Paul Scharfenberger

CEO

As CEO, Paul is responsible for developing and overseeing the Colorado Clean Energy Fund’s strategic plan and day-to-day tactical operations. Paul combines a unique and extensive background in traditional finance, operations management, and energy management that spans more than 20 years. Paul began his career in investment banking before consciously transitioning to the energy field where he was able to combine his financial acumen with his passion for energy management and sustainability.

Paul’s transition into the energy field began in 2008 when he worked in the Commercialization and Deployment and Project Finance divisions of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). After several years at NREL, Paul transitioned to the Colorado Energy Office where he would remain for the next seven years of his career, ultimately becoming its Chief Operating Officer. While at the Energy Office, Paul developed various public private partnerships that deployed >$150M towards various clean energy projects. Most notably, Paul was the lead author of multiple pieces of legislation that enabled Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) in Colorado and he Chaired the Board of Directors that created and launched the highly successful Colorado C-PACE program.

After leaving the public sector in July 2018, Paul became the Chief Financial Officer for a mid-sized energy management and sustainability firm headquartered in Denver, Colorado where he oversaw the financial, accounting, and operational facets of the organization. However, after approximately one year with that firm, Paul enthusiastically accepted the role of Executive Director of the Colorado Clean Energy Fund.

In addition to a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Finance from Fairfield University in Connecticut, Paul holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a focus in Finance and a Master of Science (MS) with a focus in energy policy, markets, and technologies from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Eric Drummond

Board Member

Eric Drummond is an entrepreneur, business development ecosystem builder, and a former partner at one of the globe’s largest international law firms, now with 48 offices in 22 countries. He has more than 25 years of business, and complex administrative law experience, with a focus in emerging technology, next generation digital architecture, and alternative energy issues.

Mr. Drummond was elected Mayor of a small community in Colorado in 2007. He also has represented the U.S. Department of Energy in the Loan Guaranty Program and led the development of the then-largest High Concentrating Solar PV generation plant in the world. Mr. Drummond was appointed to Colorado’s Renewable Energy Development Team by the Governor in 2011 and in 2012, he was asked to assist in creating the National Renewable Energy Lab’s (NREL) Energy Fellows Institute, where he founded the Clean Energy Generation program and ultimately served as Expert-in-Residence and Co-Managing Director.

In 2013, Mr. Drummond was appointed by the President of the Senate to the Board of Colorado’s Venture Capital Authority, the State’s premier seed and early stage institutional venture fund and currently serves as the Board Chair. Internationally recognized, he founded the Innovation Corridor, a unique B2B technology enhancement and investment platform, in 2016. An advocate of innovation, job creation, and the business community, Mr. Drummond was appointed to the 5-member Foundation Board of Directors of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colorado in 2014. UCAR manages the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the nation’s premiere federally funded research lab in weather forecasting, climate, and the earth sciences. 

He received his Undergraduate Degree in Philosophy (emphasis in Symbolic Logic and First-Order Predicate Calculus) from the University of Texas at Austin and his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas School of Law.

Jennifer Gremmert

EOC

Jennifer Gremmert is the Executive Director of Energy Outreach Colorado (EOC), a non-profit organization empowering people through energy security. Ms. Gremmert has worked for numerous nonprofit organizations including, the national office of Junior Achievement, Up With People, the University of Arizona and the University of California. She has served on the Board of Directors of the National Energy and Utility Affordability Coalition and as Chair of both the Governor’s Commission on Low-Income Energy Assistance and the Colorado Utility Consumer Board.

In 2017 and again in 2020, Ms. Gremmert was recognized as one of the Denver Business Journal’s “Top Women in Energy”. She has extensive expertise in regulatory and programmatic solutions to ensure that vulnerable families have access to affordable, reliable home energy. 

Ms. Gremmert received her Masters of Nonprofit Management from Regis University and her undergraduate degrees in Economics and Political Science from the University of Arizona.