CALSTART, a national nonprofit dedicated to growing the clean transportation industry, has hired Ben Mandel as its new Northeast regional director.
Prior to joining CALSTART, Mandel served as the senior policy advisor for energy regulatory affairs in the New York City mayor’s office of sustainability. Prior to that, Mandel was an energy policy and law fellow at New York University School of Law. He also performed research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and served as an assistant economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Mandel will lead CALSTART’s efforts to build the clean transportation technology industry in the Northeast. Under existing contracts, CALSTART is managing New York State Energy and Research Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) clean truck and bus purchase incentive program, as well as a program to expand workplace charging for electric vehicles in New York City and the surrounding areas. Future focus areas include partnerships with states to implement transportation decarbonization objectives and with electric and gas utilities to develop infrastructure networks to support the usage of alternative fuels.
“I am very excited about the opportunity to work with CALSTART’s 190 member companies and help them identify and develop opportunities to grow the clean transportation market in the Northeast,” says Mandel. “The Northeast states are serious about addressing the climate threat, and we want to work with them to find cost-effective low-carbon solutions that tap into the capabilities of our member companies.”
Mandel replaces Alycia Gilde, who is relocating to Southern California and will continue to work with CALSTART.
“Alycia did a great job of getting us started in the region, and we are thrilled to have her in our headquarters office now,” says CALSTART’s president and CEO, John Boesel.
In addition to Mandel, CALSTART recently added additional staff to its Northeast office, now located at Industry City in the Sunset Park neighborhood in Brooklyn, N.Y. Dan Welch, formerly transportation lead for the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, joined CALSTART as a project manager in February and adds years of experience with clean transportation technology and policy to CALSTART’s capabilities. The nonprofit also recently opened a new location in Michigan.
