KIHEI,
Hawaii, April 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Nationally
acclaimed renewable energy project developer Mana Pacific
announced that Christine Gayagas, an
Indo-Pacific Regional Lead for the Institute for Security
Governance, and Geoff Brown, former
CEO of Powin Energy, have joined its Board of Directors. Increasing
its project pipeline by 400% in 2023, the Hawaii-based Pacific Islands project developer
adds these key directors to help guide the significant growth and
impact of the company in the Pacific.
Nationally acclaimed Pacific Islands
renewable energy developer Mana Pacific Inc expands Board of
Directors
Dr. Christine (Crissy) Gayagas is
a well-recognized expert in the Indo-Pacific with a keen
understanding of the cultural diversity and challenges faced by the
Pacific Island Countries and Territories. Dr. Gayagas hails from
Hawaii and currently serves as an
advisor and program lead for the Indo-Pacific region as part of the
Institute for Security Governance. Her work is focused on
institutional capacity building with partners, enabling their
ability to manage security forces. Previously, Dr. Gayagas served
as a visiting scholar at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center
for Security Studies (DKI APCSS) to educate, and empower
international fellows. She also facilitated seminars and supported
workshops including the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy.
Following a distinguished professional military career where she
last served as the Deputy Commander for a 21,000-service member
Expeditionary Command in Iraq, COL
(Ret) Gayagas led private consulting firms and non-profits
supporting Native Hawaiian organizations, renewable energy
programs, and global development. She served on the Queens Health
System board, Oahu Economic Development board where she chaired the
Renewable Energy Committee, the Governor's Aerospace Committee, and
the DKI APCSS Foundation board; and she chairs the
Chaminade University Board of
Governors. She sold her first consulting company and served as a
co-founder for another in support of General Motors' renewable
hydrogen fuel cell vehicle pilot program in Hawaii. These experiences make her the ideal
choice for the benefit director, the key member of the board
responsible for ensuring the public benefit and community
contributions of Mana Pacific's efforts as a Hawaii Sustainable
Business.
"I am passionate about building partner capacity and my role as
the Benefit Director aligns well with Mana Pacific's charter for
creating sustainable impact in communities while developing
renewable energy projects. It is an honor to serve with fellow
board members who are enthusiastic about this mission and I look
forward to supporting Mana Pacific's vision in this region."
Gayagas shared regarding her new role with the Mana Pacific
board.
Geoff Brown is a renewable power
and storage expert with 20 years of experience with companies and
projects dedicated to building a cleaner world and a personal
history of commitment to the Pacific Island community. For over 7
years Geoff served as President and CEO of Powin where he led
their growth from a small start up to one of the world's largest
battery integrators. With over 8GWh of batteries installed across
100 different projects Powin is working to advance the energy
frontier and ensure the world's access to clean, resilient and
affordable power.
Before coming to Powin Geoff had over a decade of experience
with wind, solar, and energy storage project development, design
and financing for companies including: NRG Renew, Beacon Power,
Element Power, and Garrad Hassan
America. This included developing microgrid projects in
Alaska, Hawaii and Guam with Beacon Power - and several
Caribbean island projects at
NRG.
Geoff comes to Mana Pacific with early exposure to the
challenges and unique energy requirements of the Pacific Islands.
He spent a year early in his career volunteering on Unanu, one
of the outer islands in the Federated States of Micronesia, helping to build sustainable
energy and water projects for the community.
Regarding his new role on the Mana Pacific team, Geoff said,
"I'm thrilled to have this opportunity to bring the skills and
knowledge I've learned over my career back to the communities where
it all began for me. I am so impressed with the work Joe and the
Mana Pacific team has done and look forward to supporting their
continued success as a thriving benefit company doing well for all
our stakeholders."
Mana Pacific's CEO, Joe Reed
shared "Mana Pacific is truly fortunate to have such respected and
capable thought leaders joining our Board. With our significant
growth and the wide reach of our projects, we value the vast
expertise Geoff brings to our team. As a Hawaii Sustainable
Business, our vision and mission is to keep a keen focus on the
impact and contributions we make to all of our island stakeholders
as well as our shareholders. Crissy's experiences across the
entire Indo-Pacific region will enable us to leverage our
community-focused model to achieve the greatest impact in
resiliency and energy independence of the Pacific Island Nations
and Territories."
About Mana Pacific, Inc.
Mana Pacific, a Hawaii
sustainable business corporation, develops renewable energy
projects using top quality technologies to achieve scalable
resiliency in Hawai'i and 22 Pacific Island Countries and
Territories, with projects in 12 Pacific Island countries as a
commanding entry. Mana Pacific's mission is to accelerate the
renewable energy transition to achieve increased energy
independence for Pacific Islands. The company was founded in 2019
as a minority, veteran, and woman-owned enterprise and has grown to
be a globally award-winning renewable project developer throughout
the South Pacific. To date, Mana Pacific is one of only 6 companies
nationwide to win Phases 1 and 2 of the U.S. Department of
Energy Community Power Accelerator Prize.
For more information, contact info@manapacific.com.
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SOURCE Mana Pacific Inc