E2 Georgia Clean Economy Summit: Opportunity Rising

Stuart Countess is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Kia Georgia’s manufacturing facility in West Point, Ga. Countess is responsible for all operational facets of the four-model assembly plant that employs more than 3,200 team members and produces a capacity of 350,000 vehicles annually. A graduate of the University of Alabama in Electrical Engineering, Countess began his 30-year manufacturing career with Hughes Aircraft Corporation before moving into automotive at the Mercedes Benz assembly plant in Vance, Ala.

In 2008, Countess was hired as the Sr. Manager for Kia Georgia’s General Assembly shop, where he was a key figure in developing and implementing The Kia Way and the Georgia Production System as core practices of the facility’s operational system. Since his hiring, Countess has held positions as the company’s Director of Quality, Vice President of Quality and Chief Administrative Officer, and Chief Operating Officer before assuming his current role.

Countess is highly active in community, civic, and educational organizations promoting individual development and providing leadership through service on multiple boards and committees in various capacities. Among them are the Georgia Chamber, LaGrange College, LaGrange Academy, Georgia State Workforce Development Board, The Ray, Georgia Association of Manufacturers, The Carter Center, and was the chair of a key committee in Georgia’s Electric Mobility and Innovation Alliance (EMIA).

Countess has been included in GEORGIA 500 – The State’s Most Influential Leaders and received the Georgia Titan 100 Award in 2023.

Countess is an avid golfer and loyal supporter of the Alabama Crimson Tide. He and his wife, Dana, reside in LaGrange, GA. They have four children and five grandchildren.

Scott McMurray is the Deputy Commissioner for the Georgia Quick Start workforce training program for the state of Georgia. McMurray helps lead the Quick Start team to provide world-class training programs for new businesses coming to Georgia as well as those Georgia-based companies looking to expand.

In his previous role as Deputy Commissioner of Global Commerce for the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), McMurray led Georgia’s team that focuses on job creation and investment by recruiting and locating new and expanding businesses in the state.

Prior to joining GDEcD in 2005 as a project manager, he held management positions with Warehouse California Corp. and Overseas Operations Export Management in Los Angeles, CA. From 1988 until 1993, McMurray worked as both a public high school English teacher and college instructor in Miyazaki, Japan. From 1993 until 1996, he held a position as an import manager for a retail store chain in southwestern Japan.

Tonya Hicks, an accomplished leader, and trailblazer in construction, energy, and promoting women’s empowerment. As the President and CEO of Power Solutions, Inc., Managing Principal of Women Do Everything, LLC, and Founder/President of sheEV, Inc. Tonya has made significant contributions in several male-dominated industries. With a passion for excellence, Tonya’s journey began as she broke barriers, becoming the first woman to become a Journeyman Inside Wireman Electrician in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 917 and the first Black Woman to become an IBEW Journeyman Electrician in the State of Mississippi.

In 2000, at the age of 28, Tonya founded Power Solutions, Inc., an electrical contracting, and facility maintenance company. Today PSI specializes in renewable energy, electrification, and EV charging solutions. Her visionary leadership has driven the company’s success, expanding its operations internationally, as featured in Forbes Japan in November 2019. Recognizing the importance of promoting diversity and inclusion, Tonya launched Women Do Everything LLC in 2015. Through this initiative, she has been instrumental in training and supporting women in male-dominated industries, both through employment and entrepreneurship. During the pandemic, Tonya founded sheEV, to provide safer EV charging locations for women, elderly, and disable persons. In 2024, the launch of the sheEV Car Club will be the first of its kind; providing community support, educational resources, and products members can trust.

Emilie Oxel O’Leary is the CEO/Owner of Green Clean Solar based in Marietta, Georgia. She has a strong passion and expertise in the solar industry focusing on waste management and landfill diversion services while building a diverse workforce. Her previous company (which she started and sold!) installed solar on many well-known companies across the nation such as Amazon, L’Oreal, Target, Perry Ellis, Blue Cross Blue Shield. She continues to develop and foster relationships with EPC/Owners and solar manufacturers throughout the United States while making Green Clean Solar a leader in the industry.

Michael serves as the Managing Director of the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business and Professor of the Practice. He teaches business sustainability courses at undergraduate and graduate levels and helps to oversee the Center’s industry outreach, partnerships, and educational initiatives. The Center manages a number of initiatives that engage students, faculty, and industry partners including, for example, the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact. Michael has also served as Chair of the Scheller College Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council for 3 years and has been involved in a number of campus-wide sustainability and strategic planning activities.

Prior to joining Scheller, Michael spent over twenty-five years working at the intersection of international business, sustainability, and risk management including serving in leadership roles at Acorn International, LLC and Business for Social Responsibility (BSR). In these roles, he advised a broad range of international companies on local content, social impact, risk management, community engagement, reporting, corporate social responsibility, and human rights initiatives.

Carrie Horrocks is the Chief Operating Officer for Radiance Solar, a solar EPC headquartered in Atlanta, GA focused on the distributed generation market.  As a 7 year veteran of Radiance, she is responsible for executing organizational strategy and developing highly functional teams. Carrie serves on the boards of Georgia Solar Energy Association, Amicus O&M Cooperative, and Bravo Infrastructure Group.

Pam is co-owner/principal of Impact Energy, a certified Black women-owned energy services company that focuses on energy efficiency project implementation and workforce development. Their mission is to promote equitable job expansion within the energy industry that positively impacts lives and supports community economic advancement.

She is also the Founder and CEO of Integrated Solutions. Integrated Solutions, a Diversity, Inclusion, and Integration consulting company that develops frameworks to implement diversity successfully and sustainably within organizations. Integrated Solutions mission is to drive industry transformation through organization cultural competency, caring conversations, and additional diversity advisory services.

Bob Keefeis E2’s executive director, overseeing all aspects of E2’s work and its staff and chapters stretching from New York to San Diego. Bob speaks regularly about the clean energy economy and the economic benefits of smart environmental policies. He has testified before Congress and numerous state legislatures and has appeared in media outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, CNN and others. Bob is the author of two books on the economics of climate change: “Climatenomics: Washington Wall Street and the Economic Battle to Save Our Planet” (2022) and “Clean Economy NOW: Stories from the Front Lines of an American Business Revolution” (2024) and co-author of several other business-related books. Prior to joining E2 in 2011, Bob spent more than 20 years as journalist, covering business, political, national and environmental news from coast to coast.

Scott Moskowitz is the Senior Director of Market Strategy and Industry Relations for Qcells North America where he works in support of the company’s policy and business development goals. Scott is widely regarded as a leading expert on the global renewable energy industry with a specific concentration on supply chains, competitiveness, and technology. Scott sits on the board of directors for the Solar Energy Industries Association and Georgia Solar Energy Association, and previously spent five years as a market analyst at GTM Research, the leading market intelligence firm in the U.S. clean energy industry.