Board
Dietmar Detering
After growing up on a dairy farm in Germany, Dietmar Detering earned his Ph.D. in political science in 1999 at Münster University. He then moved to New York City and built an online event publishing business (EventMe! Inc.), which he sold in 2021. He has served in volunteer leadership roles with several community organizations while raising two daughters with his wife. Passionate about environmental protection since he was a teenager, Dietmar started focusing on nuclear power advocacy in 2018. Besides his activities in New York, he is also a member of Germany’s Nuklearia group.
Eric Dawson
Eric has been a web designer for professionals & small businesses for over 10 years. His interest in using innovative technology to address environmental issues has led him to invest in venture capital funds focused on resource efficiency. In addition, he has become involved in local, grassroots groups in New York City focused on finding bipartisan solutions to various social problems.
Isuru Seneviratne
Isuru is a rigorous finance professional with two decades’ experience in investment diligence, policy advocacy, and sustainable business development. Since 2024, he works with the multidisciplinary team at LucidCatalyst to solve the energy and climate challenges at scale and speed, while enhancing business and social prosperity. Isuru advocates for durable and effective climate policies and reliable and affordable energy systems. He founded Radiant Value Management in 2015 to pursue undervalued opportunities spanning energy resources and technology. He has a Master’s in Sustainability from Harvard Extension School and the Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting accreditation from Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (IFRS Foundation).
Leonard Rodberg
Leonard Rodberg, PhD, a theoretical physicist by training, is Professor Emeritus of Urban Studies at Queens College, City University of New York, where he taught for 35 years, including 22 years as Departmental Chair, until retiring in 2016. He has a background in nuclear physics, public policy, and health care policy. At Queens College, he taught courses on computer-based analysis of urban problems, health policy, and climate change. Early in his career he was chief of the Science Policy Office in the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency within the US State Department.
Keith Schue
Keith spent five years with The Nature Conservancy in Florida, working on the impact of human development and infrastructure on ecosystems, habitat fragmentation, and large-landscape conservation. Applying his knowledge and experience as an electrical engineer, he currently reviews & comments on energy policy.
Staff
Bhumi Sharma
Bhumi Sharma is a graduate student at Columbia University’s Climate School, specializing in climate policy and disaster resilience. She currently serves as an IMPACT Scholar and is a recipient of the prestigious Climate and Society Fellowship. Bhumi is a member of YOUNGO, the official Children and Youth Constituency to the UNFCCC, where she serves on the Global Coordination Team and led the 19th Conference of Youth (COY19) in Baku, Azerbaijan, alongside COP29. She has previously served as the MTE Climate Ambassador for World Bank. Her work is rooted in advancing youth and Indigenous peoples’ empowerment for climate action.
Jahnavi Nidamangala
Jahnavi Nidamangala is a graduate of Columbia University’s Sustainability Management program, specializing in climate finance and sustainable development. She has worked with the World Bank on green budgeting and disclosure strategies, and previously served as a Teach for India Fellow, where she built public-private partnerships to advance educational equity and women’s financial literacy. Her work focuses on the intersection of policy, finance, and stakeholder engagement to drive equitable climate solutions.
Advisors
F. Scott Cicora
Scott began his career in the late 70s as Production Engineer at Solarex Corporation, the first firm dedicated to terrestrial solar, and retired in 2021 as Senior Director of International Sales for Enphase Energy. In between, he spent 26 years at Hewlett-Packard in technical and leadership roles. While a longtime supporter, Scott recognizes the limitations of solar and sees nuclear as crucial to solving the climate crisis. A strong partnership between government and the private sector can solve remaining challenges to nuclear—just as direction and innovation drove solar costs from $80 to $0.20 per Watt. Scott was among the first 1,000 trained by Al Gore’s Climate Project and has trained over 1,000 others on climate action. He’s also a certified Atomic Ambassador with Generation Atomic.
Carl Perez
A native New Yorker, Carl began his nuclear adventure in his last year of undergraduate studies at Babson College. As CEO of Elysium Industries, a molten salt reactor company, he led its partnerships, technology development, and government relations for a decade. In 2022, he co-founded Exodys Energy, a nuclear fuel recycling vendor, alongside U.S. Navy nuclear system designers and recycling operators from La Hague in France. He advises several nuclear initiatives within industry and government, such as Nuclear Energy Institute’s Recycling Task Force and coauthored the latest “Molten Salt Reactor & Thorium Fuel Cycle” textbook.
Ryan Pickering
Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, Ryan is an energy developer and policy expert with a Political Science degree from Loyola Marymount University and advanced studies in Energy Innovation at Stanford University. As co-founder of the Nuclear is Clean Energy (NiCE) Club at UC Berkeley, he helped extend operations at Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. He serves as Crew Facilitator for the Department of Energy’s Consent-Based Siting Consortia, advancing nuclear fuel storage with tribal consent, and contributes to the DOE’s Pathways to Commercial Liftoff reports. A speaker at global forums like COP28 and Climate Week NYC, Ryan advocates for integrating nuclear and renewable energy to drive sustainable development and global peace.
Ethan Bodnaruk
Ethan is a transplant from the dry southwest of Tucson, Arizona to the lush, four season climate of the Ithaca area in Upstate NY. He is a licensed professional engineer and is a practice manager leading a team of water/wastewater professionals. He also holds a degree in nuclear engineering from North Carolina State University and advocates for nuclear energy as part of his professional interest in and commitment to human health and the preservation of the environment. He is the founder of Nuclear New York’s Southern Tier chapter covering south central NY.