Speakers
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Julia Hamm
President and CEO, Smart Electric Power Alliance
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Julia Hamm
Julia has served as SEPA’s President & CEO since 2004, providing leadership and strategic direction for the organization. She is responsible for guiding and overseeing all of SEPA’s research, education, and collaboration activities for its 1,100 member companies and the broader energy industry.
Julia is a visionary non-profit leader at the center of the transformation underway in the electric power sector to a clean and modern energy future. For the past 20 years she has been advising and collaborating with utilities, solution providers and government agencies on business models, grid modernization, and clean energy policies, strategies and programs.
She has led SEPA through significant expansion in recent years, including rebranding from the Solar Electric Power Association to the Smart Electric Power Alliance, and merging with both the Association for Demand Response and Smart Grid (ADS) and Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP).
Prior to joining SEPA, Julia worked for ICF International where she supported EPA’s implementation of the ENERGY STAR program. Julia – a graduate of Cornell University – walks the talk, driving an EV and living in a PV-powered home in Northern Virginia with her husband, two children, and dog.
Janet Gail Besser
Managing Director, Smart Electric Power Alliance
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Janet Gail Besser
As Managing Director, Janet Gail Besser oversees strategy for the SEPA Pathways – Regulatory and Business Innovation, Grid Integration and Electrification – and leads content development and execution for Regulatory Innovation. She brings to this role broad energy industry experience as a regulator, clean energy business association leader, utility executive, developer, consultant, and consumer advocate. Previously, she was Executive Vice President of the Northeast Clean Energy Council (NECEC), Vice President, Regulatory Strategy and Policy at National Grid, Chair and Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, where she led electric industry restructuring, and an executive and expert consultant at Analysis Group and Lexecon. She also held senior staff roles at the Massachusetts Energy Office and New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, served as policy director for a DC-based national independent power association, and began her career as a small hydro developer and low-income consumer advocate. Janet is a nationally recognized expert on a wide range of energy policy issues with deep relationships across the industry. She earned a Master in Public Policy degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and a B.A., magna cum laude, from Williams College.
Josh Gould
Director of Innovation, Duquesne Light
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Josh Gould
Josh is Director of Innovation at Duquesne Light Company, where he leads Company’s Innovation Center, identifies and maintains a portfolio of innovation opportunities, and serves as the principal liaison with external parties focused on innovation.
Prior to joining Duquesne Light in 2019, Josh founded and led a new innovation department called the Innovation Hub at Con Edison.
Previously he led the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E’s) commercialization efforts focused on the electric grid where we worked with companies such as AutoGrid, Varentec, and Smart Wires who raised over $300M from investors such as Bill Gates.
Josh has a Certificate in Distribution System Engineering from Siemens Power Academy, a Master’s of Business Administration from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and a bachelor’s degree from Claremont McKenna College.
Jenell McKay
Policy & Strategy Manager, Advanced Clean Technology, San Diego Gas & Electric
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Jenell McKay
Jenell McKay is the Policy and Strategy Manager for SDG&E’s Advanced Clean Technology Department. She focuses on identifying, advancing, and building clean energy technologies to shape a brighter future for SDG&E, its customers and communities. Jenell manages the regulatory and legislative strategies for SDG&E to help advance clean technologies that are needed to support SDG&E’s climate change goals while maintaining affordability, reliability, and safety of the power grid. Jenell enjoys the challenge of developing strategies and solutions as part of creating a sustainable energy future through innovation and technology.
Her prior work in transmission system planning, resource adequacy and economic and policy studies at both ERCOT and MISO, including production cost modeling of robust amounts of renewables, have provided her a solid foundation for what is needed to ensure safe and reliable operation of the grid while addressing climate change in a sustainable manner. Jenell holds a Master of Finance with an Energy Specialization from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University and a Bachelor of Science in both Economics and Psychology from Tulane University, in New Orleans.
Rebecca Tolene
Vice President, Environment, Tennessee Valley Authority
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Rebecca Tolene
Rebecca Tolene serves as TVA Vice President Environment and Chief Sustainability Officer. Rebecca has been at TVA since 2002 and has served in a variety of roles throughout her tenure including the general counsel’s office, natural resource division, law enforcement, emergency management, corporate and board governance, and supply chain. In 2019, she joined the TVA Environment team and works to improve TVA’s environmental compliance, policy and sustainability. She has a law degree from the University of Tennessee and lives in Knoxville with her husband, James, and two children. You can reach Rebecca at rctolene@tva.gov.
