Key Praxis Team Members

At Praxis Energy, we deploy custom-built teams designed to drive complex projects forward with precision, accountability, and local intelligence. Each initiative is led by senior project managers with World Bank experience, ensuring top-tier oversight from planning to completion. Our core team includes housing economists who model protections against real estate market volatility, communication and transparency specialists using the Praxis app alongside real-time, boots-on-the-ground data gathering, and a deep bench of facilitators, leadership coaches, and mediators. Every team is tailored to the unique needs of the community and developer—because effective project delivery starts with the right people, in the right roles, at the right time.

Shane Cobb-Adams

As a Strategic Advisor at The Four Cups (T4C), a purpose-driven strategic advisory and facilitation practice, and Co-Founder of the bio-regional impact network Seeding Change, Shane brings decades of experience advancing community-rooted innovations in equity, sustainability, and cultural insight. He has collaborated with developers, foundations, healthcare systems, universities, and charter schools to assess needs, develop strategies, and evaluate community-driven projects across Hawaii, Aotearoa (New Zealand), and Native American regions in the U.S. to design strategies, evaluate programs, and secure transformational funding for community-driven projects.

At the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Shane spent 15+ years combining research rigor with deep cultural knowledge to advance equity and community health. His background spans regenerative development, ecological design, and real estate operations, grounded in a multigenerational legacy of land stewardship.

Key accomplishments include:

Securing $9M in funding for Kauai’s Native Hawaiian Health Care System.
Leading $1.2M in initiatives for Native Hawaiian teacher education and development.
Driving Hawaiian policy reform through legislative strategy and resolution authorship.
Managing multimillion-dollar federal grants that advanced education equity and community health.
Launching project-based learning hubs to strengthen charter schools and innovation.

As part owner of Praxis Energy, LLC, Shane delivers culturally informed strategies that help energy and infrastructure clients build trust, foster alignment, and achieve sustainable impact, from planning and permitting to execution and stewardship.

Rick Corrado

As CEO of The Four Cups (T4C) and Co-Founder of the bioregional impact network Seeding Change, Rick brings decades of experience in business strategy, investment, and transformative growth. Throughout his career, he has founded and led 21 companies and played a pivotal role in shepherding values-driven launches, thoughtful transitions, and purpose-built scaling efforts.

Rick’s impressive track record includes closing more than $10B in annual real estate sales and delivering average investor returns ranging from 11% to 80% annually. His strategic insights have guided family offices, mission-driven developers, and high-net-worth individuals in aligning capital with community priorities, while supporting landmark milestones, including clients reaching $1B+ in assets and volume.

His advisory approach blends financial expertise with deep systems thinking, helping clients design projects that honor place, build trust, and strengthen economic and ecological well-being. His work is grounded in the belief that business can be a powerful catalyst for community transformation.

As part owner of Praxis Energy, Risk supports clients in delivering energy and infrastructure solutions that create shared value, advancing practical, locally responsive outcomes that serve people, businesses, and the planet for generations to come.

Jesse M. Abraham Lead Economist, Praxis

As Lead Economist at Praxis Energy, Jesse brings over 30 years of experience in economic forecasting, credit risk, and financial strategy. He partners with developers, project managers, governments, and mission-aligned institutions to navigate complex financial landscapes, crafting protective provisions that shield communities and funders from tax reassessments, regulatory shifts, and unforeseen liabilities. Known for his expertise in economic modeling, Jesse equips stakeholders with the foresight and clarity needed to drive sustainable, community-centered outcomes.

Former Senior Vice President at Wells Fargo, Jesse led credit risk modeling and stress testing across home mortgage, small business, and consumer lending portfolios. Prior to that, he directed credit loss forecasting as a Vice President, for a $1 trillion portfolio at Freddie Mac and helped develop the Freddie Mac House Price index, a widely used benchmark for real estate and investment decisions.

Earlier in his career, Jesse served as an economic consultant at McGraw-Hill’s F.W. Dodge Data Resources Inc., providing forecasting tools that shaped decisions in infrastructure and development. He is the author of more than 30 published and unpublished research papers covering subjects such as house price dynamics, credit risk, repayment modeling, and the broader economic impacts of tax reform and fiscal policy.

