Our People
In 2025, Angela Lipanovich partnered with Jenny Folkesson to support the passage of California Assembly Bill 1104, a commercial solar energy bill successfully signed into law in October that year. That collaboration became the foundation for SolarWAVE Action — built on the conviction that rigorous data analysis and sharp legal strategy are the most powerful tools for accelerating the clean energy transition.
Jenny Folkesson is the Executive Director and co-founder of SolarWAVE Action.
She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Copenhagen and has almost two decades of experience in data science, machine learning, and software engineering — notably at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, where she led image analysis initiatives.
Driven by a passion for using technology to make the world better, she transitioned her expertise toward climate action, contributing data science work to Save Our Shores and Reef Check before she and Angela co-founded SolarWAVE Action.
Angela Lipanovich is co-founder of SolarWAVE Action and founder and principal attorney of Estriatus Law, where she serves both as outside general counsel and project-specific advisor to entities and system owners across the cleantech and renewable energy spectrum — from early-stage startups and established public enterprises to private individuals and businesses.
She founded Estriatus Law not just to practice law, but to support the people and companies building a cleaner, smarter, more sustainable future. With every client, every project, and every partnership, she brings mission-driven legal guidance designed to clear obstacles and create momentum — because she believes the future depends on it.
SolarWAVE Action is governed by a five-member Board of Directors who provide strategic oversight and ensure the organization remains accountable to its mission of advancing equitable clean energy policy in California.
Angela Lipanovich is co-founder of SolarWAVE Action and founder and principal attorney of Estriatus Law, where she serves both as outside general counsel and project-specific advisor to entities and system owners across the cleantech and renewable energy spectrum — from early-stage startups and established public enterprises to private individuals and businesses.
She founded Estriatus Law not just to practice law, but to support the people and companies building a cleaner, smarter, more sustainable future. With every client, every project, and every partnership, she brings mission-driven legal guidance designed to clear obstacles and create momentum — because she believes the future depends on it.
Pete, along with his wife Karen, founded Scudder Roofing out of his garage on the Monterey Peninsula in 1982. Today, the award winning, multi-million dollar residential and commercial roofing company represents the highest standards in the industry. With more than 23,000 roofs installed from Big Sur to Carmel and beyond, Pete’s family-owned firm has become the area’s premiere roofing contractor by merging traditional values and craftsmanship with leading-edge methods, products and technology.
In 2007, Pete founded sister company, Scudder Solar Electrical Energy Systems -- one of the leading solar energy companies in the state of California – solidifying his place in the construction sector as an innovative business leader and an important industry voice.
When he's not working on roofs, you will usually find Pete Scudder volunteering his time to organizations like the Boy Scouts or CASA for Monterey County and spending quality time with his close-knit family and friends.
Jenny Folkesson is the Executive Director and co-founder of SolarWAVE Action.
She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Copenhagen and has almost two decades of experience in data science, machine learning, and software engineering — notably at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, where she led image analysis initiatives.
Driven by a passion for using technology to make the world better, she transitioned her expertise toward climate action, contributing data science work to Save Our Shores and Reef Check before she and Angela co-founded SolarWAVE Action.
Jan Freiwald is the Executive Director of the Reef Check Foundation. Jan has deep expertise in reef community ecology, marine management, citizen science and marine conservation. Prior to becoming Executive Director, Jan led the Reef Check California program for eight years. He has grown this program into a statewide marine protected area monitoring network of citizen scientists. Jan is responsible for implementing a climate change research project for the Reef Check California program, which is studying the effects of ocean acidification and hypoxic zones on the reefs and kelp forests along the California coast.
He studied biology in Germany before receiving a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from the University of California Santa Cruz. Prior to joining Reef Check, Jan obtained a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California Santa Cruz where he used approaches ranging from acoustic telemetry, to community surveys to genetic analyses to investigate kelp forest community ecology and marine protected area design.
Kristen Brown is the Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce. She has 14+ years of experience working to serve the Santa Cruz County community through her work as a congressional aide, government relations specialist, council member, mayor, non-profit board member, and community volunteer.
Having served for eight years on the Capitola City Council, including two terms as Mayor, Kristen also previously held roles as Chair of the Regional Transportation Commission and METRO Transit District, President of the Board for the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, representative to the Capitola Wharf and Village Business Improvement Association, and member of the League of California Cities' Transportation, Communication, and Public Works Policy Committee. In 2018, Kristen was awarded the Santa Cruz County Women’s Commission’s Trailblazer Award for her work promoting economic and political participation among women, and in 2024, was named one of Silicon Valley Business Journal’s “40 Under 40.”
Kristen earned her Bachelor’s Degree from California State University, Monterey Bay, where she studied Political Communication and received distinction in her major. She also holds a Master of Public Administration Degree with an emphasis in Public Sector Management and Leadership from California State University, Northridge.
Our advisors bring deep expertise across clean energy policy, law, and technology, providing strategic guidance as we advance equitable distributed clean energy ownership.
Kathleen Stauffer is a strategic, results-driven professional with deep expertise in executive leadership and mergers/acquisitions. An expert on high-performance team building, organizational transformation and leveraging mergers for large-scale social change, she’s enjoyed success as a CEO, president, division chief, and media group publisher. Under her leadership, The Arc Eastern Connecticut grew from a struggling $5 million nonprofit organization supporting people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities to an enterprising, $26+ million hybrid.
Kathleen serves on nonprofit and for profit national and regional Boards. She is a recognized leader, writer, and presenter.
Galina Hale is a Professor of Economics and Coastal Science and Policy, Faculty Director of the Institute for Social Transformation, and Co-Director of the Center for Analytical Finance at UC Santa Cruz. She is a Research Associate at the NBER, a Research Fellow at the CEPR, and a Director of CEBRA's IFM program. Previously, she served as a Research Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and as an assistant professor of economics at Yale University. Galina’s research interests focus on attracting mainstream finance to climate solutions, the sustainability of the global food system, and international financial stability, especially with respect to climate risks. Galina also worked extensively on international capital flows and financial crises.
Galina has published in leading economics and finance peer-reviewed journals. She serves on the editorial boards of a number of Economics journals. Galina regularly presents her work at scholarly and policy meetings worldwide.
Barry Cinnamon is a long-time advocate of renewable energy and is a widely recognized solar power and battery system expert. He overseas Cinnamon Energy Systems, a leading residential and commercial contractor based in Silicon Valley. He is the host of the weekly Energy Show in both radio and podcast media.
His pioneering work on reducing costs of rooftop solar power systems led to over 30 issued and applied for patents, including a number of products that transformed the solar industry -- including Andalay, the first solar panel with integrated racking, grounding and wiring; the first UL listed AC solar panel; the first fully “plug and play” AC solar panel; and the Spice Solar Built-In Racking System.
Mr. Cinnamon started his career in the late 1970’s as a researcher into new flat plate and concentrating collector designs, and developed the first residential energy audit program for utilities. He went on to design and install active solar, passive solar and ground coupled heat pump systems.
In 2001 he founded Akeena Solar – which he took public in 2006 and grew to become the largest national residential solar installer by the middle of the decade. He partnered with Westinghouse to create Westinghouse Solar in 2010, and merged the company with CBD Energy in 2012. He founded Cinnamon Energy Systems in 2012 to continue serving the solar, energy storage and maintenance needs of customers in Silicon Valley.