About Us

CEO

Mike Healy

Mike has been a fervent leader in developing solar policy across the Mid-Atlantic region, having been influential in the development, design and advocacy of the District of Columbia and Maryland RPS programs. Prior to launching New Columbia Solar, he served as the founder and partner at Nextility Inc. and ConnectDER, inc. With a proven track record of developing a long-term strategy, implementing the tactics to maintain and execute that strategy, and delivering results, he is an expert in his field with 10  years in the clean energy industry. Recently, he has served as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of SEIA (Solar Energy Industry Association) a nationwide trade association advocating for the solar industry, and as Vice President and Policy Chair at MDV-SEIA. He graduated from Bethany College with a degree in International Relations and Political Science and is a long-time D.C. resident who resides in the District’s H street corridor with his wife, Kelly and their two sons, Jack and Liam.

President

Nick Giannotti

Nick serves as the President of NCS. He oversees corporate investments, operations, and strategic initiatives. Nick has been involved in more than 100 solar projects totaling greater than 7 megawatts in the D.C. area.

Before BOVP and NCS, he held a management position with Lighthouse Solar and strategic development position Nextility, Inc. At Lighthouse Solar he was the General Manager and CFO for the D.C. Region. While with Nextility, his team worked on an energy technology platform for clients, ranging from restaurants to large private real estate companies and multi-family housing communities, to reduce their energy costs. Nick is also a recent co-founder of a DC – centric angel group, Beltway Angels, a group that directly invests in local entrepreneurs and helps provide strategic advice.

Early in his career, Nick was a retail banker with Wachovia, now Wells Fargo. He began his career with MBNA, at the time, the largest credit card company in the world, in a management development program, gaining experience in underwriting, marketing, technology, talent management, collections, and technology.

Nick holds a B.S. in Italian and International Relations from Georgetown University. He served as the Treasurer for the Georgetown University Chimes Alumni Association (7 years). He and his wife, Meghan, live in Alexandria, VA with their two young children.

COO

Nicole Marandino

Nicole is the COO at NCS. She is responsible for engaging and maintaining client relationships throughout the sales and development cycle.

Nicole has been an integral part of the local solar market for over 10 years, starting her career in Beltsville, MD with SunEdison working in government affairs and market development. Since then, she has founded 3 companies, advised over 30 clients and financed over 30 MW of solar projects across the United States.

Additionally, Nicole remains an advocate for furthering solar policy and deregulating energy markets. She has serves on various policy committees and has been a long-time active member of The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE), and Women’s Council for Energy and the Environment (WCEE). She is a graduate from the School of Business of Northeastern University and resides in the DMV area with her husband and two dogs.

Director of Operations

Jorge Consuegra

Jorge Consuegra has successfully managed and delivered more than 70 megawatts (MW) of solar PV capacity in the USA, Caribbean, and Mexico. He has worked in multi-megawatt projects along the east coast, Caribbean and Latin America. Also, he has an expertise in Environment, Safety and Health regulations in the USA. He is fully responsible for the oversight and management of project cycle for photovoltaic systems (ground mount, rooftop, carport and landfills) while successfully maintaining other functions in harmony.

An industrial engineer, graduated from a Masters in Renewable Energy at the European University of Madrid, Spain, which focused extensively on both the technical and financial aspects of the energy sector.

VP of Finance

Sam Walker

Sam joined New Columbia Solar in January 2018 as the Senior Manager of Finance. At New Columbia, Sam is responsible for project and corporate finance activities, including structuring tax equity, debt, and sponsor equity investments in New Columbia’s development projects to grow the Company’s asset base and generate capital to redeploy in future growth. Prior to joining New Columbia, Sam worked in Structured Finance at TerraForm Power, where he was responsible for structuring tax equity and debt financing for solar and wind projects across North America, as well as coordinating capital markets initiatives. Prior to TerraForm Power, Sam was an Investment Analyst at Guggenheim Partners in New York. Sam graduated from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and American Studies.