Sharon Allan
Chief Strategy Officer, Smart Electric Power Alliance
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Sharon Allan
Sharon serves as the Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer providing leadership and strategic direction for the organization. She is an executive known for business transformation and growth and has advised corporate boards, Fortune 100 companies, venture & private equity companies, as well as the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. National Institute of Standards & Technology, and many U.S. National Laboratories on their efforts to address the transformation of the energy sector.
Prior to joining SEPA, Sharon has driven double-digit growth in both small and large global companies. She has held roles as the CEO of the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel, managing director/partner, Accenture, president, Elster Integrated Solutions as well as executive roles at ABB. During her time as CEO of SGIP and president of Elster, she executed M&A, launched new software, hardware & service offerings and worked with the respective boards to drive the strategy and growth of the business . At Accenture, she advised top power companies around the world in the areas of innovation, transformation, and new technology
She currently sits on the advisory board of Enertech Capital.
Sharon holds a Bachelor of Science degree (Hons) in electrical engineering from the University of Florida and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Duke University Fuqua Business School.
Luis A. Reyes
Chief Executive Officer, Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, Inc.
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Luis A. Reyes
Mr. Luis A. Reyes, Jr. began his employment at Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, Inc. (KCEC) in 1984 as System Engineer and was selected as Chief Executive Officer in 1993. KCEC’s goal is to be able to build 100% of KCEC’s daytime energy needs by 2022 by utilizing solar electric generation capacity in 1 to 15 MW facilities. In 2020 the solar projects will include battery storage.
Jolene Thompson
President and Chief Executive Officer, American Municipal Power, Inc.
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Jolene Thompson
Jolene Thompson was named AMP President/CEO in 2020. She has been with AMP since 1990, having most recently served as executive vice president of member services and external affairs where she provided oversight of AMP’s government relations, communications, technical services, environmental affairs, sustainability initiatives, risk, insurance, strategic planning and member programs, including North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) compliance activities. She also serves as the general manager of the Municipal Energy Services Agency (MESA).
Thompson, active nationally, serves as chair of the American Public Power Association (APPA) Board of Directors and as a member of the executive committee. She is a member of the Boards of The Energy Authority (TEA) and Large Public Power Council (LPPC). Thompson has been a member of the Transmission Access Policy Study (TAPS) Group Board of Directors where she served on the executive committee and as chair of the legislative committee. She previously chaired the APPA Advisory and Legislative and Resolutions committees and sat on the Consumer Federation of America Board of Directors.
Thompson is a recipient of APPA’s Harold Kramer-John Preston Personal Service Award and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Otterbein University. She served as the executive director of the Ohio Municipal Electric Association (OMEA) from 1997 - 2020. Thompson led the environmental permitting and public relations teams that worked on AMP generation projects in multiple states. She directed the successful launch of the $26-million Efficiency Smart program for AMP members, and has overseen major human resource and benefit program updates. Throughout her career, Thompson has worked closely with AMP members and advocated with state and federal policymakers on behalf of AMP and public power.
In February 2020, the AMP Board of Trustees named Thompson to replace long-time AMP President and CEO Marc Gerken, PE, following his retirement.
Kate Strickland
Manager, Industry Strategy, Smart Electric Power Alliance
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Kate Strickland
Kate works as a research manager at SEPA with a focus on utility business models and regulatory innovation. In addition, she is the staff co-lead for SEPA's Energy Storage Working Group, and a team member of the Renovate Initiative, a collaborative effort focused on state regulatory process innovation. Previously at SEPA, she worked with the 51st State Initiative, shaping the evolution of the utility sector, and supported the engagement facilitating the D.C. Public Service Commission's grid modernization (MEDSIS) initiative in the District.
Prior to SEPA, Kate completed her master’s degree from John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in International Relations & Economics, with a concentration in Energy, Resources & Environment. In addition, she completed a graduate consultant project for BP Global on the future of the U.S. transportation sector, as well as graduate internships at the Edison Foundation’s Institute for Electric Innovation (IEI), the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), and Fresh Energy. Prior to SAIS, she worked in Kyoto-fu, Japan for the JET Programme, and was the development manager for Milkweed Editions, an independent book publisher based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She graduated magna cum laude from Barnard College, Columbia University, with a B.A. in art history and political science. Kate has worked and lived in Japan, Italy, India, and South Africa, and is always planning her next adventure.
