Gary Kremen is an engineer with more than 30 years of experience starting and mentoring companies that change people’s lives. He invented online dating, starting and growing Match.com where he was responsible for millions of babies. Among other companies, he founded Clean Power Finance (now Spruce Finance), a leading provider of solar energy financing to residences, backed by Duke Energy, Florida Power and Light, Southern California Edison, Kleiner Perkins, Google Ventures and Gary Kremen himself. Gary also co-founded Pace Avenue, which received a $1.5M U.S. Department of Energy Sunshot Grant to continue developing technology to drive adoption of solar and energy-efficiency to low-and-moderate income (LMI) households.
Gary was the incubator, founding investor, and Chairperson of the county's leading water conservation company, WaterSmart Software (sold to VertexOne). WaterSmart produces the Home Water Report, which helps water users save an average of 5% of their water usage by giving personal, easy-to-follow recommendations. The company has saved billions of gallons of water to date.
Coming from a background as a Electrical Engineer and advisor to several startup solar, water, energy management and general sustainability firms, Gary recognizes that clean technology innovation can be used to tackle issues affecting the Valley Water, such as drought and water management.
Education and sustainability are Gary’s dedicated passions. He taught for years a graduate level-energy policy course at https://isen.northwestern.edu (ISEN), is a member of the University of California at Merced Foundation Board, and was an advisor, grant proposal evaluator, and judge at Stanford University's TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy. He is also a long-time volunteer, judge and mentor at the leading water non-profit, Imagine H2O.
Gary was also elected to and served from 2010-2014 on the Board of Directors of Purissima Hill Water District. Before that he served as the Secretary of the Water Conservation Committee for Los Altos Hills. He was appointed as a member of the Proposition 39, California Clean Energy Jobs Act Citizen's Oversight Board.
Director Kremen may be contacted by e-mail at: [email protected] or by cell phone at 415-305-3052.
Correspondence to the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board Members may also be sent via email to: [email protected].