At Praxis Energy, Jesse applies his expertise in development, finance, and policy to deliver economic guidance and data-driven solutions that support complex property agreements. His ability to decode market dynamics and model housing trends helps communities, funders, and organizations anticipate and respond to the economic impacts of development and transform risk into strategy to align projects with long-term public benefit.

Joe Plenzler

As Co-Founder of Cassandra-Helenus Partners, LLC, a leadership development and human communication firm, Joe leverages over 25 years of experience helping senior professionals drive meaningful, lasting change through powerful communication strategies grounded in neuroscience and the applied science of human persuasion. His work centers on equipping individuals to translate vision into action by forging authentic connections and inspiring engagement across their organizations.

A retired Marine Corps officer and decorated combat veteran, Joe is a proven authority in high-stakes communications, skilled at aligning mission-critical objectives with public trust, strategic messaging, and meaningful community engagement. From planning the largest embed program in Marine Corps history during the Iraq invasion to serving as the senior U.S. military spokesperson during the international tsunami relief effort in Indonesia, Joe has helped governments, communities, and global audiences navigate moments of crisis, transformation, and recovery.

Following his retirement from active duty in 2015, Joe has held high-level roles, including Executive Vice President of Marketing and Membership at the United States Naval Institute, National Director of Media Relations for a prominent veteran service organization, and Director of Government Communication for the Wounded Warrior Project. Additionally, he is a frequent contributor to national television and radio on advocacy issues, and his writing has appeared widely in leading outlets including The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, and Foreign Policy.

Leveraging a powerful blend of strategic communication expertise and mission-aligned mindset, Joe helps clients turn complex infrastructure and energy strategies into community-centered action. At Praxis, he builds trust across governments, funders, and stakeholders to deliver lasting, on-the-ground impact.

Randall Benn (Randy)

As an executive coach, attorney, and policy strategist, Randall brings over three decades of experience across law, government, and global consulting where he has guided individuals and institutions toward greater clarity, conviction, and community impact. His coaching style blends backbone, heart, and humor, empowering CEOs, senior government officials, and nonprofit leaders across sectors to act with purpose and navigate complexity with confidence.

A former partner at three of the world’s largest law firms, a senior official at the U.S. EPA, and Senior Fellow at his alma mater, Randall has worked at the highest levels of the U.S. Executive and Legislative branches across global forums. He has captained strategic planning efforts for national parks, NGOs, and universities, redesigned energy and water resource strategies across two major interstate watersheds, and negotiated legislation signed by the President to redraw the boundaries of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Randall’s public advocacy spans issues of water quality, sustainability, homelessness prevention, gun violence reduction, and interfaith peacebuilding. He has also helped launch businesses in Costa Rica, Switzerland, the U.K. and Washington D.C., and regularly designs development programs for law firm partners and public sector leaders.

At Praxis Energy, Randall combines legal depth, policy fluency, and human-centered insight to help energy, environment, and infrastructure clients deliver transformative outcomes. With a sharp understanding of where strategy, innovation, and public trust intersect, he is committed to supporting changemakers in shaping more sustainable, just, and resilient futures.

Lewis Dabney

As a vital member of the Praxis Energy team, Lewis brings over twenty-five years of national and international experience in conflict resolution, aligned with decades of practice in fostering human connection and personal growth. Dedicated to driving social impact, he has devoted his career to helping individuals and communities cultivate their inter-relational humanity, championing shared understanding, and creating environments where mutual understanding can thrive. His work centers on helping clients build clarity, strengthen relationships, and move through challenges with greater focus and resilience.

This commitment has shaped his leadership of the Key Bridge Foundation, a nonprofit Alternative Dispute Resolution practice serving the federal sector and clients worldwide, where he has focused on conflict resolution, program management, training, and technical assistance. His extensive work in the disability rights field has sharpened his ethical compass and collaborative problem-solving skills, ensuring processes that are impartial, inclusive, and accessible. Additionally, he has lived and worked within diverse religious and cultural communities, making him skilled at bridging divides and finding common ground where others only see differences.

Through his work with Praxis, Lewis brings expertise in conflict resolution, cultural fluency, and trust-building to help energy clients and communities in addressing complex social dynamics, resolving stakeholder tensions, and shaping inclusive, values-aligned solutions. His ability to foster mutual understanding and bring calm to high-stakes situations makes him a vital asset in ensuring projects reflect both community priorities and long-term public benefit.

