Sample menu:
Advisory Board
The GW Solar Institute Advisory Board meets twice a year to discuss the goals and direction of the Institute. Its members represent a cross-section of business, legal, policy and scientific experts.
Jerry Bloom
Jerry Bloom is a partner at Winston and Strawn, LLP. He is chair of the firm’s energy, project development, and finance practice group and focuses his practice on the development and operation of domestic and international independent energy projects, electric-industry restructuring and privatization, and mergers and acquisitions. He has extensive experience in the negotiation of off-take and power purchase agreements, engineering, procurement, and construction contracts, operation and maintenance agreements, fuel supply agreements, syndication, and agency agreements. He has assisted in the development and operation of energy projects in the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, Australia, the Philippines, and China. Mr. Bloom is also active in the development of small- and utility-scale photovoltaic and thermal solar facilities. Mr. Bloom received a B.A. in Psychology in 1974 and an M.A. in Counseling in 1976 from George Washington University. He received a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law in 1980.
Robin Crawford
Robin Crawford is a senior vice president at Ruder Finn Washington, DC. With more than 15 years of experience developing and implementing targeted communications programs Robin has managed award-winning communications programs for Jamestown 2007 - America’s 400th Anniversary, ACCIONA Energy North America, the American Forest & Paper Association, the White House Council on Y2K and Nintendo of America, among others. Robin client work focuses on renewable and alternative energy and consumer education initiatives. Prior to joining Ruder Finn, Robin was director of communications for the American Forest & Paper Association. She has also held positions with Hill & Knowlton, the ProMarc Agency, Shandwick International, Golin/Harris Communications and St. Lawrence University. Robin graduated from St Lawrence University with a bachelor’s in English Literature.
John T. Gaffney
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn in 2011, Mr. Gaffney was a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. During his 22 years at Cravath, Mr. Gaffney’s practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, capital markets transactions, and corporate governance matters. In 2008, Mr. Gaffney left Cravath to join his client, First Solar Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of thin-film photovoltaic solar modules, where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer and led the legal, corporate development and worldwide government affairs functions. In 2010, Mr. Gaffney joined Solyndra Inc., a manufacturer of thin-film photovoltaic solar modules, where he served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and General Counsel and led the legal, corporate development, worldwide government affairs and business development-emerging markets functions. Mr. Gaffney holds a B.A. from The George Washington University and a J.D. and an M.B.A. from New York University.
LeRoy C. (Lee) Paddock
Lee Paddock is associate dean for environmental law studies. He is a member of the ABA Section on Environment, Energy and Resources Council. Prior to coming to GW Law, he was the director of Environmental Legal Studies at Pace University Law School from 2002 to 2007. Dean Paddock has served as a senior consultant for the National Academy of Public Administration on several projects since 1999. He also was a visiting scholar at the Environmental Law Institute between 1999 and 2002, focusing on clean air act, state-federal relationship, and enforcement issues. From 1978 until 1999, Dean Paddock was an assistant attorney general with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office where he served as director of environmental policy for 13 years, as manager of the Office’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Division and a member of its executive committee.
Dean Paddock graduated from the University of Iowa Law School with high honors and served as a law clerk to Judge Donald Lay of the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Richard Perez
Richard Perez is a research professor at the University at Albany’s Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, where he directs applied research and teaches in the fields of solar radiation, and solar energy applications, and daylighting. Noted contributions to the field of solar energy include; identifying the potential of photovoltaic power generation to meet the electrical power demand of large cities in nontraditional solar regions such as the northeastern United States; and, the development solar radiation models which have been incorporated in standard solar energy and daylighting calculation practice around the world. Perez has produced over 200 journal articles, conference papers and technical reports and holds two U.S. patents on methods of load management using photovoltaics. He has received several international awards including a Certificate for Outstanding Research from the USDOE, Best Published Article from the International Solar Energy Society, and the American Solar Energy Society’s highest award, the Charles Greeley Abbot Award. Perez He earned a master’s and a doctoral degree in atmospheric sciences from the University of Paris and SUNY-Albany, and earned an undergraduate degree in electrotechnics from the University of Nice, France.
Ted Turner
Ted Turner is chairman of Turner Enterprises, Inc., the United Nations Foundation and the Turner Foundation. He is also co-chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative and co-founder of Ted’s Montana Grill. Mr. Turner is involved in many civic and philanthropic activities, especially in the areas of environmental protection and improvement, nuclear arms control, climate change and renewable energy. His generous support of the GW Solar Institute is in keeping with his many other environmental pursuits.