Offshore Wind Conference Organizers

Marjaneh Issapour

Farmingdale State College - Associate Dean for Innovation and Economic Development in Sustainable Energy and Director of the Renewable Energy and Sustainability Center

Marjaneh Issapour is currently the Associate Dean for Innovation and Economic Development in Sustainable Energy at Farmingdale State College.

Her area of research is Renewable and Alternative energy sources. She has expertise in statistical modeling of various energy related quantities and factors. She is also knowledgeable in networking technologies and has devoted most of her research to applications related to alternative energy sources; specifically, she has worked on statistical modeling for energy intensity. She is currently involved with drinking water quality research along with her students.

She is an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Senior member and currently chairs the Educational Activities Committee and Power and Energy Society of the (IEEE)-Long Island Section. She was the chair of IEEE- Long Island Section (2017). She is also a member of the Manufacturing and Technology Resource Consortium (MTRC) Advisory Board, Farmingdale State College's representative for the Engineering Joint Commission of Long Island (EJCLI), was the Chair of the IEEE-Long Island Section (2017), is on the IEEE Region 1 Board of Governors (BoG) with the position of Educational Activities Committee Chair (2018), is Farmingdale State College's representative for Long Island Regional Advisory Council on Higher Education (LIRACHE), is the chair of the USGBC's "Drive Electric Long Island" steering committee, a member of the workforce development subcommittee of American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), a member of the offshore wind wildlife & permitting of AWEA's subcommittee, and a member of PSEG Long Island's Environmental Advisory Committee.

She was the recipient of the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Faculty Service by the SUNY Chancellor and Board of Trustees in 2007. The Chancellor's Award is a prestigious award within the SUNY system and is awarded only to those candidates who have a record of consistently superior performance and a long commitment to the SUNY system. She was recognized by the New York State Society Of Professional Engineers Suffolk County Chapter for excellence in leadership and performance as a professional engineer in education (2015), is the recipient of IEEE-Long Island’s Athanasius Papoulis Outstanding Educator Award (2017) and the “Excellence for Women in Technology Award”, from the Association of Technology Management and Applied Engineering (ATMAE) (2019).

 

 Mariah Dignan

Climate Jobs New York (CJNY) - Regional Director (Long Island) 

Mariah Dignan serves as the Regional Director (Long Island) for Climate Jobs New York (CJNY),  
a growing statewide labor coalition representing 2.6 million working New Yorkers united to combat climate change and reverse inequality. CJNY is educating fellow workers, building alliances, and advocating for policy solutions - demonstrating that we do not have to choose between a healthy planet and good jobs. In her role with CJNY, Mariah is a member of Wind Works Long Island, a coalition of environmental, labor, clergy, and community groups, and the force behind educating the Long Island community on the benefits of renewable energy, particularly offshore wind. Mariah also serves on the Long Island Chapter Board of the New York League of Conservation Voters.  
 
As a campaign field organizer for Congresswoman Kathleen Rice and scheduler for then-candidate Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, she facilitated relationships between government officials and local community leaders, recruited, trained and managed volunteers and wrote press releases, campaign literatures and opinion pieces. Mariah worked as a Political Organizer for The Long Island Federation of Labor and served as the Community Outreach Coordinator for the Office of Congressman Thomas R. Suozzi. She coordinated with federal, state and local governments efforts to pass legislation, managed the Congressman’s calendar and served as chief liaison to Long Island’s Labor community. A Magna Cum Laude graduate of St. Lawrence University, Mariah majored with honors in government and philosophy. She was the Environmental Conservation Chair of student government and led the Campus Committee on Sustainability and Carbon Neutrality during her four years at St. Lawrence. She was a two-year captain of the volleyball team and a member of the track and field team.  

 

 

Peter Lion

NYSERDA - Senior Advisor for Offshore Wind 

As a Senior Advisor for Offshore Wind, Peter will help lead the team’s strategy, planning, and execution of economic development associated initiatives to develop and expand the offshore wind industry. Working collaboratively with public and private stakeholders, his primary focus will be on supply chain, infrastructure and workforce development. Peter has extensive experience in regional economic development and driving localization and growth through education, research and development and the establishment of innovative programs. For the last several years he has worked with small to medium sized enterprises to enable their participation in the offshore wind industry. 

 

 

Phil Rugile

Institute for Workforce Advancement - Executive Director

Phil Rugile has a long history in both corporate and startup business environments. Phil is currently the Executive Director for the Institute for Workforce Advancement (IWA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to training an advanced manufacturing workforce for underserved populations and industrial clients. IWA is also the regional advocate for the composites industry, taking a leading position on opportunities for growth in renewable energy, transportation, and other sectors. Phil is also the Director of Launchpad Huntington (LPH), a co-working and corporate event space. LPH is one of the most dynamic hubs of entrepreneurial activity in the region, acting as a bridge to entrepreneurs from many industries for investment, education, and mentorship. His other non-profit engagements include being an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Hofstra University’s Center for Entrepreneurship, member of the Board of Advisors for Minority Millennials, and a member of the Board of Advisors for the National Center for Disability Entrepreneurship at the Viscardi Center. Prior experiences include Human Capital Strategist at eCommerce company eGifter; Entrepreneur in Residence for Accelerate Long Island; co-founder of 100 Urban Entrepreneurs, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to supporting minority entrepreneurship; co-founder of MYMAG, a celebrity-driven marketing company that created unique personalized print and digital products; and stints at numerous media and technology companies such as Reuters, Times Mirror and others.