
Our Team
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Aylin N. Cankardes
Founder & President
Aylin has more than 30 years experience in executive leadership and corporate finance. Prior to founding Rockwell Financial Group in 2002, she was the founder and President of Southern Pacific BanCapital—a $15 billion bank.
Aylin provides strategic leadership for the financing and business initiatives of RC Energy, as well as directing all project investments for the company. -
Evan J. Christenson
Managing Director
Evan has 35 years' experience as a lender. Beginning his career at PNC, he had leadership roles in both commercial banking and large corporate. At his promotion to Vice President, he was the youngest VP at the Bank. When promoted to credit officer, he was responsible for a $9 billion portfolio.Today, Evan leads the project financing initiatives. He directs business development and business operations for the company and was instrumental in creating the energy financing business for the company. Evan is the Chief Financial Officer for the company.
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Don Miller
Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel
Don is the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel at Rockwell Financial Group and has over 20 years of experience in the renewable energy industry. He was General Counsel at Conergy Inc. and then was one of the founders of Enerparc Inc. (as well as COO and General Counsel), later leading the legal work to transition ownership to KIRKBI.Don has a JD as well as an MBA. He was originally a linguist, with a focus on Spanish and Russian (now adding German).
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Joe Bennett
Senior Vice President
Joe has 40+ years experience in finance. Before joining RC Energy Group, he was Senior Vice President of Commerce Funding Corporation (CFC), providing financing for federal and commercial contracts. Prior to CFC, he served as Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager of Finalco, Inc., a commercial finance company that specialized in funding high-technology equipment for Fortune 500 companies.
Joe leads RC Energy Group’s contract and documentation activities, supports financial structuring, and provides strategic support of business development activities. Joe has an MBA in Finance and a Bachelor’s of Engineering degree. -
Gerard B. Mitchell
Business Development Manager
Gerard began his career in renewable energy as the U.S. sales manager for DMEGC Solar USA, a solar module manufacturer, where he was responsible for new EPC, sales & marketing, international logistics, and general oversight of U.S. operations.
In his role at RC Energy Group, Gerard’s duties include development of new business, support of sales processes, and project management. -
Joe Borkowski
Greenfield Development Manager
Joe has over 25+ years of experience in renewable energy development. After 7 years in the wind industry, he started his solar energy career at Phoenix Solar where he led photovoltaic solar business development efforts for multiple U.S. territories.
At RC Energy Group, Joe leads project development efforts from greenfield site selection to overseeing design, construction, and commissioning. -
Jim Volpa
VP Development
Jim started his renewable energy career at Bella Energy, one of the largest solar companies in the western United States, where he developed commercial, government, and university solar projects and pioneered the development of third-party financed solar projects in the Colorado market.
At RC Energy Group, Jim has responsibility for strategic business development, new business development, partner support, and program development.