MODERATOR

Anika Wistar-Jones

Managing Director, Here Comes Solar

Solar One

Anika Wistar-Jones has been making solar accessible to low-income New Yorkers since joining Solar One in 2016. As Managing Director of Solar One's Here Comes Solar program, Anika leads a team providing technical assistance for affordable housing and low-income communities to facilitate the adoption of solar throughout New York City. Over the years, she has supported hundreds of affordable buildings to install solar using a variety of financing strategies, and has developed a deep understanding of the challenges and solutions to make solar accessible in hard-to-reach markets. Prior to Solar One, Anika worked for solar and energy efficiency startups, as well as environmental advocacy organizations, leading campaigns to fight climate change and fossil fuels. She is a Davis United World College Scholar and a graduate of Middlebury College.

PANELIST

Paul Lozito

Deputy Executive Director

Mayor’s Office Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ)

Paul Onyx Lozito is a Deputy Executive Director for the Mayor’s Office Climate and Environmental Justice where he focused on climate infrastructure and environmental justice. Prior to MOCEJ, Paul spent 10 years the New York State Governor's Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR), where he served as Chief Strategy and Program Officer. At GOSR, Paul oversaw the Housing, Buyout, and Acquisition Programs, as well as the Rebuild by Design and National Disaster Resiliency grants. His work included the supervision of the construction of the Living Breakwaters, development of a sewage conduit from the barrier island to the mainland in Nassau County, and implementation of resiliency improvements to protect several large housing authorities from future flooding events.

He is currently the president of the American Planning Association - New York Metropolitan Chapter, which represents the planning community from the New York City reservoirs in the Catskills to Montauk Point and across the five boroughs of New York City. Paul has previously served on Bronx Community Board IV as the parks committee chairperson and president of the board of his housing cooperative. A former AmeriCorps member, Paul is a dedicated volunteer who has served on historic preservation boards and general good government groups. Paul is a Bronx-based urban planner with a B.A. from Rutgers’ Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and a M.U.P. from Hunter College Urban Policy and Planning Program with extensive experience in disaster recovery, resiliency, and housing.

PANELIST

Neda Arabshahi

Senior Vice President, Inclusiv Center for Resiliency and Clean Energy

Inclusiv

Neda Arabshahi is Senior Vice President of the Inclusiv Center for Resiliency and Clean Energy. In this capacity, she is working to build a network of credit unions committed to designing and scaling solutions to climate change, with a goal of promoting affordable and sustainable energy for all people. Neda has over 17 years experience in the clean energy and sustainability space. Most recently she served as Chief Operating Officer at the energy startups Radiator Labs and BlocPower, where she helped to create financing and access to clean energy and energy efficiency retrofits for low- and moderate-income building owners. Prior to those roles, she led the energy program at the Clinton Global Initiative, partnering with public and private sector members to build commitments to low carbon energy solutions, including developing resilient electricity grids and solar workforce redevelopment. Neda holds dual MBA and Master of Environmental Science degrees from Yale University, where her research focused on the economic development benefits of renewable energy projects in low-income communities.

PANELIST

Margy Brown

Executive Director

UHAB

Margy Brown, Executive Director joined UHAB as Executive Director in January 2023, bringing more than 20 years’ experience in affordable housing development and finance, homeownership initiatives, Fair Housing, community engagement, and strategic planning. Prior to joining UHAB, she served as Associate Commissioner of Housing Opportunity & Program Services at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development. Margy has devoted her career to furthering economic and racial justice through equitable housing access. She holds a Masters in Urban Policy from New School University’s Milano Graduate School and is a recipient of the Frederick O’Reilly Hayes Prize for innovative, high-impact work in public service. Margy lives with her husband and daughter in Harlem.

PANELIST

Madeline Fraser Cook

Senior Vice President of Community Building and Resilient Solutions

LISC

Madeline del Carmen Fraser Cook is an urban planner with a strong commitment to affordable housing and community based economic development. As a recognized leader in green development, her focus has been on ensuring that sustainability is integrated into housing and economic development projects. A native Spanish-speaker, Ms. Fraser Cook has worked extensively with low-income Latino communities. Ms. Fraser Cook has a keen understanding for the importance of stakeholder engagement in creating vibrant communities. She oversees LISC’s HUD Technical Assistance portfolio, Equitable Green Initiatives, Rural LISC, AmeriCorps, and LISC’s national Capacity Building program. She advises LISC’s local offices on disaster recovery and sustainability and climate resilience. Ms. Fraser Cook received her Masters of City Planning from M.I.T.’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) where she was a HUD Community Development Fellow. She also holds undergraduate degrees in Economics and Political Sciences from Swarthmore College.