Be our Lights

Anna Sobczak is a permanent official of the European Commission with over 16 years’ experience in policymaking (clean energy transition, industrial transition, green recovery, innovation, trade, enlargement, regional development) and 8 years’ experience in business consultancy and academic research.

Since 2020, at EC’s Directorate-General for Energy, she was first coordinating initiatives for coal regions in transition, and since 2023, she has been coordinating activities under the Strategic Energy Technology SET Plan. In 2022/2023 as an EU Fellow at EUI’s Florence School of Regulation, Anna was developing a comprehensive set of policy recommendations on a just transition from theory-as-practice to a now essential mindset of effects-in-practice, with an emphasis on socio-economic and clean energy transition of coal-dependent communities towards climate neutrality, with a focus on women.

She is also a top EU Social Media Ambassador (24.000 followers on LinkedIn), supporting #justtranstion #cleanenergy #youth and #women #leadership.

Anna Sobczak has a Doctorate Degree in Social and Political Sciences from the European University Institute, a Master in International Relations from the Cracow University of Economics, Poland’s largest economics university and an Erasmus MA in Urban and Regional Change in Europe from the University of Durham, UK’s world-leading research centre on global challenges.

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Marine Cornelis, founder of Next Energy Consumer and host of the Energ’Ethic podcast, is a vanguard in the energy and climate transitions, having focused on their social and ethical dimensions for the past 15 years. With expertise spanning consumer protection, energy poverty, and digital transformation, her work bridges analysis and thought leadership with actionable dissemination across Europe, Africa, and Latin America. Recognized as a European Climate Pact Ambassador, Marine champions diversity and community empowerment, showcasing her commitment through global advocacy and her podcast.

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Since 2020, Ms Shortall heads up communications for the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).

With twenty years’ experience in energy, Una has contributed to several pioneering international initiatives. She was the founding Secretary General of the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) from 2004 to 2006, bringing national regulators together in a collaborative association.

Between 2007 and 2020 she continued to drive collaboration on energy challenges at international level as CEER’s Deputy Secretary General, working part-time in this capacity for work-life balance (she has four children).

Una champions equality and inclusion. She brought a handful of pioneering women (dotted across the globe) together to create (in 2013) ICER Women in Energy, a volunteer initiative of the International Confederation of Energy Regulators’ (ICER). This project, which Una chaired from 2013 to 2020, supports hundreds of women globally through mentoring, training, storytelling and networking.  Una has degrees in economics and law. She worked as a university lecturer in economics, and as an economist for the Irish Competition Authority, and for the Irish energy regulator (CRU).  Passionate about sport, she served as European Youth Officer (2022) for Gaelic Games Europe.

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Marie-Claire Aoun is the Director of Prospective and Institutional Relations at Teréga, a gas transmission and storage operator in France. She is also the Chair of the consortium Gas for Climate.

Holding a PhD in Economics from Paris Dauphine University (2008), Marie-Claire Aoun was the Director of the Center for Energy and Climate at the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) between 2014 and 2017.

Between 2008 and 2014, she served as a Policy officer at the European interconnections and networks department of the French energy regulator (CRE).

She has an extensive knowledge of global energy and climate dynamics, regulation, public policies on energy transition, development of hydrogen and biomethane, energy markets and energy security.

Marie-Claire Aoun has been a regular speaker at high level international conferences and in the media on energy and climate since 2004.

She is also a lecturer at Paris Dauphine University and Sciences Po Paris. She speaks Arabic, French and English.

Liesbeth started her career in leading law firms, with a focus on sustainability.

She has been involved in renewable energy certification for nearly 20 years, at the Flemish energy regulator and later in the AIB, the Association of Issuing Bodies, including roles as legal advisor, chair of the reorganisation and the reviewers’ group, thereby securing the quality assurance of the European Energy Certificate System.

As secretary general, Liesbeth loves bringing members together and empowering young female professionals, while jointly working towards guaranteeing the origin of all European energy.

Liesbeth is a regular speaker at conferences on renewable energy and, as vice president of the European Society of Association Executives, on association management and DEI.

The AIB provides the EECS standard for guarantees of origin (GO) for different energy carriers within Europe, implemented in 28 countries, with several more joining in the near future. AIB also operates a hub for transferring GOs for electricity and gases.

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Ms McCoy joined Portugal’s Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE) in 2016 to lead its international relations. Prior to ERSE, she served as Secretary General of the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) between 2011 and 2015.

In addition to her responsibilities at ERSE, Natalie co-chairs the CEER Customers and Retail Markets Working Group, following three years as vice chair. She also co-chairs the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) Retail Working Group, established in 2021. In parallel, she serves as co-chair of CEER’s Gas Decarbonisation Legislation Workstream, since September 2016.

Natalie has more than fifteen years’ experience in energy regulation, focusing on customer rights, regulatory governance and electricity and gas market design. With an academic background in political science and EU affairs, she worked at the European Parliament prior to moving into energy regulation.

Clara Poletti is Commissioner of the Italian independent Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment (ARERA), Chair of the Board of Regulators of the European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and ARERA delegate at the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER).

She has more than twenty years’ experience in the field. She contributed to the start-up of the Italian independent energy regulator. Since then, she has worked on the regulation of energy, water and waste management services at both national and European level.

She was Director of the Bocconi University research centre on energy and environment (IEFE).

She was also a founding joint academic director at the Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE).

She is member of the Advisory Council Executive Committee of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and associate researcher of the Cambridge Energy Policy Research Group.