THE VINEYARD POWER STAFF

VINEYARD POWER BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  • Mike Jacobs, Chair of Vineyard Power and previously a member of the Advisory Committee, is the lead on Electricity Markets and Regulatory efforts in the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), headquartered in Cambridge. Prior to coming to UCS, Mr. Jacobs worked as the markets and policy director at a number of renewable energy and energy storage companies, and the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Before his time at AWEA, Mr. Jacobs was a liaison from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to FERC. Mr. Jacobs began his career in energy efficient installation work under contract to Boston Edison, and served on the staff of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities. Mr. Jacobs earned a B.A. in the College of Social Studies at Wesleyan University and an M.S. in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He has served on the boards of Wind on the Wires, the Wind Coalition, Interwest Energy Alliance, and the Northern Maine Independent System Administrator.

  • Bill Lake, Director of Vineyard Power, currently serves as Chair of the Aquinnah Climate and Energy Committee for the Town of Aquinnah and President of the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative. He was previously the Chief of the Media Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission and the Counselor to the Administrator at the EPA advising on the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Bill Lake was also Law Clerk to US Supreme Court Justice John M. Harlan from 1969-1970. He is a member of the Washington, DC and California bars. Bill holds a Bachelor of Laws from Stanford Law School and his BA in economics from Yale University.

  • Rob Hannemann, Director and Treasurer of Vineyard Power, is active in local government and serves as the Chair of the Chilmark Finance Advisory Committee, and chairs both the Chilmark Energy Committee and the all-Island Vineyard Sustainable Energy Committee (VSEC). Previously he served as the Director of the Tufts Gordon Institute, responsible for the Engineering Management and Entrepreneurial Leadership programs, and has taught energy systems courses as Professor of the Practice in the Tufts Mechanical Engineering department and chaired that department from 2010 through 2013. Dr. Hannemann earned his BS degree (with distinction) from the Illinois Institute of Technology and advanced degrees in Mechanical Engineering from New York University (MS '72) and MIT (Sc.D.'75). Prior to joining Tufts he co-founded an energy-efficient electronics cooling firm, Thermal Form & Function, Inc. Previously, he was a senior executive at Corning, Inc., Lasertron, Inc. and Digital Equipment Corporation. Early in his career, he was on the faculty at the University of Maryland at College Park and a Member of Technical Staff at Bell Laboratories. Dr. Hannemann is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and he lives in Chilmark with his wife Margaret Hannemann.

  • Ann Berwick, Director of Vineyard Power, served as the Chair of the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) under Governor Deval Patrick from June, 2010 until January 2015. She was also the president of the New England States Committee on Electricity from 2012 to 2015. Prior to being appointed chair of the DPU, Ann was the Commonwealth's Undersecretary for Energy and also Acting Chair of the Energy Facility Siting Board. Ann served as Chief of the Environmental Protection Division in the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office from 1991 to 1996, where she exercised joint oversight of the Massachusetts Environmental Strike Force. Ann has been a legal services attorney, and a partner in the litigation department at the Boston law firm Goulston & Storrs. Ann holds a B.A. from Radcliffe College and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School. She has four grown children, lives in Newton with her husband and owns a seasonal residence in Chilmark. Ann has been visiting the Vineyard since 1974.

  • Gary is the founder and manager of Great Rock Windpower based on Martha’s Vineyard. Great Rock was founded with the mission of promoting small wind power through the installation of safe, reliable, and cost-effective small wind energy systems. Having been involved in over 100 successful small wind installations ranging in size from 2.5 to 250 kW, both at home and abroad, he has carried out this mission with great success. He worked as an installation and maintenance trainer and commissioning engineer where he traveled across North America and Europe to assist new installers and turbine owners.

    As a trained turbine climber and trained rescue instructor, Gary has trained and certified dozens of turbine technicians and engineers. In 2010 Gary served on the NABEC small wind exam committee as part of a team to create the first ever, small wind installer certification exam. Most recently with the removal of tax credits for small wind in the U.S., Gary has turned his efforts to maintaining his local fleet of turbines and supporting others around the world remotely as a consultant. In addition to managing Great Rock Windpower, Gary is the president and manager of Against the Grain, a high-end custom woodworking and cabinet shop in Oak Bluffs.

  • Julius is an HVAC technician with over ten years of experience designing and installing high efficiency heating and cooling systems on Martha’s Vineyard. He is a member of the Zoning Board for West Tisbury, and holds degrees in Political Science and Communications from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

    Sustainability and a transition to renewable resources are issues he has engaged with both personally and professionally and he hopes to continue working to make the Island community and local energy economy more robust and independent.

  • Victoria enjoyed a long career as a psychologist before becoming an award-winning writer-producer for television. She was named Television Producer of the Year (1995) by the Producers Guild of America and is a former president of the Writers Guild of America, West. Victoria has been dedicated to non-profit work and activism on behalf of human rights, and education. She served on the Board of Directors of Human Rights Watch (HRW) for twelve years and chaired a fund for writers around the world who were victims of political persecution. In 2021, she founded the award-winning Bluedot Living, a print and digital magazine dedicated to sustainable living and adaptation to climate change. The print magazine, launched on Martha’s Vineyard, has been followed by lifestyle newsletters The Hub, Marketplace, Bluedot Brooklyn, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

    Victoria was raised on the west side of Los Angeles, CA and graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) with a B.A. in the Humanities and received an M.A. from Antioch University and Ph.D. from USC, both degrees in psychology. She currently lives in West Tisbury with her husband, Emmy-winning writer-producer David W. Rintels.

  • Jeff has over 40 years of experience in the infrastructure sector. He founded a consultancy that advised governments on financing iconic transport projects, such as the replacements of the Tappan Zee and Goethals Bridges, which he sold to Ernst & Young in 2012. In addition to his current consulting work, Jeff serves on the Investment Committee of IST3, a +$1 billion, infrastructure fund formed by a consortium of Swiss pension funds. IST3 manages a diverse portfolio of renewable energy and energy transmission assets.

    Jeff was a year-round resident of Chilmark for over 20 years and maintains close ties to the Island through family, friends, and seasonal residency. He assisted in the establishment of the Vineyard Transit Authority and provided technical support for initial passage of the Community Preservation Act by several towns. Jeff began his career serving in the Mayor’s Office in Pittsburgh and as a staff member of the US Conference of Mayors in Washington, DC. He is a graduate of the Wharton School.

  • Fred grew up in Greenwich, CT, and attended the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy with a B.S. in Marine Transportation. His maritime career, including achieving the ranks of Chief Mate and Master, spanned over 40 years. After retirement, Fred consulted as a maritime inspector until eventually becoming a Mate and Master for eight years for the Tisbury Towing Company, located at the Tisbury Marine Terminal.

    Fred first came to Martha’s Vineyard in 1978, married an island girl, Sarah Honey, and built an energy efficient “passive solar” home in 1981 and eventually installed on site solar array in 2013. Fred and Sarah raised two daughters on island who both live here with their three grandchildren. He is presently on the Board of Sail MV and has been a member of Vineyard Power for over 10 years.