Our Team
Dan Giuffrida
FOUNDER & CEO
Dan leads the solar project development efforts at Plankton. In addition to his role at Plankton, he is also a Professor at the Earth Institute at Columbia University, where he teaches a course on Solar Project Development.
Prior to founding Plankton, Dan was a Vice President at Safari Energy, where led the financing and development of over 100 MW of distributed solar projects. Before joining Safari, Dan worked in Social Venture Investing in both India and Bhutan. Dan began his career in investment banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he focused on the Power, Utilities & Renewables industry.
Dan received an MS in Sustainability Management from Columbia University and a BA cum laude, with honors in Economics from Wake Forest University.
Nik Mittal
PARTNER
Nik focuses on transaction structuring and strategic initiatives at Plankton to scale the business.
Nik is also a founding Partner of Molecule Ventures LLC, a New York City-based environmental markets investment firm; a private investor in numerous climate-focused businesses and he serves on the Board of Directors of JetBlue Airways, where he is on the Audit and Finance Committees and the ESG Subcommittee.
From 2006-2017, Nik was at JANA Partners LLC, an event-driven public equities investment firm where he helped manage the investment team. He was previously a Senior Fellow at the Environmental Defense Fund.
Nik received his JD/MBA from NYU School of Law and NYU Stern School of Business, where he as a Stern Scholar. He received a B.A. in economics, with honors and distinction, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). He also completed a Certification in Sustainable Finance at Columbia University.
Rachel Margolese
ENGINEERING & OPERATIONS MANAGER
Rachel spearheads engineering and operations at Plankton, including conducting site visits and coordinating design, construction, and operation of the solar plants. Prior to joining Plankton, Rachel worked at Underwriters Laboratory as a Solar Engineer on their Renewables Due Diligence team. At UL, Rachel completed desktop reviews of electrical plant design and grid interconnection, conducted solar and wind site visits, and worked as a project manager.
Before UL, Rachel worked on renewable methanol at Carbon Recycling International and developed low-cost carbonization methods with Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering.
Rachel earned a BE in Energy Systems Engineering from Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College and a BA in Engineering Sciences modified with Public Policy from Dartmouth College.
Daniel Schwartz
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Daniel leads Business Development at Plankton Energy. This includes sourcing project hosts, energy production and site analysis, and structuring solar agreements.
Daniel began his career in Big Four Public Accounting. He focused on tax compliance for Real Estate Private Equity, REIT, and small business clients.
Daniel received an MS in Sustainability Management from Columbia University and a BA in Economics and Accounting from Syracuse University. He is also a Certified Public Accountant in the state of New York.
Aidan Kates
PROJECT MANAGER
Aidan oversees all construction at Plankton Energy. From permitting to commercial operation, Aidan handles procurement, site visits, construction monitoring and project interconnection.
Before joining the Plankton team, Aidan worked in the commercial construction space performing office fit outs for Chelsea Lighting & Controls around Manhattan. As a member of the Power over Ethernet team, Aidan helped to facilitate the shift to smarter buildings in New York City by maximizing energy savings and optimizing space usage.
Aidan earned a BE in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Sustainable Energy from Stevens Institute of Technology.
Julie Margolin
DEVELOPMENT ANALYST
Julie manages the project financing, development, and operational asset management processes across Plankton’s portfolio.
Prior to joining Plankton, she was actively involved in the climate space through internships at BloombergNEF, the World Resources Institute, Inside Climate News, and Resilient Cities Catalyst. Her work covered everything from compliance carbon markets and ESG investing to tackling physical climate risks and promoting sustainable food systems.
Julie received a BBA in Statistics & Quantitative Modeling from CUNY Baruch College and Macaulay Honors College. She is also a graduate of the Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship.
Claire Yost
PROJECT ENGINEER
Claire is on Plankton’s Engineering and Operations Team assisting in design, development, and implementation of solar systems.
Previously, Claire held the role of Electrical Engineer Consultant at WSP Global Inc., where she demonstrated proficiency in overseeing expansive engineering initiatives including residential high rises, corporate headquarters, tech offices, and medical facilities. Her responsibilities encompassed power, security, and lighting design, project coordination, proposal development, and strict adherence to energy conservation standards.
Claire holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
August Schwanauer
SENIOR DEVELOPMENT ANALYST
As part of Plankton’s development team, August manages interconnection, planning board approvals, financial model development and analysis, and assists on the asset management process across Plankton’s portfolio.
August began her career in Commercial and Industrial Solar, working for Altus Power. She focused on due-diligence and asset management for acquired, constructed and operational projects to support project close-out and commissioning, run cost benefit analyses, and drive business strategy.
August received a MS in Sustainability Management from Columbia University and a BS in Natural Resources Conservation Policy from the University of British Columbia.
Bruce Trupo
LEAD ELECTRICIAN AND O&M MANAGER
Bruce leads Operations and Maintenance and system commissioning efforts here at Plankton Energy. A Multi State Electrical license holder, Bruce is charged with installation quality assurance and quality control and commissioning. As our O&M lead, Bruce conducts preventative and corrective maintenance on all our operational projects.
A Veteran of the Armed Forces and entrepreneur, Bruce started his career as an Electrician, entering the solar industry in 2004. In his 2 decades in the solar industry, Bruce has installed and maintained hundreds of MWs of solar project nationwide, as well as developing standardized safety modules for fire departments in New Jersey & Pennsylvania.
Bruce is Licensed in the NJ and PA area, and has passed the NASCLA, with pending licenses from multiple agencies.