Jill Pestana

Jill Pestana

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Battery Scientist · 15 Patents · Founder | Commercial strategy for companies building the future of energy | Pestana Solutions · NAATBatt International
Santa Barbara, California, United States

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Jobs verified_user 0% verified
  • COnovate Inc
    Strategic & Technical Advisor
    COnovate Inc
    Aug 2025 - Current (1 year 3 months)
    Provide strategic and technical guidance on commercialization pathways for advanced carbon anode materials.

    Support partnerships, funding, and go-to-market strategy for scaling novel battery material technologies.

    Contribute insights on industry trends, customer fit, and regulatory opportunities to strengthen COnovate’s positioning in the battery ecosystem.
  • NAATBatt International
    Director of Research and Programming
    NAATBatt International
    Apr 2025 - Current (1 year 7 months)
    Leadership role within NAATBatt International focused on research, programming, and industry education across the global battery ecosystem.

    Producer and host of BattChatt by NAATBatt, the official podcast of NAATBatt International.

    Onshoring Committee | Workforce Committee
  • Nanoverse Battery Courses
    Founder and Lead Instructor
    Nanoverse Battery Courses
    Aug 2024 - Current (2 years 3 months)
    Founder of an education platform focused on battery science and engineering fundamentals for professionals and institutions. Designed to support workforce development and long-term technical literacy across the battery industry.
  • Pestana Solutions
    Founder & CEO | Battery Technology Marketing & Business Development Consultant
    Pestana Solutions
    Aug 2024 - Current (2 years 3 months)
    As a battery scientist with 15 years of experience and 15 patents, I bring something most marketing consultants can’t — deep technical understanding of what my clients are building, and direct access to an audience of 45k+ battery industry professionals actively following the space. I help battery and energy companies with marketing strategy, positioning, business development, and technical storytelling that builds credibility and drives growth.
  • Accenture
    Manager
    Accenture
    Dec 2023 - Jul 2024 (8 months)
    Industry X - Battery Lead, North America
    Founded and led Accenture’s North America Battery Group, a 100+ person community of practice supporting clients developing, deploying, and using battery technology.

    Work focused on scaling battery technologies as industrial systems, including manufacturing, energy storage, recycling, factory digitalization, material traceability, fleet electrification, policy-informed strategy, and data-driven optimization.
  • Women and Climate
    Speaker
    Women and Climate
    May 2023 - Current (3 years 6 months)
    I speak at conferences, corporate events, and industry forums on battery technology, energy storage, and the workforce and market forces shaping the clean energy transition. With 15 years of experience, 15 patents, and a track record educating 320,000+ professionals worldwide, I bring technical depth and real-world industry perspective that general energy speakers can’t.
  • Accenture
    Associate Manager
    Accenture
    Dec 2022 - Dec 2023 (1 year 1 month)
  • Electric Goddess
    Director, Technical Program Management
    Electric Goddess
    Sep 2021 - Sep 2022 (1 year 1 month)
    Directly interface with clients for project management and technical consulting related to battery system design and testing across multiple industries including aerospace and EVs.

    Develop and execute R&D strategy and operations increasing project capacity, improving process efficiency, and implementing project management practices.

    Coordinated between clients and team to successfully validate battery technology by developing and performing test plans including calorimetry, impedance testing, PPR tests, fuse and shunt validation, motor dyno and demagnetization testing, pack design tests, and custom safety tests based on SAE, UL, and UN standards.

    Developed media content including marketing and informational
  • Seed Consulting Group
    Senior Advisor
    Seed Consulting Group
    Sep 2021 - Dec 2021 (4 months)
  • Lyrid
    Technical Writer
    Lyrid
    Nov 2019 - Apr 2020 (6 months)
    Lyrid is a serverless cloud computing API management platform with dynamic load balancing of Google, AWS, Microsoft, Lyrid, and private cloud platforms.
  • A
    Producer and YouTuber
    Across the Nanoverse
    Sep 2019 - Current (7 years 2 months)
    Across the Nanoverse YouTube channel shares educational videos on batteries, electrochemistry, professional development, and more!

    Our audience of 8,000+ are mostly battery industry professionals and enthusiasts.

