The SEWW Energy Team

Kevon Makell is the founder and Chief Executive Officer at SEWW Energy Inc., where he leads the company’s operations to develop and deliver sustainable, smart macro and micro-grid solutions globally. Mr. Makell has over 30 years of experience in the energy industry: the majority with FirstEnergy (a Fortune 500 Utility), managing utility planning, governmental affairs, operations, new ventures, alternative energy, and regulatory compliance. Prior to starting SEWW Energy he was the Vice President & General Manager at PureNERGY Renewables Ltd, a sustainable energy technology company featuring hybrid Renewable Energy solutions for island nations, ranging from 1.5 kilowatts to 1 megawatt.

It was through Mr. Makell’s personal experience living on the island of Bermuda that the vision for SEWW Energy was born. Island nations have been the most significantly impacted by global climate change and severe weather conditions, resulting in energy reliability issues. When Kevon was faced with these issues, he leveraged his vast experience in Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Consulting, Energy Services and Electric Utility to build a smart micro-grid islanded solution to power his own home and provide energy security for him and his family. It was through this effort that he realized he wanted to provide similar solutions for other, less fortunate populations that suffer from energy access challenges.

Throughout his career Mr. Makell has successfully completed both large scale ($6.4B) and small scale energy projects throughout the United States; and Internationally in Bermuda, the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management with an emphasis in engineering from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA.

Mr. Dixon currently serves as General Counsel for SEWW Energy. He brings his experience as a successful trial lawyer to the position, where he litigated many civil and business cases including contract disputes and business sales. Mr. Dixon also worked in small business management for several years, prior to pursuing a career in law. Mr. Dixon is a graduate of Cornell University and the David A. Clarke School of Law, and he is licensed to practice law in the State of North Carolina, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Mr. Ellis brings more than 35 years of experience in the energy sector to his position at SEWW Energy. He has expertise in utility generation, electrical transmission and distribution systems, engineering management, training development and regulatory compliance. Mr. Ellis has also managed various Smart Grid applications, with his primary areas of focus being research and development, cross-industry collaboration, and market analysis of these applications. He is a Manager of Gas Distribution at DTE Energy, a Fortune 500 utility company, where he is responsible for operations, engineering and project management. Mr. Ellis is a Certified Energy Manager, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Heat and Warmth Fund, an independent non-profit (501)(c)(3) agency that provides low-income individuals and families in Michigan with emergency energy assistance, due to his interest in making provisions for an economic and sustainable safety net for at-risk energy consumers. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Technology from Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, MI, where he also developed and taught an Alternative Energy Technology curriculum based on energy economics as an Adjunct Professor.

Dr. Johnson joins SEWW Energy with over 19 years of experience in the health care industry. He earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Toxicology from the Department of Environmental Health at the University of Cincinnati-College of Medicine where he also led a community outreach and education program on the impact of environmental factors on disease susceptibility and outcomes. He spent several years as a Scientific Program Specialist in the office of the Director of the Centers for Cancer Research, a division of the National Cancer Institute, where he worked on several committees on topics related to health disparities in cancer research among minority populations. After leaving the government, he transitioned to the private sector as a Market Development Manager in Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Distribution at Cardinal Health, a Fortune 100 health care services company. He currently owns and operates a retail independent pharmacy in the Chicago, Illinois metropolitan area, where he serves underserved populations including the un-insured, under-insured, mental health patients and the elderly. Dr. Johnson currently serves on the Board of Directors for NexSolar Technology, LLC and also serves as a Senior Consultant with Viridian Energy, a subsidiary of Crius Energy.

Mr. Wade leads the operations of the Utility Grid Support & Urban Micro-Grid Optimization (MGO) Business Unit at SEWW Energy. He joins SEWW Energy from Bermuda Gas & Utility Company Ltd, a sister company of Bermuda’s primary energy company BELCO and wholly owned subsidiary of the Ascendant Group, where he is a Board Member and General Manager. During his tenure at Bermuda Gas, he leveraged his engineering expertise and strong leadership skills to pull the organization from its worse financial year in 70 years, to deliver its best financial performance in the history of the company. Prior to his position at Bermuda Gas, Mr. Wade served as Vice President of Customer Service at BELCO and a member of the Executive team of the Ascendant Group of Companies. Mr. Wade holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and maintains his status as a Professional Engineer through the Engineering Council in the United Kingdom. He also earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix.

In his position as head of the Rural Electrification Micro-Grid Solutions Business Unit, Dr. William leverages his 30 years of experience living, traveling, and working in Asia, South America and Africa on projects focused on basic and technical aspects of agricultural productivity, ecology, systems and materials science, and education of underserved populations. He has consulted for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), small biotech startup firms, and is a Director of the Ghana Biomedical Convention. Dr. Williams has acted as a project reviewer for the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health, and obtained and managed more than $1.2 million in research grants. Recent research projects on biofuels and nanotechnology have been funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Williams earned a Ph.D. in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and holds a tenured appointment as Associate Professor of Chemistry at Clark Atlanta University.

Mr. Ejigu has close to 40 years of experience in strategic planning and development policy, program formulation and evaluation, energy and natural resource management, and capacity building at the national, regional and global levels. Recently, Mr. Ejigu has worked as a senior member of the core Technical Team of the Africa Union Commission that developed Agenda 2063: the fifty year (2013-63) strategic plan for Africa’s development and technological transformation. Mr. Ejigu’s background includes Assistant Director General for Programs and Policy of IUCN-The World Conservation Union and Visiting Professor at the University for Peace, Costa Rica. He has also consulted for the multilateral financial and development institutions (UN, UNDP, IMF, The World Bank and UNICEF) in the areas of strategic planning, finance and development policy, environmental security, program development and M&E. In his home country of Ethiopia, Mr. Ejigu served as Minister of Planning and National Development and as Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Trained in economics at the University of British Columbia Graduate School and in agricultural economics at Alemaya College, Ethiopia, Mr. Ejigu is also Founder and President of Partnership for African Environmental Sustainability (PAES), a non - government organization established to promote environmentally and socially sustainable development in Africa based on best practices.