Board of Directors Voting
Annual elections for Geothermal Rising will commence Wednesday, October 16, 2024, through Friday, November 22, 2024
"Joining Geothermal Rising is just the beginning of that journey. Voting is how you take ownership of the community’s future, ensuring that its leadership reflects the values, vision, and goals that matter most. By casting your vote, you help guide the path forward, not only for yourself but for the entire industry and cause that Geothermal Rising represents. Every vote is a step toward shaping a stronger, more sustainable energy future."
Jonathan Hernandez
My name is Jonathan Hernandez, and I’m seeking your support for the Consultant Seat on the Geothermal Rising Board of Directors. My geothermal career began in the field as a geologist and drilling engineer for geothermal power projects nearly 15 years ago. With my passion to further geothermal’s global reach after working in the United States, I sought international experience in the industry where eventually I advanced to leadership roles. Recently I’ve pivoted to low-enthalpy systems in the United States as Director of Geoscience at Brightcore Energy. If my vision of geothermal energy, as a clean and renewable solution, is to truly reach its potential of having global impact against climate change, I propose on learning from the past and maximizing the present to better prepare for the future. Geothermal Rising has been incredibly successful in taking the industry to where it is today. If elected, I will continue to support that mission but will also utilize my international geothermal experience to further empower Geothermal Rising to serve as a key international platform. That will help to bridge the gap between innovation and policy, to better integrate education and industry, and to provide powerful messaging of both lessons and successes.
It’s taken geothermal over a century to become an overnight sensation; I aim to further expand and accelerate that. We don’t have another century to waste.
I look forward to your support this coming election, thank you.
Jonathan Hernandez is the Director of Geoscience at Brightcore Energy in New York, he has worked in geothermal energy since 2010 after graduating from UCLA in Engineering and Geology. He began his career in geothermal power projects primarily in drilling supervision and geoscientific surveys, he has worked throughout North, Central, and South America, Southeast Asia, and East Africa. In all his work, Jonathan leverages geothermal science and engineering to mitigate project risks, provide stakeholder transparency, and maximize value throughout the project’s critical path. For nearly 15 years, Mr. Hernandez has called upon his extensive field and consulting experience to make the transition to energy executive, subject matter expert, and industry spokesperson, to help promote the importance of geothermal energy in our global challenge to fight climate change.
William Thompson
I’m excited and grateful for the opportunity to support the geothermal industry’s growth as a candidate for the Geothermal Rising Board in 2024. As a future board member, I can offer 15 years of experience as an organizational strategist, having worked with most major organization types, from startups to multinationals and across energy, cleantech, industry, and non-profits. Geothermal Rising has the once-in-an-Earth-lifetime opportunity to create a new and transformative paradigm in the global economy that goes beyond thinking of energy as a commodity and reveals it for what it truly is: a fundamental point of connection between our communities and the natural world. I believe that “geothermal”—both as a concept and as an industry—offers us the tools to better understand what it means to be human and the responsibility we have as humans to live in harmony with each other and with the Earth. Geothermal can help us orient ourselves on the great existential map with a simple and profound message: “You are here. This is home. Home is amazing. Live here wisely.”
My mission as a Geothermal Rising board member would be to help us build this new paradigm—one that is grounded in a profound sense of connection to the Earth—and then to share that paradigm with the world.
William is a multidisciplinary professional possessing both strong international experience and a deep background in organizational strategy, including branding, marketing and communications, business development, and community management. He is also skilled in core growth-related activities like operational process mapping, hiring and talent management, change management, and technological innovation.
An Alabama-native, William grew up in countryside and developed a keen love of nature. This followed him through college at Washington and Lee University in the picturesque Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains, where he emersed himself in the Arts, building a unique sense of the human experience in the natural world through the works of Environmental greats like Burroughs, Thoreau, and Muir, Romantic poets like Wordsworth, Byron, and Keats, and the oral histories and traditional narratives of the Native Americans.
Upon graduation, he gained experience in Law, Advertising, and Product Sales before deciding to continue his education informally through a global circumnavigation venture aboard a 51’ sailboat together with three friends from college.