Rachel Huang
Director, Energy Strategy, Research and Development, SMUD
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Mary C Palmer
Environmental Program Coordinator, Austin Energy
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Mary C Palmer
Endorsed for her brand of organization, compassion, and focus, Mary C. Palmer is a leader within the Customer Renewable Solutions team at Austin Energy. As an Environmental Program Coordinator, Mary works to accelerate the transition to a carbon-free energy future by engaging with commercial and residential customers and the solar contractor community. In her work, she implements program design and strategic planning to grow the City of Austin’s renewable energy programs. She is skilled at combining business acumen with a human-centered design approach. Mary is passionate about being a catalyst for continuous improvement and brings unique perspectives gained from 7 years of experience in the non-profit sector. Her proudest achievement is working with local communities and volunteers from all over the world to install rainwater harvesting systems; a total capacity of 82,900 liters of potable, accessible water to residents of Fiji.
Fabio Mantovani
VP, e-Mobility, New York Power Authority
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Fabio Mantovani
Fabio Mantovani serves as Vice President of e-Mobility of the New York Power Authority (NYPA), a public-benefit corporation of the State of New York and the largest state public power utility in the United States. In addition to its operation of generation and transmission assets, NYPA provides low-cost power and other clean energy products and services to Commercial & Industrial customers, municipalities, electric cooperatives, and government agencies. In this role, Mantovani is responsible for EVolve NY, a consumer-facing retail business that aims to develop, own, and operate fast chargers for the benefit of all EV drivers in New York State, and for supporting fleet electrification initiatives amongst NYPA’s customer base, including Transit Authorities, by providing advisory services, access to financing, and engineering and project management resources to successfully implement EV infrastructure projects.
Prior to joining NYPA, Mantovani was Senior Director for Electric Vehicle Enablement at Centrica, a $30B global energy services company. In his most recent role at Centrica, he oversaw the commercial EV infrastructure business in North America. Prior to this role, Mantovani was responsible for Global Technology Strategy and Innovation at Centrica Business Solutions.
Mantovani held various leadership positions at Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), including leading Product Innovation and emerging Technologies for Energy Efficiency, Solar and Energy Storage.
Mantovani holds a master's in Business Administration from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and a master’s degree in materials engineering from the University of Trento, Italy.
Jordan Smith
Consulting Engineer, SCE
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Yamen Nanne
Electric Transportation Program Manager, LADWP
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Garrett Fitzgerald
Principal, Electrification, Smart Electric Power Alliance
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Garrett Fitzgerald
Garrett joined SEPA in 2021 as Principal, Electrification. He leads SEPAs work focused on the beneficial electrification of transportation and buildings. Garrett collaborates with the other SEPA pathway teams to help utilities and other stakeholders navigate a smooth transition to a highly electrified and low-carbon future.
Prior to joining SEPA, Garrett spent 8 years working at Rocky Mountain Institute. While at RMI, he built and led the electricity program in India that works to accelerate the integration of electric vehicles and clean energy portfolios. During his tenure at RMI, Garrett managed the Fleet Electrification program, co-led the EV-Grid initiative, and was deeply engaged in work related to energy storage, distributed solar, and load flexibility. He has extensive expertise in technical and business model aspects of EV charging infrastructure, EV-specific tariff design, energy storage, and demand side flexibility.
Garrett holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Santa Clara University and a MS and Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Engineering from Columbia University.
Garrett is passionate about the environment and is an enthusiastic snowboarder, mountain biker, and general lover of the outdoors. He resides in the small town of Carbondale, Colorado with his wife Amy and his toddler son Noah.
Heather Mulligan
Manager, Customer Clean Energy Products, Puget Sound Energy
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Heather Mulligan
Heather has more than 25 years of experience working on programs which support the deployment and use of energy efficiency, renewable energy technologies, electric vehicles. She has been with Puget Sound Energy for the past 15 years, where she manages PSE’s customer-focused renewable energy and electric vehicle products& services. Prior to joining Puget Sound Energy in 2006, Heather worked as the national and regional coordinator of U.S. Department of Energy’s Million Solar Roofs Initiative. Her work at DOE built from a successful eight year career as a renewable energy policy consultant.
Heather has a Master of Public Policy (M.P.P.) from American University.
Chris Hansen
VP, Origination and Renewables, Tennessee Valley Authority
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Kevin Brannan
Manager, DER Products and Services, Evergy
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Kevin Brannan
Kevin Brannan serves as Manager of Distributed Energy Resources Products & Services group for Evergy. He has served in this role along with managing the company’s Energy Efficiency Products and Services group and various Demand Side products as a Product Manager for the past eleven years.
