Electric School Bus Ambassadors
WRI's Electric School Bus Initiative is proud to partner with the Electric School Bus (ESB) Ambassadors below to support school districts as they transition to electric school buses.
ESB Ambassadors are dedicated individuals across the country using their experience in student transportation and school bus electrification to help facilitate an equitable transition to ESBs.
ESB Ambassadors share their expertise at pupil transportation and other events, in online webinars, through written articles and more. They build connections with peers in student transportation and other fields, answer questions and provide free resources to help other districts go electric.
WRI’s Electric School Bus Initiative is partnering with these Ambassadors to support districts across the country in making a successful transition to electric school buses, while centering equity in both process and outcomes.
Are you ready to help other districts get on board with electric school buses? Reach out to us to learn about becoming an Ambassador – and amplify your impact! Please contact Jessica Wang at jessica.wang@wri.org.
Ambassadors
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Keba Baldwin | Image
Craig Beaver | Image
Matt Berlin (NY) |
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Paul S. D’Andrade | Image
Tim Farquer | Image
Elizabeth Fox |
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Jackie Hayes | Image
Ken Martinez | Image
Katrina Morris |
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Donnie Owle | Image
Gilbert Blue Feather Rosas | Image
Katie Tiger |
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Casey Ungs | Image
Charles A. Webster | Image
John Wiles |
Learn more about the Electric School Bus Ambassadors:
- Keba Baldwin, Director of Transportation and Central Garage,
Prince George’s County Schools Mr. Baldwin oversees 1260 school buses across 12 bus lots and 719 fleet vehicles, servicing 85,000 students annually to over 220 schools in and out of the county. Prince George’s County Schools has just begun its electrification of the school bus fleet. Currently, there are 10 electric school buses awaiting to be deployed with 11 anticipated before the end of the school year.
- Craig Beaver, Administrator for Transportation at Beaverton School District
Craig Beaver serves as the Administrator for Transportation at the Beaverton School District in Beaverton, Oregon. With over 40 years of experience in both private and public transportation sectors, Craig oversees Oregon's largest district-owned school bus fleet. His team comprises over 300 employees and 320 buses, transporting 25,000 students daily and covering over 3 million miles annually.
In 2024, Craig was recognized as the Transportation Director of the Year by School Transportation News, celebrating his outstanding leadership and contributions to the industry. That same year, Beaverton was honored for its innovation, earning the title of Leading Public Fleet at the 2024 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo, further cementing its reputation for forward-thinking sustainability.
Under Craig’s leadership, Beaverton became the first school district in Oregon to introduce electric school buses in 2021. Today, the district operates 45 electric school buses and has installed 70 Level 2 and Level 3 chargers to support its growing fleet. In 2024, the district secured a $20 million grant from the EPA Clean School Bus Program to replace 50 diesel buses with electric models, further accelerating its transition to sustainable energy. By June 2026, Beaverton will have 95 electric school buses in service, reinforcing its commitment to clean transportation.- Matt Berlin, CEO of NYC School Bus Umbrella Services
Matt Berlin is the CEO of NYC School Bus Umbrella Services, a private, non-profit school bus company serving 800 school bus routes for New York City Public Schools and private schools in the New York Area.
NYCSBUS has been a leader in bus electrification in New York. It was funded by the state's energy research and development agency to develop New York's model electric school bus depot. It is developing a curriculum for electric bus operators and maintainers with Bronx Community College and WRI, and is establishing an electric bus training center in Queens, NY. NYCSBUS is also, with the electric utility in New York, piloting automated load management and flexible grid connections to reduce the burden of electrification on the grid. NYCSBUS was a winner of the Smart Electric Power Alliance 2024 Transportation Power Player award.
Prior to his work at NYCSBUS, during the administration of NYC Mayor Bloomberg, Matt ran the city's school bus office, and was also the first general manager of the city's bike share system.
- Paul S. D’Andrade, Executive Director for Fairfax County Public Schools
Office of Transportation Services Paul S. D’Andrade is a distinguished leader in transportation, boasting over 20 years of experience in mass transit and pupil transportation. As the Executive Director for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Office of Transportation Services, he oversees the safe transport of more than 147,000 students. Since joining FCPS in 2019, Paul has pioneered the transition to a fully electric fleet, encompassing around 2,000 vehicles. His leadership is marked by a profound commitment to safety and equity, ensuring his team effectively serves the diverse needs of the Fairfax County Public Schools community.
In his role at FCPS, Paul has been instrumental in driving forward a bold project to convert the school district's large fleet to 100% electric vehicles. His approach, deeply rooted in safety and equity, empowers his team to meet the varied transportation requirements of the students in Fairfax County with efficiency and care.
