About SEPA

Sheri Givens joined Smart Electric Power Alliance as president and CEO in November 2022, leading SEPA’s work to address the most pressing issues encountered in the transformation to a carbon-free electricity sector. Her professional experience includes nearly twenty years in legal, regulatory, legislative, and external affairs in both the public and private sectors.

Immediately before joining SEPA, she served as vice president and head of U.S. policy and regulatory strategy at National Grid, where she led initiatives supporting the region’s vision for an equitable and affordable clean energy transition, net zero planning, and progress, stakeholder engagement, and utility of the future strategy.

Prior to joining National Grid, she consulted on utility consumer education and regulatory policy issues in energy markets nationwide. Sheri is the former governor-appointed Texas utility consumer advocate and served on the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates’ Executive Committee and both the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and Texas Reliability Entity’s Boards of Directors. She was also an attorney for the Public Utility Commission of Texas, Texas Workforce Commission, and Texas Legislature.

Sheri earned a Bachelor of Arts in government from the University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctor from the University of Houston Law Center. She currently serves on the Association of Women in Energy and Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships Boards of Directors. She is also serving on her third appointment as a member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Electricity Advisory Committee.

Aaron has been in Information Technology for 20 years and in the utility industry for the last 15 years. As Director of IT Operations at the Electric Reliability of Council of Texas (ERCOT), Aaron was responsible for the multi-data center IT operations of ERCOT’s real-time grid and market systems, deregulated retail market systems, Enterprise Data Warehouse, systems integration, and market settlement systems. In other roles at ERCOT he led business/technology alignment, IT strategy development, program financial management for the Texas Nodal Market Implementation, IT stakeholder relationship management, and the IT divisional project office.

Prior to ERCOT, Aaron was responsible for managing the relationship between IT and utility business units at Aquila, Inc., working with utility and IT leaders to ensure that IT services were aligned with business objectives and that IT was positioned to support their needs.

Phone: 202.871.7414     Email: [email protected]

Beth Eagle is the Vice President, Operations for the Smart Electric Power Alliance and serves as a member of the Executive Team. As VP, Operations, she is responsible for the day-to-day operations of SEPA, including human resources, finance, information management, logistics, operations, and programming. She serves on the board of directors of RE+ Events and the RE+ Events finance and audit committee.

Beth joined SEPA in September 2013 with a background in association operations, finance, human resources, project management, and fundraising. In 2018, Beth became a Certified Association Executive and is currently working toward her IOM designation from the Institute for Organization Management.

She earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland and her Master of Arts from George Washington University. She lives in Maryland with her husband, son, and two dogs.

Phone: 202.559.2029     Email: [email protected]

Carole joined SEPA in March 2024. In her role, she will lead the marketing and communications department and be responsible for elevating SEPA’s brand through storytelling, developing topline messaging, increasing awareness about SEPA’s mission-impact, and engaging key stakeholders to participate in SEPA’s critical work.

Carole brings to SEPA more than 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience in executive management, strategic communications, community and public relations, and advocacy. She most recently served as the Vice President of Communications for GRID Alternatives, an international nonprofit that builds community-powered solutions to advance economic and environmental justice through renewable energy in underserved communities. She also has served as the CEO of the Amara Legal Center, the Director of Communications for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, and the Director of Communications for the National Minority AIDS Council and Paralyzed Veterans of America.

She received her Master’s Degree in Journalism from Boston University and her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Framingham State College.

Courtney Galatioto is the Vice President of Membership at the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA), a prominent educational nonprofit with 1,100+ members nationwide. With over a decade of experience in the energy sector, Courtney plays a pivotal role in steering SEPA’s strategic initiatives, shaping the membership program to drive engagement, retention, and growth aligned with SEPA’s mission. She collaborates closely with members, ensuring tailored solutions and delivering value through research and programs.

Courtney previously held key roles in business development and member relations at the Alliance to Save Energy and served as a policy fellow in North Carolina. She holds a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in energy and climate change and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

Phone: 202.559.2032     Email: [email protected]

Ukiah joined SEPA in 2023. He oversees SEPA’s efforts to build and strengthen partnerships with foundations, state governments, and federal agencies to generate resources in support of SEPA’s mission. He is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) with over 12 years of experience in partnership building, fundraising, nonprofit management, and program implementation.

Prior to joining SEPA, Ukiah developed and secured multi-million-dollar funding partnerships for a major international climate action initiative and spent 6+ years building funding partnerships with numerous public and private sector donors in support of President Obama’s 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Solar Energy Association from 2021-23.

Ukiah holds bachelor’s degrees in Italian, French and Spanish from the University of Georgia and a Master’s of International Relations from American University.