When he joined KCP&L (Evergy) in 2006, Kevin worked in the company’s Business Solutions department. In this capacity, he worked extensively in re-engineering efforts and partnered with commercial businesses to develop and promote energy solutions. KCP&L’s efforts were recognized in 2010 by JD Power and Associates as the Highest Ranked Large Utility in the Midwest for Business Customers.
Kevin received his bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Masters of Business Administration from Webster University. In his spare time Kevin volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and previously served on Niles Home for Children Board of Directors and currently serves on Art’s Tech Board of Directors. Kevin resides in Overland Park, Kansas.
Lon Huber
Vice President, Rate Design and Strategic Solutions, Duke Energy Corporation
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Lon Huber
Lon Huber is a Vice President at Duke Energy overseeing the development and implementation of pricing and strategic solutions for the collection of over $22 billion in regulated revenue per year. Responding to changing customer needs, Lon is tasked with the development of new innovative electric rate designs in all jurisdictions of Duke Energy. Lon works to create new customer centric product bundles by leading the company’s demand side management and energy efficiency strategy as well as customer renewable strategy.
Lon also heads Duke’s Regulated Wholesale Structuring team with 7.6 GW of contracts and over $2 billion revenue. His team structures all renewable QF contracts, which in North Carolina consists of one of the nation’s largest state portfolios of solar. Finally, Lon's team supports Duke’s generation procurement, helping Duke transition its 51 GW fleet to net zero by 2050.
Lon has received numerous awards for his creative solutions to the electricity industry’s most pressing issues, including the top honor from the Energy Storage Association as well as Utility Dive’s Innovator of the Year award.
Margot Everett
Director, Energy, Sustainability and Infrastructure, Guidehouse
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Nick Brown
City Energy Manager, City of Phoenix
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Nick Brown
Nick Brown has worked in the fields of biodiversity conservation, renewable energy and institutional sustainability since 1980. He is city energy manager at the City of Phoenix, where he oversees energy efficiency and solar programs for municipal ops. He's on the Board of Directors at Salt River Project, which operates a 7 GW power system and delivers half of the water supply to the Valley of the Sun's 4.5 million inhabitants.
Chris Schroeder
Vice President, Strategic Solutions, Smart Electric Power Alliance
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Chris Schroeder
Chris joined SEPA in 2017. He is responsible for helping SEPA members define a variety of programs, strategies, and solutions for distributed energy resources supporting the advancement of clean energy and modernized grid. Chris has over 20 years of management consulting experience across electric utility and renewable energy industries. Chris has also provided strategic consulting services for state regulatory proceedings, complex stakeholder facilitation services, utility tariff review and energy storage initiatives for utilities throughout North America. Chris has a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics from Willamette University and a Master of Science in Building Systems Engineering from the University of Colorado.
Anja Gilbert
Principal, Integrated Grid Planning and Innovation, PG&E
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Ben Russak
Director, Public Partnerships, Liberty Hill Foundation
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Ben Russak
As Director of Public Partnerships, Ben helps Liberty Hill's role as a regional administrator and intermediary funder for public sector programs. He works with social justice organizations in LA County's frontline communities to ensure those programs support their missions, and helps shape State, regional and local policies to provide inclusive mechanisms ensuring that the interests of low-income communities of color are driving decisionmaking.
He is the architect of the emPOWER regional outreach campaign connecting people hurt most by pollution, high heat, and increasing utility bills to over 40 state and local clean energy/vehicle and financial incentives and developed and implemented the award-winning stakeholder engagement process of the first-ever LA County Sustainability Plan.
Ben is the lead author of the 2017 Green Zones and Grassroots report, which analyzed benefits of climate change programs in LA County and provided actionable recommendations for how State agencies can forge grassroots partnerships to increase the transformative power of investments, bring low-income residents to the decision-making table, and create development without displacement. He is an alumnus of UCLA’s Masters in Urban and Regional Planning program.
Tom Knox
Executive Director, Valley Clean Air Now
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Tom Knox
Tom Knox has implemented a variety of public affairs programs throughout California for two decades, with extensive experience in issues management and coalition building at the grassroots level. He has worked in a broad range of energy and infrastructure issues including transportation, land use, and water.
Tom helped found and now directs Valley Clean Air Now, a nonprofit dedicated to cooperative and proactive approaches to improving air quality in California’s San Joaquin Valley. Valley CAN’s signature programs, Tune In & Tune Up and Clean Cars 4 All, have become key examples of California’s global leadership toward clean transportation in disadvantaged communities.
