Reimagining Electric Vehicle Industry in Illinois
In November 2021, the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act (REV Illinois Act) has been passed into law. This groundbreaking program is designed to bolster Illinois manufacturing and create new capacity for EV vehicle and component parts production. The College of Business at Governors State University presents its next Thought Leadership Series on Friday, April 22nd. Speakers include Dan Seals, CEO of Intersect Illinois, Sylvia Garcia, Acting Director of Illinois DCEO, and Rick Bryant, Senior Adviser to Congresswoman Robin Kelly. An industry roundtable will follow the presentations.
Date&Time: Friday, April 22,2022, 9:00AM - 12:00PM CDT
Location: Governors State University - Hall of Governors
1 University Parkway, University Park, IL 60484
Event attendees will get a special rate of $149 at Holiday Inn Chicago Matteson for a king room. For those that prefer to call and make reservations, please call 708-747-3500 and let them know the code is: REV.
Lead Speakers
Dan Seals
CEO, Intersect Illinois
Topic: Vision for the Electric Vehicle
Sylvia Garcia
Director, DCEO
Topic: Electric Vehicle Industry - The Public Policy Perspective: Jobs, Taxes, Competitiveness, and Environmental Impact.
Rick Bryant
Senior Adviser to Congresswoman Robin Kelly
Topic: Electric Vehicle Industry - The Federal Government Perspective.
Roundtable Panelists
Larry Brasfield
National Account Sales Manager, Lion Electric
Mike Menyhart
President, Americas & Chief Strategy Officer at SEA Electric
Panos Prezas
Vice President of Business Development, BEAM AllCell Technologies
Networking
There will be display tables set up for persons to showcase their company's information and share with other organizations, so please remember to bring your company brochures, business cards, etc. to add to the tables. We want to make sure organizations can make connections.
Sculpture Park Tour
Join us for a tour of GSU's award-winning Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park after the event.
Join us at this Thought Leadership Series, and meet policymakers, industry leaders, and other stakeholders as we discuss opportunities and challenges in this sector. Learn how this act will create jobs, enhance the competitiveness of the state while supporting the state's bold climate change agenda.
Meet the Speakers and Panelists
Dan Seals, Chief Executive Officer of Intersect Illinois
"Vision for the Electric Vehicle Industry"
Dan Seals is the Chief Executive Officer of Intersect Illinois, a public private partnership focused on global business development for the State of Illinois. He oversees all aspects of the organization, including marketing, sales, financing, and personnel.
Dan has spent his career in both the public and private sector. He previously served as a Director at the American Medical Association, where he led both domestic and international marketing for a large portfolio of business services. He has also led business marketing for a division of GE Capital, where he helped achieve double digit growth in the specialized real estate sector. Prior to that Dan led a marketing team at T-Mobile, where he marketed telecommunications products nationwide.
Dan also served as the Assistant Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, where he oversaw programs for business attraction, small business support, workforce development, tourism, and international trade. During that time he led the development of the first Illinois Economic Development Plan in years. Dan has previously served as an adjunct professor of public policy at Northwestern University. He also won the Presidential Management Fellowship—serving as an aide to the Assistant Secretary of U.S. Department of Commerce and as an economic aide in the U.S. Senate.
Dan holds an MBA from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago and a MIPP in International Economics from the School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University. He was born and raised in Illinois where he resides with his wife and three daughters.
Sylvia I. Garcia, Acting Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)
"The Public Policy Perspective: Jobs, Taxes, Competitiveness, Environmental Impact"
Sylvia I. Garcia is the Acting Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), where she leads a team comprised of eleven core bureaus and several administrative offices that are focused on deploying capital investments, modernizing workforce development, supporting growth of small and large businesses, assisting communities with development and infrastructure, and attracting equitable investment throughout Illinois.
Director Garcia brings 17 years of experience from the public and private sectors to her role as leader of the state's economic development arm. Originally from the Detroit metro area, Garcia was inspired at a young age to join the work of helping cities and communities prosper. Garcia previously served as a Principal Consultant at WSP USA, and prior to that she served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), managing the day-to-day operations of the nation’s second largest transit agency. With extensive service in government - including roles at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, and as an Obama appointee at the U.S. Department of Transportation - Garcia has committed her career to developing public policy and capital programs that expand inclusive economic growth.
Rick Bryant, Senior Adviser to Congresswoman Robin Kelly
“The EV Industry: The Federal Government Perspective”
Rick Bryant is senior adviser to Congresswoman Robin Kelly, assisting her on issues including infrastructure, transportation, social justice, the environment, economic development and national parks. A former journalist, he volunteers on boards of the Historic Pullman Foundation, Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce, and Respond Now. He drives an electric car.
Larry Brasfield
Larry’s role with Lion Electric Co leverages his customer-focused approach and 30 years of experience in the trucking industry. For Lion Electric, the emerging leader in pure electric medium and heavy-duty trucks, Larry specs and sells fleet specific, right sized solutions that meet customers’ needs with zero-emission battery electric solutions. Larry grew up with trucking in the family as the third generation in the business and has worked in many different roles in the industry including full-service leasing, vocational truck sales and natural gas prior to the last 3½ years in EV trucks. The Brasfield legacy is now 4 generations strong as two of his three children are in the industry and he has been blessed with 5 grandchildren.
Panos Prezas
Panos Prezas is a battery industry executive with 20 years of experience in Battery Sciences, Product and Business Development, and Manufacturing. Prior to joining Beam Global and AllCell, Prezas was a Researcher and Business Development leader at Argonne National Laboratory with preceding experience in energy product development and commercialization. Prezas has co-authored publications and patents, as well as been an invited keynote speaker at international technical conferences and organized industry events. He earned his degree in Electrical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).
