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Silicon Valley Clean Energy board adopts resolution honoring Melody Tovar on her retirement
Summary
The SVCE board unanimously adopted Resolution 2025-03 recognizing Melody Tovar’s role in the agency’s founding and regional decarbonization work, then invited Tovar to speak.
The Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) board of directors voted unanimously Feb. 12 to adopt Resolution 2025-03 honoring Melody Tovar for her leadership in the agency’s formation and years of public service.
The resolution, adopted by roll call vote, recognizes Tovar’s work leading early feasibility and technical studies that helped create the joint powers authority now known as SVCE. Board members said her efforts during the formative 2014–2016 planning and outreach period were instrumental in convincing several South Bay jurisdictions to pursue community choice energy.
Why it matters: SVCE is the local community-choice energy provider for member cities and the county; the agency’s board said shifting local electricity supplies to lower-carbon sources was one of the single largest greenhouse-gas reductions achieved in the region. Board members used the ceremony to trace the agency’s roots back to Sunnyvale’s 2014 Climate Action Plan and subsequent interagency work that led to a May 2015 assessment and a November 2015 technical feasibility study.
Board comments and public remarks praised Tovar’s technical and convening work. Ramana Chaney Cortland, the City of Sunnyvale’s environmental services director, told the board the city is “still in a state of mourning” over Tovar’s retirement and thanked her for leadership on stormwater and sustainability. Dawn Bray, an SVCE staff member who described working with Tovar during the agency’s founding, highlighted Tovar’s ability to analyze complex data sets and to make technical explanations accessible to public audiences. SVCE staff member Tony Yulo said Tovar “had full control of the room” during early interagency meetings and congratulated her on a long career.
Tovar spoke after the vote. In her remarks she called SVCE “the foundation of local climate action for all of our communities” and thanked staff, consultants and elected officials who supported the program’s launch and growth.
The board then moved on to the evening’s regular agenda items.
Ending: Resolution 2025-03 will be added to the agency’s official records; the vote was unanimous. SVCE staff and member-city officials used the occasion to highlight the agency’s early work and to note the ongoing role of interjurisdictional collaboration for the region’s climate goals.
