Our People
Officers
Anthony Smith, PhD
President & Founder
Anthony brings over 40 years’ experience in energy efficiency, solar energy, and community economic development in Vermont, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia. He founded Secure Solar Futures in 2004 as CEO and President and leads the company’s innovation development and strategic partnerships. He serves as a founding board member of the Virginia Renewable Energy Alliance (VA-REA). He served as co-director and associate professor of the Eastern Mennonite University MBA program from 2008 to 2015. He earned his Masters in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, and a PhD from the Wharton School of Management, University of Pennsylvania.
Macon Rich
Chief Executive Officer
Macon has been engaged with the financial direction of Secure Solar Futures since its inception. He has applied the skills and knowledge gained from almost 40 years in financial and management positions in a variety of industries including banking, supply chain logistics and media. He is proud to have reached the point of impacting not just the region—but potentially the world—for a more sustainable future.
Maggie Davison
Chief Operating Officer
Maggie has spent most of her career in the management and organizational development of small business with a focus on the telecommunication industry. Through her position at Secure Solar Futures, she combines her skill set and passion for a cleaner future to bring positive change to fruition.
Staff
Matthew Anderson
Business Development Associate
Matthew is a true West Virginia native. He has over 20 years experience as an entrepreneur in multiple fields such as IT, construction, and manufacturing. He enjoys networking and relationship building through sales and business development. A major driving factor in his life is finding ways to save clients money and developing new career opportunities in regions where they may have not existed before.
Nick Blanton
Associate Director, Finance & Technology
Nick brings 15 years’ experience in small business formation and management to Secure Solar Futures. He studied Economics at the University of Virginia and holds a master’s degree in Renewable Energy and Sustainability Systems from Penn State University, where he focused his studies on critical minerals management and grid transformation in support of widespread solar and wind integration.
Erik Curren
Director of Marketing & E-Transportation
Erik has spent more than a decade in marketing for residential and commercial solar companies. He has published three books on solar power and advocacy for clean energy, including The Solar Patriot: Helping America Win Clean Energy Independence in 2017. Erik enjoys helping America fight climate change and creating a 21st-century energy economy using the power of business and innovation.
Lisa Farwell
Senior Asset Manager
Lisa has spent over 20 years in banking, branch, and operations management with 10 years of project management experience in the financial industry. She enjoys being a part of bringing greener energy alternatives to Secure Solar Futures’ clients and educational opportunities and career development to communities in the region. She values being involved in a growing industry within the purpose-driven framework of B Corp standards.
Cindy Fridley
Business Office Manager
Cindy is new to the solar industry. Most recently, she worked in the financial services industry as Client Operations Manager. She enjoys working in, and learning about, an industry that advances clean energy opportunities to provide a more positive outcome for our future.
Daniel Hall
Business Development Associate
Daniel Hall is the president and co-founder of Access Strategies. With almost two decades of experience in government and politics, Daniel possesses the knowledge and relationships to successfully represent his clients’ interests. Before his career in the solar industry and government affairs, Daniel served two terms in the West Virginia House of Delegates (2009-2012) before being elected to West Virginia State Senate (2013-2016). During his legislative time, he served as chairman for several committees and ultimately as Senate Majority Whip.
Priya “PK” Kurani
Customer Solutions Manager
PK has spent her career working with corporate and non-profit organizations in New Jersey, New York and Virginia. Her skills include sales, program management and event planning. She has a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy from Boston University and a Masters of Science in Social Psychology from Walden University. She enjoys volunteerism and advocating for those without a voice while prioritizing support for the environment and local communities.
Matthew McFadden
Associate Director, Business Development
Matthew has over 15 years in project and training management, over 20 years of sales experience, and is well versed in all forms of solar, storage, and energy. He enjoys making history with the first solar projects in Southwest Virginia’s coal country, meeting new people, saving clients money and developing new career opportunities in regions where they may have not existed before.
Greg Mullins
Solar Ambassador
Greg recently retired from public education, having served 39 years in the profession. He was Superintendent of Wise County Public Schools for the past seven years and during his tenure the schools partnered with Secure Solar Futures to install solar arrays on multiple building sites. Plans have been developed for the installation of arrays on the remaining school sites in the near future. Greg has spent his life in a region dependent upon fossil fuel and feels it is important to be part of the transition to green energy, to play a role in the diversification of the economy, and to promote educational growth for local students.
Ian Picard
Business Development Manager
Based in Richmond, Ian represents Secure Solar Futures throughout central, eastern and northern Virginia.
Nat Slater
Project Development Associate
Nat Slater joins Secure Solar Futures with experience in climate resilience, public health, and education spanning grassroots initiatives to international organizations. As Project Development Associate, Nat advances community-driven energy and workforce development solutions with an emphasis on health and disability. Originally from Virginia, Nat holds a MS in Environmental Humanities from the University of Utah and a BA in Environmental Analysis from Pomona College.
Loren Swartzendruber
Solar Ambassador
Loren served as a college president for 23 years, most recently at Eastern Mennonite University. He is a proponent of Secure Solar Futures’ educational offerings, workforce development projects and support for electric school buses, and firmly believes in renewable energy as the means to address the climate change crisis.
Investor Partners
Matt Ferguson
Matt is the founder and director of a new venture, Project Seastar, a catalyst of solutions rooted in autonomy that improve community and organizational effectiveness. Prior to Project Seastar, Matt served as counsel at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, where his project finance and transaction experience included tax equity structuring, the issuance or redemption of financial instruments such as facility industrial revenue bonds and cross-border aircraft leases, initial public offering advisory, tax planning and business development structuring, merger and acquisition counsel and master limited partnership and real estate investment trust formation.
Eric Hurlocker
Eric is a principal at GreenHurlocker, PLC in Richmond, where he has practiced since July 2012. With over twenty years of experience in practicing and advising clients in the areas of energy law, commercial transactions and general corporate work, Eric brings a legal perspective to Secure Solar Futures, LLC. Eric works closely with renewable energy development companies and has appeared on behalf of clients before the Virginia State Corporation Commission. He is a former partner in the Richmond, Virginia offices of Williams Mullen and former senior in-house corporate and energy attorney at PPL Corporation in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and at Virginia Power in Richmond, Virginia.
Johann Zimmermann
Johann is a principal and structural engineer at JZ Engineering, a company that provides structural engineering services for underserved and marginalized communities. He has worked and volunteered in the field of international development for over 20 years, providing his skills and talents to organizations such as the Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonite Disaster Service, Manna Inc., and Habitat for Humanity. Johann holds a B.A.Sc. in civil and structural engineering from Cornell University.
Strategic Partners
Secure Solar Futures brings well-rounded expertise for project development and deployment through proud association with the following firms.