Wharton Energy Club

Jonathan Lyons

Co-President

Jonathan comes to Wharton from Washington, DC where he most recently launched and managed a consulting firm focused on renewable energy strategy and regulatory issues. Prior to that, he worked for a lobbying and public relations agency where he built national advocacy and branding campaigns, overseeing a network of state operatives and working with Fortune 500 clients to forge strategic alliances with elected officials, media outlets and policy leaders to advance public sector issues. Jonathan has also worked on numerous political campaigns, including three Presidential races, five congressional campaigns and a handful of local campaigns, where he was primarily responsible for voter segmentation and marketing strategy, staff management and realignment, and overall operations. While at Wharton, Jonathan been very active in the Energy Club, serving on the sponsorship committee of the annual Energy Conference and leading a policy-focused trek to Washington, DC.

Jeremiah Marble

Co-President

Jeremiah is a second-year student at The Wharton School, pursuing two masters degrees: an MBA with concentrations in Finance
and Marketing, and an MA in International Studies from the Lauder Institute (French track). He graduated from Columbia University with a major in Computer Science. Prior to Wharton, Jeremiah worked for the United Nations in Paris, studied climate change as a Fulbright Scholar to Costa Rica, served as Director of Operations for a social enterprise in Cambodia and Laos, and worked in the Dominican Republic with the Peace Corps. Jeremiah speaks English, Spanish, and French. He enjoys Ultimate Frisbee, running, biking, skiing, surfing, and salsa dancing.

Alison Go

VP Careers

Alison Go is a second-year student at Wharton. Before arriving in Philadelphia, Alison worked at U.S. News & World Report in D.C. as a higher education reporter, as well as an online producer for the publication’s Education section (where she worked on the web implementation of U.S. News’s infamous rankings. Yes, those rankings). She has appeared as a commentator on Fox News, and has reported on the nuclear industry for both U.S. News and NPR. She has also worked at the Boston Globe and the San Jose Mercury News. Alison graduated with a B.A. in History from the University of Michigan, which is not too far from her hometown of Troy, Michigan. She enjoys biking and volleyball, and is eternally searching for the perfect burrito.

Zachary Fenton

Treasurer

Zach Fenton is a 2011 MBA candidate, majoring in Finance and Management. Zach graduated in 2004 with a degree in Economics from Duke University, where he was a member of the men’s Division I lacrosse team. After graduating from Duke, he spent three years at Morgan Stanley working in both their Global Power & Utility and Financial Sponsors groups.
Following his time at Morgan Stanley, Zach spent two years at Lindsay Goldberg, a $10 billion private equity firm based in New York, where he focused primarily on companies in the energy industry.
Zach will be working for ConocoPhillips in Houston this summer as part of their MBA finance internship program.

Jennifer Pereira

VP of Alumni Relations

Laura Moss

VP of Alumni Relations

Laura graduated with a B.S.E in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University in 2006. Prior to Wharton, she spent three years working at CGI Group, Inc. in Washington DC doing IT consulting, working primarily with large oil and gas companies. Laura will be spending the summer in Houston, TX, working at Exxon Mobil in their Chemicals group.

Russell Sprole

VP of Education

Russell is a second-year MBA candidate at the Wharton School. Prior to Wharton, Russell spent two years as an Associate Producer for NBC Sports, where he earned two Emmy Awards for his work on Sunday Night Football and the Beijing Olympics. Before joining the MBA program, last summer Russell solidified his passion for renewable energy and energy efficiency while interning at Ecological Development, a sustainability performance services company. At Wharton, Russell served as Director of Operations for the Wharton Energy Conference and focused on minimizing the carbon footprint of the conference. In January, Russell led ten students on the Wharton Energy Trek, visiting a dozen renewable energy development and technology companies in the Bay Area. This spring semester, Russell is partaking two Independent Studies: one evaluating the potential for offshore wind in the Great Lakes and the other comparing financial models for distributed and utility scale solar developments. Russell graduated from Yale University in 2007 with a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science; he also played on Yale’s varsity lacrosse team. In his spare time, Russell enjoys playing hockey, lacrosse, golf, and snowboarding.

Miriam Grobman

VP of Communications

Miriam is a dual degree candidate, pursuing an MBA from the Wharton School and MA in International Studies from the Lauder Institute, focusing on Europe and Russian language. Prior to Wharton, she was an Executive Officer at Lloyds TSB Bank Corporate Banking team in New York. She worked on client relationship management, analyzing current and potential client needs and creating sales pitches. Prior to Lloyds, Miriam spent 2.5 years at Deutsche Bank as Credit Risk Analyst, with her last assignment in Leveraged Finance. After Wharton, Miriam wants to pursue a career in business development in emerging markets. Last year she served as a Marketing Chair for the Wharton Energy Conference and intends to use this experience to enhance the brand of the Wharton Energy Club and streamline internal and external communications.

