About Us
Our Story
At the epicenter for electric vehicle adoption, California has more electric cars on the road than any other region in the U.S, and is home to some of the greenest cities in the nation and the world. Unfortunately California has some of the least healthy air quality in the country, including the San Joaquin Valley basin, the Bay Area, and the inland empire metropolitan area in Southern California. When we factor in the “new normal” annual wildfire season, California air quality can sometimes be the worst in the world, as we saw in 2018, 2019 and 2020!
One of the largest sources of GHG emissions in California is from the transportation sector, accounting for 41% from commercial trucks and automobiles – and in the San Francisco Bay Area, almost 40% of greenhouse gas emissions come from cars and trucks.
The good news is California is a pacesetter of environmental policy and is moving forward with a bold vision for an all-electric transportation future in California by 2035: 100% of in-state sales of new passenger cars and light-duty trucks will be zero emission. In 2020, the #1 export in California was electric vehicles; with EV sales in California at almost 1 million, California has a long way to go to reach its ZEV goals. This is where Charge Across Town comes in – we have helped move the dial towards a 25% adoption rate at our statewide events.



Our Work
Over the past ten years, Charge Across Town (CAT) has been working across the state directly with consumers, community organizers, local government and the automotive industry to get people excited about driving and purchasing electric vehicles, and educating them about charging. Our approach has been to produce fun, user-friendly events, in a non-sales environment, for people to ask questions, talk to EV owners, learn about incentives, and of course take the cars out for a test-drive. Since 2012, we have conducted over 15,000 test-drives of all types of electric cars, surveyed over 25,000 consumers on EV attitudes and buying trends, worked with every major automotive company and local dealerships, and partnered with energy and infrastructure players to demonstrate charging solutions. Our data shows that when people can get behind the wheel of an electric car, and take it out for a spin, they are more likely to purchase an EV. As a matter of fact, over the past seven years, Charge Across Town has seen a 25% adoption rate of new and used EVs due to its educational test-drive events.
Some of the seminal work Charge Across Town has done include our annual EV Week(s), Driving on Sunshine, MTC’s Experience Electric #thebetterride, Veloz’ Best.Drive.EVer!, SMUD’s Drive Electric, The Governor’s Global Climate Action Summit Zero Emission Vehicle Showcase, and the Electrify America ZEV Awareness and Education Program for Disadvantaged and Low-Income Communities. CAT is working with ValleyCAN on their ride and drive events across the central valley, and is a key partner in the Drive Clean Bay Area (DCBA) EVs for Equity program.
Our Team
Maureen Blanc
Executive Director

Maureen brings business and marketing acumen, and non-profit expertise to Charge Across Town, leading the charge in EV adoption.
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Maureen built one of the largest high tech PR firms, Blanc and Otus Public Relations, and sold the firm in 2000 to WPP, a world leader in marketing communications services. Blanc and Otus launched over 200 companies into emerging markets from enterprise computing, salesforce automation software, mobility, web-based broadcasting to Web 2.0, and clean technology companies. Maureen has spent the past 10 years in the non-profit sector working on domestic and international issues, and is an advisor and board member to world affairs, philanthropic, educational, and environmental organizations.
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Bill Bright
Senior Program Manager

Bill coordinates and executes our electric vehicle test drive efforts with partners, dealers, and educational organizations across the state.
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Michelle Pierce
EV Ride and Drive Manager, SoCal

Michelle is a recognized electric vehicle enthusiast and advocate in the Inland Empire in Southern California.
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Jenny Matchell
Events Manager, Northern California

Jenny manages Charge Across Town’s EV educational and outreach events in Northern California.
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Briana Trejo
Events Manager, Central Valley California

Briana manages Charge Across Town’s EV educational and outreach events in California’s Central Valley.
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She is a clean tech and electric vehicle enthusiast. Briana has focused her time advocating with nonprofits dedicated to promoting and educating disadvantaged communities of alternative fuel vehicles and government incentives to improve the air quality within the San Joaquin Valley and Bay Area.
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Charge Across Town Board of Directors
Maureen Blanc
Member, Past Board Chair

Dedrick Roper
Board Treasurer
Partner, eMobility Advisors

Dedrick is an advanced vehicle technology pioneer with over 12 years’ experience cultivating public-private partnerships, business offerings, and programs.
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Rebecca Fisher
Board Member
Associate Director, Road Transport, ClimateWorks

Rebecca Fisher is the Associate Director of Road Transportation at ClimateWorks. She has almost a decade of experience in sustainable international development, climate finance, and electric vehicle technology and policy.
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Rebecca holds a Master of Environment Economics and Sustainable International Development from Duke University and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Brandeis University.
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David Rubin
Board Member
Head of Policy Research, Cruise

David Rubin is the Head of Policy Research for Cruise, a provider of all-electric self-driving vehicle services.
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Prior to joining Cruise in January 2019, Dave worked for over six years at the strategic advisory firm The Asia Group, based in Washington, DC. In that capacity, Dave supported U.S. multinational corporations in the transportation, energy, and aerospace industries in navigating political risks and developing market entry campaigns across the Indo-Pacific, with a predominant focus on Japan. Previous to The Asia Group, Dave worked at Logistics Capital & Strategy, a boutique management consulting firm focused on the transportation sector.
Dave has spoken at a variety of transportation policy fora, including the Transportation Research Board’s Annual Meeting; the Conference on Advancing Transportation Equity; the E-Mobility Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conference; the Pennsylvania AV Summit; and more. He currently serves on the Board of the Electric Vehicle Charging Association on behalf of Cruise.
Dave holds a Masters of Arts in International Affairs from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, with a dual focus on International Economics and Energy, Resources, and the Environment. Dave also holds a Bachelors of Arts in International Service from American University. He is passionate about combining technology and policy to drive positive sum outcomes.
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Pam Wellner
Board Chair
Chief Strategist, Amplify Eco