Cathy Newby
Director, Tribal Government and Customer Engagement, Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM)
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Cathy Newby
Cathy Newby is Director of Tribal Government and Customer Relations for PNM’s Public Policy Department located Albuquerque, NM. Cathy leads a team in fostering trusting relationships to create balanced and aligned outcomes by working with New Mexico Tribal communities and customers in serving their energy needs. With a business approach based on core-values, Cathy actively shapes energy policy, creates a culture of early engagement and inclusion, and works through constructive negotiations with sovereign nations on behalf of PNM
Prior to joining PNM, she served as Community Relations Manager at Arizona Public Service Company. She had previously held various communication and community outreach positions at the APS-Four Corners Power Plant and the Navajo Nation.
Cathy is an alumna of the University of Idaho’s Utility Executive Course (UEC) that engages the utility industry's best leaders from diverse business backgrounds in a dynamic interchange of knowledge, insight, and expertise.
She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Journalism and Communication from Eastern New Mexico University and Master’s in Business Administration from the University of New Mexico.
A Navajo of the Bitter Water Clan, Cathy grew up on the Navajo Nation in Tohatchi, New Mexico. She currently lives in Albuquerque with her family
Cathy dedicates her time to positively impacting Native American communities. She serves as Board Chair for the NB3 Foundation. The NB3 Foundation builds a national framework to improve Native American children’s health and overcome barriers to living full lives. She also serves as a board member for the PNM Resources Foundation and is currently enrolled in Leadership New Mexico, a program to enhance leadership skills and deepen the knowledge of the challenges and opportunities facing New Mexico.
Stephen Torres
Principal Manager, Climate Adaptation & Resilience Planning and Analytics, Southern California Edison
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Stephen Torres
Stephen Torres leads the Analytics function, and companywide Climate Adaptation and Resilience efforts, within the Resource and Environmental Planning & Strategy organization at Southern California Edison (SCE).
Prior to SCE, Mr. Torres was Director of the Project Business for DelSolar, a Taiwanese solar module manufacturer, where he was responsible for the origination, development, engineering, construction, operation, and financing of distributed solar projects across the US. Mr. Torres has also served as Vice-President of Magnetek (NYSE: MAG), Inc. and General Manager of its Alternative Energy division, developing innovative power conversion solutions to the solar and wind industries.
Mr. Torres received a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Washington and an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.
Gerhard Walker
Principal Engineer, Eversource
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Gerhard Walker
Gerhard Walker is a Principle Engineering, System Planning at Eversource. In this role, he is responsible for transitioning Eversource’s distribution planning processes to help account for uncertainty in DER growth and output, non-wires alternatives, and electric vehicles. Previously, Mr. Walker was the Director for Product Management at Opus One Solutions, a Canadian Utility Software supplier, where he led the scaling up of software solutions and successful customer acquisitions including HECO, SCE, Ameren, as well as expansions into the UK and Germany.
Mr. Walker began his career in 2013 at the Netze BW, Germany’s third largest DSO, leading research and development efforts into probabilistic forecasting, advanced system planning, and EV – grid integration topics. While at the Netze BW, Mr. Walker was in charge of federal regulatory efforts positioning DSO’s with the automotive industry on charge specifications and load management as well as being responsible for ELT coordination across all subsidiaries on GridMod topics. Subsequently, Mr. Walker joined GE Current as the Director for Grid Solutions in Boston, USA, to develop distribution use cases for virtual power plant aggregation of DERs.
Mr. Walker holds a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering with a Thesis focused on probabilistic modelling of electric vehicle adoption rate forecasting and power flows from the University of Stuttgart, Germany.
Michelle Nuttall
Sr. Advisor, Energy Equity & Access Policy, Southern California Edison
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Ben Ealey
Principal, Grid Integration, Smart Electric Power Alliance
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Susan Mora-Schrader
Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives, Exelon Utilities
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Brian Schuster
Director, Customer and Community Engagement, National Grid
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Henry Yoshimura
Director, Demand Resource Strategy, ISO-NE
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Max Zuni
Former Governor, Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico
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Max Zuni
In 2019, Governor Max A. Zuni was elected to a two-year term by the citizens of the Pueblo of Isleta. Prior to his election, he served multi-term appointments as First Lieutenant Governor from 2005-2010 and again in 2017-2018. The Pueblo of Isleta is located 13 miles South of Albuquerque.
