Steve Johnson is the President and Founder of LightWave Solar Electric LLC. He is a NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer and provides leadership to the company at the forefront of the solar PV industry in Tennessee. He has been in the electrical construction business for over 30 years with experience in solar PV dating back to 1998. He holds the second NABCEP certification in the State of Tennessee as well as an unlimited Tennessee Electrical Contractors License including a Solar Panel Installation designation. Steve has worked closely with TVA on the development of the Generation Partners program and has been responsible for the design and installation of over half of TVA's grid-tied installations in Tennessee. These systems include installations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, designs for the Tennessee National Guard Armory, and the first solar interconnections with 13 electrical distributors and several municipalities. He is the 2007 recipient of the Tennessee Million Solar Roofs "Solar Star" award for contributions in the solar electrical field in Tennessee. Most recently, Steve was voted President of the Tennessee Solar Energy Association. Steve lives in Cane Ridge with his wife, Carla, and their two teenagers.
Christine Johnson (no relation to Steve) is a native of Switzerland and certified public accountant. She started her career in 1986 with an apprenticeship in banking. In 1991 Christine became a corporate accountant for Franke, a world leader in comprehensive kitchen systems and for professional applications in food services. Christine received the opportunity to transfer to Franke's Nashville location in 1995. She worked in multiple functions until 2001 when she decided to go back to school to earn a B.A. in Accounting. Christine is the owner of Christine Johnson, CPA, and has successfully worked as a self-employed Accounting & Tax Consultant since 2003. Christine started doing the books for LightWave Solar in July 2007, first on a monthly and then weekly basis. Since May 2009, Christine has been a LightWave Solar employee responsible for Administration, Finances, and Human Resources. She loves working for a green company that is passionate about sustainability and renewable energy. Christine lives in Smyrna with her husband, a dog and two cats. She is a passionate gardener.
Peter Vash is a NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer and Professional Engineer in the states of New Jersey and Maryland with over 20 years of diversified engineering, construction, and management experience gained through positions in the solar power industry, manufacturing sector, and the environmental consulting field. He joined LightWave Solar as a Commercial Project Manager in June of 2009 and now serves as Engineering Manager. Originally from beautiful Perth Amboy, NJ, Pete holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University and a Masters in Environmental Engineering from the NJ Institute of Technology. Prior to joining LightWave Solar, Pete held senior engineering and project management positions with several leading solar integrators in the northeast including First Solar Electric in Bridgewater, NJ, and Standard Solar in Gaithersburg, MD. An accomplished singer/songwriter and performer, Pete had his solar awakening in 2003 while supporting himself as a full time musician and recording artist. After several hundred gigs and the successful independent release of "FIVE CORNERS" in 2005, Pete enrolled in his first PV course at Solar Energy International and has not looked back.
Jason Campbell has been involved in solar energy since 1999 when he started his degree in Appropriate Technology and Renewable Energy at Humboldt State University in Northern California. Since graduating in 2002, Jason worked with troubled youth in both Colorado and Arizona until landing his first renewable energy job in 2005. While working as VP of Renewable Energy for an architect in Flagstaff, Arizona, Jason designed, managed and installed over 150 solar, wind and solar/wind hybrid renewable energy systems. After leaving Arizona he worked in Colorado consulting with commercial and government organizations interested in solar energy. In early 2010 Jason joined LightWave Solar as Senior Solar Consultant. Outside of work Jason is an avid outdoorsman and spends most his time traveling and exploring new beautiful places.
George Horrocks is an Electrical Engineer with over 20 years of design and management experience. A graduate of Brigham Young University, he has been on the leading edge of creating computer systems for newspapers and book publishers and worked on the first WYSIWYG computers and high resolution imagesetters. "Our job was to take the esoteric and turn it into the mundane." George began the transition to solar PV design with a "Solar Bootcamp" class at the International Solar Conference and once hooked, quickly followed up with courses from a local community college and Solar Living Institute in CA. In early 2010, he was seduced to leave his native NH, where he had his own solar design and installation company, Harmony Energy Works, with promises of warm weather and longer gardening seasons in Tennessee. He currently holds the NABCEP Certificate of Knowledge and is preparing to sit for the NABCEP Certified PV Installer exam. He is a member of ASES and IEEE professional organizations. George is an avid hiker and camper, having logged nights on the ground throughout the US and most of Europe and is an Advanced Open Water Scuba Diver.
