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, and as we are experiencing again in 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’s commitment to strong environmental standards. In 2016, California released the ZEV Emission Vehicle Plan and expanded it in 2018, with a target to put 5 million electric cars on California roads by 2030. In order for the State of California to reduce transportation greenhouse gas emissions by 20% from 1990 levels, it needs to promote electric transportation and cutting edge programs and technologies. With EV sales in California over 700,000, 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 eight 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 10,000 test-drives of all types of electric cars, surveyed over 20,000 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, where CAT is working with ValleyCAN Tune In and Tune Up on their ride and drive events across the central valley.
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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Meg Ruxton
Partnerships Manager

Meg has established valuable alliances and partnerships with the EV sector and brings her strategic thinking to Charge Across Town.
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Her focus is on sustainable transportation. She provides her clients with thorough research while developing creative business proposals. Meg is particularly passionate about initiatives which encourage electric vehicle adoption and establish the infrastructure to support clean cars and fleets in the Bay Area and throughout California. An active member of the State Bar of California since 1986, Meg practiced at San Francisco law firms for a decade and has served for three terms as a Commissioner for the Assessment Appeals Board.
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Karen Weber
Operations & Finance Director

Karen oversees all data collection and reporting metrics to track and measure Charge Across Town’s impact on EV adoption across California.
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Jenny Matchell
Northern California Event Manager

Jenny manages Charge Across Town’s EV educational and outreach events in Northern California.
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Bill Bright
EV Consumer Marketing and Ride and Drive Team Leader

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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Board Members
Maureen Blanc
Board President

John Kalb
Board Secretary

John Kalb has 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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Pam Wellner
Board Member
Communications Director, Clean Energy, Clean Air at ClimateWorks Foundation

Pamela has been working passionately for a sustainable planet for over 20 years. She is currently the director of program marketing and communications at ClimateWorks Foundation.
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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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Dedrick Roper
Board Member
Director, Public-Private Partnerships, ChargePoint

Dedrick is an advanced vehicle technology pioneer with over 12 years’ experience cultivating public-private partnerships, business offerings, and programs.
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Karen Weber
Board Treasurer

Francesca Wahl
Board Member, 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
LYFT Bikes and Scooters

Shawn is currently Marketing Specialist at Lyft Bikes & Scooters, focusing on bike share in the San Francisco Bay Area, and coordinates Bike Share for All, a bike share equity program and local events.
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Lori Sinsley
Board Member
All Things Green PR

Lori is a strategic communications expert, writer, and environmental advocate.
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Our Advisory Council
Peter Boyer
Artist and Trustee, RMI
Peter is an avid EV enthusiast and environmental philanthropy leader.
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Mark Ferron
Board of Governors, California ISO, and Commissioner CPUC
Mark Ferron’s unique expertise has made him an authority when it comes to the intersection of energy, environment, finance and philanthropy.
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From 2011 to 2014, Mark was a Commissioner on the California Public Utilities Commission, focused on renewable energy, energy efficiency and resource adequacy. Before moving to California in 2009, he spent 25 years in global finance, banking and operations, including serving as chief operating officer for the Global Markets Division of Deutsche Bank in London.
Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in economics from Stanford University.
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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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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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Lawrie Mott
Board Chair, Cool the Earth
Lawrie Mott is currently an independent consultant specializing in environmental health.
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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 Scott Bauer
PhD Candidate, Education and Resources, UC Berkeley
Gordon is a PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley, and a recipient of the NSF graduate research fellowship.
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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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Get Involved!
Charge Across Town engages with community-based organizations, educational organizations, student interns, EV owners and volunteers to help bring our electric vehicle educational events to communities across California.
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.
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