Stephen Smith, DVM
Executive Director, SACE Action Fund
Dr. Stephen A. Smith has over 30 years of experience affecting change for the environment. Since 1993, Dr. Smith has led the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) as its Executive Director, and in 2007 he became the Executive Director of SACE’s newly incorporated Action Fund as well. Dr. Smith represents SACE and SACE Action Fund by providing leadership and professional expertise to external organizations, committees, and working groups. Dr. Smith currently serves on the U. S. Climate Action Network board of directors and previously served as board chair. He also serves on the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Regional Energy Resource Council, which advises the TVA Board of Directors on energy resource activities in the Tennessee Valley region. In the last several years he has served on the North Carolina Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change and the North Carolina Climate Action Planning Advisory Group; the South Carolina Climate, Energy and Commerce Advisory Committee; State of Florida Energy Supply and Demand Committee of the state Climate Action Team; the national governing board for the Center for Resource Solutions’ National Green Power Accreditation; and the U. S. Department of Energy, Tennessee Valley Electric System Advisory Committee. Additionally, he served two terms on the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Regional Resource Stewardship Council, TVA’s Green Power Marketing Committee, and TVA’s Integrated Resource Planning Advisory Group. He has also had the privilege to testify before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee; the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, U.S. House of Representatives; the Great Smoky Mountain Congressional Caucus; and several state public service commissions.
Dr. Smith holds a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Tennessee and a Bachelor of Science in biology from Kentucky Wesleyan College. In 2009, he and his family commissioned a 7.1-kilowatt rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) system on their Knoxville home; the previous October they installed a solar thermal system. By coupling these solar technologies with additional energy efficiency investments, the Smiths strive to live in a “net-zero energy home.” Dr. Smith’s other areas of interest include sailing, scuba diving, and beekeeping. He practices Ho-Am TaeKwonDo as a 1st Degree Black Belt and is an instrument-rated private pilot with over 5000 hours of flight time. Through his genealogy research, Dr. Smith has identified several family members who served in the Revolutionary War, which designates him as a Son of the American Revolution.
Chris Carnevale
Climate Advocacy Director, SACE Action Fund
Based in Charleston, South Carolina, Chris is SACE’s Climate Advocacy Director and South Carolina State Affairs Liaison. Chris joined the SACE and the SACE Action Fund staff in 2011 to help build a critical mass of support for clean energy as a solution to climate change on our coastal region. His work focuses on advocating for clean energy and transportation, building opposition to offshore oil drilling, and raising awareness of the disproportionate impacts climate change poses to the coast. Chris is motivated to be an advocate for clean energy because he believes in the ethic of leaving a place in better shape than you find it. He wants the world to be a cleaner, safer, healthier environment for future generations.
Stan Cross
Electric Transportation Program Director, SACE Action Fund
Stan joined the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and the SACE Action Fund staff in 2019. Stan leads SACE’s electric transportation policy, utility reform, and program implementation across the Southeast. Previously, Stan led and co-founded Brightfield Transportation Solutions—a start-up that designed and deployed solar-integrated electric vehicle charging stations. Stan also served as a transportation electrification consultant for the Cities of Raleigh and Charlotte, NC, and the Energy Foundation.
Stan serves in a leadership capacity to the Southeast Electric Transportation Regional Initiative, Georgia’s Electric Mobility Innovation Alliance, Drive Electric Florida, Plug In North Carolina, South Carolina’s Electric Vehicle Stakeholder Initiative, and Drive Electric Tennessee.
Before his work with transportation electrification, Stan led Warren Wilson College’s Environmental Leadership Center and was recognized as NC’s 2007 Environmental Educator of the Year. Stan received a BA in Psychology from Skidmore College and his Masters of Arts and Science from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, with concentrations in climate change and creative writing.
Carynton Howard
Climate Advocacy Coordinator, SACE Action Fund
Carynton joined the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and SACE Action Fund in 2024. As Climate Advocacy Coordinator, she identifies and advocates for climate and clean energy policy changes in the Southeast. Her focus is organizing and coalition building in the Nashville and Middle Tennessee area.
Prior to joining SACE, Carynton supported clean energy efforts in Indiana. She gained valuable energy policy experience while working as a Government Affairs intern at EDP Renewables. While pursuing a bachelor’s degree in political science and a concentration in environmental politics and policy at Purdue University, Carynton worked with environmental advocacy organization Mighty Earth as a Climate Organizer. She, along with a group of other students, launched a campaign to decarbonize steel mills in Northwest Indiana. They gained broad support from the community and experts in the steel industry.
Amy Rawe
Communications Director, SACE Action Fund
Based in Knoxville, Tennessee, Amy joined the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy Action Fund as Communications Manager in May 2020. Amy coordinates earned media responses and collaborates with SACE’s communications, policy, and program teams to create engaging messaging for the press, the public, and the organization’s members.
Prior to joining SACE, Amy was a strategist and senior copywriter with a digital marketing firm, spent several years as a Communications Director with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and worked in traditional media as both a national magazine editor and small-town newspaper editor and reporter. Having lived in the Midwest, Northeast, Northwest, and now the Southeast, she also traveled extensively through South Pacific and Southeast Asian countries and spent time in Europe and Brazil. Her experiences shaped her dedication to foster a national and global understanding of environmental stewardship.
Reed Winckler
Communications Coordinator, SACE Action Fund
Reed joined the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and SACE Action Fund in 2023 as Communications Coordinator and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. Her focus is writing and creating content for SACE emails, newsletters, press releases, and blogs, in addition to editing website content and assisting with graphics. She is excited to relay SACE’s mission to members, media, policymakers, and stakeholders alike.
While obtaining her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Georgia, Reed focused on creating “solutions-oriented” environmental print and broadcast media, co-led a local environmental advocacy organization, and took part in local solid waste initiatives before turning her focus to clean energy at SACE after graduation.