American Clean Power Association Announces Senior Hires

WASHINGTON DC, March 9, 2021 – The American Clean Power Association (ACP) today announced appointments to two newly created senior positions as it works to further enhance the organization’s multi-technology leadership expertise.

Heather Meier joins ACP as Chief Strategy Officer where she will be responsible for bringing ACP’s mission and vision to life internally and externally. Additionally, Heather 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.

Heather was most recently Senior Director of Strategy and Operations in the External Affairs Division at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) where she served for the past three years. Prior to TNC, Heather was at General Mills for more than 16 years, with the majority of her time in senior management roles in the Finance and Global Business Solutions division. She brings extensive global operational experience for both corporate and non-profit organizations, including setting business unit and organizational level strategy, leading financial operations, and leading human resources processes.

Vanessa Sciarra joins ACP as Vice President of Trade and International Competitiveness. In this role, she will focus on addressing key challenges and opportunities the industry faces in supply chain, domestic production, trade imports and exports, and workforce. Her purview includes legislative, regulatory, and policy initiatives.

Prior to ACP, Vanessa was Vice President of Legal Affairs and Trade and Investment Policy at the National Foreign Trade Council for the past four years. She brings extensive experience in international trade matters in the federal government, having previously served in the roles of Vice President of the Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT), as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, and as Assistant General Counsel with the Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). A member of the District of Columbia Bar, she has also been in private practice at the law firms of Cassidy Levy Kent LLC and Holland & Knight LLP.

“I am excited to bring Heather and Vanessa onboard as we strive to help advance a clean power decade that delivers the economic and environmental benefits of wind, solar, storage, and transmission to American communities across the country. They each bring their own unique experiences to the task of moving ACP and the industry forward at a time when there is not a moment to waste.” – Heather Zichal, ACP CEO.