- Tim Farquer, Superintendent, Mercer County Schools
Tim is the founder and administrative lead of Bus2Grid, helping schools electrify their fleets while turning school buses into energy assets. He serves as superintendent for Mercer County Schools, and previously served as superintendent for Williamsfield Schools where he led their fleet electrification efforts. A lifelong educator from a family of educators, Tim is passionate about electrifying in a way that puts money back into classrooms.
Tim holds a master's degree in educational leadership from Bradley University and an educational specialist degree from Western Illinois University.
He lives in Williamsfield, Illinois with his wife Nadine, sons Benjamin and Cade, daughter Olivia and their various pets.
- Elizabeth Fox, Director of Auxiliary Services for the Johnson City Central School District
Starting as a school bus driver, Elizabeth Fox has been in the pupil transportation industry for the last 15 years, including seven years as a director. She has been involved in implementing and piloting electric school buses in multiple school districts in her time as a director. She is passionate about providing efficient, reliable, high-quality, student centered services that support the educational mission and vision of her district. She enjoys collaborating with other departments, administrators, parents and community partners to ensure the best outcomes for the students and staff. She is always looking for ways to improve the performance, sustainability and innovation of the auxiliary services.
Elizabeth is a Master Instructor for the New York State Education Department and a member of the Pupil Advisory Committee. She is dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of NYS students on their daily commute on the school bus. She believes that electric school buses can serve as an educational tool that can offer students a first-hand experience with new technology and encourage them to be environmentally conscious citizens all while experiencing a zero-emission bus ride.
- Jackie Hayes, Deputy Director of Transportation, Boston Public Schools
Jackie Hayes, Deputy Director of Transportation, joined the Boston Public Schools Department of Transportation in 2020 to improve strategic management of Boston's transportation vendor, who oversees school bus operations and maintenance. Boston owns a fleet of over 700 buses across three depots, which transports 22,000+ students each day to 225 schools, inside and outside of Boston. Jackie is leading the electrification of Boston's school bus fleet. Boston successfully deployed a pilot with 20 electric buses in the winter of 2023 and an additional 20 buses in 2024.
- Ken Martinez, Transportation Director, Salt Lake City Schools
Ken Martinez began as a school bus mechanic at the age of 21. By the mid-90’s he helped implement the first natural gas buses in the state of Utah. Ken advanced his career in pupil transportation from mechanic to shop foreman then to fleet manager and is now the Transportation Director at Salt Lake City School District (SLCSD).
Ken was able to champion the idea of electric school buses to his district and in 2021 SLCSD received its first four electric buses, making it the first school district to implement electric school buses in the state of Utah. Now SLCSD, under Ken’s direction, is operating 12 electric school buses with a goal of 75 electric buses by 2035.
Pioneering electric buses in the state has allowed Ken the opportunity to share insights with others interested in electric school bus conversion across the country. His experience with electric school buses has been written about in many magazine articles. He accepted the award for The Small Public Fleet at the Green Bus Summit in 2022 presented by School Transportation News. Ken works closely with Utah Clean Cities and is excited to be an ambassador for WRI.
- Katrina Morris, Transportation Director for West Shore Educational Service District and
Mason County Eastern Schools Katrina Morris is the Transportation Director for West Shore Educational Service District and Mason County Eastern Schools, and is also the Executive Director for the Michigan Association for Pupil Transportation. Katrina has been a driving force in bringing the unseen needs of transportation staff to the forefront of the education community. She has made great strides in changing the culture of transportation for the better by organizing multiple professional development trainings for school bus drivers throughout her local school districts as well as drivers from around the state. She continually champions the cause of bettering transportation for students' safety.
Katrina has worked with her local, state and county law enforcement agencies to create and execute “Proactive Response Training for School Bus Drivers,” a training that has been supported by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) and mandated throughout the state for all school bus drivers in 2021.
In her spare time, Katrina has worked alongside WRI, the It’s Electric Coalition, and MDE to spread the news about electric school buses. She will be getting her first two electric school buses next school year.- Donnie Owle, Cherokee Boys Club Service Manager
After Donnie Owle graduated from North Georgia Technical College, he went straight to work at Mountain Ford in Bryson City, North Carolina as a service manager and was there from 1986-2006. In 2006, Owle started his employment with the Cherokee Boys Club (CBC) and continues to work there as service manager.
During his time at CBC, Owle has been instrumental in transitioning the school bus fleet to alternative fuels. Owle was the project manager for a North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) grant received in 2020 to replace a diesel school bus with an electric school bus, along with installing the charging infrastructure.
