Chair
Major: Supply Chain Management
Minor: Energy and Sustainability

Candace Qamer is currently a Senior at the University of Houston, graduating in May 2023 with a BBA in Supply Chain Management from Bauer College and a minor in Energy and Sustainability through the Honors College. As a nontraditional student, Candace came to UH with 12 years experience in Revenue Cycle Management in the Healthcare Industry. Through her education and exposure to UH Energy, she has become excited about shifting into the Energy Industry, hoping to attain positions that align with clean and sustainable energy supply. At UH, Candace is most passionate about using her experience to help mentor other students. Over her academic career, she mentored over 30 peers through various programs and organizations and is slated to mentor many more throughout her final semester. As a student, Candace has earned an ELASP certificate, TBUBS scholarship, summer internships, participated in research projects, maintained a 4.0 GPA, member of a student org (SPO) and earned the position as Chair of The Energy Coalition. Candace accomplished all while focusing on her most important role, being a devoted mother and wife.

Vice Chair
Doctorate: Physics

Uchenna Ubeh is a graduate student pursuing his doctorate in Physics. His research is focused on studying two-dimensional materials, and his results are targeted toward improving energy devices. Aside from research, Uche serves as the current Vice-Chair of the Energy Coalition board (EC) and the Graduate Student Representative at the Graduate and Professional Students Association (GPSA) here at the University of Houston. He is honored to be a part of the professional and personal development of his peers. In his spare time, He enjoys reading, playing football, and spending time with his family and friends. He hopes to continue looking for ways to help reduce our carbon footprint through research and community engagements.

Vice Chair of Operations
Major: Technology Project Management

Akshay Shanbhag is a graduate student pursuing Masters’s in Technology Project Management. His research is focused on repurposing existing oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico for the production of Green Hydrogen and bringing the cost of green hydrogen down.   Aside from research, Akshay serves as the current Vice-Chair General Events Program Manager at the Energy Coalition board (EC) here at the University of Houston.  In his spare time, He enjoys playing soccer, exploring new places to eat, and watching sports.    He hopes to make the world a greener place to live in by contributing to his research and finding alternative and economic ways of making use of renewable energy.

Vice Chair of Energy Education
Major: Finance and Marketing

Sai Gudapati is a second-year law student at the University of Houston Law Center, graduating in May 2024. She got her Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance and Marketing from the University of Houston Bauer College of Business. This her second year on the Energy Coalition Board, she started off as the Vice Chair of Student Relations and has taken on the role of Vice Chair of Education for the 2022-2023 school year. She has spent her past summer working at a law firm, and in the future, she is interested in working closely in a finance or energy related field. Not only is she a part of the Energy Coalition, but she is also very involved in the law school organizations as well. She is an officer for the Clinical Lawyering Enrichment Organization, as well the Outlaw Organization. In her free time, she loves spending time with her tuxedo cat, Tsuki. She loves cooking and baking, and every Sunday, you can find her glued to the television watching a Formula 1 race. Motorsports and the fact that she has been living in Houston for the past 12 years are the two main reasons, she became interested in the energy industry. She hopes that in her position as the Vice Chair of Energy Education that she can connect and educate anyone who wished to work in the energy industry and spread word of what a wonderful organization the Energy Coalition.

Vice Chair of Finance
Major: Accounting and Finance
Minor: Biology and Energy and Sustainability

Pranjal Sheth is a sophomore in Bauer Honors at University of Houston, double majoring in Finance and Accounting with a minor in Biology and Energy and Sustainability. Pranjal believes that growth happens most from what is done outside of class, so although he excels in his classes, he spends most of his time educating himself through extracurriculars and giving back to the community. He is currently working part-time for an industrials-focused private equity fund, Hastings Equity Partners, and he is using his experience with this fund in his role as the Vice Chair of Finance for the Energy Coalition. He also serves as an intermediary between the Martin Trust Center at MIT and Greentown Labs to help fund cleantech and energy transition startups. Since starting at UH, he has been an analyst for the university’s Undergraduate Investment Fund, Bauer Capital Group, and he just joined a 4-month national cohort led by Student Energy to work with PhDs and MBA’s to dive deeper into the energy economy and policy landscape. Pranjal is an Academic Excellence Scholarship recipient, Athletic Alliance Scholar, was the principal for two published papers (Effects of Multilingualism Education on STEM academic performance, and REVIEW: Hydrogen Economy), and was a contributor to two medical papers in collaboration with Methodist Research Institute. Next summer, he will be in New York working with Mizuho Americas to help upstart their energy investment banking division in the US, and is looking to move into the energy high finance realm. In his free time, he loves playing tennis, swimming, meeting new people, going to new places, volunteering, and hanging out with friends. After all of his experiences facilitated by the University of Houston, he is passionate about uplifting others through advising/mentoring and placing other students in professional positions available in his network, ultimately making UH a better campus.

Vice Chair of Student Organization Relations I
Major: Supply Chain Management and Finance

My name is Carson Havard and I am a junior double majoring in Supply Chain Management and Finance. I’m an active member around campus, serving as The Energy Coalition Student Organization Relations, a member of the Bauer Honors Student Advisory Board, and an analyst at the Bayou Capital Group Undergraduate Investment Fund. I have always been passionate about the energy industry, and I hope to be able to improve the opportunities related to that field for UH Students.

Vice Chair of Student Organization Relations II

Vice Chair of Alumni Relations
Doctorate: Physics

Paul Byaruhanga is a graduate student pursuing his doctorate in Physics at University of Houston. His research focuses on electro catalysis of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) as one of the sources of hydrogen to produce clean energy. He synthesizes oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) platinum group catalysts to improve the performance of the proton membrane in a membrane electrode assembly (MEA). Aside from research, Paul serves as the current Vice-Chair of the Energy Coalition alumni relations and a member of both the American Physical Society and Electrochemical society of the University of Houston. In his spare time, he joins Christian fellowships both in person and online for prayer, play games (soccer and table tennis), hangs out with friends to have the social company. He hopes to continue looking forward to collaborating with other researchers to contribute towards the net zero carbon consumption in fuels. This will create a revolutionary cleaner and greener energy society.

Vice Chair of Design
Major: Finance and Accounting

Sarah Grace is a sophomore double-majoring in Finance and Accounting from Houston, Texas. She is new to the Energy Coalition, where she just started as the Vice Chair of Design. Sarah Grace is passionate about the arts and is excited to bring her design skills to the Energy Coalition, for she was selected as one of twenty students nationwide as a U.S. Presidential Scholar of the Arts in 2021, and she was a Semi-Finalist on NBC’s The Voice in 2018. She signed a record deal in 2020 with her nationally touring band and is now a full-time student at the University of Houston. During her first year at UH, Sarah Grace was designated as Outstanding First Year Student by the Honors College, and she received multiple awards in her service organization, Bonner Leaders, where she spends 10 hours per week tutoring low-income high school students on the SAT to break the cycle of poverty. Additionally, a month into her freshman year, Sarah Grace began an internship at Morgan Stanley, which she completed throughout the year before securing her next internship at Main Street Capital, a Houston-based private equity firm. Sarah Grace is also a part of the university’s Undergraduate Investment Fund as an Analyst for the Technology coverage team, and to encourage diversity in recruitment. Additionally, Sarah Grace is a Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Scholar, and she has been honored again and again to sing for the Rodeo, Honors College faculty, and Dr. Renu Khator for special events at the University of Houston. In her free time, she plays piano, tennis, and hangs out with her 12-year-old pug, Roo. After growing up deeply enriched by Houston’s culture, Sarah Grace is looking to step deeper into Houston’s roots in energy, and the transition to a clean future.