Leadership Team
Learn more about the expertise and technical skills of the water research team and staff at NREL.
View NREL's water power team leaders below, explore our full staff listing, or check out our Beneath the Surface profiles, a series that highlights team members' stories from career paths to passion for their work and hopes for the future of renewable energy.
Al LiVecchi
Water Power Laboratory Program Manager
Al LiVecchi helped establish NREL's Water Power Program and built the technical team that focuses on marine and hydrokinetic technologies. LiVecchi is responsible for planning and executing NREL's portfolio of U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored marine and hydrokinetic and hydropower projects and has primary responsibility for establishing productive partnerships with external organizations.
Tessa Greco
Strategic Innovation and Outreach Subprogram Manager
Tessa Greco is a project and portfolio manager. Greco, who has over 13 years of experience, specializes in relationship management, mentorship, process improvement, and project management in academic and research organizations, resulting in maximum impact for individual projects and research portfolios.
Mike Lawson
Marine Energy Subprogram Manager
Michael Lawson is the water power R&D group manager at NREL. Lawson leads a team of engineers and scientists working to advancing marine energy technologies and has focused on numerical modeling and system design since joining NREL's marine energy team in 2010.
Jennifer Daw
Hydropower Subprogram Manager
Jennifer Daw is a group manager and senior researcher. With over 20 years of experience, Daw helps organizations develop strategies, programs, and operational improvements to achieve workforce and sustainability goals and supports U.S. water power growth and the integration of energy, water, and food systems.
Christa Nixon
Water Power Program Operations Lead
Christa Nixon has been at NREL since 2018 and is responsible for overseeing the planning, management, execution, and reporting of all work associated with the water power program.
Robert Thresher
Research Fellow
Bob Thresher has more than 40 years of research, development, engineering, and management experience in wind technology, plant engineering, and aerospace systems.
Jochem Weber
Chief Engineer
Jochem Weber is the chief engineer of NREL's Water Power Program, where he pursues a holistic deductive system approach to problem solving in research, science, engineering, technology, innovation, and management.
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