The position of Governor manages the everyday functions of the 40+ tribal departments and over 500 employees. The governor also oversees the Isleta Casino & Resort tribal enterprise, which separately employs over 1,000 employees. The Governor also handles all “outside” matters with other tribal nations, local, state and the federal government, on behalf of the pueblo. Former Governor Zuni is a strong Native voter advocate and has collaboratively worked as a Tiwa Language interpreter and translator for all tribal and local elections, including visiting with elders and students to interpret the ballot in the Tiwa language. (Tiwa is the indigenous language spoken by four pueblo nations in New Mexico)
After 32 years, former Governor Zuni retired from federal service at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico and prior to that he was with Los Alamos National Laboratories in the field of laser technology. Former Governor Zuni served in the U.S. Marine Corp from 1967-1971 and is a proud Vietnam Veteran.
Governor Zuni is a traditional family man with five children and fourteen grandchildren. He resides on the Pueblo of Isleta reservation and enjoys, farming, hunting, Native American history, teaching the Tiwa language to Isleta youth and crafting pueblo dance regalia.
Governor Zuni has been an active little league baseball coach for over 16 years; a storyteller for the Isleta Elementary School and Isleta Head Start Program; and mentor’s Native American youth. He enjoys the company of his pet cat Franklin, pet turtle Leonardo and most importantly, spending quality time with his family.
Sangeeta Ranade
Vice President, Clean Energy Solutions, NYPA
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Lee Hall
Smart Grid Program Manager, Bonneville Power Administration
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Lee Hall
Lee Hall is the Manager of Distributed Energy Resources at Bonneville Power Administration in Portland, Oregon. Lee leads his team in exploring new technology and business models for Demand Response and Energy Storage, to meet BPA’s future resource needs. Lee has held leadership positions in BPA IT, Power Scheduling, and Business Continuity. A native of Stayton, Oregon, Lee is a graduate of the US Naval Academy with a BS in physics. Lee has also earned an MS in Engineering Science, and an MBA. Lee was a career Naval Officer in the Nuclear Submarine Force.
Sejal Shah
Senior Program Manager, National Grid
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Sejal Shah
Sejal Shah is the Senior Program Manager at National Grid. She is responsible for the Massachusetts Fleet Advisory Services Program which provides public fleets a free assessment to electrify their fleets. Sejal is also the program manager for SmartCharge MA which is looking at charging behaviors of Massachusetts EV drivers to determine future EV charging rates for customers. Before joining National Grid, Sejal was with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection where she managed the Massachusetts Electric Vehicle Incentive Programs.
Allison Clements
Commissioner, FERC
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Allison Clements
Commissioner Allison Clements has two decades of public and private sector experience in energy regulation and policy, representing utilities, independent power producers, developers and lenders, nonprofits and philanthropies on grid policy issues. Commissioner Clements is the founder and president of Goodgrid, LLC, an energy policy and strategy consulting firm. Previously she spent two years as director of the energy markets program at Energy Foundation. Prior to her time at Energy Foundation and Goodgrid, Commissioner Clements worked for a decade at Natural Resources Defense Council in New York, NY, as the organization’s corporate counsel and then as director of the Sustainable FERC Project. Before that, Commissioner Clements spent several years in private legal practice, with the energy regulatory group at Troutman Sanders LLP (now Troutman Pepper) and then with the project finance and infrastructure group at Chadbourne & Parke LLP (now Norton Rose Fulbright).
Commissioner Clements has served as a federal energy expert in several capacities, including as a member of a National Academies of Sciences committee on grid resilience, as co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s electric grid initiative, and as a clinical visiting lecturer at Yale Law School.
Commissioner Clements grew up in Dayton, Ohio. She has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctorate from The George Washington University Law School.
Lavelle Freeman
Director of Distribution System Planning, Eversource
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Mary Kipp
President, Puget Sound Energy
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Jared Leader
Senior Manager, Research and Industry Strategy, SEPA
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Jared Leader
Jared joined SEPA in 2017. In his role, he develops strategic plans for programs, products, and service offerings for utility and industry stakeholder members and clients that facilitate the integration of distributed energy resources, non-wires alternatives and microgrids onto the modern grid. Jared leads SEPA’s Microgrids Working Group and co-led D.C. Public Service Commission’s grid modernization working groups.
Prior to joining SEPA, he spent several years working as an environmental engineer and consultant for utility, municipal and commercial clients in the energy and water sectors.
He has a MS, Energy Policy and Climate from Johns Hopkins University, and a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Virginia.
Outside of business hours, Jared enjoys skiing, hiking and spending time in the great outdoors.
Ravi Malhotra
Founder and President, ICAST
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