Billions in federal and state dollars are still flowing—and clean fuels stakeholders are increasingly well-positioned to tap in. From DOT’s Port Infrastructure Development Program to rail and airport improvement grants, public investment is helping modernize the backbone of the fuels supply chain. This session explores key funding opportunities available now and in the near future and highlights how some clean fuels leaders are already putting these programs to work.
Speakers:
Brad Wilson
President & General Manager
Western Iowa Energy/Agron Bioenergy
Brad Wilson joined the Western Iowa team in 2011 as the Chief Financial Officer and was named Western Iowa Energy’s Vice President in early 2012 and Executive Vice President in late 2014. He was voted to the Iowa Biodiesel Board in 2013 and served as the organization’s chair from 2019 – 2022. He serves as the director and in leadership positions for the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.
Wilson began his career in the Agribusiness industry with Gardiner & Company, CPAs as a financial auditor, auditing farmer-owned cooperatives across the central U.S. Since then, he’s worked as an Internal Auditor and Business Analyst with West Central Cooperative in Ralston, Iowa. While at WCC, he spearheaded accounting and finance functions for the company’s network of biodiesel plants.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Central Oklahoma and a Master of Business Administration degree from Iowa State University. He and his wife, Brandy, have seven children and two grandchildren.
Colin Huwyler
CEO
Optimus Technologies
Colin Huwyler is a veteran of the renewable fuels industry. Prior to becoming CEO of Optimus, he was the founder and CEO of Fossil Free Fuel, a renewable fuel company, and was the Director of Research and Technology at Steel City Biofuels, a biodiesel program of Penn State University. Huwyler is the co-inventor on a number of Optimus patents, holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, and earned a certificate in Entrepreneurial Leadership from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business.
Moderator:
Jill Hamilton
President
Sustainable Energy Strategies, Inc.
Jill Hamilton is President of Sustainable Energy Strategies, Inc. (SESI). She has more than 30 years of providing fundraising and business development consulting for the alternative transportations fuels industry. Over the past 26 years, Jill and her team have raised more than a billion dollars to expand the biofuels industry. She is a key consultant to Clean Fuels Alliance America and her team helps support the Clean Fuels Foundation. She is also a trusted advisor to the National Clean Cities Program and Chair of the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition. She will discuss funding opportunities that could benefit your company.