Our Team
Trusted Advisors for a Resilient Future
About Us
We’re a team of strategic problem-solvers, dedicated to building meaningful partnerships with our clients. We deliver impactful solutions with a commitment to integrity and compassion.
At CWE Strategies, we provide a level of expertise that you won’t find anywhere else.
With decades of experience on both the utility and regulatory side, we’ve served as executive leaders, operational staff and everything in between. With our firsthand knowledge, our clients rely on us because we understand the challenges they face and how to overcome them.
At CWE Strategies, we partner with utilities, regulators and innovators to protect people, infrastructure, and communities from the growing impacts of climate change.
Making a Positive Impact
OUR MISSION
CWE Strategies Team
Melissa Semcer
CHIEF STATEGIST + PRESIDENT
Melissa Semcer is a distinguished leader in utility wildfire mitigation and climate resilience, with extensive experience in regulatory oversight, policy development and organizational transformation. Prior to founding CWE Strategies, Melissa was appointed as the first Deputy Director of California’s Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety (OEIS) by Governor Gavin Newsom. In this position, Melissa established the directorate’s strategic direction and operational infrastructure while also leading the data-driven evaluation of electric corporation wildfire mitigation plans. Earlier in her career, she served as an Administrative Law Judge at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), where she authored key decisions on Public Safety Power Shutoffs and the California Climate Credit and facilitated complex stakeholder engagements to drive meaningful change. Melissa holds a Master of Environmental Management degree from Duke University and is a certified mediator through UC Law San Francisco.
Kristin Ralff Douglas
SENIOR CONSULTANT
Kristin Ralff Douglas has held multiple leadership roles across the energy utility industry, advancing innovative, market-based solutions to complex, multi-party issues. Most recently, at California’s Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, she led a 20-person team in developing performance-based, risk-informed guidelines for a 10-year utility undergrounding program. At the California Public Utilities Commission, she served as interim director of the Policy and Planning Division, leading efforts to address disruptions in California’s power market, and as a lead analyst developing the state’s cap-and-trade system. Earlier in her career, Kristin was the first managing director of the US Green Building Council, where she helped launch the LEED Green Building Rating System, and served as the publisher and editor of Environmental Design and Construction magazine. She holds a B.A. from Colby College.
Jessica Hecht
SENIOR CONSULTANT
Jessica Hecht brings over 25 years of public service and regulatory experience in the energy sector, with expertise in policy analysis, infrastructure safety and stakeholder engagement. After earning a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs and Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, she began her career in the non-profit sector prior to joining the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in 2001. Serving over two decades at the CPUC, she worked in roles ranging from Commissioner Advisor to Administrative Law Judge, focusing on complex regulatory issues spanning energy, telecommunications, and water. Jessica led major proceedings on wildfire safety, infrastructure reliability, greenhouse gas policy and community access to clean energy, including oversight of California’s first Wildfire Mitigation Plans, the Aliso Canyon enforcement proceeding and the creation of the California Climate Credit. A certified mediator with advanced training on conflict resolution through UC Law San Francisco, she is skilled in facilitating collaborative solutions among diverse stakeholders.
Cody Warner
CONSULTANT AND RISK EXPERT
Cody Warner is an energy and environmental economist specializing in wildfire risk analysis and climate adaptation in the electric power sector. Cody holds a Ph.D. in Energy and Resources from UC Berkeley, where his dissertation investigated the risk and cost implications of electric utility investment in wildfire mitigation. His research on the economics of utility wildfire mitigation was featured in The New York Times and was published in Nature Climate Change. As a graduate student researcher with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Electricity Markets and Policy Group, he modeled the market value of utility-scale solar and battery storage systems. Prior to Berkeley, Cody was a Senior Research Analyst at The Brattle Group, providing economic analysis on electric utility rate cases and the environmental and public health damages caused by PFCs. Cody's interests focus on helping utilities, regulators, and emerging grid technology companies evaluate wildfire mitigation investments, assess grid-related ignition risks, and navigate the complex trade-offs between safety, reliability, and affordability. He earned his BA in Economics from Northwestern University.
Johanna Robb
HEAD OF OPERATIONS
Johanna Robb is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Professional in Human Resources (PHR) with a passion for fostering positive organizational cultures and streamlining operations to help leaders and teams perform at their best. Since 2017, she has served as an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Denver’s College of Professional Studies, where she teaches graduate-level courses in team effectiveness, communication, and organizational leadership and earned the Master Teacher Award in 2020. Previously, Johanna managed large-scale clean energy initiatives and established organizational development programs at the US Department of Energy. Earlier in her career, she worked as an analyst at the California Public Utilities Commission and earned a Master’s in Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin.
Our Network
At CWE Strategies, we partner with leaders and experts across the wildfire mitigation and climate resilience industry. Based on each client’s unique needs, we can assemble robust teams with deep expertise on topics ranging from vegetation management to risk modeling. Drawing on our network, we bring the right people together to deliver meaningful results for our clients.