Staff
Scott Anders, M.A., Director
Nilmini Silva-Send, Ph.D, Senior Policy Analyst
Martha Garcia, M.A., Project Manager - San Diego Regional Climate Education Partnership
Scott Ander, M.A, Director [email]
 Mr. Anders is the Director of the Energy Policy Initiatives Center (EPIC). He joined EPIC in October 2005 as its inaugural director and developed both its academic and research programs. Mr. Anders’ work at EPIC has focused on regulatory and policy issues related to developing efficient and low-carbon energy sources. Recent projects include the first-ever greenhouse gas inventory for San Diego County, policy research for a comparison of the San Diego region with regions with emerging clean technology industry clusters, and a feasibility study of implementing smart grid strategies and technologies in the San Diego region.
Prior to joining EPIC, Mr. Anders was director for policy and planning at the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE). In this capacity he managed regulatory and legislative issue research and analysis, directed communications with regulatory agencies, including writing position papers and comments before California’s regulatory agencies, directed technical and policy support for the SANDAG’s Energy Working Group, and directed solar energy activities, including technical and policy research.
Mr. Anders has authored or co-authored a number of papers and reports related to energy policy. Most recently he was a lead author on the report entitled, Potential for Renewable Energy in the San Diego Region. Mr. Anders also has been involved in regional energy planning for the last 10 years and has contributed to the San Diego region’s Regional Energy Strategy and Climate Action Plan. He contributed to the San Diego Regional Energy Infrastructure Study, a technical and policy survey of the regional energy market in San Diego, and Energy 2030: The San Diego Regional Energy Strategy, which serves as the region’s roadmap for energy planning.
In 1999, Mr. Anders was a policy researcher for the Washington D.C. think tank Center for a Sustainable Economy, now part of Redefining Progress, where he researched market-based
mechanisms as a policy tool for the energy sector. Mr. Anders was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, West Africa. He holds a B.A. in international politics from Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA) and an M.A. in public policy, with a concentration in environmental policy, from the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy.
Nilmini Silva-Send, Ph.D, Senior Policy Analyst & Adjunct Professor [email]
 Dr. Nilmini Silva-Send is EPIC’s Senior Policy Analyst. In this role, she contributes research and analysis to EPIC’s ongoing energy and climate change projects. In recent years she has focused on transportation energy use and researches costs of measures to develop greater efficiency in road transportation in the San Diego region. She is also a researcher in a recently awarded multidisciplinary National Science Foundation Climate Science Education project.
During her career Dr. Silva-Send has served in a variety of roles in which she conducted legal and technical analysis of environmental laws in Europe and the U.S., and carried out environmental due diligence assessments in Europe. She has also taught upper level and graduate level international law courses in Germany. More recently she taught International and European Environmental Law at the University of San Diego School of Law. In 2010 she started a contemporary course in International Lawand Policy related to energy at the University of San Diego School of Law.
Dr. Silva-Send has a B.S. in Chemistry and a PhD in International Law and Policy. She is a member of the International Bar Association.
Martha Garcia, M.A., Project Manager - Regional Climate Change Education Partnership [email]
 Ms. Garcia is the Project Manager for the San Diego Regional Climate Education
Partnership, a National Science Foundation-funded project managed by the Energy
Policy Initiatives Center and the Department of Marine Sciences and Environmental
Studies at the University of San Diego. In her role as project manager, Ms. Garcia is
responsible for oversight and coordination of all activities associated with the successful
development of a communication program for advancing public awareness and
engagement related to climate science, mitigation, and adaptation.
Prior to joining the San Diego Regional Climate Education Partnership, Ms. Garcia has managed and coordinated the Peace Network Technology Project at the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, a privately funded initiative to promote collaboration and connectivity among international alumni via social media. Ms. Garcia was previously grant writer and manager at the San Diego Natural History Museum. She provided proposal writing and management support to the Biodiversity Research Center of the Californias, the research division of the museum. In this role she supported over 25 scientists and staff across six scientific departments. Awarded projects include among others, several biological consulting and monitoring surveys in the Anza Borrego Desert, San Diego Coastlands and Baja California, Sur.
Ms. Garcia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development with a specialization in Pan American Studies from the University of California San Diego, and a Master’s degree in Peace & Justice Studies from the University of San Diego. Her capstone research was conducted with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Tanzania. Other university-based research has been concentrated in the areas of environmental consumption and environmental justice.
|
