American Clean Power Association Announces Senior Hires

WASHINGTON DC, April 1, 2021 – The American Clean Power Association (ACP) today announced two new senior appointments as part of its continued transformation of the association’s executive leadership team. Both positions start April 5.

Rod O’Connor joins ACP as Chief Commercialization and Engagement Officer where he’ll spearhead the long-term research and development strategy to identify, vet, and launch new products and services that diversify and expand the association’s offerings. Additionally, he’ll oversee the Meetings & Education and Member Value divisions. While the association continues to unroll its multi-tech policy agenda, O’Connor will also serve as the architect of ACP’s advocacy team activation plan tied to the organization’s strategic priorities.

O’Connor is President of the ROC Group where he advises leaders in business, government, and politics through strategic transitions. He has recently served as an Executive Producer for the 2021 Presidential Inaugural, a policy advisor for the recent Presidential transition, and he led the effort to re-imagine the four-day 2020 Democratic National Convention as a virtual event during the Covid pandemic. Previously, he was Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Energy during the Obama administration. His experience in the administration is bookended by two stints at AEG, the world’s largest sports and live entertainment company, as SVP and EVP of Facilities and Sports. Additional roles in his career include Principal of The Messina Group and Global Head of Communications and External Affairs for McCourt Global.

Jason Clark joins ACP as Chief Strategy Officer responsible for bringing ACP’s mission and vision to life internally and externally. Additionally, Jason will oversee efforts to build relationships with industry and non-profit organizations and forge partnerships and alliances in the renewable energy advocacy space to advance the country’s transition to a majority renewable energy portfolio.

Clark was most recently a Partner and the Vice President of Strategy for Ballast Research, the consulting firm retained by the founding member companies of ACP to help conceptualize and drive the formation of the new association. In his role at Ballast, he advised leading trade associations in DC as well as their corporate members. Clark was one of the original team members of the firm, which was acquired by a private equity investor at the end of 2020.

Clark’s appointment marks a shift in roles for ACP’s Heather Meier who will now serve as Chief Operations Officer where she’ll play a lead role in the growth and expansion of ACP overseeing Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Operations.

“As we continue to grow the organization and advance our policy priorities, Rod, Jason, and Heather bring incredible talent and experience to the ACP leadership team responsible for setting and meeting our organization’s goals. Their contributions will advance ACP’s value proposition to members and industry stakeholders alike as we advance clean power’s leadership role in becoming America’s dominant electricity source.” – Heather Zichal, ACP CEO