About Essential Leap

Veronica Rocha is a leader in clean energy and climate adaptation, with extensive cross-sector experience in business, engineering, policy, and partnerships. She brings over 20 years of experience guiding technologies from concept to market across Hawaii, the U.S., and internationally.

Under Veronica’s leadership, Essential Leap has:

• Raised over $90 million in grant funding, supporting sustainability infrastructure projects and programs.

• Funded and guided pilot projects, helping early deployments evolve into repeatable commercial opportunities.

• Built cross-sector partnerships, including a 35+ partner consortium advancing zero-emission maritime transportation.

• Navigated policy and regulatory hurdles, enabling technologies to enter and scale in complex markets.

• Developed multiple climate mitigation and adaptation programs, aligning public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders to accelerate adoption.

Her background includes leadership roles such as Renewable Energy Branch Manager at the Hawaii State Energy Office, where she helped implement Hawaii’s 100% renewable energy law, pass over 10 energy laws, represented the state in over 10 regulatory proceedings, and implemented the state’s first renewable fuels production tax credit. Veronica also facilitated collaboration across federal and state agencies to ensure greenhouse gas regulations accounted for clean energy adoption and served as a key advisor to Governor Ige’s Solar and Wind Energy Coalition.

Veronica is Former President and Emeritus Board Member of Women in Renewable Energy (WiRE) and has worked with both Fortune 500 companies and startups to manufacture, develop, and scale new technologies. She holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from Stanford University.

Essential Leap is a minority- and woman-owned small business.