Officers
BAC’s Officers and Directors are leaders in the bioenergy field, representing all sectors of the industry, individual companies, public agencies, academic experts and nonprofit organizations.
Fred Tornatore, Chair
Frederick Tornatore is Chief Technical Officer and Co-owner of TSS Consultants (Sacramento, CA). Mr. Tornatore has over 45 years of professional experience in renewable energy development, specializing in bioenergy for both the private and public sectors. He is responsible for technical, economic, regulatory, and environmental evaluations of technologies and development projects using biomass and organic/food waste resources. Mr. Tornatore continues to work on the deployment, development, and permitting of numerous biomass, biogas, biofuels, and bioproducts projects in the United States. At TSS, he tracks and evaluates a myriad of state and federal legislative mandates, regulatory requirements, grant funding and loan programs, policy developments, and executive orders that provide current and emerging incentives to biomass utilization. Mr. Tornatore is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.
Christine Compton, Vice Chair
Christine Compton has served as the Director of Government Relations for the Irvine Ranch Water District in Orange County since 2013. She has also served as the Deputy Chief of Staff and Policy Advisor and legislative aid for Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell and the legislative aide for Assemblyman Bill Campbell. Christine has a law degree from Loyola Marymount and a business degree from the University of Southern California.
Evan Edgar, Secretary
Evan Edgar is the Principal Engineer and President of Edgar & Associates, Inc. since 1997. Evan has over thirty years of experience in all aspects of solid waste management as a registered civil engineer who has advocated on for green energy incentives, compost market development, greenhouse gas reductions policies, and practical regulations in front of legislative committees, regulatory agencies, and local commissions involving the collection, hauling, processing, and composting of urban green and yard wastes. Evan helped to found the California Compost Coalition and also served as the Director of Regulatory Affairs and Manager of Technical Services for the California Refuse Recycling Council (CRRC).
Matt Hart, Treasurer
Trained in civil engineering and economics, Matt has worked with clean technology and sustainable environmental practices throughout the United States, South America, Asia, and Africa. Matt’s expertise focuses on zero- and near-zero-emission, on- and off-road equipment demonstration and community-scale renewable energy generation, including micro-grids, solar, wind, hydropower, and organics waste management. In his work, he focuses on a complete life-cycle approach to clean technology solutions that results in sound economic, environmental, and equitable projects that shift energy production and utilization toward a sustainable future. Matt has a B.S. and M.S. in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Stanford University.
Staff
Julia Levin, Executive Director
Julia Levin has served as BAC’s Executive Director since BAC’s founding in early 2013. Prior to BAC, Julia served as the Deputy Secretary for Climate Change and Energy at the California Resources Agency. In that position, she chaired the Governor’s Inter-Agency Bioenergy Working Group and led development of California’s 2012 Bioenergy Action Plan. Julia has also served as a Commissioner on the California Energy Commission, where she was the presiding Commissioner on renewable energy and the associate Commissioner on energy efficiency. She presided over the adoption of RPS eligibility rules, power plant siting cases and other issues. Julia has also served as Global Warming Director for the National Audubon Society and State Policy Coordinator for the Union of Concerned Scientists. Julia has a B.A. from Brown University and a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law.