About Us

Farah Benahmed

Farah is Director of the Innovation Initiative at the CleanEcon. She develops multi-year policy strategies, builds field capacity, and drives coalitions to speed the commercialization and deployment of clean energy technologies, including clean firm solutions.

Previously, Farah spent 4.5 years at Breakthrough Energy’s U.S. Policy and Advocacy team, leading the innovation, advanced nuclear, and fusion policy portfolios. In that role, she guided philanthropic investments, managed policy coalitions, and advanced advocacy strategies to strengthen federal support for emerging clean energy technologies. She also led Third Way’s clean energy innovation portfolio and served in the front office of the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy under both the Obama and Trump Administrations.

Farah earned a certificate from Yale’s Financing and Deploying Clean Energy program, completed the Clean Energy Leadership Institute fellowship, and holds a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Sophie Brougham

As Director of Philanthropic Operations, Sophie is responsible for driving efficient, effective, and partner-friendly business processes and systems. She is an experienced leader who thrives at the intersection of strategy, operations, and philanthropy. Most recently, Sophie served as Director of Grants Management at Breakthrough Energy, where she built the organization’s first measurement framework and developed flexible processes to support global policy and advocacy efforts. Prior to that, she spent more than a decade at Vulcan Inc., where she led teams in grantmaking, evaluation and learning, and project management. There, she shaped philanthropic strategy for the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, launched the Seattle Art Fair, and directed a variety of culturally focused programs to strengthen service to and engagement with the community.

Sophie is energized by building new things, solving complex problems, and creating the conditions for people and organizations to succeed. With roots in both philanthropy and the private sector, she brings a balance of entrepreneurial spirit and operational know-how to every project. She holds a BS in Mathematics from Western Washington University, is a native of Washington State, and calls Seattle her hometown. Sophie enjoys traveling, cooking, and hanging out with her husband and dogs.

Conor Hand

Conor Hand is the Director of Communications at CleanEcon. He leads the organization’s full communications apparatus—spanning strategy, media relations, content development, brand stewardship, and cross‑platform storytelling—for CleanEcon and its affiliated vehicles, including the Innovation Initiative, Innovation Policy Hub, and Energy Momentum. In this role, Conor shapes public perception, mobilizes influential stakeholders, and advances a pragmatic, bipartisan policy agenda to make clean energy the most affordable, reliable, and fastest way to power the economy.

Conor brings more than a decade of experience in campaigning, organizing, policy, communications, and leadership across government, philanthropy, and advocacy. Before joining CleanEcon, he served on Breakthrough Energy’s U.S. Policy and Advocacy team, supporting high‑impact clean energy campaigns and communications work. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Virginia Tech. 

Conor lives in Ashland, Virginia with his wife Charline and their daughter. In his free time, he enjoys running, hiking, gardening, and caring for their dogs, chickens, and horses.

Aliya Haq

Aliya is the President of CleanEcon, a nonprofit initiative that unleashes clean energy innovation to power a new era of economic growth and shared prosperity. Prior to launching CleanEcon, Aliya led the policy team at Breakthrough Energy, the organization founded by Bill Gates to accelerate clean tech innovation and deployment. During her tenure at Breakthrough, she also served as the interim Executive Director for Invest in Our Future (IOF), a collaborative of more than a dozen philanthropies to ensure that federal clean energy investments strengthen communities.

 Aliya has more than twenty years of experience in the energy and climate field, with deep experience in policy development, political strategy, communications, coalition building, and policymaker engagement. She has served in several national and international environmental organizations, including as the Federal Climate Policy Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). She holds a master’s degree in environmental management from the Yale School of the Environment, and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and her two spirited children.

 Some of her favorite non-work activities are watching movies, going to karaoke, and obsessing over low-stakes craft projects.

Amber Jones

Amber Jones is the Chief Operating Officer at CleanEcon, where she oversees the organization’s operations, financial management, and legal strategy. She brings 20 years of experience in operations, project management, facilities management, and finance across a range of industries.

 Before joining CleanEcon, Amber served as Senior Manager for Operations on the U.S. Policy Team at Breakthrough Energy. Her career also includes various roles at the Obama Foundation, McKinsey & Company, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she built a strong foundation in organizational operations and strategy execution.

 Amber is proud to call Baltimore, MD, home. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, cheering on the Baltimore Ravens, and spending time with her husband Will and daughter Eden.

Ani Kame'enui

Ani Kame’enui joins the CleanEcon with over 20 years of experience in environmental and climate change policy — ranging from water resource management and forecasting to the creation of new national parks and monuments, to supporting the creation and passage of some of the nation’s boldest climate legislation. Today, Ani acts as the Director of Advocacy for the CleanEcon where she uses her organizing background and prior policy expertise to ensure strategic alignment and effective management of the Project’s mission and campaigns. Like her colleagues, Ani came from Breakthrough Energy where she was the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the U.S. Policy and Advocacy Team. At Bill Gates’ climate advocacy organization, Ani led the policy team’s tactical deployment and philanthropic engagement with climate policy, advocacy, and science organizations for over four years. Prior to Breakthrough, Ani spent 10 years as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. advocating for the protection of our nation’s most special places. Her most recent experience was as Deputy Vice President for the Government Affairs team at the National Parks Conservation Association.