Shortly after returning, William set up an integrated business consultancy called “Hedgerow” and began building a portfolio of US and international clients where he honed his skills as a strategist and communications expert across energy, cleantech, industry, and NGOs. At the beginning of this time period, he completed his Masters of Liberal Arts, writing his thesis on the evolution and intensity of the language and imagery used by French and Medieval writers to describe the “forest experience” in the earliest extant Robin Hood literature.
Today, William is the Strategic Development Director for STEAM SRL, a dedicated geothermal consulting and engineering company based in Pisa. STEAM has been working in geothermal since its inception in 1987 and is today considered a global player in Owner’s Engineering for geothermal project development. William’s role in Steam encompasses all aspects of brand and story, marketing, outreach, education and training, and innovation.
William is married with three children and lives in Italy.
Alana Edmo (Shoshone-Bannock/Miwok)
My name is Alana Edmo, and I have worked for the Tribal government for over 17 years. I previously started working with the Executive Director for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes for almost 12 years and decided to seek growth and experience, so I started my adventure in Energy Resources Program for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in 2019.
Working in the renewable environment has been a truly educational experience. I have participated in NREL’s Executive Energy Leadership program which is course who helps give firsthand experience of all renewable energy technologies available or being studied. I also participated in 100MW revenue feasibility study with NREL, updated the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Strategic Energy Plan and arranged government to government opportunities for the Fort Hall Business Council and Secretary Granholm.
I plan to bring my experience to help empower Geothermal Rising when it comes to community capacity development. Disadvantaged communities are left behind when it comes to renewable technology education and the more the communities who are knowledgeable, they will support and get involved to help us achieve our goals of creating resilient communities. In the words of Shalanda Baker, “None of our initiatives are achievable without our community”.
So this is the reason I am interested in participating as Geothermal Risings board of directors. I hope you can support me and I really hope we get the opportunity to work together. All the best.
Alana Edmo (Shoshone-Bannock/Miwok) is the Energy Resource Coordinator for the Energy Resources Program under the Tribal Department of Energy for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. Alana has served in this capacity since June 2019, and is responsible for accessing, developing, and promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency projects on the Fort Hall Reservation. Her long-term goal is to educate the community of all renewable technologies, develop a community that is empowered by sustainable and resilient energy systems, and achieve the Tribes’ energy goals in ways that honors our ancestors while securing the well-being of future generations.
Alana is an avid outdoor enthusiast, loves learning, enjoys working in teams, preserving produce, and promoting an understanding of her rich Indigenous heritage and culture.
Johanna Ostrum
I am eager to serve on the Board of Geothermal Rising because of my unwavering commitment to advancing geothermal energy and my proven experience in leading innovative, impactful projects within the industry. As a leader at Gradient Geothermal, I have played a critical role in pioneering projects that merge geothermal energy with the oil and gas sector, focusing on emissions reduction and driving a cleaner energy future. Through my leadership as Chair of Geothermal Rising’s DEI Committee, active membership on the Policy Committee, and participation in the Energy Leadership Institute’s Board and helped build the EnGen program, I have consistently worked to uplift and empower both the geothermal community and the next generation of energy leaders. My focus on inclusive, equitable policies and workforce development ensures that geothermal energy's future is both sustainable and accessible to all.
By serving on the Board of Geothermal Rising, I aim to continue championing geothermal energy as a cornerstone of the transition to net-zero emissions. I am committed to driving forward strategies that enhance innovation, ensure workforce readiness, and position the geothermal industry as a leader in the global energy landscape.
Johanna Ostrum is Chief Operating Officer at Gradient Geothermal, a geothermal technology and development company focused on co-produced energy from oil and gas wells and infrastructure. Johanna helped build the company from the ground up and has been instrumental in developing the technology, winning grants, executing a pilot project in Nevada, and building a new market for small, modular geothermal energy. Johanna has nearly two decades of experience within the energy industry in a wide variety of engineering, regulatory, policy, and management positions. With a B.S. in Geological Engineering from Montana Tech, Johanna has brought an intradisciplinary and collaborative approach to every position she has held. With various roles at Noble Energy, SM Energy, Extraction Oil & Gas, and Clean Air Task Force, Johanna has contributed to every part of the energy development value chain.