Grace Safer, a Nashville native and 2008 Vanderbilt University Anthropology graduate, is a Solar Consultant and the first person most people meet at LightWave Solar. Grace joined LightWave Solar soon after college, determined to work in an environmentally-conscious field. With SunPower PV design and sales training, she performs duties in sales, advertising, and administration. She helps the company maintain its status as the leading PV installer in the state, valuing quality and customer service above all. Grace enjoys spending her free time outdoors and at home.
Karl Jaeger is LightWave Solar's Operations Manager. His solar career began in the 5th grade when he rigged up a small solar panel that lifted various size weights as a test of the power of the sun based on light levels and air temperature. An admitted Yankee, he is a Mechanical Engineering graduate of Michigan State University, where he played collegiate volleyball. A licensed journeyman electrician with seven years of experience, Karl is also a NABCEP-certified solar PV installer with over 300 systems installed in Colorado. He joined LightWave Solar in May 2009. He and his wife had their first baby, a girl, four months later. He enjoys interacting with homeowners as he leads solar installations, and continues to believe that solar and renewable energy are solutions to a lot of problems facing America and the world.
Miles McCrickard, a Nashville native and one of LightWave Solar's original installers, brings a green perspective and several decades of construction experience to the installation team. Miles has performed every aspect of solar installation from the roof on down, and is now primarily responsible for installing electrical gear. Miles completed solar PV installer training with SunPower University and looks forward to getting his NABCEP certification. In his spare time, he enjoys following politics on C-SPAN and the internet. His company nickname is "Southern Sly" for his resemblance to Rocky Balboa without the mushmouth.
Joe Pizzini, a Nashville native and UT-Knoxville graduate, leads the rooftop portion of LightWave Solar's installation team. He has been with the company since 2008 and has worked on several dozen of its installations. He has completed SunPower University solar PV installer training and classes offered by Solar Energy International, and he plans to continue his solar training in route to earning his NABCEP certification. As an avid outdoorsman, Joe has always had a desire to work in a field that protects the environment, and finds the solar industry a good fit. A longtime baseball player, Joe's crew moniker is Stringbean.
Erik Stefans, an installer who joined LightWave Solar as an apprentice in September 2009, moved to Nashville from his hometown in Long Island, N.Y., two years ago. He brought mechanical skills to LightWave Solar from working on boats at a Long Island marina and bicycles in Nashville. He primarily mounts panels on roofs but plans on turning his longstanding fervor for renewable energy into a career in the solar industry. He is enrolled in SunPower University and is working toward his NABCEP certification. Erik enjoys mountain biking, photography and playing racquetball in his spare time, and now that he's in Nashville, he has taken up the banjo.
Lori Lemberger, LightWave Solar's Bookkeeper, has over 10 years of accounting experience and an associate degree in Accounting. Since October 2009, she has worked at LightWave Solar part-time and enjoys learning more about the solar industry. Lori lives in Christiana, TN, with her husband and three kids.
Paul Sutton is LightWave Solar's Northeast Tennessee Sales Representative as well as an installer for the Northeast regional market. The Northeast area includes Knoxville, Morristown, Kingsport, Bristol, Johnson City, and surrounding territories. Paul is a Nashville native who has witnessed the explosive growth of the area as a student of his parents' real estate business. As a result he feels that smart, efficient, and sustainable construction can increase a property's equity value without compromising aesthetics. He has a B.A. in Business Administration and has been a licensed general contractor for several years in the residential and commercial construction industry. Paul is also a Certified Green building Professional (CGP) who is passionate about providing solar energy solutions to homeowners, businesses, and industries looking to reduce their energy costs as well as their carbon footprint. Over the last two years, Paul has helped LightWave Solar install several PV systems and is attending SunPower University with the goal of attaining his NABCEP Solar PV certification in 2010. Paul lives with his wife and three children in the Tri-Cities and enjoys aviation, outdoor adventures, and sustainable living.
Jeffrey Lang is a NABCEP-certified installer and previously worked as the VP|Chief Technology Officer for a Renewable Energy Company in Long Island, New York. Jeff is a noted wind power expert in New York and has consulted on utility rebate programs and county-wide code adoption for both solar and wind technologies. Jeff has done construction work from welding a rebar foundation 16 feet underground to bolting on a wind turbine rotor 125 feet up in the air. He has also done numerous renewable energy system designs and PV installations ranging from residential systems to commercial and municipal projects. Outside of LightWave Jeff is an avid outdoors man who loves to rock climb, hike and play volleyball.
Jason Whitehouse obtained a BS in Electrical Engineering from Western Kentucky University in May 2010, where his interest in renewable energy became dominant. He joined LightWave in June 2010 and has begun his training as a PV Design Engineer. When not at work, Jason enjoys camping, fishing, and being outdoors.
The LightWave Team 
