Stephanie Clarkson
President & Chief Executive Officer
Stephanie has 20 years of experience and serves as the company’s chief executive officer, leading the strategic planning and oversight of over more than 5 GW of new and existing power generation investments. She previously served as the company’s chief financial officer and was responsible for the capitalization of over 2 GW of greenfield development and 1 GW of assets in operation that are among the most efficient generation facilities in the Americas. Stephanie has led project management and financing activities for large-scale municipal infrastructure projects throughout North America. She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in Accounting from Saint Leo University and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Accounting from University of Florida.
Kristi Miller
Vice President, Development
As vice president of development, Kristi brings nearly 20 years of energy industry experience to Vitis Energy. Her background includes development of renewable and conventional generation assets, commercial origination, and management of major power projects. Kristi held leadership positions at Duke Energy, where she managed complex interconnection projects and oversaw the solar and distributed generation queue. Prior to that, she developed renewable waste-to-energy projects throughout the United States. She holds a BS in Natural Resource Management from the University of Kentucky and an MBA from Colorado Technical University.
Mike Trobaugh
Vice President, Commercial
Mike Trobaugh provides leadership for Vitis Energy’s commercial and commodity market activities. Mike has more than 20 years of experience in the energy industry, with a background in deal origination, risk management and commodity trading. Prior to Vitis Energy, Mike spent 10 years at The Energy Authority, where he served in a similar role, managing market risk for municipal utility customers across the U.S. Prior to that role, he held positions with Entegra Power Group as a Senior Asset Trader, TECO Energy Services as a Structure Analyst and at Bank of America as an Analyst. He holds a BS in Economics and an MBA with a concentration in Finance.
Maribel Zambrana
Vice President, Legal
Maribel oversees all legal activities related to Vitis’s construction, development and asset management activities, including contract preparation, negotiation, execution and compliance; regulatory issues; litigation; and business transaction support. She brings more than 15 years of legal experience to Vitis Energy, including significant experience within the energy industry. As executive advisor to the general counsel of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), Maribel provided legal and policy advice on term negotiations related to design, engineering, procurement, construction, equipment purchase, fuel supply, power sales, service agreements and other issues. She holds both a BA and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Puerto Rico.
Mike Green
Southeast Development
Mike’s responsibilities include providing leadership of project development and commercial efforts with municipal customers in North Carolina and South Carolina, including opportunity identification, customer identification and acquisition, permitting, public outreach, legislative and regulatory communications, and engineering & design coordination. Mike brings over 45 years of experience to the team, having served in several management positions at Duke Energy, including vice president for IPP development in Florida and the Southeast. Mike was loaned for two years to the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) as a senior evaluator to evaluate construction practices of U.S. nuclear facilities.
Jim Medford
Development/Construction
Jim brings nearly 40 years of energy industry experience and has been with the team since 2015. Jim played a critical role in the success of the 475-megawatt CCGT Kings Mountain Energy Center, supporting the permitting, construction, start-up and public outreach. Prior to joining, Jim held leadership, engineering and business development roles at Duke Energy, AREVA and Perma-Fix. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from North Carolina State University and the University of South Carolina, respectively.
Jason Taylor
Senior Director, Accounting & Treasury
Jason leads the Accounting and Treasury Management functions at Vitis Energy, where he is responsible for designing controls, processes and efficiencies within the accounting infrastructure. A Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant, he brings to the team more than 20 years of private accounting experience. Jason earned his BBA in Accounting from the University of North Florida and an MBA with an Accounting Concentration from LSU Shreveport.
Jennifer Logue
Director of Communications
Jennifer oversees all marketing and communications activities for Vitis Energy, including media relations, internal communications and community relations. She brings to the team more than 25 years of experience that includes writing for a daily newspaper, serving as managing editor of a magazine and managing communications for such organizations as public broadcasting leader WGBH Boston and JEA, one of the largest public utilities in the nation. Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from American University.
Rudy Michaud
Director, Finance
Rudy supports activities across development, financing, and asset management. He managed a total of 950 MW of combined-cycle natural gas-fired electric generation for the Middletown Energy Center and Kings Mountain Energy Center. Prior to his work at Vitis, Rudy led operations financial analysis across a 1 GW fleet of dual-fuel mobile gas turbines for APR Energy, including emergency projects in Puerto Rico at the Palo Seco and Yabucoa power plants. He holds a degree in Statistics from the University of Central Florida and an MBA from the University of North Florida.
Chris Grant
Director, Development
Chris is responsible for leading development efforts for Vitis Energy’s renewable pipeline in the East Region. Chris has 15 years of experience in the energy and utility industry, including renewable development, interconnection, project management, and engineering design. Chris manages all development activities, including land acquisition, permitting, interconnection, stakeholder engagement, and contract management. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering Technology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, an MBA from Queens University, and is a Project Management Professional (PMP).
Erik Norgren
Director, Development
Erik is responsible for development activities related to utility-scale renewable projects and behind-the-meter resiliency solutions. He leads early-stage land acquisition, permitting and interconnection activities, then manages procurement and subcontracting efforts to engineer and build projects. Prior to joining Vitis, Erik held engineering and developer positions focused on the deployment of combined heat and power and microgrid solutions for several Department of Defense facilities. These projects increased efficiencies and renewable energy supply while also providing emergency backup power capability for critical facilities at Army, Navy and Marine Corps bases across the county. He holds a BS in Engineering from the University of Minnesota and is a registered Professional Engineer (PE) and Certified Energy Manager (CEM).
Kevin Engmann
Engineering Manager
Kevin provides technical support for the development engineering, procurement, construction, and O&M departments. With a focus on renewable energy, Kevin evaluates potential project sites and technologies to produce the most effective solutions for our customers. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Central Florida. Kevin has 10 years of experience in the energy industry, with a background in thermal design of combined cycle power plants and application engineering for power augmentation solutions.
Javier Tandazo
Engineering Manager
As an engineering manager, Javier brings to the Vitis team experience in designing and managing solar projects across the United States along with knowledge of business management and project development. Javier joins Vitis from NextEra Energy Resources, where he served as a solar/BESS project manager and senior engineer. He holds a BS in Energy Engineering from Indiana University-Purdue University.
Richard “Trey” Uphoff
Development Associate
Trey supports the Vitis Energy Development team with geographic information systems (GIS), siting and other project development tasks. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he holds a BS in Geography with an emphasis in GIS from Jacksonville University.