Shannon Lijek

Conference Chair

Shannon Lijek is a 2011 MBA Candidate majoring in Strategic Management and Finance. Prior to Wharton, Shannon worked as a Software Engineer for Lockheed Martin designing and developing software and deploying with radar systems abroad. She spent the last year and a half as the program’s Software Development Manager. While at Lockheed Martin, Shannon also earned a MS in Computer Science from the University of Southern California.
During the past semester, Shannon has been very active in a Wharton Independent Study Project analyzing the economics, regulations, policies, and solutions for a Neighborhood-Scale Residential Solar PV System. This summer Shannon plans to work at Salt River Project (SRP) quantifying the benefits and value of SRP’s Smart Meter program. For the 2009 Wharton Energy Conference, Shannon was an Operations Director and handled all on-site premise logistics and operations. She has been selected as one of the two Co-Chairs for the 2010 Wharton Energy Conference and is excited to organize another successful event!

Elle Seybold

Conference Chair

Elle is a dual-degree MBA and MA in International Studies candidate at the Wharton School and the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS). She graduated from New York University’s Stern School of Business in 2002 with a BS in Finance. Before embarking on her Masters programs, Elle worked for five years with Beekman Capital in Santa Fe, NM. She started as Analyst and rose to the role of Director of Research and Partner. Upon graduation she hopes to join the energy industry. Through her roles she gained a working knowledge of the conventional and unconventional oil and gas fields in North America as well as many of the larger fields located in West Africa, offshore Brazil, and the Middle East. On the services side, she researched several of the predominant and promising techniques applied in well completions and enhanced recovery of hydrocarbons. At SAIS, Elle wrote her thesis on U.S. energy policy. Elberta enjoys mountain biking, rock climbing, mountaineering, equestrian events and volunteers for Search & Rescue.

Meghan Luchi

VP of Academics

Meghan Luchi is a first-year MBA candidate at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where she is majoring in finance. She graduated in 2003 from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. After graduation, Meghan began her professional career as a chemical engineer at Merck & Co. She spent three improving the effectiveness of chemical synthesis steps through conducting laboratory experiments and overseeing manufacturing operations. She then spent three years in the Strategic Analysis & Planning group as an analyst and then associate manager. In this role, she advised company planning which included providing the R&D budgets of each asset in the pipeline for annual portfolio valuation. While at Wharton, Meghan has been gaining experience in the energy sector through an offshore wind independent study. She will be spending her summer as a consultant in the BCG Philadelphia Office.

Matt Rader

VP of Community Outreach

Matt Rader gets excited about transforming historic cities into thriving, sustainable communities. As VP for Community Outreach in the Energy Club, he creates opportunities for exchange between local energy-related businesses, organizations, and the Wharton community. Prior to Wharton, he advised cities on urban redevelopment strategy at the Urban Land Institute, an international real estate trade association and think tank. He also served as Executive Director of the Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust and the East Passyunk Avenue Business Improvement District, two urban redevelopment non-profits in Philadelphia.
Matt enjoys urban biking, baking, reading, and exploring local history. He holds a B.A. in Architectural History from the University of Virginia and a Certificate in Non-Profit Executive Leadership from Bryn Mawr College.

Fritz Charles

VP of Entrepreneurship

Fritz Charles is a first year MBA student at The Wharton School of Business majoring in Entrepreneurial Management and Real Estate. Prior to Wharton, Fritz worked as an equity derivative trader at Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital. At Lehman Brothers, he was part of a cross functional team that issued $473mm in SunPower, First Solar, and Evergreen Solar convertible bonds. On campus, he is leading an Independent Study Project studying the use of Solar energy in Haiti. Fritz is part of Wharton’s Wildmen Hockey team. An avid sports fan, he supports the New York Mets, New York Giants, and New York Knicks religiously. He graduated from Baruch College with a degree in Finance and Investments.

Christian Gomez

VP of Policy

Christian Gomez is a first-year MBA student majoring in Multinational Management. He is pursuing a joint MA degree in International Economics and Latin American Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University. Last year, Christian researched renewable fuels markets at PFC Energy and worked in Booz Allen Hamilton’s Diplomacy and International Development practice. Prior to graduate school, he held positions at the Inter-American Dialogue, Princeton in Latin America, and the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress. Christian graduated cum laude from Princeton University in 2003 with a BA in Politics. Christian is a beginner ice hockey player and an experienced fan of the Washington Redskins.

Diana Townsend-Butterworth

VP of External Relations

Diana attended Harvard College and is now a 2011 candidate for an MBA in Finance and Energy and an MA in International Studies at Wharton and the Lauder Institute. Between college and grad school, Diana worked as a trader and a high-yield research analyst in the Fixed Income Division of Morgan Stanley, covering automotive companies. She then became COO of Learnvest, Inc, an online site to teach women about personal finance. Before Wharton, Diana also studied Conservation Biology at Columbia and chaired the Wildlife Conservation Society’s junior committee. This summer, Diana will be working on energy projects for the Boston Consulting Group in Washington DC and traveling to do research for her thesis on alternative energy in Southeast Asia.