About

Jeffrey Jeb Nadaner

Executive Vice President, Government & Public Affairs

Jeffrey Jeb Nadaner is the Executive Vice President of Government & Public Affairs at SAFE and the Executive Director of SAFE’s Commanding Heights of Global Transportation.

He has served in key positions in Republican and Democratic administrations, including for several Secretaries of Defense and State, and Attorneys General.  As Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy, he played a leading role in Congressional passage of the CHIPS Act.

Earlier in his career, he was the Lockheed Martin Vice President of Corporate Engineering & Technology, JINSA Executive Vice President of Government Affairs, Director of the USMC Krulak Center of Innovation, and founder of the successful start-up, Straight Trading.

He earned his Ph.D. at Yale University, J.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, and B.A. at Duke University.

Jackie Burman

Vice President, Operations and Finance

Jackie Burman is the Vice President of Operations and Finance at Securing America’s Future Energy. In this role, Jackie oversees finances, human resources, and operations for the organization.

Prior to joining SAFE, Ms. Burman spent more than 4 years in Cape Town, South Africa where she assisted a wide range of non-profit organizations in reaching their funding goals. During her time abroad, she also helped create a fundraising academy to provide young adults with the skills necessary to begin careers in development. She worked in both marketing and fundraising in DC before this.

Ms. Burman holds a Bachelor of Art’s Degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and Masters’ degrees in business administration and Jewish Communal Service from Brandeis University.

Gourang Wakade

Vice President of Development

Gourang Wakade is the Vice President of Development for SAFE and its sister organization, the Electrification Coalition (EC).

He leads a lean development team to develop and execute a comprehensive fundraising strategy that yields sustained multi-year funding results.  Building on the success achieved to date by SAFE EC, Gourang manages a collective fundraising portfolio of $16 Million and is in charge of the overall development systems and strategy while focusing primarily on identifying, cultivating, and soliciting high net worth individuals and foundations, with particular attention on increasing unrestricted funding for both organizations.

He is an experienced fundraiser with a large and varied global network and has proven success in raising and securing multi-year six-figure plus funding commitments for complex and demanding projects across a variety of industries including non-profit, corporate finance, and higher education. Prior to SAFE, Gourang served as the Vice President of Development for the Council on Competitiveness, a non-profit membership association of CEOs, University Presidents, Labor Leaders, and National Lab Directors. In addition to managing membership, and development at the Council on Competitiveness, Gourang was the lead for the organization’s bi-annual fundraiser, the America Competes Award, that honored Business and Civic Leaders for their contributions to ensure American Competitiveness. He also produced and managed sponsorships for the organization’s Annual National Competitiveness Summit. Gourang also served as the Director of Conferences and Engagement, for the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils where he actively recruited leaders from around the world to join and fund the establishment of the organization.

Gourang has a Bachelor’s in Arts degree from the College of Wooster, Oh. He also serves on the Fundraising Committee for the Spring Gala of the Hillwood Estate Museum and Gardens in Washington, DC.

Alyssa Siddiqui

Managing Director of Corporate Engagements

Alyssa Siddiqui is Managing Director of Corporate Relations at SAFE and the Electrification Coalition (EC). She is responsible for identifying and implementing innovative strategies to enhance the organizations’ profiles, expand industry partnerships, and develop new opportunities for engagement and growth. Alyssa leads corporate partnerships for the EC’s medium and heavy-duty fleet electrification work and for SAFE’s autonomous vehicle initiative. In 2021 she launched the Electrification Coalition Business Council.

Alyssa joined SAFE and the EC after over a decade at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, most recently as the Senior Director of Corporate Relations, where she led the strategy and execution of an integrated fundraising plan to achieve an annual revenue goal of over $9 million. She managed high-level corporate recruitment of new members, expanded relationships with existing clients and key stakeholders and launched the Let’s Rebuild America infrastructure initiative. Alyssa also oversaw the U.S. Chamber’s largest signature event, The Aviation Summit, held annually in Washington, DC which attracted over 900 attendees and participants, including top CEOs and industry leaders.

Alyssa began her career at the National Park Foundation working on the capital campaign for the Flight 93 National Memorial Fund. She graduated from Colby College with a Bachelors of Science in Government. She is a member of the Washington, DC chapter of Women of EVs and was named one of the Top Women in EV 2022 by The EV Summit.

Abigail Wulf

Vice President and Director, Center for Critical Minerals Strategy

Abigail Wulf is the Director of the Ambassador Alfred Hoffman, Jr. Center for Critical Minerals Strategy at SAFE. Abigail brings broad Earth science expertise to the Center, from researching rare earth- and lithium-rich pegmatites to working with NASA researchers to convey the connections between Earth’s component systems. She previously served as Senior Science Communicator for Research within NASA’s Earth Science Division. She also served as Policy Manager for the American Geosciences Institute, a nonpartisan federation of more than 50 professional scientific societies. While at AGI, Abigail co-led the Minerals Science and Information Coalition, a broad-based alliance of organizations representing all stages of the critical minerals supply chain.