    We believe that STEM education can be engaging and informative!
  • Seed Consulting Group
    Director Of Internal Operations
    Seed Consulting Group
    Aug 2019 - Dec 2019 (5 months)
    As Director of Internal Operations, I work with the VP of Internal Operations and the management team of Seed OC to provide support for consultants and project managers as they work on 4 sustainability projects. Check out this video I filmed and edited documenting our Fall 2019 Retreat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfyVODPTzeU

    Seed Consulting Group is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides pro-bono consulting to influential organizations pioneering a healthier and more environmentally sustainable California. Our consultants are high achieving outliers from a broad range of industries and academic discipl
  • Enevate Corporation
    Senior Staff Scientist
    Enevate Corporation
    Feb 2019 - Sep 2021 (2 years 8 months)
  • Seed Consulting Group
    Consultant
    Seed Consulting Group
    Aug 2018 - Aug 2019 (1 year 1 month)
    As a volunteer consultant for the Fall 2018 project cycle, I worked with a team of 5 for 12 weeks to design a composting program for an orphanage in Tijuana. I researched stakeholders needs, composting processes and tools, and Tijuana/San Diego policy to develop composting program plan to generate income for La Casa De La Esperanza. We provided Create Purpose, our client, not only the composting program plan, but also supplementary materials including budgets and an Objectives and Key Results (OKR) system.
  • Enevate Corporation
    Scientist
    Enevate Corporation
    May 2017 - Feb 2019 (1 year 10 months)
    Silicon-dominant anode cell R&D scientist.
    Lead of battery materials characterization & analysis: XPS, SEM, EDS, TEM, STEM, FIB, XRD, DSC/TGA, and GC-BID.
    Cathode Team Coordinator (October 2016 - July 2017).
  • Enevate Corporation
    Research Technician
    Enevate Corporation
    Aug 2016 - May 2017 (10 months)
  • Boeing
    Electronic Failure Analysis Engineer Intern
    Boeing
    Jun 2014 - Sep 2014 (4 months)
    I performed failure analysis in a team of 10 on electronic components including transistors, connectors, and fuses in support of a variety of programs at Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T). The techniques I used included thermal shock and cycling, vibration testing, insulation resistance testing, dielectric withstanding voltage testing, curve-tracer, wire-bond pull testing, thermal imaging, and DC resistance testing in order to investigate sources of failures in the electronic components.

    In addition to failure analysis, I initiated an aging study of lithium-ion batteries (CGR18650 and a proprietary battery). I worked with a team member to build a constant current circuit in order to record the discharge characteristics, and mod
  • Boeing
    Component Engineer: Failure Analysis Intern
    Boeing
    May 2013 - Sep 2013 (5 months)
    I worked with team of 15 to perform constructive analysis and failure analysis for satellite electronic components including diodes, transformers, and connectors at Boeing Research and Technology (BR&T). For all jobs I used techniques including sectioning, etching, micrographs, SEM, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), thermal shock analysis, curve-trace analysis, hardness testing, sputter-coating, and report writing. I completed 12 jobs individually, and an additional 7 jobs collaboratively, comparable to a veteran employee.
  • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    Research Assistant
    NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    Jan 2012 - Dec 2012 (1 year)
    Electrochemical Technologies Group:

    I worked with team of 4 to perform electrochemical tests on catalyst materials for Polymer Exchange Membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) and direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) for aerospace applications. I programmed and operated rotating disk electrode (RDE) and multi-electrode half-cell experiments to examine electrochemical properties of nanostructured platinum alloys and electronic structure of Ni70Pt30 thin films on high surface area nanostructured thin film supports. I analyzed data using electrochemical analysis software packages (CorrWare and CorrView). I managed the data and performed further analysis through extensive use of Microsoft Excel.

    My work contributed toward at least 1 pu
  • California State University Long Beach
    Research Assistant
    California State University Long Beach
    Aug 2011 - Dec 2012 (1 year 5 months)
    I worked with Principle Investigator Dr. Yohannes Abate and Caltech PhD candidate, Dr. Aaron Varga, to investigate the superprotonic phase transition of Cesium Dihydrogren Phosphate (CDP) and Cesium Hydrogen Sulfate (CHS), electrolytes for Solid Acid Fuel Cells (SAFC). I performed ellipsometry on CHS to measure its dielectric constant. I operated a visible-Infrared (vis-IR) apertureless near-field scanning optical microscope (ANSOM) to image novel correlated transition metal oxides and their interaction with plasmon resonances to understand metal-insulator transitions.This research program also focused on the discovery of new thermodynamically stable transition MIT with an efficient interface in a hybrid-plasmonic-metamaterial design. I was
  • NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Web Consultant: NASA Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Program
    NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Aug 2011 - Nov 2012 (1 year 4 months)
    I worked with a team member and the NASA SOFIA Program's Education and Public Outreach Department to design and implement educational content for the SOFIA website. https://www.sofia.usra.edu/