Susan Hengel

A visionary executive, Susan specializes in helping large groups of people learn something new, whether navigating regulatory training, implementing strategic change, or building capacity at scale. With over two decades of experience designing and delivering transformative programs, she equips teams and organizations to unlock new perspectives, cultivate resilience, and reach levels of performance beyond what they believed possible.

As a critical member of a 20K-employee financial institution, Susan led enterprise initiatives in regulatory training, cultural transformation, and workforce development, building the infrastructure needed to support growth, compliance, and operational excellence. Previously, she served as General Manager of a global talent development firm, where she supported private and public sector clients through large-scale transitions and organizational change.

At Praxis Energy, Susan brings a systems-oriented approach to stakeholder engagement, working with government agencies, utilities, and community partners to design inclusive, outcome-driven programs that support energy transition goals. Her work turns complexity into clarity, translating policy, strategy, and technical innovation into scalable human capability.

Dr. Holly Tompson

Holly brings a global perspective and deep expertise in organizational development and cross-sector collaboration to her work at Praxis Energy. With a proven track record of guiding enterprise change and strategic alignment, she supports energy producers, project teams, and communities in accelerating transition, strengthening local capacity, and building resilient, future-ready economies.

Her background includes leading high-impact initiatives for Fortune 500 companies, public health institutions, and mission-driven organizations such as Baylor College of Medicine, Booz Allen Hamilton, United Way, Deloitte Consulting, Baylor Medical Center, Bloomberg, Pfizer, and Fidelity. Across these diverse settings, Holly has facilitated large-scale change efforts, shaped enterprise strategies, and helped individuals translate vision into measurable outcomes.

Through her work with energy and infrastructure teams, Holly integrates research with practical, community-grounded insight to foster inclusive energy transitions that align stakeholder priorities, amplify value, and deliver lasting benefit to people and places. Her work will help advance the Praxis mission to build trusted partnerships and deliver practical solutions that serve local communities and the broader energy ecosystem.

Vernice Jones

Vernice brings over 15 years of experience designing innovative programs and advising Fortune 500 companies, global nonprofits, and socially conscious organizations on strategy, decision-making, and execution in complex environments. She applies a systems-oriented approach to help institutions manage uncertainty, assess critical inflection points, and build the structures and capabilities needed to deliver sustained results.

Her work is grounded in her work at Georgetown University’s Institute for Transformational Leadership, where she focuses on strategic thinking, individual development, and decision-making under complexity. Vernice has co-designed and led high-impact programs that equip individuals to operate with clarity, foster meaningful dialogue, and advance initiatives that create value across organizational and community contexts.

At Praxis Energy, Vernice will center the human dimensions of energy transition, supporting utilities, developers, and frontline communities in surfacing assumptions, building trust across differences, and co-creating inclusive, locally rooted systems.

e: vernice@cultivatingleadership.com c: (571) 354-0781

Bill Pullen

Working at the confluence of strategy, systems change, and human development, Bill has gained a reputation for sparking breakthroughs among individuals and institutions, helping them challenge entrenched thinking, unlock new ways of thinking, and deliver outcomes that extend beyond organizational boundaries. For over two decades, he has partnered with Fortune 100 companies, pioneering startups, federal agencies (including The White House), and global nonprofits to move through inflection points that call for focused execution, cross-sector coordination, and strategic foresight.

At the core of his practice lies a conviction: that leading in a hyper-connected, complex world demands far more than technical expertise, it calls for expanded perspective, resilience, and a willingness to rethink how we engage with uncertainty. Bill excels at surfacing invisible patterns that propel or hinder progress and has designed and delivered initiatives that translate insight into measurable, sustained change.

At Praxis Energy, Bill will work with governments, philanthropic institutions, and mission-focused organizations to translate strategy into solutions that serve both people and systems. He helps align stakeholders around shared goals, bridge systemic divides, and build the local capacity needed to implement future-focused energy solutions that endure beyond the life of the project.

e: bill@bpacoaching.com p: (202) 302-7290

Russ Watts

Russ is currently an Adjunct Professor at Bocconi University in Milan, where he teaches Social Entrepreneurship in the MaSEM (Master in Sustainability and Energy Management) program, sharing his expertise in leadership, innovation, and sustainability. With over three decades of experience across performance coaching, systems facilitation, and holistic wellness, Russ helps energy-sector teams, public agencies, and mission-focused organizations strengthen how they work, both together and within. His work supports individuals and groups in breaking through limiting patterns, building awareness, and tackling complexity with clarity and care.