VP of Development

Shane Lebow

Shane joined New Columbia Solar in February 2019 as a Project Finance Manager. At New Columbia, Shane is responsible for project and corporate finance activities, including structuring tax equity, debt, and sponsor equity investments in New Columbia’s development projects. Prior to joining New Columbia, Shane founded and worked as an Investment Associate at 38 Degrees North in Sausalito, CA. He was responsible for analyzing and structuring tax equity, equity and debt financing for solar projects across a variety of different US markets. Prior to 38 Degrees North, Shane was a Project Finance Analyst at SunEdison in San Francisco. Shane graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. and M.S. in Earth Systems.

Director of Asset Management

Maulik Patel

Maulik is leading Asset Management at New Columbia Solar, joining the team in January 2020. Previously he Co-Founded a software startup to identify performance problems, prioritize issues by financial impact, and recommend corrective field actions. His tool covered residential, commercial and industrial systems. Prior to that, he worked at Sunonva and was an Asset Manager for over $1.2B in assets covering 55,000+ systems totaling 240 MW. Maulik earned a BA from the University of Maryland in Economics.

Construction Manager

Mason Holmes

VP of Business Development

Ken Stadlin

Business Development

Darren Wyatt

Darren was born and raised in the Northern Virginia suburbs right outside Washington, D.C. He is currently completing a master’s degree in renewable energy and solar sustainability systems at Penn State University. He has a master’s degree in public policy from George Mason University and an undergraduate degree from West Virginia University in business development and entrepreneurship.
Prior to working at New Columbia Solar, he advocated at the state and federal level for the employment of blind and visually impaired individuals nationwide for National Industries for the Blind.

At New Columbia Solar, Darren is responsible for developing and managing a portfolio of accounts across industry verticals (commercial, industrial, government) for solar Power Purchase Agreements, solar leases and cash sales in Washington, D.C. He manages sales relationships with key decision makers and develops and closes structured energy transactions designed to meet customers’ financial and regulatory challenges.

In his spare-time, he enjoys hiking with his dog and going to baseball games with his fiancé. He’s a diehard Philadelphia Phillies fan (poor guy) and he’s obsessed with Christmas.

Business Development

Bill Fitzgerald

Bill is a Washington, D.C native and works on New Columbia Solar’s business development team. Prior to joining New Columbia in November of 2019, he served as a program manager at Johnson Controls International where he split his responsibilities between the company’s government relations and sustainability teams. Notably, Bill advocated on Federal and state energy efficiency legislative measures, led the company’s renewable energy initiative and served as a liaison to the investor relations team on ESG matters.

At New Columbia, Bill is responsible for helping customers in all verticals reap the economic and environmental benefits associated with solar. He walks customers through the sales process from start to finish, shepherding them through challenges and maximizing the financial and environmental benefits of their solar system. In Bill’s free time he plays on several intermural teams. He also enjoys traveling and investing.

Community Engagement Manager

Emma Lutz

Emma leads corporate marketing and business development intiatives as the Community Engagement Manager. She loves interacting with other climate activists and sharing the benefits of renewable energy. Emma takes great pride in being able to contribute to DC’s renewable energy goals of reaching 100% renewable by 2032!

Emma graduated from George Washington University where she studied Political Science and Sustainability. Emma’s passion for the environment is not only demonstrated through her work in renewable energy, but also through volunteering at local gardens and community clean-ups. She is also an advocate for sustainable, plant-based diets.

Community Engagement Associate

Leighanna Frantz

Leighanna works as the Community Engagement Associate at NCS. She assists the business development team with the management of partnership relations, project details, and the site survey and audit team, which helps provide accurate information for solar system designs. She takes pride in her work to make it easy for District residents to access clean, environmentally friendly energy.

