CEO, President & Founder

Ralph Chesley was born in Manila, Philippines and raised in Candelaria, Zambales until the age of 12. Ralph returned after 38 years in 2003 to find living conditions remained at subsistence farming. He sought to make a change, and five years later formed REEF a 501(c)3 public charity, non-profit international tax-exempt organization. Its mission to use renewable energy technologies to alleviate poverty focuses on health care, solar systems for poor families, education, and career development in the renewable energy industry.

Prior to REEF, Ralph designed solar systems and presented environmental and economic cost benefit analysis on solar PV systems. With 25 years in the energy industry, Ralph worked in the utility power industry, both in fossil and nuclear power plants, assisting Fortune 500 utilities in the western United States and Canada improve plant efficiencies. As a registered energy auditor with CEC, home owners and small business owners benefited from his energy efficiency recommendations. His passion for energy conservation includes passive heating and cooling designs for buildings. On his spare time he volunteers for another non-profit installing solar systems for qualified low income families in the San Francisco Bay Area.

As President and CEO, Ralph is responsible for the success of REEF’s mission. He oversees the daily operations while developing new programs to broaden its reach to serve the poor. He travels annually to the Philippines to seek endorsements from government aid agencies and provincial government officials to lend their support to advance REEF’s programs to alleviate poverty in their districts.

Ralph serves on the Board of Directors for The Candelarians, an association of ex-pats from his home town, and is a member on the advisory board for the Center for Filipino Studies under the auspices of California State University, East Bay, directed by Efren Padilla, PhD. REEF is a registered corporation with the State of California and identified by the US Internal Revenue Service as owning its tax-exempt status. Ralph earned his BA in Environmental Studies from University of Santa Cruz, California. A frequent visitor to Foundation Center, San Francisco, he attends classes on the advancement of non-profit management.

Member of the Board

Larry Asera is an internationally noted engineer, entrepreneur, and educator known for his creative initiatives and projects that have changed U.S. public policy in the renewable energy industry over the last two decades. He has also been recognized for his many years of voluntary service as an elected and appointed official and as a member of numerous local and national community foundation boards.

A pioneer in the development of photovoltaic technology, Mr. Asera is well-known for helping to bring electricity to the poorest areas in the world. His corporate logo--“solarizing the globe . . . one village at a time”--has brought solar electricity in the rural areas of the Philippines for housing, water pumping and health facilities.

Mr. Asera’s role on the REEF Board of Directors will be in the area of technology transfer, project management and liaise with government contacts here in California and Philippine government and solar manufacturers. He assists with curriculum development and certification for the Leaders in Education And Development Sustainability program.

Member of the Board

Norris Tongson has more than 12 years experience in the manufacturing and semiconductor industry. He is currently the Senior Supply Chain Manager at Applied Materials responsible for global strategic sourcing of semiconductor equipment.

As a Board member, Mr. Tongson will manage the supply chain and logistics initiatives of REEF's international solar projects. In addition, Mr. Tongson will co-manage the Community Outreach fundraising campaign with Mr. Rodney Delos Angeles. Together they will build an in-house infrastructure needed to carry out REEF’s international campaign efforts targeting Filipino-American corporations and organizations to support REEF’s mission.

As part of his community involvement, Mr. Tongson is currently serving as St. Bede’s Elementary School Board Member; Officer for Santa Cruz, Zambales, Northern California Association; member of the Center for Filipino Studies at CSUEB; and is the Chair for Hayward Chapter of National Federation of Filipino Americans Association. Mr. Tongson was past officer for Society of Manufacturing Engineer and the American Society of Agricultural Engineers; and, co-founded the Ohlone College Filipino-American Student Alliance.

Mr.Tongson earned his Master of Business Administration from Keller Graduate School of Management, DeVry University.  He is an officer of ANC Food Services, LLC a franchisee for La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill in Hayward, CA; he also earned his Bachelor of Science for Bio-Resource and Agriculture Engineering from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo.

Secretary

Rodney Delos Angeles was born and raised to native parents from the town of Candelaria, Zambales Philippines. His family migrated to the US when he was 15 years old and has been living in the Bay Area ever since.

Rodney Delos Angeles is a Sr. Production Planner for NVIDIA, manufacturer of GForce, the leading graphic microprocessor. He has extensive experience in Supply Chain management, working in various high tech Silicon Valley companies. Furthermore, he believes that clean/green technology has a profound impact not just on the environment but also on building and enriching people’s lives in many aspects such as eradicating poverty. It is one of the many reasons he is avidly involved with REEF and wanted to ensure its vision will be fulfilled.

Rodney’s Board duties include co-chair of REEF’s Community Outreach Program with Norris Tongson. Together they’re entrusted to create a program to engage all interested individuals to join REEF’s mission either as a volunteer and/or donor. Don’t be surprised when you receive a call from either of them. Finally, Rodney will lead the procurement and delivery logistics of REEF projects.

Rodney received a BS in Industrial Psychology from Cal State EastBay in Hayward, CA and MBA in Technology Management from University of Phoenix.

Vice President

Nicholas Rogers currently practices complex securities and shareholder derivative litigation in San Francisco. In the past he has also provided pro bono legal services through the San Francisco Bar Association's Volunteer Legal Services Program and worked on various charitable, environmental/energy and political projects. Before that Mr. Rogers was with the office of the City Attorney for the City of San Francisco.

To continue his interest in energy issues, Mr. Rogers will investigate power purchase agreements (PPA) contracts and cap and trade mechanisms whereby creating opportunities of new revenue streams. In addition, Mr. Rogers will lead efforts to register REEF as an NGO with governments to ensure eligibility to participate in foreign aid grant programs.

Nicholas A. Rogers received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a minor in History from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Golden Gate University School of Law. Mr. Rogers is admitted to the California Bar and is licensed to practice in all California State Courts.

Treasurer

Richard Lehman is Vice President in the Wealth Management group at Mechanics Bank in Richmond, California and an Instructor of both Finance and Derivatives at UC Berkeley Extension in his spare time. His financial career spans more than thirty years in Product Management, Marketing and Investment Management beginning with an eleven year stint on Wall Street with EF Hutton, Thomson McKinnon and the New York Stock Exchange.

Lehman’s role while on the Board is to advise on financial matters, investigate and secure corporate partnerships among the financial institutions, and assist with the creation of REEF’s endowment program by seeking benefactors with interests in alleviating poverty through the transfer of renewable energy.

Lehman has written two books. The first, with coauthor Lawrence McMillan, was New Insights on Covered Call Writing – The Powerful Technique that Lowers Risk and Enhances Returns in Stock Investing. The second is Far From Random – Using Investor Behavior and Trend Analysis to Forecast Market Movement.

Lehman holds a BS in Management Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy New York and an MBA from the State University of New York at Albany.