Over the course of his career, Russ has worked with a wide range of global changemakers, from public servants and policymakers to NGO teams and corporate executives, supporting them through high-stakes transitions, complex team dynamics, and system-wide transformation. His client portfolio includes NASA, the EPA, the World bank, International Monetary Fund, European Parliament, Georgetown University, and the Global Food Fund. He has also worked extensively with nonprofits, academic institutions, and values-based organizations seeking to align leadership with long-term societal and environmental impact.

At Praxis Energy, Russ draws on a unique combination of somatic insight, systems thinking, and facilitation expertise to help project teams stay grounded, connected, and responsive as they engage communities and deliver impact across complex energy and infrastructure initiatives.

e: russwatts68@gmail.com
P: 39.334.3787687

Jan Weetjens

With over 30 years of trailblazing experience in global institutions, Jan helps senior decision-makers and policy influencers handle complex development challenges through insight-driven strategy and systemic transformation. Drawing on deep expertise in sociology, psychology, and depth psychotherapy, he supports governments, multilaterals, and large-scale organizations in addressing cultural nuance, organizational change, and cross-sector alignment. Fluent in four languages and seasoned in international work across five continents, Jan brings a rare blend of cultural fluency and institutional expertise to every engagement.

Jan’s approach is shaped by decades at the World Bank, where he led initiatives spanning infrastructure, governance, and organizational change. He integrates sociological insight, psychological depth, and systems thinking to help institutions translate complex mandates into coordinated action, strengthening alignment, public trust, and implementation at scale.

At Praxis Energy, Jan brings a globally attuned, psychologically informed lens to large-scale systems work, supporting governments, development banks, and public sector leaders in aligning infrastructure, policy, and leadership to generate lasting outcomes for communities.

e: jan.weetjens@gmail.com
P: (202) 361-6711

Steve Shapiro

As the founder and owner of Praxis, Steve brings over three decades of experience at the forefront of law, business, and human dynamics. As a nationally respected conflict resolution strategist, he is known for his consistency in turning high-stakes disputes into catalysts for clarity, alignment, and sustainable outcomes.

With a sharp focus on collaborative energy initiatives, Steve has led negotiations ranging from water rights disputes with SCE in San Bernardino County, to toxic clean-up agreements in Lenox, Massachusetts, and multiparty settlements involving generators and transmission providers on interconnection queues and capacity market issues. His experience also extends to managing the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, where he navigated sensitive, high-impact matters with precision and compassion.

Beyond legal representation, Steve assembles and leads interdisciplinary teams, uniting attorneys, financial neutrals, coaches, and subject-matter specialists, to address the full spectrum of technical, financial, and human considerations in complex cases. As General Director of Praxis, he guides the firm’s outreach, engagement, and partnership efforts, ensuring every stakeholder benefits from the team’s depth of expertise and commitment to meaningful, sustainable outcomes.

Dave Paprocki

Dave brings a lifelong commitment to helping communities thrive, whether working alongside grassroots groups in the U.S. or collaborating with the United Nations. He has led projects in more than 30 countries, focusing on community resilience, education, environmental sustainability, and public health. Throughout his work, he’s built trusted partnerships across a wide range of cultures, sectors, and stakeholders, working with local and national governments, NGOs, international bodies, donors, academics, subject matter experts, and residents to advance locally driven solutions and turn shared goals into lasting impact.

Drawing on early lessons from his family’s small business, Dave values care, connection, and follow-through in every relationship. These principles continue to shape how he approaches each project, with humility, collaboration, and a genuine belief in the wisdom communities carry.

At Praxis, Dave brings 15 years of experience organizing and leading the development of online community spaces that help keep stakeholders informed and engaged as energy projects progress. These platforms invite dialogue, questions, feedback, and shared learning, ensuring every voice has a place in the process. By making technical information accessible and fostering two-way communication, he helps build trust, strengthen alignment, and keep communities actively involved from planning through implementation.

Key Praxis Team Members

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