John Szoka

Chief Executive Officer

John Szoka became an advocate for clean energy during his ten years of service (2013-2022) in the North Carolina House of Representatives. During his legislative tenure, he served as the House Republican Conference Leader, Senior Chairman of the Finance Committee, Chairman of the Energy and Public Utilities Committee, and Chairman of the Joint Legislative Commission on Energy Policy. John sponsored major pieces of legislation that modernized North Carolina’s energy policy to take full advantage of the benefits of low-cost clean energy and protect ratepayers. In 2017, he sponsored HB589 which saved ratepayers over $350M in energy costs by 2021. He was widely recognized as the leading advocate for free market solutions to a clean energy future and has spoken frequently on the topic at conferences across the nation.

John graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and served as an Infantry Officer, Ranger and Airborne qualified, in a variety of command and staff positions. He retired from active duty at Fort Bragg as a Lieutenant Colonel after 20 years of service. While in the Army, he earned his master’s degree in operations research from the University of Texas at Austin.

Since his retirement from the Army, John has owned several successful small businesses. He owns a manufacturing business and holds two US Patents for one of the products they produce.

John and his wife, Laurie, also a retired Army officer and a Nurse Practitioner, reside in Fayetteville, North Carolina and have two grown children, Hunter and Morgan. When not working, they relax with their three dogs, Szolar (solar), Wzynd (wind) and Fuzion (fusion) at home.