Johanna currently volunteers her time as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force Chair at Geothermal Rising as well as sitting on the Board of Directors of the Energy Leadership Institute.
Jaclyn Urbank
With more than 14 years of experience, Jaclyn has directly contributed to the conceptual and detailed design of more than 300MW of new geothermal power plants commissioned worldwide. Jaclyn is passionate about geothermal and the benefits that clean, renewable and baseload power is bringing to the world. With her mechanical and chemical background, Jaclyn has spent her career studying geothermal process design. Her project experience ranges from early geothermal project development, feasibility and FEED studies, Owner’s and Independent Engineering, detailed design and performance assessments for flash, binary and other innovative power station solutions. Her experience has brought her to geothermal hotspots across North America, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Turkey, and beyond.
Jaclyn’s role at Jacobs is multi-faceted as the Geothermal Power Market Lead for the North America Energy & Power business. She works with other geothermal leads in the organization to mold the strategic plan for the group, leads business development and marketing efforts, leads execution for projects as a project manager, and runs an incredible team of engineers focused on geothermal power.
In 2022, I joined Jacobs to start the North American Geothermal Surface Facilities Group. In less than two years, with the help from the Jacobs Geothermal Center of Excellence in New Zealand, the North American geothermal group tripled to include a talented team of process and mechanical engineers specializing in geothermal power production. As the Jacobs Geothermal Power Market Lead for North America, my main focus is project management, client development, marketing, and overall having the best time in an industry that I love and wholeheartedly believe in. In 2021, I was elected to the Geothermal Rising Board of Directors in the consultant seat. Our mission is to connect the geothermal community and champion geothermal energy in the United States and around the world. In this role, I have become even more connected to the industry, met other likeminded people, and grown in many ways personally and professionally. Geothermal is not the only solution in the energy transition, but it is an essential piece of the puzzle to reduce carbon emissions and create a better future for our planet. #usetheearthtosavetheearth
Lisa Mueller
FutEra Power Corp. owns and operates the first geothermal power plant in Canada. Building on its credibility, expertise, stakeholder relationships and foothold in the nascent industry, FutEra has an ambitious plan to embark on a clean technology improvement of geothermal energy development. Lisa Mueller, as President and CEO of FutEra, is active in the policy development space, understanding that good policy will support innovation and project development for all the players in the industry. Here are the things she would like to accomplish by joining the GRC board:
Uniting voices across North America. It is foreseeable that GRC can be a platform to clarify and enforce central messages to gain policy traction and to incent informed policy action. Too many dissenting views colliding with each other allows inaction or siloed decision making.
Alberta is a world leading resource producer and has the highest regulatory oversight in the world for its oil and gas industry. The vernacular, and many of the technical requirements of geothermal, mirror those of oil and gas production. Springboarding off deep knowledge of resource production, and using the foundation of exemplary Alberta regulation, Lisa can lead conversations with policy makers that have been proven at a field level, lending credibility to the conversation.
Lisa is educated as a mechanical engineer, and a journalist, and therefore understands the necessary connections needed to join technical prowess to messaging for non-technical audiences. Lisa is a regular speaking at geothermal events across Canada, and with policy makers, and has found the nuances needed to inspire understanding and action in any setting.
Lisa Mueller is educated as a mechanical engineer with over 20 years of technical and business development experience. Lisa began her career in the space sciences on a NASA project, then moved into the commercial arena by founding and growing her own manufacturing company. Most recently, she served as Senior Business Development Manager of Infrastructure at Shell Canada and President & CEO at Epoch Energy Development. Lisa joined Razor Energy in 2017 as Vice President New Ventures.
In response to the global energy complex embracing a lower-carbon future, Razor Energy created a wholly owned subsidiary, FutEra Power. In 2023, the Alberta Investment Management Corporation, or AIMCo, purchased a majority stake in FutEra. As President and CEO, and co-founder, of FutEra Power, Lisa aims to leverage Alberta’s current energy assets to develop a cleaner energy tomorrow, beginning with Canada’s first operating co-produced geothermal power plant.
