MORGAN HILL, Calif., June 10, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Green Button Alliance (GBA), which fosters the development, compliance, and wide-spread adoption of the Green Button standard, today announced it has appointed its first Board of Directors. Syed Mir, Vice President, Corporate Services and Chief Information Officer, London Hydro, and a Green Button leader, was named Chairman of the Board of Directors. Chairman Mir is joined by Mark Podorsky, Principal Manager, Information & Information Governance Office, Customer Service, Southern California Edison (SCE), who was named Vice Chairman; and Mimi Zhang, Product Manager, Silver Spring Networks, who was named Secretary and Treasurer. Mir, Podorsky and Zhang will assume their positions on the Green Button Alliance board effective June 10, 2015.
"The Green Button Alliance has attracted the industry's Green Button leaders to serve on its board who will lend their vision for Green Button, strategic guidance, and hands-on expertise to the great benefit of Alliance members and the broad market," said Barry Haaser, Executive Director, Green Button Alliance. "Chairman Mir's insight, leadership, and experience in bringing Green Button Download My Data and Connect My Data platforms to market, will be highly instrumental as we work together to build an ecosystem of interoperable Green Button solutions that enable people to manage and reduce their own energy use."
The Green Button Alliance Board of Directors consists of:
- Syed Mir, Vice President, Corporate Services and CIO, London Hydro
- Mark Podorsky, Principal Manager, Information & Information Governance Office, Customer Service, SCE
- Mimi Zhang, Product Manager, Silver Spring Networks (NYSE: SSNI)
- Kay Clinard, President, Utility Communications Architecture International Users Group (UCAIug)
- Amy Kight Costadone, Principal Product Manager, Demand Response-3rd Party Platforms, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG &E)
- Kim Cresencia, Project Manager, Customer Services, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG &E)
- Christopher G. Irwin, Program Analyst, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
- Barbara Judge, Manager, Strategic Planning and Development, UL
- Greg Thompson, General Manager, Utility DSM Solutions, Schneider Electric
- David Wollman, Deputy Director, Smart Grid and Cyber-Physical Systems Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
"Members of the Green Button Alliance are driving Green Button advancements, and are actively paving the way for successful Green Button DMD and CMD deployments that will help residential and commercial customers make wise energy choices, as well as help third-party application developers create innovative solutions that will span utilities and borders," said Syed Mir, Chairman of the Board, Green Button Alliance. "I'm honored to work with my fellow board members, the executive management team, and our member companies, as we prepare for significant utility adoption of Green Button DMD and CMD technology, and empower consumers to take control of their energy consumption."
Green Button Alliance members are committed to providing energy customers with easy, standardized access to their energy (electric, gas, and water usage) data to enable them to understand, manage and streamline their energy use. Building upon existing Green Button initiatives, the Green Button Alliance works to educate the energy industry and consumers about the benefits of Green Button technology; promote and market the Green Button brand; and support the development, compliance, and wide-spread adoption of Green Button energy standards. The Alliance is building a rich Green Button ecosystem comprised of utilities, energy service providers and solution providers, and is open to organizations who want to provide standardized, interoperable Green Button solutions that give consumers the power to manage their energy consumption, reduce energy costs, and save resources.
About Syed Mir, Chairman
Syed Mir is the Vice President, Corporate Services and CIO at London Hydro. He is responsible for Customer Services, Meter Services, Corporate Communications and Information Technology. As an executive committee member, he is responsible for "meter to cash" strategy, and actively pursues innovation to deliver value to London Hydro customers and stakeholders. This involves developing and executing on three year rolling strategic plans to take advantage of emerging technologies such as cloud, mobility and smart gird advancements. Mir started his career at Ontario Hydro after graduating from the University of Western Ontario. He joined London Hydro in 2010 from Ontario Power Generation where he held various vice president positions. He also serves on the Sheridan College Board of Governors.
About Mark Podorsky, Vice Chairman
Mark Podorsky is the Principal Manager, Information & Information Governance Office, Customer Service, SCE. He is responsible for the development, execution and operationalization of customer centric technology programs, customer information governance, and third party integration. Prior to his current role, he served as Senior Manager of External Parties & Future Programs. In this capacity, he managed the implementation of SCE's home area network (HAN) programs, Green Button compliance and initiatives, and established SCE's customer information governance strategy. Podorsky joined SCE in 2009 as Senior Manager of Business Design for Edison SmartConnect, SCE's award-winning smart meter program. His responsibilities included managing the overall design and integration of Edison SmartConnect products and services, as well as business processes. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Loyola University of Chicago.
About Mimi Zhang, Secretary and Treasurer
Mimi Zhang is a Product Manager at Silver Spring Networks. She is responsible for the SilverLinkTM Sensor Network platform and applications suite, which includes developing and launching data analytics products to improve utility operations. She also builds the SilverLink App Catalog of select partner applications. Before joining Silver Spring Networks, Zhang was a consultant at Navigant Consulting and Sustainable Energy Advantage, focusing on technology and regulatory quantitative analysis. She was based in the smart grid, energy storage, and renewables sectors. Zhang holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Earth and Ocean Sciences from Duke University, and a Master in City Planning degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
About Green Button Standards
The Green Button Download My Data (DMD) standard enables home owners and property managers to download their electricity usage data from their utility's website in an easy to read XML format with the simple click of a Green Button. Energy customers can now quickly and easily view their historical energy usage for the previous 13 months, along with their current energy usage, analyze trends, and make informed energy management choices.
Extending upon the Green Button DMD process, the Green Button Connect My Data (CMD) standard allows customers to authorize direct, secure transfers of their electricity usage data to web and mobile apps for computers, tablets and smart phones to enable them to easily manage and conserve their energy usage. In addition, due to the use of common, standardized Green Button technology, third-party developers are able to more-rapidly create and offer products, services and applications. Green Button standards are based on the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) Energy Services Provider Interface (ESPI) standard.
Call for Industry Participation
The Green Button Alliance invites participation from electric, gas and water utilities, hardware and software providers, technology integrators, and other industry stakeholders interested in joining the Green Button ecosystem to accelerate the development, deployment and proliferation of Green Button technology. For more information, or to join the Green Button Alliance, please email membership@greenbuttonalliance.org.
About Green Button Alliance
The Green Button Alliance (GBA) is a non-profit corporation formed to foster the development, compliance, and wide-spread adoption of the Green Button standard. The Green Button Alliance advances the Green Button initiative, a White House-inspired challenge to the electric utility industry to give consumers access to their energy usage information in a downloadable, standardized format. The Green Button initiative was created with the support of the White House, the Department of Energy (DOE), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP), and the Utility Communications Architecture International Users Group (UCAIug). The Green Button Download My Data (DMD) and Connect My Data (CMD) standards are based on the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) Energy Services Provider Interface (ESPI) standard. For more information, or to join the Green Button Alliance, please visit http://www.greenbuttonalliance.org.
Green Button Alliance, Green Button, GreenButton Download My Data, GreenButton Connect My Data, and the Green Button logo are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of departments of the United States of America and/or the Green Button Alliance. All other marks are property of their respective owners.