Clean Connect Strategies, LLC

Empowering clean energy through effective communications

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About Clean Connect Strategies

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Advancing Clean Energy Projects Through Expertise, Strategic Communications, and Powerful Messaging

Clean Connect Strategies leverages expertise in state and local public policy, communications, and strategic campaigns to accelerate utility-scale clean energy projects. Our unmatched political insight sets us apart, helping developers navigate complex regulatory landscapes, secure approvals, and build broad community support. We specialize in communicating the benefits of clean energy while countering local opposition that causes costly delays and cancellations.

By partnering with state and local stakeholders, we ensure collaborative decision-making that drives the transition to cleaner power and delivers long-term environmental and economic benefits for all communities.

Clean Energy Services

Power Analysis

Local sentiment is a crucial factor in site selection. We research to map key players, relationships, and power structures within communities, industries, and political landscapes. By identifying decision-makers and influencers, we provide insights to navigate challenges, safeguard your project's bottom line, and craft strategies that minimize risks, build support, and ensure smoother project development.

Communications

Opposition to renewable energy projects is growing, especially in high-risk areas. Early planning, robust resources, and clear communication are critical to overcoming siting and permitting challenges. We specialize in strategies that counter misinformation, address community concerns, and highlight the benefits of clean energy. Our approach builds trust, turns opposition into support, and ensures lasting acceptance. Don’t go it alone—let us create the playbook to secure the necessary approvals and guide you through successful execution, backed by an innovative digital campaign to reach your target audience.

Technical Assistance

We help state and local governments make informed energy decisions through community engagement, streamlined processes, and frameworks for effective agreements. Our services include regulatory guidance, policy analysis, and training to build local capacity. By fostering stakeholder collaboration, we empower governments to accelerate clean energy deployment, ensure efficient permitting, and create sustainable outcomes.

Director Christie Gross

With over two decades of experience in public policy, communications, and strategy, Christie has crafted impactful campaigns and led research-driven strategies for elected officials and political candidates nationwide. She has played a critical role in drafting renewable energy standards, designing tax credits, and negotiating project labor standards that have shaped the clean energy economy. Christie has led initiatives to unite leaders from the fossil fuel and renewable energy sectors to develop actionable strategies, creating a roadmap for advancing sustainable energy policies.

Driven by a passion for creating a better future for her son and future generations, Christie founded Clean Connect Strategies to combine her expertise in political strategy with a strong commitment to sustainability, supported by a team of experienced professionals. She is dedicated to accelerating the clean energy transition and expanding clean power generation, driving economic growth and long-term resilience.

Christie holds a master’s degree in public administration from the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and a bachelor’s degree in English and Political Science from the University of Delaware.

Our Team

Jen Reiner

Stakeholder Innovation Leader

Jen is a strategic innovation leader with extensive experience across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. She specializes in helping businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies navigate complex stakeholder dynamics to achieve project approval and public support. With expertise in market research, strategy, and stakeholder engagement, Jen designs actionable solutions that drive business success and deliver long-term environmental and community benefits.

She holds an MBA and a degree in political science and sociology and recently earned the Brené Brown Dare to Lead certificate in managing difficult conversations and fostering trust.

Jen co-founded the Carbon Neutral Coffee network to connect sustainability professionals, underscoring her dedication to fostering collaborative, community-driven solutions for environmental challenges.

Doug Heyl

Communications Strategist

Doug Heyl brings over thirty years of experience helping clients build powerful brands, craft compelling messages, and achieve their strategic goals.

As the founder of Mockingbird Strategies, Doug offers expert advice and produces targeted media across platforms for candidates, causes, companies, universities, nonprofits, and unions. His career includes serving as Deputy Secretary for Public Affairs in North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s administration and as Chief of Staff to EPA Administrator Michael Regan at the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ). At NCDEQ, Doug played a key role in shaping the public stakeholder process for Governor Cooper’s landmark clean energy plan. He developed the communications strategy that ultimately forced Duke Energy to undertake the nation’s most extensive coal ash cleanup.

Doug has also led high-impact campaigns for organizations like NCLCV, NRDC, and the Energy Foundation, laying the groundwork for North Carolina’s landmark climate and energy law, which sets the state on a path to carbon-neutral energy generation by 2050.

Contact Clean Connect Strategies

Ready to get started? Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help you achieve your clean energy goals.