Who We Are
The American Jobs Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, think-and-do tank focused on creating good-paying jobs in advanced energy and manufacturing through bottom-up, data-driven, 360° economic development.
Our experts tailor best practice strategies for bolstering advanced energy and manufacturing, identify assets across the value chain, estimate an industry’s job-supporting potential, and support stakeholder-led initiatives by communicating ideas and analyses.
Through engagement with a broad cross-section of stakeholders, we develop a shared vision of effective strategies to leverage the unique competitive advantages offered by each state and generate positive economic impacts.
Our Mission & Vision
Mission: The American Jobs Project works alongside state and local leaders to equip them with tailored best practice strategies designed to increase global competitiveness and create good-paying advanced energy and manufacturing jobs statewide.
Vision: We believe that sectoral shifts in energy and manufacturing present opportunities for state and local leaders to capitalize on growing markets, develop more resilient communities, and create good-paying jobs.
Our Team
Henry Love, Executive Director
Henry Love is the Executive Director of the American Jobs Project. After graduating from Central Michigan University with a degree in Entrepreneurial Business and Finance, Henry provided consulting services to nonprofit organizations and small business owners. His work with nonprofits eventually led him to serve as the Assistant Director of Michigan Energy Options (MEO), a statewide nonprofit energy efficiency and renewable energy organization. Henry moved to the Bay Area in 2011, staying on as an executive consultant to MEO and providing executive consulting services to several California nonprofit organizations. In 2014, Henry helped start the American Jobs Project at BECI, eventually taking the role of Senior Project Manager. In 2016, Henry and several AJP alumni founded the American Jobs Project, a nonprofit organization. Henry has recently worked on paired leadership research at the Haas School of Business with leadership expert Dan Mulhern and currently serves on the board of Community Energy Services Corporation, a Berkeley nonprofit organization that implements energy efficiency and healthy homes programs.
Mary Collins, Director
Mary Collins is a Director with the American Jobs Project, where she works to promote our advanced energy economy through collaboration with academics, non-profits, business leaders, policy makers, and other stakeholders. She has presented at conferences such as the American Wind Energy Association, co-taught a course on economic development and advanced energy at UC Berkeley, and authored several reports on state-specific strategies to encourage clean energy manufacturing, with a focus on wind, additive manufacturing, and advanced materials. She has a M.P.P. from UC Berkeley with an emphasis on energy policy and economic development. From 2010 to 2013 she served in Peace Corps Panama as a Sustainable Agriculture Extension Agent, Co-Director of the Gender and Development Committee, and as a Regional Coordinator for Peace Corps Panama. Prior to serving in Peace Corps, she worked in several Smithsonian laboratories and was a veterinary technician and manager at a small, family-owned business. She has a B.S. from Virginia Tech, is a certified yoga instructor, and serves on the board of directors of a local non-profit called MESA.
Kate Ringness, Director
Kate Ringness is a Director with the American Jobs Project and a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley, constructing state-specific policy roadmaps to create good-paying advanced energy jobs around the United States. A graduate of Duke Law School, Kate spent the first part of her career as in-house counsel at Merrill Lynch in Europe advising on issues in international finance and corporate law. Inspired by the potential in the energy storage and renewable energy industries and recognizing the critical role of policy in the shift from a fossil fuel economy, she transitioned into the energy sector by earning a Master of Public Policy degree from UC Berkeley with a focus on energy policy. She is an ardent supporter of the energy storage industry and has spoken at several events on the benefits of energy storage and how policy can drive economic development in the sector.
Tiffany Wong, Program Coordinator
Tiffany Wong has been with the American Jobs Project since 2015, creating state policy guides for quality advanced energy jobs across the nation. In addition to supporting overall operations, she has contributed extensive policy research, outreach, writing, and copyediting. This work has allowed her to delve into specific topics such as solar, advanced materials, and workforce development. A UC Berkeley graduate, she received a B.S. in Environmental Sciences and a B.S. in Society and Environment. Through her studies, she has explored issues of power grid resilience and legal strategies for environmental justice communities. She aims to continue learning and making an impact at the intersection of socioeconomic security and environmental health. Outside of work, she is dedicated to serving the Bay Area community as an active member of Kiwanis International. She is also an amateur ornithologist and enjoys all things creative.
Santos Vazquez, Program Coordinator
Santos Vazquez provides administrative, operational, and programmatic support for the American Jobs Project. He is a recent graduate from UC Berkeley where he earned a B.A. in political economy and political science. Throughout his undergraduate career, he worked in the public and private spheres, ranging from a polling research company to the U.S. House of Representatives. Most recently, he managed a $2 million budget for the Office of Student Affairs – Communications. His education and work experience developed his passion for policy, politics, finance, and the Oxford comma.
Leah Daoud, Program Coordinator
Leah Daoud is a Program Coordinator with the American Jobs Project, supporting state-driven efforts to bolster America’s workforce through advanced energy industries. She contributes research and writing on a variety of energy policy issues and conducts outreach to stakeholders in industry, academia, and government. In her previous role as a press assistant in the California Attorney General’s office, she drafted press releases on legal developments in the state and monitored national and local media outlets. In 2015, she worked at the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence to process gifts and create detailed records for the National Archives. A UC Berkeley graduate in political science and rhetoric, she has tutored at San Quentin State Prison; been featured in the Berkeley Political Review, the university’s only nonpartisan political magazine; and holds national and state awards in public speaking.
