About

Jane McClellan

C.E.O. and Principal

Jane leads the Portfolio Strategy and Development team at Taper, which includes Research & Development, Solutions Design, Strategic Sourcing and Strategic Project Office. Our R&D efforts focus on exploring and testing early-stage energy management solutions for large commercial clients as well as utility program business development pursuits. Solutions Design, our product management team, is responsible for designing energy savings solutions that scale and Strategic Sourcing oversees our network of installation partners and equipment vendors and managers relationships with utilities. Finally, our Strategic Project Office coordinates cross-functional initiatives to maximize collaboration and operational efficiency.

Andy Marse

Vice President of Customer Success

Andy Marse is responsible for the vision for large commercial customer retention in support of Taper’s carbon reduction and revenue goals. Andy leads a team of customer success professionals to increase the customer’s lifetime value (including each customers’ specific goals, budgets, and business requirements) and develop the internal infrastructure to scale meeting and exceeding customer expectations. The role is instrumental in ensuring the customer is deriving the value they need from Taper’s services and that the customer perspective is front and center through product development, project development, and project delivery. Andy lives in Santa Cruz in a multi-generational home with his wife, two kids, and in-laws and loves playing in the mountains and ocean around Santa Cruz.

Michelle Morales

Vice President of Delivery

Michelle helps develop and coordinate processes and procedures to promote quality assurance, and oversees regulatory compliance requirements applicable to the Energy Efficiency industry. In her previous role as Senior Program Manager, Michelle provided program and client management for an array of utility programs. Offering comprehensive management of all program design, marketing, sales, delivery, and closure, she supervised and prepared budgets and the implementation of energy efficiency upgrades for both commercial and residential customers ranging from small to medium businesses to large industrial.

Chuck Tremper

Chief Operating Officer Central Services

Chuck Tremper brings a broad range of experience and expertise to Taper that he utilizes to oversee accounting, human resources, information technology, communications, compliance, risk management, facilities, governance and strategic planning for the organization. Over the past 30 years, Chuck has helped launch the AmeriCorps national service program, been a professor of both Law and Psychology, served as Chief Information Officer for large nonprofit organizations, held administrative, marketing and technical positions for software companies, provided management consulting services and conducted a variety of policy research and evaluation projects. However, his greatest fulfillment is in helping individuals and businesses take actions that benefit themselves, their businesses and the planet.

Chuck is best known as the author of As the Oceans Rise: Meeting the Challenges of Global Warming, playing doubles beach volleyball, and entertaining the staff at all-hands meetings.

Heather Henricks

Vice President of Marketing & Creative

Heather Henricks is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of Taper’s marketing strategies, marketing communications, and public relations activities. She also oversees the development and implementation of support materials in the service areas of energy, transportation, and water conservation. Heather leverages her expertise in hands-on digital project management, accountable for leading the ‘big idea’ development, execution, and management of innovative, results-oriented, cross-channel digital marketing campaigns.

Mahlon Aldridge

Vice President of Strategy

Mahlon Aldridge heads Taper’s strategic road-mapping and product development initiatives. He also leads development of strategic partnerships with top firms from across the energy and finance industries as well as with public agencies and foundations. With our team since 1993, Mahlon founded our energy efficiency consulting practice and led the team through its start-up and early rapid growth stages, building to a team of 35 professionals and $6M in revenue per year in three years. Prior to his career in energy efficiency, Mahlon ran an independent consulting practice designing and establishing multiple community-based initiatives focusing on ocean protection and solid/hazardous waste reduction. Mahlon earned a BA in Environmental Policy from UC Santa Cruz, and sits on the Board of the California Energy Efficiency Industry Council.

Jon Hirt

VP of Construction Services and Safety

Jon brings decades of experience and expertise to Taper that he utilizes to oversee all aspects of construction and safety for our leading-edge energy and refrigerant management projects. Over the course of his career, Jon has led commercial construction teams through many multifaceted projects focused on energy. He has extensive experience in general construction process development and execution from within both large and small organizations. When not focused on daily tasks, Jon enjoys mentoring others and focusing on building relationships within the industry.

Jim Murphy

Board of Directors

Jim Murphy leads Taper as CEO, overseeing the implementation and delivery of all products, services, and programs. Jim has led our energy business through extensive and successful growth since 2012, using his ability to hold the long-term vision while also providing innovative solutions. Prior to his appointment as CEO at Taper, Jim served as Vice President of Energy, a role in which he grew our energy division contracts to more than $50 million in a single year. Before helping establish Taper, Jim spent more than 20 years marketing, managing and developing strategic growth products and services for businesses and organizations across California. Jim has also provided management consulting services to energy efficiency, renewable energy and green building businesses.

Jim is best known for marathon meetings, tracking radio tagged venomous snakes at night in the jungles of Costa Rica and spending his limited free time coaching young people in swimming and soccer.

Ilse Lopes

Board of Directors

Prior to retiring in 2008, Ms. Lopes was the Director of Physical Plant at University of California Santa Cruz. In her role as Director she was responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the facilities including buildings and grounds as well as overall utilities management. She oversaw conservation programs including energy conservation, recycling, integrated pest management, water conservation, “green” cleaning and was instrumental in creating the office of sustainability and overseeing the first campus sustainability assessment in 2007. Before assuming the position of Director of Physical Plant in 2001 she served as Director of Health and Safety at UCSC for ten years.

Before joining UCSC she worked for Santa Cruz County Environmental Health Service as the Program Manager for the Hazardous Materials and Solid Waste programs. In this capacity she implemented the first hazardous materials ordinance for the County, and created the first ongoing household hazardous waste collection center and countywide 24-hour spill response program.

Doug Mahone

Board of Directors

Doug Mahone joined the Taper Board after retiring from a forty year career in energy efficiency. After completing his architecture degree at MIT, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor to research and teach solar energy and building science subjects. He then left MIT to join a pioneering solar energy firm in New Hampshire, which lasted until Reagan discontinued their research funding. That precipitated a move to California. Once here, Doug worked for several Bay Area energy firms, getting involved in energy simulations, daylighting design, and energy codes. In 1994, he and his wife, Lisa Heschong, started the Heschong Mahone Group in the Sacramento area. HMG grew to 40 employees and three offices, becoming known for their work in energy codes, program evaluation and implementation, and building science research. Along the way, Doug helped form the New Buildings Institute, the Cool Roofs Rating Council, and the California Energy Efficiency Industry Council. In 2013, HMG was sold to TRC Energy Services, so Doug and Lisa retired and moved to Santa Cruz. In addition to joining the Taper Board, Doug serves on the California Technical Forum. When not working, Doug is a bluewater sailor, horseman, hiker, and granddad. He has undergraduate and Master’s Degrees in architecture from MIT.

Ken Ketch

Board of Directors

Ken has founded, managed and sold several manufacturing and retail companies and has served as CEO of two publicly traded companies. As an organizational development consultant, Ken has worked with numerous organizations to improve performance through developing and continuously learning from data that supports the right conversations that build business literacy, leading to appropriate allocation of resources and responsibilities.