Our Team

Ben has a long history in the Canadian energy industry. Prior to joining Potentia in 2016, he was the Executive Director of Development at NextEra Energy Canada. During his nine years at NextEra, the company’s presence in Canada grew from a company of 2 people with no assets in the ground to an organization of over 100 people with 800 MW of wind and 40 MW of solar operating across the country, representing an investment of more than $2 Billion dollars into the Canadian economy. Prior to his role at NextEra Ben was at the Centre for Energy at the Ontario Centres of Excellence. He holds a B.Sc. from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo.

In October of 2018 Ben finished his second 3-year term on the board of the Canadian Wind Energy Association, where he has served as chair and treasurer

Jeremy leads Potentia’s Finance, Operations, and Business Management Departments and has a long career as a senior financial professional with extensive experience in the renewable energy industry over the past 15 years. During his 24 years with Grant Thornton LLP, including 14 years as a Partner in the Audit practice, Jeremy held leadership roles locally and nationally and advised public and private businesses across a variety of sectors. He has extensive knowledge of finance, accounting, and operations management. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from McMaster University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant and CPA (Illinois) (Certification).

Andrew leads Potentia’s Legal Department and is a legal professional with extensive corporate and renewable energy industry experience. Andrew spent nine years as an attorney in private practice with two law firms in Manhattan where he advised public and private businesses in M&A and securities transactions across a variety of sectors. Prior to joining Potentia he acted as in-house counsel to NextEra Energy Canada for five years. Andrew holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of British Columbia (2000) and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Toronto (2004). He is licensed to practice law in New York State and the Province of Ontario.

Beverly joined Potentia in October 2018 and is responsible for financial reporting, accounting, and related Finance activities. Prior to joining Potentia, Beverly held progressively senior finance roles at several large Canadian public companies, primarily focused on external and regulatory reporting, across various industries.  Beverley is a CPA, CA and holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science (Honours) degree and a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) degree from the University of South Africa.

With more than 15 years’ experience in the renewable energy industry, Andrew brings a wealth of expertise to the team.  Prior to officially joining Potentia in 2020, he was Treasurer at Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. for eight years and then a consultant with several renewable energy companies.  He started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1993 with a focus on financial advisory services including insolvency, restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions.  Andrew holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Acadia University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Michele has been with Potentia since inception and oversees all Feed-in Tariff contract management, administration, and Feed-in Tariff application submissions as well as all coordination with the utilities for Connection Impact Assessment approval, Connection Agreements, and the connection to the utility grid. She has over 14 years of experience in the renewable energy field and prior to joining Potentia, she was part of the Deep Lake Water Cooling project team at Enwave Energy Corporation. Michele holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Anthropology Major from Trent University.

Andrea leads Potentia’s development, origination, and procurement teams. Andrea is responsible for all aspects of growth and business development, including early-stage site prospecting, project development, negotiating key commercial agreements, sourcing of offtake opportunities, and sourcing and procurement of major equipment. Prior to joining Potentia in 2018, Andrea held permitting, development, and project management roles at NextEra Energy Canada and BluEarth Renewables which led to direct experience in all aspects of development, construction, and financing on over 1 GW of utility-scale wind and solar projects that are currently in operation. Andrea holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the University of Florida and a Master of Science in Planning from the University of Toronto.

As leader of the Engineering and Construction teams, Leasa is responsible for ensuring the success of our major projects. Our teams, with Leasa’s guidance, provide technical and practical expertise for all stages of a project, from pre-construction to commercial operation. They ensure that all technical specifications are met while working closely with stakeholders to deliver our projects on time, on budget, and in a safe manner to our Operations Team and for our clients. Leasa and the team have the combined knowledge and experience to deliver high-quality wind, solar and battery projects.

Leasa has been involved in renewable energy specializing in engineering and construction for over 16 years, including a ten-year tenure with Pattern Energy where she was involved with several large Ontario FIT projects.  Her experience includes working across several states and provinces in North America with an education in civil engineering.

Doug oversees the operations team at Potentia utilizing his 16+ years of renewable energy experience while directing the commercial operations of wind, solar, battery storage, and geothermal power plants. His team is responsible for the safe and efficient operations of all Potentia assets throughout North America. Prior to joining Potentia, Doug was the General Manager of Operations for NextEra Energy and executed operations at 2.3 GW of wind projects, solar, and battery storage facilities across all of Canada and East of the Mississippi River in the United States.