Ventura County Transportation Commission – Event Partner and Title Sponsor
Amanda Fagan joined the Ventura County Transportation Commission in December 2019, where she serves as the Director of Planning and Sustainability. Ms. Fagan is responsible for regional transportation planning, motorist aid services, airport land use compatibility, and administration of the Santa Paula Branch Line railroad. Prior to joining VCTC, Amanda served for four years as the Community Planning Liaison Officer for Naval Base Ventura County, and for 12 years as a Project Manager for the Department of Defense – Office of Economic Adjustment. Amanda holds a Masters Degree in Resource Policy and Behavior from the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Sociology from Tulane University. Amanda is a busy mom of two who spends her free time coaching youth baseball and soccer.
Ventura County Air Pollution Control District
Ali Reza Ghasemi was unanimously chosen by the Ventura County Air Pollution Control Board to serve as the Air Pollution Control Officer/Executive Officer effective June 14, 2022. Prior to his appointment, he has been serving as the Interim Air Pollution Control Officer for the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (District) since his appointment by the APC Board in April 2022. Mr. Ghasemi was also the District’s Planning and Engineering Manager. He joined the District in 2018 after serving more than 28 years with South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). During his public sector career, he has held number of professional lead positions managing planning, rule development, engineering, emissions inventory and incentive/grants programs. Mr. Ghasemi has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from University of Southern California and holds a Professional Engineer (PE) license in Mechanical Engineering.
United States Hydrogen Alliance
Roxana brings unique experience with her as the Founder and Executive Director of the United States Hydrogen Alliance. Roxana received her graduate degree from the National Fuel Cell Research Center and a bachelor’s of science in Chemical Engineering from UCLA. Roxana worked as a graduate researcher on the world’s first demonstration of tri-generation of hydrogen, electricity, and heat from a stationary fuel cell. Roxana then went on to serve as a hydrogen expert at the California Air Resources Board. There, she helped develop and implement two landmark clean transportation initiatives. After leaving the government sector, Roxana advocated for climate resilience, energy efficiency, economic equity, workforce development, and, of course, hydrogen. Her expertise, gained through legislative, state agency and laboratory experience afford her a complete, conception-to-implementation understanding of environmental, energy and transportation related issues.
California Air Resources Board
Leslie has worked for CARB for 17 years and is currently splitting her time between managing incentive programs and working on heavy-duty ZEV infrastructure, and she is the go-to person at CARB for all questions relating to hydrogen and fuel cells in the heavy-duty space. She’s managed demonstration and pilot deployments with fuel cell trucks, fuel cell and battery electric transit buses, high-capacity hydrogen fueling stations and depot charging. Leslie also oversees administration of $150 million in Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust funding for Zero-Emission Class 8 trucks and low-NOx trucks. And she is working with the team tasked with identify infrastructure-related challenges and opportunities associated with the roll-out of CARB’s regulations transitioning the heavy-duty sectors to zero-emission.
