About Us

Permit Power is a nonprofit organization making it cheap and easy for American families to power their lives with clean electricity. We do research, education, and advocacy to break down the bureaucratic barriers that get in the way of American families installing rooftop solar, home batteries, and other clean energy upgrades.

  • Nick is a successful social entrepreneur. Previously, Nick ran the policy team at a think tank, SPUR, that conceived of and led campaigns to pass over a dozen state bills with a particular focus on reducing the cost of building renewables, housing and transportation infrastructure. He has also served in local elected office, on numerous local government and non-profit boards, and founded and ran a company that developed and built commercial & industrial-scale solar power plants. 
    As part of his commitment to breaking down the bureaucratic barriers to rooftop solar and home battery installations, he serves on the board of the SolarAPP Foundation, a non-profit that provides government-built software at no cost to local governments to allow them to automate the permitting of rooftop solar and home batteries.

Nick Josefowitz

  • Ben is a solar and battery policy expert. Previously, he led the California Solar and Storage Association’s efforts to reduce the cost of solar and home battery deployments. Ben spent the first part of this career overseeing national campaigns to make our criminal justice system fairer and our government more transparent. As part of his commitment to breaking down the bureaucratic barriers to rooftop solar and home battery installations, he serves on the board of the SolarAPP Foundation, a non-profit that provides government-built software at no cost to local governments to allow them to automate the permitting of rooftop solar and home batteries.

Ben Davis

  • Chief of Advocacy

    Hannah is an expert campaign strategist and grassroots organizer. Previously, she oversaw state and local advocacy programs at the Sierra Club and helped rebuild the national field operation from the ground up. Hannah spent the first part of her career in the labor movement, leading break-through policy and political campaigns to raise standards for low-wage workers at SEIU and UAW.

Hannah Birnbaum

  • Matt is an expert campaigner, with a track record of advocacy successes at the federal, state and local level. Previously, he built and ran the program at the National Parks Conservation Association to help ensure responsible deployment of renewables in and around national parks. Matt spent the early part of his career as a federal policy expert and lobbyist at the Sierra Club, leading campaigns to protect special landscapes and helping secure permanent protections for millions of acres of public lands.

Matt Kirby