EXECUTIVE BOARD
Susie Y. Wong
President & CEO
Asians in Energy founder, president and CEO Susie Y. Wong leads the national nonprofit organization to educate and outreach to Asian Pacific Islanders (API) on energy issues, policies and trends. She currently is a government affairs and public policy consultant advising state legislators, local elected officials, c-suite executives, and nonprofits on regulatory, permitting, licensing, and financing solutions. Earlier, as a former appointee for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration at the California Environmental Protection Agency, Wong was responsible for special projects and external messaging to implement AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, requiring California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions across communities and industry sectors. She also served as lead on API outreach for the governor’s office in Northern California. Wong formerly was deputy director of external affairs for the California Department of Toxic Substances Control and deputy director of communications at the California Department of Corporations.
Her long-standing commitment to delivering positive impact to communities includes her volunteer work as member of Solar Power International and Energy Storage International Education Committee on managing growth, advisory board of Alliance for Climate Resistant California, member of FBI-sponsored Infragard’s energy sector, advisory board and past president of the Asian Pacific State Employees’ Association Foundation, founder and co-chair of the Sacramento Regional Coalition for Tolerance, and former member of the board of Asian American Journalists Association in Sacramento.
Earlier in her career, Wong was a TV, radio and print reporter.
Alexander C. Kim
Vice President
As Honorary Ambassador appointed by the Republic of Korea Ministry of Trade, Investment, and Energy, Kim connects American businesses to trade with the Korean industry. As founder and principal of Three Kings Public Affairs, a government, business & community affairs consulting
company, Kim helps clients in healthcare services and land development with accessing government and providing outreach to community leaders in the Southern California region. He also is co-principal of Windfall Strategics LLC specializing in business/marketing consulting for domestic & international businesses.
He has over 20 years of experience in government affairs serving as Central Area Director for City of
Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn, Deputy Director to State of California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Senior Adviser to City of L.A. Councilmember David Ryu, Public Affairs/Community
Manager of SoCalGas (a Sempra Energy utility), and District Director to California Assemblymember
Cottie Petrie-Norris.
Alexander has served on several State of California commissions to represent the public (Board of
Optometry Board, Board of Naturopathic Medicine Committee, & Board of Behavioral Sciences). He
currently serves on the government committees for the Orange County District Attorney Todd
Spitzer’s Korean American Advisory Board, and the Orange County Transportation Agency (OCTA)
Diverse Community Leaders Committee.
Alexander graduated with an MBA from Pepperdine University and is a frequent guest lecturer on
government/public affairs. He is a Network of Korean Americans (NetKAL) Fellow at the University of
Southern California (USC) School of Social Work and obtained a B.S. in Biology/Minor in Political
Science at U.C. Irvine, where he co-founded the University of California at Irvine (UCI) Korean
American Alumni Chapter as its first president and remains active as an alumni in the Anteater
community.
José L. Perez
Secretary
José L. Perez is chairman and CEO of Hispanics In Energy, a national organization which facilitates Hispanic inclusion in America’s energy industry. He also serves as chairman and CEO of the California Utilities Diversity Council (CUDC), which he founded in 2003 with Michael Peevey, president of the California Public Utilities Commission. While leading the CUDC, the organization helped the CPUC set new benchmarks in utility supplier diversity procurement by California-regulated companies. In 2008, he co-founded the National Utilities Diversity Council and served for three years as president.
In 2009, Perez was part of the key team that co-founded the California Asian Chamber of Commerce, serving as a member of the board for five years, where he provided his expertise on supplier diversity procurement.
Perez is also founder and publisher of the Latino Journal, a non-partisan publication which provides an independent analysis of public policy and government from a Latino perspective.
Perez lectures nationally on Hispanic workforce development, in addition to advocating for greater participation by Hispanics in supplier diversity procurement, public policy and other energy issues. He has a bachelor’s degree in government from California State University, Sacramento and a certificate on corporate governance from the Graduate School of Business at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.
BOARD MEMBERS
Ali A. Chowdhury, Ph.D.
Dr. Ali Chowdhury holds a doctorate in electrical engineering and has more than two decades of experience in the electric utility industry, electric equipment manufacturing industry, consulting, teaching, research and development in power system reliability and security assessments, planning and analysis. He currently is vice president of transmission and generation interconnection planning at 8minutenergy Renewables in Folsom, CA, where he manages a portfolio of 2,000+ MW of solar PV projects.
Prior to joining 8minutenergy Renewables, Chowdhury was the director of Regional Transmission South at the California Independent System Operator, also known as California ISO, in Folsom, CA, where he had oversight of system reliability, economic and renewable energy transmission planning for California ISO grid infrastructure development, and transmission system operations engineering.
Earlier in his career, Chowdhury served in senior management positions in General Electric Company, Atlantic Nuclear Services, Alberta Power Limited, and MidAmerican Energy Company.
Dr. Chowdhury has approved more than $15 billion worth of extra high and high voltage transmission lines and substations for interconnecting renewable and conventional generators as well as for interconnection of large industrial and commercial loads. In addition, he has approved about $5 billion worth of transmission elements for maintaining system reliability and security in meeting increasing load growth.
Chowdhury co-authored “Power Distribution System Reliability: Practical Methods and Applications,” published in 2009 by John Wiley & Sons. In addition, he has authored or co-authored more than 150 technical papers published in peer reviewed national and international journals. He lectures nationally and internationally on theory and applications of power system reliability and value-based planning.