Leighanna is a graduate of Bethany College with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary German Studies with an International Environmental Policy focus. Alongside Bethany College, she also attended the Pädagogische Hochschule in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg and the Goethe Institute in Bonn, Germany. Leighanna loves to spend time with friends, visit different places around DC, and go to the dog park with her roommate’s dog, Louie.

Interconnection and Permitting Specialist

Nick Bihun

Originally from Underhill, Vermont, Nick has been based in Washington, D.C. since 2016. Prior to moving to D.C., he helped to coordinate the U.S.-Asia Partnerships for Environmental Law at Vermont Law School, a grant-funded environmental governance program focusing on China and South-east Asia. Before joining New Columbia Solar in June of 2018, he participated in the SolarWorks DC program where he learned the basics of the solar industry. He also holds NABCEP Associate Credential.

He studied Mandarin and International Affairs as an undergraduate at the University of Colorado, Boulder before moving to China in 2007. While in China he worked for a number of international organizations and think-tanks including the United Nations Development Program and the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy. He received a Master’s degree from the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University in Beijing and a Master’s of Energy Regulation and Law from Vermont Law School.

He lives in the Trinidad neighborhood of Northeast D.C. with his wife Michelle and their dog Luna. In his free time, he enjoys mountain biking, skiing and working in the garden.

Project Manager

Chris Amoss

A native of D.C., Chris Amoss is an environmentalist with a dual-degree Master’s in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development from American University’s School of International Service. Before joining the New Columbia Solar’s Operation Team, Chris worked in Palestine and Israel on a solar and water resource project with the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies.

Assistant Project Manager

Paige Ober

Paige joins NCS as an assistant project manager working with the operations team and comes from a rich background in international development and environment. While pursuing her MA in International Relations (American University, 2016) and Natural Resources and Sustainable Development (United Nations’ University for Peace, Costa Rica, 2016), Paige worked in Gulu, Uganda on the Freedom in Creation Sustainability Teaching Farm as a sustainable agriculture curriculum developer. She additionally worked as a program and learning associate with SNV USA on a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant, synthesizing disparate data points into grant reports and publications. Paige received her BA in Anthropology and Middle Eastern Communities and Migrations from James Madison University in 2013.

Previously Paige worked as a Project Manager with the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery (CISR) and served as an in-house specialist on the effects of explosive remnants of war on the environment.

Project Manager

Porter Ryan

Project Manager

Paige Pendleton

Paige Pendleton joined New Columbia Solar as an Assistant Project Manager in November 2019. Previously, she worked with a solar distribution company out of Boston. Paige has a B.S. in Biophysics from SUNY Geneseo and an M.S. in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Technologies from Northumbria University. She is extremely passionate about powering our grid with renewable energy, but also advocates for the plant-based diet in the fight against climate change.

Assistant Project Manager

George Aaron

George received his Masters in Engineering Management from the George Washington University in 2017. He also has a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. Passionate about clean energy and efficiency Aaron recently obtained his LEED Green Associate Certification.

Having moved to the US in 2015 for his Masters from Dubai. Aaron enjoys playing tennis.

PV Design Engineer

Patricio Alvarez

Patricio Alvarez is an enthusiastic environmentalist and very passionate about his job. He has worked as a Photovoltaic Designer at New Columbia Solar since 2018. He joined our company after finishing the SolarWorks DC training. He is originally from Ecuador and moved to the U.S. in 2017 after living for 7 years in Spain, where he gained expertise in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energies. He holds a BS in Environmental Engineering and postgraduate studies in Innovation and Sustainable Development from the School of Industrial Organization in Madrid-Spain.

Electrical Lead

Nicolas Rios

Nicolas is an industry professional with several years of hands-on experience installing solar systems. He began his career in 2014 as a Jr. Installer and after extensive training, became a  Construction Manager for one of the largest solar ground mounts in Mexico. Mr. Rios has experience working on residential, commercial and industrial scale solar projects and has become an integral member of the Operations team here at New Columbia Solar. He is passionate about renewable energy and brings an enthusiastic and positive attitude to our growing team.