Cathy Zoi, Executive Chairman/Co-Founder
Cathy served in the Obama Administration as Assistant Secretary and Acting Under Secretary of Energy where she oversaw more than $30 billion in energy investments. She was the founding CEO of Frontier Power (a subsidiary of SunEdison), the Alliance for Climate Protection (established by U.S. Vice President Al Gore), and the Sustainable Energy Development Authority. Cathy has also been an investor at Silver Lake and Bayard Capital and serves on several boards. She was Chief of Staff for Environmental Policy in the Clinton White House and she pioneered the Energy Star program at the US EPA. Cathy has a B.S. in Geology (Hons) from Duke University and a M.S. in Engineering from Dartmouth.
Emily McAteer, CEO/Co-Founder
Emily was Chief Revenue Officer of Frontier Power, a SunEdison subsidiary developing solar microgrids in India and Africa. Emily also worked in advanced energy management at EnerNOC and Yahoo, developed climate investment solutions at RiskMetrics Group, and received a Fulbright Fellowship to address off-grid solar lighting solutions in rural India. Emily holds a BA from Brown University, an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Ben Shinyambala
VP of Engineering
Before coming to the United States, Benjamin grew up in various parts of Tanzania, and has first-hand accounts of the challenges of living in areas with limited access to electricity. Ben has over 10 years of experience designing, implementing and leading development of scalable enterprise software applications using cloud based and non-cloud based architecture across numerous industries. Ben holds an M.S in Applied Computer Science from Northwest Missouri State University.
Eitan Hochster
VP of Business Development
Eitan was Director of Business Development at at Lumos Global, one of the largest providers of solar home systems in Western Africa. At Lumos, Eitan was responsible for financing of solar assets and business partnerships. Eitan also has experience in clean energy finance at the Connecticut Green Bank, emerging markets mobile payments, and cleantech venture capital. Eitan has an MBA and Masters of Environmental Management from Yale University.
Hunter Dudley
Product Manager
Hunter has seen and experienced the growing potential of mini-grids and distributed generation throughout his career. He was a project engineer at Sunlabob Renewable Energy in Myanmar, developing on- and off-grid renewable projects, including the first commercial rooftop solar system in the country. Hunter also helped launch Enphase Energy’s AC Battery energy storage product. Hunter holds a BS and MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University.
Tamara Sinensky
Senior Program Manager
Tammy has a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with a focus in Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Systems Modeling as well as an Environmental Studies Graduate Certificate in Energy Analysis and Policy from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She has 10 years of experience in software program management across multiple sectors, including 2 years in the US utility industry.
Ben Ridge
Senior Software Engineer
Ben arrived at Odyssey Energy Solutions after nearly 20 years experience developing web applications across a spectrum of industries including agile project management, print publishing, healthcare, and auto fleet management. An avid traveler and enthusiastic volunteer, he chose Odyssey so he could spend his time contributing to global access to electricity.
Rob Morgan
Software Engineer
Rob has a background in graphic and web design as well as developing and testing web applications for startup SaaS companies. Rob is certified as a frontend developer by Turing School of Software & Design in Denver, CO and holds a B.B.A. in Finance from Oklahoma Baptist University.
Yoshiyuki Takahashi
Software Engineer
Yoshiyuki was a front-end developer with the government contractor, Telesis Corporation. Yoshiyuki has more than 15 years of professional IT experience in Japan as a developer, development support technician, and testing engineer for Microsoft. Yoshiyuki has a B.S. in Electrical and Electronics System Engineering from Teikyo University.
Vanessa Zalane
Product Associate
Vanessa has experience working as an expert on linear assets & structures civil works for ELIA and as a Product Owner for Engie on international digital projects. She speaks French, English, and Dutch. Vanessa holds a MSc in Industrial Engineering in Construction from ECAM Brussels Engineering School & a MSc in Management from the Solvay Business School.
Jessica Ognibene
Operations Analyst
Jessica worked at the US National Energy Renewable Energy Laboratory on alternative fuels and transportation trends. Jessica holds a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering from University of Colorado, with a focus on biology and ecology.
Support & Partnerships
The Odyssey platform was incubated within Factor[e] Ventures and the Shell Foundation, and is supported by the Department for International Development (DFID), Power Africa (US AID), and the DOEN Foundation.