Alisyn Malek

Executive Director, The Coalition for Reimagined Mobility

Jeffrey Gerlach

Vice President, Energy & Transportation Policy

Jeff Gerlach is a Senior Policy Analyst at Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), where he supports the research, writing, and content development of SAFE’s policy team. Prior to joining SAFE, Jeff worked at a management consulting firm, where he supported the Department of Energy’s Office of Petroleum Reserves and Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. He previously interned and consulted for SAFE in 2013, contributing to the Oil Security Index and the Commission on Energy and Geopolitics’ Oil Security 2025. Additionally, he worked on multiple political campaigns in Minnesota and completed a year of service in AmeriCorps.

Mr. Gerlach received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Anthropology from the University of St. Thomas in 2011 and his Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago in 2014.

Thayer Scott

Vice President, Public Affairs

Thayer Scott is a writer and consultant focusing on national security-related policy, technology, and energy issues.  Previously he worked in communications and government affairs positions for The Boeing Company and Lockheed Martin. From 2004 to 2011 he served in the U.S. Department of Defense, the last four years as Chief Speechwriter for Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Earlier he was communications director for the International Republican Institute, an independent organization promoting democratic governance overseas. Mr. Scott has a B.A. from Princeton University and a M.S. from University of California-Berkeley. After college he served on active duty in the U.S. Army as a Field Artillery officer.

Alex Hutkin

Director of Government Relations

Over the past 8 years, Alexander has worked with Congressional leadership on both sides of the aisle to introduce, negotiate, and pass bipartisan laws. Alexander’s areas of policy expertise include technology, transportation, foreign policy, intelligence, defense, and homeland security.

As Legislative Director, Alexander ensured Rep. Steve Russell became one of the most prolific and effective lawmakers in his Freshman class. As a result, Rep. Russell is currently ranked the #4 most effective legislator (out of a peer group of 59 Representatives newly elected in 2014). Alexander has facilitated the Congressman’s introduction of 37 bills (149% above peer group), of which 9 bills passed the House (176% above peer group) and 4 bills were signed into law (408% above peer group).

As Dep. Chief of Staff, Alexander leveraged deep knowledge of political leadership dynamics to propel Rep. Russell into the chairmanship of the National Security Subcommittee, and secured the Congressman’s status as the presumptive Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee at the conclusion of the current leader’s term—a rare honor for such a junior lawmaker.

Peter Flory

Senior Fellow

A former senior Pentagon official, Peter has advised the Defense Department, U.S. Navy, and private industry on topics ranging from semiconductors — including development of the 2020 CHIPS Act — to management and organization, and strategy toward China.  He previously served as an Assistant Secretary of Defense, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defense Investment, and Special Counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and worked in industry as Vice President, International for QinetiQ North America.  Peter holds a J.D. from Georgetown and an Honors B.A. from McGill University.

Ron Minsk

Senior Advisor

Bridget Dunn

Director of Communications

Martez Taylor

Executive Assistant

Ladeene Freimuth

Senior Advisor, Grid Security Project

Danielle Woodring

Manager, Ambassador Alfred Hoffman, Jr. Center for Critical Minerals Strategy

Danielle Woodring is the Manager of the Ambassador Alfred Hoffman, Jr. Center for Critical Minerals Strategy at SAFE. Danielle brings real-world geological and science policy expertise to the Center. After obtaining her Master of Science in structural geology and geological mapping, Danielle worked as a geologist for the Washington Department of Natural Resources, Washington Geological Survey, and the U.S. Geological Survey. Prior to her master’s research, she served as a Policy Associate for the American Geosciences Institute and worked for the American Geophysical Union. Her multi-faceted career provides her with insights into the science and policies informing all aspects of the critical minerals supply chain, from discovery and extraction to development and manufacturing.

Medina O’Rourke

Manager of Grants and Development Research

Allanté Whitmore

Director, Autonomous Vehicle Initiative

Allanté Whitmore is completing a Joint Ph.D. in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. She brings autonomous vehicle technology and policy expertise from researching the environmental, equity, economic, and ethical impacts of autonomous vehicles. During her tenure at CMU, Allanté was awarded multiple fellowships including the K&L Gates Presidential Fellow and Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship in addition to interning at Argonne National Laboratory.  Whitmore also was a member of the Pittsburgh Micromobility Collective and AV Policy Advisory Group.

Zoe Oysul

Policy Analyst, SAFE

Marla Westervelt

Vice President, Policy, The Coalition for Reimagined Mobility

Ashley Simmons

Vice President, Communications, The Coalition for Reimagined Mobility

Rachel Aland

Manager, Transportation Strategy at The Coalition for Reimagined Mobility

Dominic Mathew

Shared Mobility Policy Manager, The Coalition for Reimagined Mobility

Ellery Saluck

Chief of Staff

Allison Shane

Critical Minerals Research Fellow

David Schneider

Programming and Policy Associate

Russell Glynn

Policy Associate, The Coalition for Reimagined Mobility

Fendey Jean-Baptiste

Membership & Special Projects Coordinator, The Coalition for Reimagined Mobility

Kate Ito

Policy Associate, The Coalition for Reimagined Mobility

Akua Assata

Staff Assistant