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EVDX California
Join us in Oakland for the EVDX California Solutions Lab where we will find solutions to consumer pain points in one of the nation's hottest EV markets.
AESP Members
20% SavingsNon-Members
Market RateGovernment & Non-Profits
50% SavingsEVDX focuses solely on the EV customer journey for consumers and businesses, seeing the issues through their lens, not ours. The EVDX Initiative is for utilities, governments, and non-profits who are all thinking, "there's got to be a better way."
The EVDX Solutions Lab is an intentionally crafted journey that culminates in actionable takeaways you can implement in your work. After setting the stage, participants break out into working groups based on EVDX customer personas and spend their remaining time in the lab working with other stakeholders to conquer the persona's pain points.
The California Solutions Lab is co-located with CEDMC's Fall Conference at the Oakland Scottish Rites Center located at 1547 Lakeside Dr, Oakland, CA 94612. The Solutions Lab will be held in the Blue Room on the 3rd Floor.
EVDX work centers around eight personas:
- Multi-Family Suburban
- Income-Qualified Urban
- Suburban Family with Accessibility Needs
- Urban Multi-Family, Active Young Single
- Rural Retired
- City Fleet Director
- Small Business Fleet Owner
- Large Internet Retailer
If you work for a utility, government, non-profit, or for-profit at the manager, director, or executive level and focus on any of the following, then EVDX is right for you:
- EV program design (residential and business)
- EV education, marketing, and communications
- Market research and/or business intelligence
- Electricity pricing and managed charging
- Home, workplace, public, and/or corridor charging
- Electric transportation equity
- Regulation and legislation on electric transportation
- Designing the next generation of EV solutions
There are multiple sources of information available to utilities today as we work to navigate transportation electrification. Much like many utilities nationwide, our teams dedicated to TE are small, and as such, our bandwidth is limited. I attended AESPs inaugural EVDX Solutions Lab in Detroit summer 2023 and my time there was so well spent. The opportunity to engage with thought leaders from peer utilities, OEMs and solution providers from across the country in-person, all focused solely on improving the EV charging experience for customers, was unbeatable.
EVDX Solutions Lab California Agenda
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM / Welcome and Intro to the EVDX Initiative
The opening session will introduce you to the EVDX Initiative, share key lessons learned from our 2023 EVDX Solutions Lab in Detroit, and 2024 EVDX Solutions Lab in Canada, introduce you to our eight EV Personas, and lay the groundwork for our breakout sessions.
Speakers:
- Jen Szaro, President and CEO, AESP
- Ashley Santor, Co-Founder and CEO, Doer/Maker
- Ahmad Faruqui, EV Persona in the Flesh and Economist at Large
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM / Understanding Our Current State of the Market
Recent market research indicates that current EV drivers are not always enjoying the ride. This session will set the stage for better understanding the current EV driver experience and key universal pain points that may slow the pace of EV adoption and create detractors out of early adopters.
Speaker:
- Courtney Henderson, Council Member and Former Mayor (City of Truckee)
10:00 AM - 10:50 AM / Challenges of EV Deployment in California
During this panel, we’ll hear from key experts in the electric transportation industry as they share their research and experiences on the unique set of challenges facing EV drivers in California and what’s currently being done to overcome these challenges.
Speakers:
- (Moderator) Michael Romeo, VP of Business Development, Franklin Energy
- Phillip Kobernick, Associate Director, Peninsula Clean Energy
- Ben Brint, Policy Manager, SWTCH
- Kristin Landry, Expert Product Manager, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
11:10 AM - 12:00 PM / Regional Efforts to Date
Californians must balance regionally-specific challenges such as extreme weather events with an ever-growing population and long stretches of road between major population centers. This panel will share the experiences of a few key stakeholders trying to pave the way to a smooth EV driver/ownership experience.
