About Us

Matthew Messer, Solar Expert & Founder of NYSM

Matt has held leadership roles at national and regional solar maintenance companies for the last 10 years, serving as National Operations Manager for SST, Northeast Service Manager for Tesla, Hawaii Service Manager for HNU Energy, and Partner at Sunrise Solar Solutions.  Matt’s teams have completed +65,000 solar repairs in the last 8 years on behalf of Fortune 500 PPA holders (SunPower, NRG, SunRun, Tesla, etc) and on behalf of individual home and business owners.  Matt studied Finance and Operations Management at Boston University and has received Advanced NABCEP PV Installation Professional, OSHA 30 and LEED GA certifications. 

Doug Hertz, Advisor. President of Sunrise Solar Solutions

Mr. Hertz is responsible for technology, design and finance for Sunrise Solar. He is certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) the highest certification in the solar industry. Doug provides educational presentations to groups ranging from building inspectors to the American Solar Energy Society. He serves in his hometown of Mt. Kisco, NY on both the Planning Board and the Energy Advisory Panel. Doug also sits on the boards of the New York League of Conservation Voters, Westchester Chapter and The Center for Sustainable Design. Doug graduated from Brown University where he first studied alternative energy under the famed Barrett Hazeltine.

Molly Bales, Advisor. Energy Storage Manager

Ms. Bales is a Storage Development Manager at Recurrent Energy and has developed utility-scale solar and storage projects across the Eastern United States. Prior to Recurrent, Molly worked at Harvest Power, a Boston area organics recycling company and developer of anaerobic digestion facilities. As the company grew from 13 employees to over 600 in her time there, she held a variety of roles, including business development, marketing, project management, and sales. Molly received her MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management with a focus on energy, sustainability, and entrepreneurship. She also holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University where she majored in History of Science with a subfield in Earth & Planetary Sciences.. 

Ryder Swatek, Advisor. Vice President of HNU Energy

Mr. Swatek is a licensed General Contractor and the Principal RME for HNU Energy. He has 20 years of experience in general construction, project management, and contract administration. Mr. Swatek manages all of HNU’s PV and energy storage projects. He completed Maui’s first affordable workforce housing subdivision featuring homes with PV systems. Mr. Swatek serves on the County’s Subdivision and Engineering Standards Committee. Mr.  Swatek received a  Bachelor’s degree from Lewis and Clark College and has been with HNU since 2010.