Decarbonizing complex energy systems is hard.

Grant Jones

Director

Grant is a founding member of Updraft Energy with expertise in energy systems, clean transportation, and the policy environments shaping sustainability.

He has demonstrated experience bringing together diverse stakeholder groups, supporting innovation in clean energy, and navigating complex regulatory and funding landscapes. At the Environmental Protection Agency, Grant helped lead program design for billion-dollar funding opportunities, including the Clean School Bus and Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles programs. As Deputy Director for Sustainability at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, he implemented strategies for decarbonizing the federal government's electricity consumption, including 24/7 carbon-free energy and clean energy procurement strategies across hundreds of vertically integrated and retail choice utility markets. He also developed the first tool for applying the social cost of greenhouse gases to federal energy procurement. Grant holds an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering focused on energy and sustainability from Boston University and a B.S. in Commerce from Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business.

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Sam Cutler-Tucker

Director

Sam is a founding member of Updraft Energy with a track record of translating sustainability goals into benchmarked plans, funded initiatives, and recognized results.

He works with colleges and universities on campus decarbonization, net-zero planning, and sustainability program development, and guides institutions through higher education sustainability frameworks like the Carnegie Elective Classification for Sustainability and AASHE STARS. Before Updraft, he led teams that built complex supply chain and validation processes into robust, data-driven systems. He also managed the qualification methods and international distribution that took an enzymatic DNA synthesis printer to market. His scientific career began in ancient DNA research, recovering and sequencing genomes from specimens tens of thousands of years old. He holds a B.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and is a fellow in the 2026 Clean Energy Leadership Institute cohort.

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Steve Letendre, PhD

Senior Advisor

Dr. Letendre is an energy economist, policy researcher, and recognized pioneer in vehicle-to-grid (V2G/V2X) integration with over 20 years of experience advancing clean energy through regulatory strategy, market innovation, and stakeholder engagement. His work centers on unlocking the value of distributed energy resources, flexible loads, and bidirectional electric vehicles to support a more reliable, affordable, and efficient electric grid.

He has led regulatory affairs at two leading V2G companies, Fermata Energy and Nuvve, where he developed and executed strategies to shape state and federal policy, influence regulatory proceedings, and align market rules with emerging technologies. He currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Vehicle-Grid Integration Council (VGIC), where he helps shape policy and regulatory strategy around grid modernization, transportation electrification, and vehicle-grid integration.

Dr. Letendre is the founder and editor of V2G News, a leading independent biweekly newsletter for professionals following vehicle-grid integration, bidirectional charging, and related policy and market developments. He advises early-stage companies and other organizations on grid-edge technologies, regulatory strategy, utility engagement, distributed energy resource economics, energy markets, and commercialization. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member at Vermont Law School, where he teaches courses on energy regulation and policy.

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