    My team member and I coordinated with NASA videographer to create a 360 degree walking tour of the SOFIA 747SP aircraft and observatory. In addition, we filmed and edited a video documenting SOFIA's history and mission. Lastly, I represented the SOFIA program at the American Astronomical Society 221st meeting and filmed a video tour led by SOFIA Chief Science Advisor, Eric Becklin.
  • NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Program Intern: NASA Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Program
    NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    May 2011 - Aug 2011 (4 months)
    I worked with SOFIA Chief Program Engineer, Stephen Jensen, program managers, project managers, engineers, scientists, and other interns to complete tasks related to program management. I wrote a program-level document to summarize the SOFIA aircraft on-board Mission Control and Communication Subsystems (MCCS). I worked with scientists and engineers to perform a risk assessment of in-flight vibrations in the SOFIA Boeing 747SP aircraft telescope assembly. I worked with an intern to develop educational materials for the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) department, and was hired as a SOFIA EPO web consultant in August 2011.
  • California State University Long Beach
    Student Research Assistant
    California State University Long Beach
    May 2010 - Nov 2010 (7 months)
    Through the Scalettar Scholarship I researched with Dr. Jiyeong Gu Condensed Matter Lab at CSULB to investigate experimentally fundamental quantum electronic and magnetic phenomena occurring in Ferromagnetic (F)-based hybrid systems with other materials, such as Superconductor(S)/F hybrid system. I produced novel systems artificially in nano-structured composite materials, such as F/S/F. I fabricated samples as thin films using sputtering method. I worked with Dr. Gu to measure magnetization of thin films’ with Physical Properties Measurement System (PPMS), and analyzed data with Origin to study magnetic proximity effect in the F/S/F (Niobium-Permalloy) thin films. I presented research at an American Physical Society (APS) March meeting.
Education verified_user 0% verified
  • UC Irvine
    Master of Science - MS, Materials Science and Engineering
    UC Irvine
    Focus: Battery Materials Characterization & Analysis
  • California State University Long Beach
    Bachelor of Science - BS, Physics
    California State University Long Beach
    Minor in Music.
    University Honors Program Graduate.
    Graduation in Physics with Honors.
    Focus: Fuel cell catalyst R&D.
Projects (professional or personal) verified_user 0% verified
    Awards verified_user 0% verified
    • N
      Nuclear Security Policy Fellowship
      National Nuclear Security Administration NNSA via the Nuclear Science and Security Consortium NSSC
    • University of California
      Carbon Slam Finalist, People's Choice Award
      University of California
      Selected as a Carbon Slam climate solutions finalist for 3-minute TED-style pitch on research titled "How Do Batteries Age?" The University of California Carbon Slam is a spirited contest between talented scholars from all UC campuses. Carbon Slam brings together researchers, investors, non-profit an for-profit industry representatives, and community leader to stimulate new partnerships that will use UC science and innovations to inform state and local policies and drive commercial markets.
    • California State University Long Beach
      University Honors Program Graduate
      California State University Long Beach
    • California State University Long Beach
      Distinguished Graduate from Department of Physics and Astronomy
      California State University Long Beach
    • N
      Trailblazer in Tech Award
      National Association of Women Business Owners NAWBO Santa Barabara
    • Enevate Corporation
      Enevate Employee Award
      Enevate Corporation
    • B
      Top 25 Influencer Shaping the Battery Technology Industry
      Battery Technology Online
      These thought leaders are not only driving innovation in energy storage and battery advancements but also shaping the conversation around education, workforce development, and the skills needed to power the future of this dynamic industry. From lithium-ion breakthroughs to solid-state solutions, these experts share invaluable insights on LinkedIn and beyond, inspiring professionals, educators, and enthusiasts alike. Whether you’re an industry insider, a student exploring career opportunities, or simply curious about the future of sustainable energy, this list is your ultimate resource for staying informed and inspired.
    This is a community-created genome.