tapia is the Program Manager for the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) with responsibilities of developing, creating, and managing programs focused on energy efficiency across all sectors.  Currently, Tapia is developing a regional industrial energy efficiency coalition along with utilities, state energy offices, Oak Ridge National Lab and the Department of Energy; she is working with policy makers in Tennessee on model efficiency legislation; and she is managing SEEA’s earned media activities. For fifteen years, Tapia has been working to protect our natural environment, concentrating on energy and environmental policy and corporate social responsibility. He began his career by traveling to Alaska to learn the truth about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which became the subject of a documentary film, Arctic Quest: Our Search for Truth, which aired nationally on PBS stations.  In Alaska, Tapia learned about the proposed oil development of the Arctic Refuge from oil industry representatives, the people of Alaska and the Gwich’in natives who depend on the Porcupine Caribou herd for their way of life.  Previously, Tapia was the Assistant Project Director for the non-profit, Kilowatt Ours, focusing on communications, utility demand side management programs and policy, as well as serving as script advisor for the documentary film Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America. Tapia is also an Eagle Scout.