Your Local Representatives: Introducing the 2025 Ava Board of Directors

Ava Community Energy isn’t like a traditional investor-owned utility company. As a not-for-profit public agency, we have no shareholders or profit motives—just elected officials from each community we serve making decisions with the community’s interests in mind. We’re excited to introduce our 2025 Board of Directors, with both new and returning members who will help ensure Ava fulfills its mission to provide clean energy at lower rates and reinvest in the community.

Our Board is made up of elected officials from each of the jurisdictions we serve. When a city or county joins Ava, their City Council or County Board of Supervisors appoints one of their elected members to sit on our Board, along with an alternate who steps in when needed. This keeps our Board members directly accountable to you and your neighbors.

We also have a nine-member Community Advisory Committee made up of local residents who provide valuable on-the-ground perspectives to help shape our programs and services.

The only compensation Board members receive is $128 per Board meeting—all of which are entirely open to the public so you can see your local decision-making in action. The Board meets monthly to make important calls about electricity rates, budgets, clean energy programs, and local community reinvestment. Board members are expected to spend time in advance of the meeting preparing and reading the agenda packet.

The Directors nominate and vote for their own Chair and Vice Chair.

During January’s vote, Pleasanton Mayor Jack Balch was unanimously re-elected as Chair, continuing in the role he’s held since February 2024. Piedmont Mayor Betsy Andersen was elected as Vice Chair, stepping into the position previously held by former Albany City Councilmember Aaron Tiedemann, who no longer serves on our Board. Both will serve one-year terms, with the next leadership election scheduled for 2026.

As of February, all of our jurisdictions have appointed their Directors and Alternates to the Board. This year, we’re excited to welcome several new members to our Board of Directors:

We deeply appreciate the ongoing partnership with cities that were founding members of Ava, like Oakland, now represented by City Councilmember Rowena Brown. “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve on the Ava Community Energy Board of Directors, knowing that the City of Oakland has worked closely with them over the years to bring cleaner energy options to residents and businesses. I am confident that my deep roots in the East Bay, and environmental law background will contribute to cultivating a more sustainable future for our communities.”

Thanks to the leadership of cities like Dublin, who were among the first to take us up on the opportunity to provide 100% wind and solar power for their constituents. Director Morada is “honored and excited to be representing the City of Dublin on the Ava Board of Directors. Dublin was one of the first cities to make Renewable 100 service the default for everyone, and we remain committed to building a more sustainable energy future with Ava as our partner.”

The city of Tracy joined Ava service in 2021 and helped set the stage for Stockton, Lathrop, and unincorporated San Joaquin County to join. “I’m excited to work with Ava Community Energy now as a Board Director and Tracy City Councilmember,” says Director Nygard.

This month we began sending notices to residents and businesses in Stockton and Lathrop, in advance of our April start-of-service there. “As the Mayor of Stockton, I’m thrilled our city is launching service with Ava in April! I was proud to support the initiative, with my council colleagues, to bring this opportunity to join an agency, and am more than ready for our community to reap the benefits,” said Ava Board Director and Stockton Mayor, Christina Fugazi. “Stockton’s residents and businesses are now empowered with energy options they’ve never had before. And with Ava’s lower rates and cleaner energy, we can advance sustainable development while supporting a higher quality of life.”

San Joaquin County is following on the heels of Stockton and Lathrop, and we’re honored to have Supervisor Robert Rickman on our Board for this new community inclusion. “It’s great to be joining the Ava Board of Directors as San Joaquin County’s first-ever representative on Ava’s Board. Our County joined Ava last year through a unanimous vote by our Supervisors, and we look forward to beginning service in 2026. I was proud to bring forward Ava’s services when I was Mayor of Tracy, leading the City to become the first jurisdiction outside of Alameda County to join Ava, and equally pleased to lead the charge for our County. It’s gratifying to know we’ll soon be bringing Ava’s lower rates and local decision-making to our unincorporated communities.”

We’re equally grateful for our returning Board members, whose experience and institutional knowledge provide valuable continuity as we grow. Returning Board members include:

These dedicated public servants have helped guide Ava through significant milestones, including over $145 million in customer savings and over 1 gigawatt of renewable energy contracted. Their ongoing commitment to our mission has created a strong foundation that allows us to continue bringing competitive rates and cleaner power to more residents and businesses.

We’re excited to get to work with each of our Board members to continue to bring lower electricity costs and innovative programs to our communities.