Chambers

National Leadership Council

National Leadership Council

The National Leadership Council (“The Council”) is an invite-only advisory board of chamber of commerce and economic development executives who provide leadership and guidance to CICE. The Council promotes clean energy and innovation leadership from chambers of commerce, advocates for strong clean energy policy, and serves as a national speakers bureau for CICE.

Council executives are deeply rooted and respected in the chamber industry and represent a broad spectrum of chambers of commerce. Council members serve three-year, renewable terms.  

Virtual Meetings:

The Council meets bi-monthly* to: 

  • Discuss energy, sustainability, resilience, and climate action related issues

  • Inform CICE staff on current opportunities and issues facing chambers of commerce throughout the country

  • Plan chamber and economic development focused events

  • Strategize on building chamber support for good, strong clean energy policy at the state and national levels 

*All meetings are virtual except for an in-person meeting held in conjunction with ACCE’s annual meeting. 

Council members:

  • Renee Louzon-Benn, Executive Director, Casa Grande (AZ) Chamber of Commerce

  • Rob Elias, President & CEO, Tucson (AZ) Hispanic Chamber

  • Emily Abraham, Director, Legislative and Community Affairs, San Francisco (CA) Chamber of Commerce

  • Betsy Gardner, IOM, President & CEO Winter Park (FL) Chamber of Commerce

  • John Lai, President & CEO, Sanibel Captiva (FL) Chamber of Commerce

  • Cynthia Curry, Senior Director, Cleantech Ecosystem Expansion, Metro Atlanta (GA) Chamber of Commerce

  • Justin Groenert, CCE, IOM, Chief Strategy Officer, Evansville (IN) Regional Economic Partnership

  • Bryan Fox, Vice President of Public Policy, Greater Durham (NC) Chamber of Commerce

  • Brian Dicken, MOD, IOM Vice President, Advocacy and Strategic Initiatives, Toledo (OH) Regional Chamber of Commerce

  • Niki Huber, IOM, Legislative Director, Greenville (SC) Chamber of Commerce

Please contact Kate Teel at kteel@chambersforinnovation.com or 704.880.0623, for more information.