Board of Directors

bios as of 2009

Enersol was fortunate to have an active Board of Directors who provided thoughtful guidance for the organization over the years.

Ellen Benoit, Ph.D., is a sociologist whose research focuses on social policies related to public health and social control, particularly as they affect vulnerable populations. She has worked on a number of studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, primarily concerning poverty, substance abuse and HIV/AIDS in New York City. Dr. Benoit is also a former freelance writer and editor specializing in health, population and financial issues. Among other things, she covered the pharmaceutical and forest-products industries, as well as reproductive health in developing countries. She is a member of her local Environmental Commission in New Jersey.

Philip Covell was an Enersol staff and/or board member for 22 years, from 1986 through 2008, holding the following positions:

  • Student intern (School for International Training), 1986-1987

  • Program Coordinator, Dominican Republic, 1987-1988

  • Business Development Coordinator, Massachusetts, 1988-1992

  • Board of Directors, 1991-2008

  • Central America Program Coordinator, Honduras, 1992-1994

  • Mexico Program Coordinator, 1994-1995

  • Chief Financial Officer, 1997-1998

  • Executive Director, 1998-2000

Through Enersol’s joint venture consulting organization, Global Transition Consulting (GTC), Mr. Covell helped to launch Solar Development Group, which combined a private equity fund with a nonprofit business development organization that supported over 50 photovoltaic companies in 23 countries.

In 2004, he became a budget manager at the US Peace Corps. He currently manages the Business Development Facility of Forest Trends www.forest-trends.org a nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC that facilitates payments for ecosystem services for sustainably-managed tropical forests.

Edward C. Hall joined Enersol early, first as an advisor and then as a board member. After serving as a B-24 combat pilot in the South Pacific during World War II he returned and graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He started two businesses, from which he retired in 1987 to start a second career of service to others. He has been a Rotarian for 46 years serving as Club President, District Governor and for 20 years chair of the District World Community Service Committee. He provided hands-on direction in networking for many international projects, including 30 solar-powered water projects in Haiti.

Richard D. Hansen is President of Soluz, Inc., www.SoluzUSA.com a business and technology development company commercializing photovoltaics for rural energy delivery that he founded in 1993. He has 25 years of experience in the application of PV technology for rural electrification in developing countries, and over 30 years in the energy sector. Mr. Hansen began his energy career as an engineer and manager at Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Following research into renewable energy, Mr. Hansen founded Enersol in 1984, and served as its Executive Director until 1997. Also in the mid-80’s, he launched a PV sales and service enterprise in the Dominican Republic that served as a model for rural renewable energy delivery and later evolved to become Soluz. Mr. Hansen is widely recognized for his leadership in the field of solar electrification, including being named as a World Economic Forum 2003 Technology Pioneer.

Dr. José G. Martín has over thirty years of international experience as an educator: He held the Organization of American States Professorship in Nuclear Engineering at the Instituto Politecnico Nacional in Mexico and the Fulbright Visiting Professorship at the Centro de Ecologia of the Universidade Federale do Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. He has served as Visiting Professor in sustainable energy in Brazil, Chile, Austria, Italy, and Mexico. He served as Chief Evaluator for the International Energy Agency Small Solar Power Systems in Spain, and as consultant in advanced power systems for several national laboratories. At The University of Texas Brownsville/Texas Southmost College, he has served as Dean of the College of Science, Math and Technology, and Vice President for Academic Affairs. At present, he is the Provost. He now holds the Houston Endowment Chair for Science and Technology at the University of Texas Brownsville. Before joining the University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College, Dr. Martín served in the faculty of the University of Massachusetts in Lowell. He has participated in the writing of more than 100 publications, in fields ranging from engineering physics to advanced power systems and sustainable development.

Andre Verani served as Enersol's Program Coordinator, then Executive Director, between 1999 and 2002. From 2002-2006, he was a member of Enersol's board of directors. Mr. Verani volunteered on several public health projects with Amigos de las Americas from 1991 to 1995 in Brazil, Ecuador, and Mexico. In 1995, he graduated with a BA in political science from the University of Michigan. From 1995 to 1998, he served as Amigos de las Americas' Regional Director for South America, managing various public health programs with governmental and non-governmental partners in Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Brazil. After working with Enersol, he earned a law degree from New York University. His studies focused on international public law. Upon graduation, Mr. Verani moved to Atlanta and joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Law Program, where he completed a fellowship. In 2007, he began a Masters in Public Health degree program at Emory University. At the same time, he began working with the CDC's Global AIDS Program providing policy research and analysis. Mr. Verani is an employee of the CDC and upon graduating from Emory's MPH program in May 2009, will continue his efforts to combat global HIV and AIDS while strengthening health systems in partner countries.