Kennie Tsui
It has been a huge honor to serve the Geothermal Rising as an International Director over the past 3 years. The role of geothermal resources in supporting energy transition on the global scale has been massive and will continue to be. As an experienced director and also the Chief Executive of New Zealand Geothermal Association, I am seeking to continue to serve the organization in pursuing its purpose of promoting and advancing geothermal resources both domestically and internationally.
Kennie Tsui holds a number of directorships including Deputy President of Engineering New Zealand, formerly known as the Institute of Professional Engineers (IPENZ), Wellington Cable Car (council-controlled organization), Amplify, and US Geothermal Rising (Geothermal Association).
She joined the New Zealand Geothermal Association as Chief Executive in July 2021. Prior to this, she was the Principal Analyst at the Climate Change Commission, and was heavily involved with developing the first report “Ināia tonu nei: a low emissions future for Aotearoa”. Tabled in Parliament in June 2021, She has also held previous positions at the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment and 15 years in the private sector as an engineering professional.
A chemical and process engineer by training, and also holding an MBA qualification. She is based in Wellington, New Zealand.
Steve Cheung
I am honored to submit my candidacy for a position on the Geothermal Rising Board. My deep passion for geothermal energy, coupled with a strong desire to drive collaboration across geothermal-related organizations, makes me eager to contribute to Geothermal Rising’s mission of advancing geothermal technology and education.
Over the course of my career, I have been privileged to work with universities, research laboratories, non-profit organizations, service companies, vendors, and operators to identify and prioritize novel ideas that push the boundaries of geothermal research and application. By helping to mature these ideas and facilitating pilot testing, I aim to foster innovation that will enhance the growth and sustainability of the geothermal industry.
A key part of my vision is to bridge the knowledge gap between traditional oil and gas research professors and the practical aspects of geothermal technology. At the 2024 SPE Annual Meeting in New Orleans, I observed a significant disconnect between theoretical research and the operational realities of geothermal projects. This inspired me to advocate for enhanced geothermal education for oil and gas research professors, equipping them with a deeper understanding of geothermal technology. I believe this will lead to more impactful, industry-relevant research and innovation.
If elected, I will work diligently to foster communication and collaboration among geothermal-focused organizations such as IGA, GRC, SPE, and DOE. My goal is to create opportunities for shared knowledge and collaborative research efforts that will propel the geothermal industry forward.
I am also committed to mentoring research professors in their efforts to collaborate with geothermal operators and service companies. I believe that meaningful partnerships, formed early in the research process, will result in projects that are more likely to succeed in real-world applications.
Additionally, I would like to propose organizing a dedicated SPE Forum on Geothermal, where top experts can gather to discuss the current and future needs of geothermal research. This Forum would culminate in a white paper outlining strategic research directions for the geothermal sector, providing a clear roadmap for the future.
In summary, I am excited about the opportunity to serve on the Geothermal Rising Board and contribute my experience, insights, and energy toward advancing geothermal technology and fostering collaboration across the sector. I look forward to helping shape a future where geothermal energy plays a central role in the global energy transition.
Thank you for considering my candidacy.
Dr. Steve Cheung, Owner of SteveIOR Consultants, brings decades of expertise in research and service on oil/gas, mature waterfloods, and geothermal. He holds an M.S. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Southern California and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from UC Irvine. A former Research Team Leader at Chevron Technology Center, Dr. Cheung is currently a Board member of the SPE Geothermal Technical Section. He led the team to organize the most successful Geothermal Technical Section Reception, with the highest sponsorship and attendance among all SPE Technical Section Receptions. Additionally, he co-moderated and organized a dynamic panel discussion on Super Hot Rock (>400°C) geothermal, known for its engaging presentations and insightful Q&A sessions.
Dr. Cheung is the Founder of the Energy Transition Study Group at SPE Los Angeles Basin Section, where he has united oil and gas professionals to accelerate geothermal development in California. He created six specialized teams to address both technical and non-technical challenges in executing geothermal projects across the state.
