MICHAEL HETZ

Director of Communincations

As Director of Comms , Michael Hetz is the creative and design engine behind San Diego Energy District and has volunteered his services for ten years.

His career spans more than forty years of advertising, design and brand consulting working on a wide range of clients from International Hotel Chains to tech and biotech, restaurant and consumer advertising and packaging for retail, as well as financial and banking and services.

Much of his work has been recognized with industry awards.

Today, his skills have expanded into content creation for websites and social media campaigns.

Currently he is working on a memoir centered on his experience in prison for refusing to serve in the Vietnam War, called Boom Boy, going to publishers in 2022.

SUSAN WAYO

Secretary & VP of Administration

Susan has been helping companies define business models and growth strategies, build brands, evaluate systems and technologies, and grow capabilities for over 20 years. With experience in multiple industries and with a diverse mix of companies — from startups to global corporations — Susan has been able to integrate these kinds of efforts in ways that create competitive advantage and measurable value.

Susan has a Bachelors in Music Education from North Central College in Illinois and a Masters in Opera Performance from the University of Cincinnati where she was also enrolled in a DMA doctoral program, computer sciences studies, and later an MBA program before being recruited to move to California in 2000. (She regrets not having been able to finish the MBA, but not having moved to California.)

SUSI TORRE-BUENO

Symposium Coordinator and Event Organizer

Ms. Torre-Bueno is a former business owner who co-founded and ran two companies – a publishing company and a biotech firm – both of which she successfully sold. This allowed Susi to retire early and spend the next 30 years working for several non-profits. In that time she has been responsible for organizing more than 120 fund-raising educational events.

For the Pacific Horticulture Society, Ms. Torre-Bueno designed and organized a series of highly successful three-day events, including speakers and bus tours, each attended by several hundred people.  As a volunteer for The Garden Conservancy, Ms. Torre-Bueno designed and organized over a dozen day-long garden tours, each attended by hundreds of people. As the past president of the San Diego Horticultural Society, she created and organized dozens of events, worked with hundreds of volunteers, initiated the creation of their website and many public events, presided over 100 monthly meetings attended by over 200 people, and served as their newsletter editor for 22 years.

Ms. Torre-Bueno earned a BA at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.