Born and raised in the West, Ani has a BA in Geology from Carleton College and a MS in water resources engineering from the University of Washington, College of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Ani has two sons, a dog, and a family garden, and loves her hometown. She spends her time working towards justice, attending a lot of sports events, skiing, hiking and camping in the Pacific Northwest.

Maria A. Martinez

Maria oversees CleanEcon’s long-term vision and drives the alignment of its policy and advocacy efforts to accelerate America’s transition toward affordable, abundant clean energy as the foundation of economic prosperity. Prior to becoming a founding member of CleanEcon, Maria served as co-architect of Breakthrough Energy’s policy agenda, where she worked over five years with startups, investors, and innovators to advance policies that accelerate the commercialization of next-generation energy technologies.

Before joining Breakthrough Energy and Gates Ventures, Maria was a public servant at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, where she led the planning and execution of the state’s climate and clean energy strategy. She has also held roles in local government and environmental NGOs, building coalitions to advance pragmatic, bipartisan energy policy.

Maria holds a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University and a B.A. in Sustainability Studies and Political Science from the University of Florida.

Cristina Shoffner

Cristina leads startup and investor relations for CleanEcon, a policy and advocacy platform working to make clean energy the most affordable, reliable, and fastest way to power our growing economy. In this capacity, she serves as the Director of the Innovation Policy Hub, an initiative bridging the gap between policymakers in Washington and the leaders building the future of energy. Launched in partnership with the Venture Climate Alliance, the Innovation Policy Hub equips founders and funders with the tools, insights, and connections needed to shape federal policy—so innovation can move faster, smarter, and with broader impact.

Cristina comes from Breakthrough Energy, where she led private sector engagement for the U.S. Policy & Advocacy program. For four years, she and her colleagues helped advance transformative policy solutions to scale critical energy technologies through philanthropy and direct advocacy. 

Cristina brings additional experience from the public sector. She served as a policy advisor to Senator Debbie Stabenow and Senate Democratic Leadership, and as Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs at the White House Council on Environmental Quality under President Obama.

She holds a B.S. in Earth & Environmental Science and Spanish from the University of Michigan, where she now serves on the Alumni Advisory Board of the Earth & Environmental Sciences Department. She is based in New York City.

Scott Townley

Scott Townley, Controller – oversees CleanEcon’s financial operations. He has led financial operations for a number of nonprofits over the past 15 years, including recently as COO for the Interstate Renewable Energy Council. He is a certified public accountant and holds a BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara and MBA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Adria Wilson

Adria leads the Innovation Initiative (I2), a non-partisan hub within the CleanEcon that develops and drives long-term policy strategies to accelerate clean energy innovation. She works with philanthropic partners, policymakers, and advocates to close systemic gaps in the federal innovation ecosystem, ensuring emerging technologies can scale, strengthen U.S. competitiveness, and deliver durable climate impact. More broadly, she ensures cutting-edge technologies and tools are integrated into CleanEcon’s efforts to advance the clean energy transition.

Previously, Adria led the zero-carbon innovation and emerging technology policy team at Breakthrough Energy, where she guided strategies to accelerate the commercialization and global diffusion of affordable clean energy solutions. She partnered with business leaders, philanthropists, advocates, policymakers, and startups to design and champion policies that reduced costs and expanded the adoption of next-generation technologies.

Adria’s earlier roles focused on federal support for clean energy and innovation. She helped launch Chain Reaction Innovations at Argonne National Laboratory, building the lab-embedded fellowship program and strategic partnerships across the cleantech ecosystem. At the U.S. Department of Energy, she managed R&D programs for hydrogen technologies and advanced innovation and commercialization efforts. She began her career in energy and environmental policy as an AAAS Congressional Fellow in the U.S. Senate. Adria earned a Ph.D. in materials chemistry from Duke University and a B.S. in chemistry from Drexel University.

She is based in Washington DC, where she lives with her wife and twin daughters. As a new parent, she takes any chance she can to get out into nature, to lift weights, and to re-learn Italian, something she is convinced her brain can do (she unintentionally earned a minor in Italian Studies during undergraduate).

Daniel Wolf

Daniel leads CleanEcon’s power sector decarbonization strategy. Previously, he worked at Breakthrough Energy where he managed the transmission, geothermal, and clean firm grantmaking portfolios. He has also worked for the American Council on Renewable Energy, the American Wind Energy Association (now American Clean Power) and as an independent consultant advising climate philanthropy. He holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Maryland, College Park.