"Sustainable Energy"

Julia Burrows
Julia joined the Valley Vision team in May 2010  as a Managing Partner within the Green Capital Alliance team. She will work on specific projects to foster growth in sustainability initiatives and the green and clean technology sector in the Sacramento region. She is also serving as a project manager for the Greenwise Sacramento initiative launched by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson through an agreement between the Mayor’s Office and Valley Vision.

Julia worked for the City of Roseville for the past 22 years, most recently as Deputy City Manager and Economic Development Manager.  Julia’s economic development efforts included a focus on sustainability at the local and regional levels.  She jointly led the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s “Clean Green Team” delegation to Washington, D.C. for the past four years.  She is an expert in local climate action planning and multi-hazard mitigation.  Julia supervised the City’s media team and government access channel for many years and was the catalyst behind Roseville’s award-winning entry in the 2009 Rose Parade, celebrating Roseville’s Centennial.

In 2000, Julia was named one of the Sacramento Business Journal’s “40 under 40 Young Professionals” and in 2006 was selected as one of five Sacramento area “Women Who Mean Business” by the Business Journal.  In 2007, Julia received the Athena Award from the Roseville Chamber of Commerce, the highest award bestowed annually to a woman in the community.  She received her Bachelor’s in Environmental Policy Analysis & Planning from UC Davis.  Julia is a Class XII graduate of the American Leadership Forum, President of the St. Albans Country Day School Executive Board, and Secretary of the Placer Breast Cancer Endowment.


Renée Taylor
Renée Taylor was elected to the SMUD Board of Directors in 2008. She represents Ward 1, which includes Fair Oaks, Citrus Heights, Orangevale and Foothill Farms. She was previously appointed to a vacant seat in 2007.

Taylor is a near-lifetime resident of Sacramento County. She has an extensive record of community involvement, both through her communications consulting firm and through numerous volunteer and appointed positions. As sole proprietor of Forma Communications since 1993, Taylor has
worked for public- and private-sector clients in a variety of industries, including energy, transportation and land development. In 1998, she led the formation of the Fulton Avenue Improvement Association and served as its Executive Director for three years.

Taylor served more than seven years on Sacramento County planning councils. She has served on the boards of the League of Women Voters of Sacramento and the Sacramento Metro Chamber, and she is currently a member of the SACTO Board of Directors. She was appointed to the American River
Parkway Plan Update Committee and is currently a member of the Fair Oaks Village Enhancement Committee.

A graduate of Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks, she holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in Fair Oaks with her husband and two daughters.


Greg Hayes
Greg Hayes is President and co-founder of Clean World Partners, LLC (CWP), which is a bio energy company building the first solid organics waste-to-energy plant in the United States using technology developed at UC Davis. Hayes is an entrepreneur who has worked in the areas of government, marketing and strategic business consulting for 20 years. He has helped build and launch very successful companies in the financial services space and serves on the advisory boards of a Bay Area consumer software start-up company and Zinc Air, which is a company focused on battery storage for renewable energy production.

Prior to creating CWP, Hayes worked for On-Site Power Systems helping to create a go-to-market strategy for its anaerobic digestion technology, which is he where he developed an appreciation for the incredible and impactful opportunity in waste conversion technology. Formerly, he helped launch Liberty Reverse Mortgage and created the brand from the ground up. His work contributed to the company’s growth from launch to the third largest reverse mortgage company in the United States in just three years. Hayes’ efforts helped lead the company to double in size each of its first three years in business and eventually led to its acquisition by Genworth Financial, Inc, a Fortune 100 company.

Previously, Hayes served as a Managing Director for the Sacramento office of the international public relations firm Hill and Knowlton. His diverse communications background also includes a position as Senior Account Manager with the Sacramento based public relations and advertising firm Runyon Saltzman & Einhorn, and as a legislative aide and press secretary to four state Senators in the California Legislature. Over the course of his career, Hayes has consulted for companies both large and small – providing public affairs assistance to Wal-Mart for seven years and to numerous small and large businesses throughout California.