LORI MITCHELL
Director
Lori Mitchell brings over 25 years of expertise in the renewable energy and utility industries. Since 2017, she built and led San José Clean Energy (SJCE) for the City of San José, providing clean energy at fair rates to 350,000 homes and businesses. As the Director of the City’s Energy Department, she also oversees the City’s climate action plan, Climate Smart. Under Lori’s leadership, SJCE met the state’s 2030 renewable energy target six years ahead of schedule, decreased San José’s emissions from electricity by 75% since 2008, and delivered nearly $100 million in customer savings through 2025. Looking ahead, she is guiding SJCE through its next phase of growth as data center development in San José could double or triple local electricity demand, working to ensure that growth is met with reliable, renewable, carbon-free power without compromising the fair rates SJCE customers depend on. Prior to this, Lori spent a decade with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, where she managed energy efficiency projects, renewable energy initiatives, hydro-electric supply, and power scheduling operations. Her extensive experience also includes senior engineering roles at PowerLight and SunPower Corporation, focusing on leading-edge renewable energy projects. Lori holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Resources Engineering from Cal Poly Humboldt and an MBA from Texas A&M University. She is a licensed Mechanical Engineer in California and has contributed to energy policy and research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the California Energy Commission, and the California Air Resources Board.
ZACH STRUYK
Assistant Director
Since 2018, first as Deputy Director of Account Management and Marketing and now as Assistant Director, Zach has provided executive leadership and guidance on daily operations, as well as successfully leading many initiatives to support the start-up of SJCE. As Assistant Director, Zach effectively serves as the Chief Operations Officer of SJCE, overseeing finance, budget, and administration, risk management, account services, marketing and communications, and customer programs. He gained more than 15 years of experience with the solar energy company SunPower Corporation, where he held a variety of roles in sales and business development for both distributed generation and utility scale projects. Zach’s tenure at SunPower included almost a decade in Asia, where he launched and oversaw major growth initiatives in Korea and Japan. Zach received a BS in Chemistry from Stanford University, an MS in Environmental Science from the University of California at Berkeley, and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management.