- Gilbert Blue Feather Rosas, Director Sustainability & Adaptation for Modesto City Schools
Gilbert Rosas has specialized in energy conservation, emissions reductions and grant project management for the past ten years. His passion is seeking environmental justice for disadvantaged communities through electric school bus adoption and empowering students through sustainability initiatives and green career path choices.
In addition to WRI’s Electric School Bus Initiative Advisory Council, Gilbert serves on Generation 180’s Solar Advisory Council and the District Innovation Hub for the California Environmental Literacy Initiative. Gilbert has gained national attention with two of the fastest electric school bus deployments in California’s history. In 2020, Stockton Unified School District went from design to construction to buses arriving and charging in less than 11 months.
In March of 2022, Gilbert joined Modesto City Schools as Director II of the Sustainability & Adaptation Department. Modest City Schools is the 25th largest school district in California and is converting half of its existing bus fleet, while exploring funding options for full electric conversion.
- Katie Tiger, Director for Land and Wellness at The Center for Native Health,
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Katie Tiger, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, serves as the Director for Land and Wellness at The Center for Native Health (CNH). In this capacity, she facilitates community-based initiatives that underscore the intrinsic relationship between environmental health and human well-being.
Prior to her tenure at CNH, Mrs. Tiger was employed in the Air Quality Program of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Natural Resources Department for 17 years. During that time, she successfully administered numerous grants from diverse funding agencies. Notably, in 2021, Mrs. Tiger authored and secured a grant to implement the electric school bus (ESB) initiative, which facilitated the replacement of a diesel school bus with the first electric school bus in the state of North Carolina. Subsequently, she procured two additional grants to replace the entire diesel school bus fleet of the Cherokee Boys Club with ESBs and continues to support this work for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Mrs. Tiger demonstrates a profound commitment to introducing alternative energy and fuel solutions to the Cherokee community, thereby promoting a healthier environment for Cherokee families and natural resources. Mrs. Tiger has actively participated in national organizations and committees, such as the National Tribal Air Association and the Tribal Air Monitoring Support Center steering committee, where she held the position of tribal chairperson. She also served as the Region 4 tribal representative on the EPA National Tribal Science Council for 15 years.
Mrs. Tiger holds a Bachelor of Science from Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas.
- Casey Ungs, Transportation Director for Steamboat Springs School District
Casey Ungs is a high energy, transportation professional with over 20 years of experience in over the road, line haul and pupil transportation management. As transportation director for the Steamboat Springs School District in Colorado, Casey has been on the forefront of converting daily route operations to electric vehicles (EV) and alternative fuels vehicles in a rural, mountainous area. Casey has a strong commitment to the safety of students, staff and the local community.
Over the past 5 years Casey has successfully leveraged state and federal grants to add electric school buses into the district’s fleet. Starting with one electric school bus in 2020, the district now operates ten electric school buses on daily routes, six operating in-town and four operating in more rural areas.- Charles A. Webster, Director of Grants and Innovative Programming for Union City Board of Education, District Title IX Coordinator, District Affirmative Action Officer, District Family Pack Coordinator
Charles is a dedicated and committed Urban Educator, who has taught from the university to the elementary school levels. He has delivered his message of “community empowerment through education” over 500 times in churches and schools from New York to Los Angeles. He has spoken at the Federal Reserve Bank, several corporations and to over 50 colleges and universities.
As director of the Summer Food Program, the program went from feeding 26,000 meals per summer to over 150,000 meals in four years. He created the “Family Pack,” which has provided 20,000 meals for families over the course of an academic year. He developed, designed and implemented one of the country’s first 50th Anniversary Celebrations of the Title IX Decision. The program, which was held in person and virtually, included panel discussions with several Olympic and university athletes, the coach of U.S. Olympic Track & Field, and women sports columnists from The Boston Globe.
Charles was instrumental in bringing five school districts together for an historic EPA Clean School Bus Program grant award to New Jersey Public Schools. He currently is working on bringing additional alternative energy opportunities to Union City.
- John Wiles, Transportation Director for Shawnee Public Schools
John Wiles is the Transportation Director for Shawnee Public Schools in Shawnee, Oklahoma where he has led student transportation operations for the past 16 years. With a master's degree in technology education from East Central University and a bachelor's degree in mathematics, John brings over three decades of experience in education and school transportation.
A longtime advocate for innovation in student transport, John has overseen Shawnee’s transition toward cleaner, more sustainable operations—including the successful deployment of eight electric school buses in 2023. Today, Shawnee transports over 1,600 students daily using a 29-bus fleet across 16 multi-tier routes.
John is a recognized leader in electric school bus integration and has presented on the topic at conferences and industry panels. His hands-on experience and forward-thinking approach continue to drive progress in sustainable student transportation.