PASADENA, Calif. ­– The University of California, Davis Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis) has named John Boesel, President and CEO of CALSTART, to its board of advisors.

“I am honored to share in my alma mater’s efforts to advance clean vehicle technologies, transportation fuels, new mobility as well as leading-edge transportation policies,” said Boesel. “Through its work to develop innovative vehicle technologies, drive forward-looking policies via educational outreach and engagement, advance charging infrastructure, study the changing markets for clean vehicles and much more, ITS-Davis exemplifies CALSTART’s mission of changing transportation for good,” said Boesel.

“Our board includes leaders from government, industry, nonprofit and academia. John is an influencer in each of these worlds. He has fostered the development of new technologies and policies, identified and implemented strategies that change how we drive, ride and do business, and made the strategic connections needed to accelerate the growth of the clean transportation sector,” said Professor Dan Sperling, Founding Director of ITS-Davis. “We will benefit from his leadership and insights.” ITS-Davis is home to the National Center for Sustainable Transportation (NCST), 3 Revolutions Mobility program, Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways (STEPS) program, China Center on Energy and Transportation (C-CET), and the Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Research Center.

A member of the UC Davis class of 1982, Boesel joined CALSTART in 1993 as Vice President of Technology programs and was promoted to President and CEO in 2001. CALSTART is a national nonprofit consortium that partners with 210+ member company and agency innovators to build a prosperous, efficient and clean high-tech transportation industry.

During his tenure, CALSTART’s membership – including global industry leaders, innovators and investors like Tesla, UPS, ChargePoint, Volvo, Cummins, New Flyer, Wells Fargo, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and many more – has more than doubled. Over the past two decades, CALSTART has grown from a California-focused organization to one with a global reach with offices in New York, Michigan, Colorado and California. Through its Global Commercial Vehicle Drive to Zero program (Drive to Zero), CALSTART is forming partnerships and supporting innovation in the medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sector in Asia, Europe, South America, North America and beyond.

The CALSTART team has:

• Overseen the development of the first electric school bus, hybrid-electric bus and the first natural gas hybrid buses as well as the development of hundreds of charging stations.
• Overseen the launch of the High-Efficiency Truck Users Forum (HTUF), which supported industry leaders in developing their first hybrid and electric trucks in the early 2000s.
• Helped lead an industry coalition in 2015 that secured an annual appropriation of $55 million in the federal transportation bill to support the purchase and deployment of low- and no-emission transit buses.
• Overseen the development of The Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP), the nation’s leading incentive program to accelerate the adoption of medium- and heavy-duty clean vehicles.

Boesel previously worked in the California legislature as a legislative aide to then Assemblyman (later Congressman) Sam Farr, managing energy and environmental legislation. He was also a commercial banker for Wells Fargo. Boesel currently serves on the advisory board for the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center (PEEC) at Stanford University. He received his MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley in 1989.

As a member of its board of advisors, Boesel will offer strategic guidance to drive the direction and goals of ITS-Davis over a three-year period. Other members of the ITS-Davis board of advisors include industry, government, academic and advocacy leaders like Stella Li of BYD America, Janea A. Scott of the California Energy Commission, and John Zimmer of Lyft.

CALSTART | Changing transportation for good

A national nonprofit consortium with offices in New York, Michigan, Colorado and California and partners world-wide, CALSTART works with 210+ member company and agency innovators to build a prosperous, efficient and clean high-tech transportation industry. We knock out barriers to modernization and the adoption of clean vehicles. CALSTART is changing transportation for good.

MEDIA CONTACT: ROXANNA SMITH, [email protected], (626)744-5609 or (510) 326-0390