Pamela has been working passionately for a sustainable planet for over 25 years. She is currently the chief strategist of her company, Amplify Eco, a communications and program management consulting practice.
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While at the California Public Utilities Commission, she focused on utility customer energy efficiency marketing and behavior change, helped create the Behavior Energy and Climate Change Conference and has frequently presented on behavior change approaches.
Before getting ensconced in California energy issues, Pamela directed cutting edge campaigns to protect old growth forests and human rights from unsustainable timber practices for products ranging from musical instruments to tissue paper and helped establish the Forest Stewardship Council.
She has a master’s in public administration from New York University and bachelor’s in human ecology from the small, but mighty, College of the Atlantic.
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Francesca Wahl
Board Secretary, Business Development and Policy, Tesla

As part of the business development and policy team at Tesla, Francesca focuses on managing regulatory policy engagement on transportation electrification in California and electric vehicle charging infrastructure issues with key agencies, utilities, and cities across the country.
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Shawn Dillon
Board Member

Shawn is passionate about biking, urban mobility, equitable access to transportation, street design, and getting people to their destination safely with zero emissions.
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Our Advisory Council
Eugene Dickey
Owner and Founder, Third Rail eBikes
Third Rail is an electric bike shop in San Francisco – with ebikes designed and assembled in San Francisco and built to last years.
Lisa Ghotbi
Director of Pharmacy, San Francisco Health Plan, previous CAT Board Members
Lisa has been a healthcare and employee benefits executive for over 20 years, most recently as the COO for the Health Service System, a board governed multi-employer trust responsible for benefit administration for 110,000 employee and retiree families.
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Gordon Bauer
PHD, Senior Data Scientist, Stable Auto
Gordon is a sustainable transportation researcher with almost 10 years of experience in transportation data science and electric vehicles.
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Previously, Gordon worked at Via Transportation, helping modernize and electrify public transportation, and The International Council on Clean Transportation, where he conducted research on charging infrastructure needs and used EV market trends. Gordon holds a BA in Chemistry from Williams College, and a MS and PhD in Energy and Resources from University of California, Berkeley.
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Tom Knox
Executive Director, Valley CAN
Valley Clean Air Now (Valley CAN) is a qualified 501(c)(3) public charity committed to quantifiably improving air quality in California’s San Joaquin Valley, one of the most polluted regions in the United States.
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Felix Kramer
Founder, ClimateChargesEverything.org and CALcars.org
Felix Kramer is a writer and an ex-entrepreneur who’s been able to volunteer on cleantech and climate change awareness and solutions for a long time.
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He’s a strategic advisor to the Healthy Climate Alliance and the Foundation for Climate Restoration. He edits ClimateChangesEverything.org to bring you resources and connections to help you get your hopes up about our future. And stories about how people are making reversing global warming and restoring our climate their ambitious goals.
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Pete May
Co-founder, GreenBiz Group
Pete May is Co-founder of GreenBiz Group. GreenBiz Group is the media and events company accelerating the just transition to a clean economy.
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Prior to founding GreenBiz Group in 2006 with Joel Makower, Pete had over 20 years experience in B2B and technology media as an executive with companies such as Primedia, CMP and Miller Freeman — in both Europe and North America. May was honored with the 2010 Folio 40 C-Level Visionaries Award, recognizing media industry influencers and innovators. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara.
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Rebecca Milliken
City of Berkeley
Rebecca is the Sustainability Outreach Specialist at the Office of Energy & Sustainable Development with the City of Berkeley.
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Lawrie Mott
Board Chair, Cool the Earth
Lawrie Mott is currently an independent consultant specializing in environmental health.
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Michael Mayfield
Environmental Scientist, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Michael is an Americorps fellow, and CAT ride and drive team leader in San Joaquin Valley.
Simon Mui
Senior Scientist, Climate and Clean Energy Program, NRDC
Simon Mui researches and advocates for cleaner vehicles and fuels in order to reduce the impacts of transportation systems on the environment.
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Mark Tang
Bay Area Air Quality Management District
Mark brings over 15 years of Air Quality industry experience working in engineering, compliance and transportation planning.
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In additional to his work at the Air District, Mark serves on the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Citizen’s Advisory Committee and the Balboa Reservoir Community Advisory Committee advocating for clean energy generation, equity and affordable housing.
Mark holds a BA in Environmental Studies from California State University, Sacramento and a MLA in Extension Studies with a focus in Environmental Management & Sustainability from Harvard University.
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Karen Weber
Non-profit Administration
As Operations and Finance Director for Charge Across Town since its earliest years, she was responsible for all data collection and reporting metrics to track and measure its impact on EV adoption across California.
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John Kalb
In Memorium
EV Charging Pros
John Kalb had more than 30 years of managerial, operational, and technical experience developing business opportunities from emerging trends.
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Before launching EV Charging Pros, John served as VP of EV Market Development for Evolvelectric, a company focused on electrical innovation with an emphasis on putting customers on the path to sustainability. Evolvelectric has installed more than 200 EV charging station in Northern California.
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Get Involved!
We work in partnership with the EV and charging industry, clean energy providers, environmental and regulatory groups, and the communities most impacted by air pollution, by providing education, outreach and experiential events, that reduce barriers to adoption of electric transportation.
If your organization is interested in partnering with us, or if you’re interested in volunteering for one of our upcoming events, please contact us.
Our work is financed by local and state grants and programs, corporate sponsorships, and donations from individuals and philanthropic organizations.
Corporate Match