He has received numerous awards from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for his outstanding leadership and contributions to the institute and engineering profession and received outstanding technical prize paper awards from several technical organizations.
Chowdhury has master’s degrees in electrical engineering from both Belarus Polytechnic Institute in Belarus and University of Saskatchewan, Canada. He also has a doctorate in electrical engineering from University of Saskatchewan, Canada and a master’s in business administration from St. Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa.
Joy Loo Kim
As an educator and career college advisor, Joy Loo Kim previously was committed to creating an effective and rigorous educational curriculum in innovative pilot high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, including East LA Renaissance Academy at Torres High School, Boyle Heights STEM Magnet High School, and Roosevelt High School. Kim created a college and career Smarter Balanced readiness curriculum, improving the proficiency rate from 4% to 21%. Kim directed such programs as AP Readiness, VEX Robotics competition, and Girls Build, in addition to serving as an advisor to the USC Engineering Week Summer Program, STEM Summer Bridge Program and co-coach of the Academic Decathlon.
She has founded Infinit-Ed, an educational consulting company to support educators and administrators in classroom pedagogy and accreditation compliance. She coaches teachers, support staff, and students on embodying a productive mindset and understanding cultural proficiency. In 2022, she received her Preliminary Administrative Credential.
In the community, Kim serves as a volunteer for the Asian Business Association of Orange County, Leadership Associated Student Board Advisor, Girls Build Coordinator and Web Designer, and others. She has her master’s degree in education with a focus on Computer Education and Technology Leadership, in addition to a credential in Child Development from California State University, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Ethnic Studies from University of California, Berkeley.
Grace Park
Grace Park, CEO of Nuleep, builds leaders and teams that focus on purpose, people, and impact across AI, cleantech and tech industries. With 20+ years of strategic planning, ESG, and leadership experience, she has supported cleantech, energy, and sustainability companies and startups to grow people and impact. She has supported $2+ billion portfolios while supporting amazing clients and programs at The Walt Disney Company, the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of
Commerce, Jump Startup Women Spain, 2080 Ventures, and more.
Grace has supported numerous organizations in government and society with top acceleration, fellowships, and programs including the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, the German Marshall Fund, and the local Embassies to create conversations and opportunities for social, economic, and bilateral FDI relations across the US, Europe, and Asia. She also guest lectures and facilitates workshops at USC, UCLA, ELAC and other top universities on Leadership & Empathy, Strategic Planning, AI Tech & Media Intersections, Entrepreneurship, and Resource Planning. Grace also serves as a judge for top entrepreneurship pitch competitions with $150K+ in award and most recently was acknowledged as a nominee for the 2023 Inspirational Women Forum and Leadership Awards by The Los Angeles Times B2B Publishing division. She is dedicated to building leadership and innovation with the community.
Christopher Parks
Asians in Energy Young Professionals Committee, Chair
Representing the Gen Z cohort of energy professionals and stakeholders, Christopher Parks is an electrical engineering consultant providing guidance and solutions through integrated tests, design of circuit boards, coding software, and creating cost-saving processes. A graduate of the University of Portland with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, he was awarded a grant by the university to develop a prototype product, in addition to recognition as the Robin and Jean Anderson Outstanding Entrepreneur Scholar Award.
Park’s involvement with Asians in Energy includes recruiting new members to join the organization, assisting in developing marketing materials, assisting in events hosted or attended, and serving as the chair of the young professionals committee.
ADVISORY BOARD
Robert A. Laurie, J.D.
Robert A. Laurie has extensive experience in all aspects of law and policy relating to energy, land use, environmental regulation and energy conservation and development applied at the local, state and federal levels of government.
Laurie served as a California Energy Commissioner for the State of California from 1997-2002 and was responsible for the licensing of new generation, energy research and development, renewable energy policy and energy efficiency programs. He has more recently led energy and environment advisory groups for U.S. Presidential and Senatorial candidates. On behalf of the U.S. State Department, Mr. Laurie has consulted with energy and environmental leaders in Central and South America, Asia and Europe as well as the United Nations.
In his capacity as an energy, land use and environmental attorney, Laurie has participated in obtaining approval for literally hundreds of residential, commercial and industrial projects throughout Northern California. He has led development teams from property acquisition to full build-out. He has more than 30 years of experience working with state and national environmental regulations and has litigated such at the state level.
Laurie has served in government as both an elected official and legal counsel at the local, state and federal levels. He is a legal advisor to many local government agencies.
Laurie is a Professor of Law at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento and lectures on California land finance. He has previously served on the faculty of Folsom Lake College and William Jessup University as well, lecturing on American government and political theory.
Sergey Terebkov
A native of Russia, Sergey Terebkov is the founder and president of the Slavic American Chamber of Commerce, which provides services for and facilitates the growth and success of businesses that serve the Slavic American community throughout California. Under his leadership, the Slavic Chamber has grown into a significant force, drawing dignitaries and elected officials to meet with its members, in addition to annual visits to meet with legislators at the state Capitol.
Under Terebkov’s leadership, the Slavic Chamber has expanded its presence throughout the state. The chamber partners with Russian business organizations in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Terebkov has an extensive background in public relations, real estate and financial services, non-profits and local government. In addition to serving the City of Sacramento as the community liaison, he also owns and operates an insurance agency with a specialty in personal lines and small businesses.
His community service involves serving on the Gateway Community Charter Board, Sacramento County Sheriff Business Advisory Board, Advisory Panel for Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and Sacramento Regional Coalition for Tolerance.