Speakers:
- (Moderator) Walter Schaefer, Transportation Electrification Lead, DNV
- V Gerber, Product Manager, DC Fast Charging Network, Ava Community Energy
- Noah Garcia, Manager, Market Development and Public Policy, EVgo
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM / Lunch and Overview of Design Thinking and Human-Centered Design
Design thinking is a human-centered problem-solving approach that involves empathy, experimentation, and iteration. The process typically involves five stages: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. During this brief tutorial, participants will gain a basic functional understanding of design thinking and its benefits to achieving more effective EV customer programs.
Breakout tables will be centered around eight personas:
- Multi-Family Suburban
- Income-Qualified Urban
- Suburban Family with Accessibility Needs
- Urban Multi-Family, Active Young Single
- Rural Retired
- City Fleet Director
- Small Business Fleet Owner
- Large Internet Retailer
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM / Breakout 1: Review persona experience / journey mapping and identify pain points
This solutions lab breakout session will have you working with a small group of other industry professionals interested in your sub-market, working together to define the wants, needs, and barriers of real consumers. You will explore your selected Persona’s EV journey and identify the most critical pain points they might experience along this journey.
Facilitators:
- Jen Szaro, President and CEO, AESP
- Ashley Santor, Co-Founder and CEO, Doer/Maker
- Courtney Henderson, Council Member & Former Mayor, Town of Truckee
2:00 PM - 2:15 PM / Break
2:15 PM - 3:45 PM / Breakout 2: Design Thinking & Solutions Development
In this second dynamic breakout session, small teams will return to their assigned tables to work collaboratively to determine potential solutions to their top pain point using rapid protyping to identify at least two new or improved program strategies for each customer persona group defined in Breakout #1 of the Solutions Lab. Participants will apply the concepts of design thinking to rapidly develop solutions to current EV customer pain points.
Facilitators:
- Jen Szaro, President and CEO, AESP
- Ashley Santor, Co-Founder and CEO, Doer/Maker
- Courtney Henderson, Council Member & Former Mayor, Town of Truckee
3:45 PM - 5:00 PM / Solutions Presentations and Findings
Each of our breakout groups will present their top solution sets for their chosen EV Persona. The top-voted solutions will be selected from among the ideas presented and highlighted by AESP in future publications including a summary article in Energy Intel Magazine.
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM / Closing Reception with CEDMC
Join your fellow EV solutions collaborators for our closing reception featuring a variety of light snacks and beverages, and expand your network as you mingle with attendees arriving for the California Efficiency + Demand Management Council's (CEDMC) Fall Conference.
EVDX California Speakers Include:
- Ahmad Faruqui, EV Persona in the Flesh and Economist at Large
- Ashley Santor, Founder and CEO, Doer/Maker
- Courtney Henderson, Council Member and Former Mayor, City of Truckee
- Michael Romeo, VP of Business Development, Franklin Energy
- Phillip Kobernick, Associate Director, Peninsula Clean Energy
- Ben Brint, Policy Manager, SWTCH
- Kristin Landry, Expert Product Manager, PG&E
- Walter Schaefer, Transportation Electrification Lead, DNV
- V Gerber, Product Manager, DC Fast Charging Network, Ava Community Energy
- Noah Garcia, Manager, Market Development and Public Policy, EVgo
- Jen Szaro, President and CEO, AESP
But we need YOU in the room as the experts! Your insights, challenges, and experiences are crucial to shaping the conversation. Together, we can address key pain points and collaborate on actionable solutions that drive real change.
Bonus! EVDX California attendees receive 15% off CEDMC's Fall Conference admission! Discount link/code will be provided in your EVDX confirmation email.
Suggested Accommodations
EVDX will take place at the Oakland Scottish Rite Center (1547 Lakeside Dr). We do not have a hotel block for this event. However, we do suggest the Marriott Oakland City Center for those looking for accommodations.
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Want to Use Points?
AESP Members, do you have group points you'd like to apply to one or more registrations? Contact Christina Coppotelli to get started.