With extensive project experience spanning 85 countries, Dr. Cheung has led the development of technologies for oil and gas operations, including waterflood, steam flood, interwell tracers (CO₂, oil/water/gas, SO₂), and high-temperature operations. He has managed research collaborations with prestigious institutions like UT Austin, New Mexico Tech, Colorado School of Mines, Delft University, LSU, and Caltech. Dr. Cheung has also spearheaded innovative technology development in partnerships with major energy companies, including ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Marathon Oil, Schlumberger, and Halliburton.
In addition to his industry work, Dr. Cheung has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California, where he taught graduate-level courses. He has also been a Course Director for Petroskills, teaching internationally, and has served as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer, delivering talks at 40 locations across five continents.
John Eichelberger
I am excited to be considered for candidacy in the forthcoming GRC Board of Directors election. I am passionate about geothermal energy and believe I have some unusual dimensions to contribute to the board. My passion comes from concern that, while we are “rising”, we are not rising fast enough. We have a moving target of rising demand from AI data centers and electrification of vehicles, while we sit somewhere around 1% of electric power production. There are several bold geothermal initiatives, but it’s time to try everything we can think of, stimulated by more financial investment and a broader pool of talent. The default position is greater reliance on fission energy, which to my mind is a step backward. Partnering with SPE is a great step forward. But we need to engage with academic scientists as well. I mean science in the broadest sense including volcanology, which is itself a collection of disciplines, along with engineers, economists, and business experts.
All signs in geothermal point toward higher temperatures for greater efficiency, which means going towards magma and/or going deeper, but if the latter then closer to magma is still the shortest route to developing superhot technologies. Therefore, I am particularly concerned with connecting the volcanological community where I originated and with whom we have relatively little dialog. It is as if people were designing an internal combustion engine, but those concerned with the cooling system and those concerned with the engine itself didn’t talk to each other. We need joint meetings with the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and perhaps the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI), as well as SPE. Geothermal practitioners will begin to think more about their heat source, and scientists concerned with magma and volcanism will be surprised at how much is known from direct drilling observations about hydrothermal systems above magma and even magma itself. The magma-hydrothermal regime is best treated as one system by which mantle heat is advected upward first by magma and then by aqueous fluid to the accessible upper crust (https://www.mdpi.com/books/reprint/2782-exploring-and-modeling-the-magma-hydrothermal-regime .
Along with the disciplinary divide is the public-private sectors divide that also inhibits tapping the largest possible pool of talent. A challenge is the contrasting treatment of intellectual property. We need to examine and discuss cases where this barrier has been overcome.
My perspective comes from 50 years of experience in national labs, government, and academia, with a strong international component. I have worked through two energy crises. The first was when we didn’t have enough fossil energy. I witnessed the beginnings of EGS at Los Alamos, then called Hot Dry Rock, during 1974-1979 and participated in the Magma Energy Project at Sandia, including coring into 1150 C molten rock at Kilauea Iki lava lake in 1981. The second is now, when we have too much fossil energy. The response has been the same: solar, wind, geothermal, fission, and fusion. In the last decade I have devoted myself to founding and developing the Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT.is) in Iceland, in partnership with the National Power Company of Iceland (https://landsvirkjun.is/), the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (https://www.icdp-online.org/) and many scientists and engineers internationally. KMT is an emerging, open, multinational infrastructure, where the coupling between magma and hydrothermal regimes can be sampled and observed over the long term. It will equally benefit geothermal energy and eruption forecasting. Recently, I began working in parallel with GeoAlaska (https://geoalaska.wixsite.com/geoalaska ) to develop geothermal energy at Augustine Volcano (https://www.geothermal-library.org/index.php?q=&tl=Augustine&ty=&te=&al=Eichelberger&ay=&ae=&ds=&de=&mode=pubs&action=search&p=1&rpp=25&srt=yd) to help solve an energy crisis in Alaska, while at the same time improving volcano monitoring there (https://avo.alaska.edu/ ). Spending almost half my career in academia, including four years as Dean of the Graduate School and Vice President Academic of the University of the Arctic, has given me a keen sense of appreciation for introducing the next generation to scientific and engineering adventures, of which few are as exciting as drilling volcanoes. For example, one of my former PhD students is now manager of the geothermal division at NREL.
I believe this unique combination of experiences, looking both backward and forward across boundaries, and emerging projects and scientists, will be a benefit to GRC.