Speakers

Cynthia Hunt Jaehne

Director, Engagement, Smart Electric Power Alliance

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Cynthia Hunt Jaehne Cynthia leads the executive engagement programs, Working Group communities, and online learning at SEPA. Cynthia’s project management experience coupled with her knowledge of the trends, barriers, and approaches relating to the successful and sustainable integration, deployment and utilization of solar and distributed energy resource technologies informs her role developing and executing programs for SEPA. Prior to joining SEPA, Cynthia was a Project Manager for Morse Associates, Inc. in Washington, DC. Cynthia has more than 10 years of experience managing utility-scale solar PV and CSP studies and initiatives for a number of clients both in the U.S. and internationally. Cynthia has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of South Carolina. Outside of her professional work and interests, Cynthia’s dogs keep her running and she is a comedy-loving movie nerd, a voracious reader, and a classically trained pianist.

Mark Knight

Principal Consultant, Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc.

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Mark Knight Mark is a Principal Consultant at 1898 & Co., part of Burns & McDonnell. Mark has 33 years of experience and is a senior industry adviser with international experience in many areas. He is the Emeritus Chair of the GridWise Architecture Council (GWAC), a group formed by the U.S. Department of Energy to promote and enable interoperability among the many entities that interact with the nation's electric power system. He is also the chair of SEPA’s Transactive Energy working group, a member of SEPA’s Advisory Council, and is on the Institute of Asset Management’s US Executive Committee and Knowledge Leadership Group. Mark’s experience includes grid research for the UK’s Central Electricity Research Laboratory and the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, as well as consulting, system development, and product management roles in the electric utility area.

David Holmberg

Mechanical Engineer, National Institute of Standards and Technology

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David Holmberg David Holmberg serves as a mechanical engineer in the NIST Engineering Laboratory, Energy and Environment Division, with work focused on building integration with the Smart Grid, looking at transactive energy system co-simulation. He serves as Vice Chair of the SEPA TE Working Group, co-chair of the SEPA ESI Task Force working toward solutions for the electric industry, and convener of the Smart Grid Working Group of the ASHRAE BACnet committee, advancing standards for a transactive grid. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), B.S., Ph.D.

Raymond Kaiser

Director Of Energy Management Services, Amzur Technologies, Inc.

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Raymond Kaiser As the director of Energy Management Systems at Amzur Technologies, Raymond Kaiser leads a team of software experts in developing an open-source Internet of Things platform for managing distributed energy resources (DERs). This technology could revolutionize the industry and the world in the years to come by accelerating the transition to distributed energy. For the past 20 years, Kaiser has provided energy and environmental consulting to utilities; developers; engineering firms; local, state, and federal agencies; and national and international architectural firms. Before that, his 25-year career in IT spanned software development, large account technical support, and sales and marketing. Kaiser is co-chair of the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) Energy services. Interface Task Force, which is creating a guide for integrating behind-the-meter DER into utility planning and operations. He was also co-chair for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Orange Button Initiative Design & Construction work group to establish Open Solar Data Exchange standards.

Jared Leader

Manager, Advisory Services, Smart Electric Power Alliance

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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.

Gary Brinkworth

Senior Advisor - Innovation & Research, Tennessee Valley Authority

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Gary Brinkworth Gary Brinkworth has over 34 years of utility industry experience in system planning, forecasting, and demand-side management evaluation. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Auburn University, and is a registered professional engineer in 4 states. After working for Southern Company and the City of Tallahassee, FL he joined TVA in March 2009 where he managed the development of long-term capacity plans, resource portfolio evaluations, and capacity optimization studies including the company’s 2011 and 2015 Integrated Resource Plans. Gary served as Director of Enterprise Research & Technology Innovation from July 2015 until February 2020, where he led the team responsible for coordinating the company’s R&D efforts and identifying innovation opportunities for TVA and its distribution utility partners. He’s now a senior advisor to the VP of Innovation & Research working on special projects that explore innovative solutions to enable the transformation of the energy network in the TVA region.

Larisa Dobriansky

Chief Business and Regulatory Innovations Officer, General MicroGrids, Inc.

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Larisa Dobriansky As Chief Business & Regulatory Innovations Officer at General MIcroGrids, Larisa Dobriansky focuses on regulatory, financial and institutional changes that can leverage the capabilities of advanced microgrids to deliver integrated energy solutions to power systems and communities. Drawing upon over 20 years of experience in the energy, environmental and financial regulatory fields, she shapes new financing mechanisms, market designs and utility and energy regulatory reforms to support a sustainable, efficient, reliable and resilient transformation in electricity system and community energy infrastructure to meet 21st century demands. Ms. Dobriansky is helping to achieve reforms that capture the value that an intelligent, dynamic microgrid can bring to the Grid, Market and Communities. Her efforts are aimed at incentivizing investment in advanced microgrids that optimize distributed resources, expand energy-sharing parameters and foster transactive energy markets. Ms. Dobriansky has served in senior management positions within the private sector and U.S. Government. She formerly served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for National Energy Policy at the U.S. Department of Energy. In that capacity, she secured U.S Congressional authorization for the Department's first loan guarantee program for clean energy technologies to move technologies out of demonstration and into the marketplace. She is currently working with microgrid developers, utilities, federal and state governmental agencies and regulators, local communities, consumer advocates and other stakeholders to develop a "regulatory eco-system" to support advanced microgrids and integrated local energy network market development.

Ronald Melton

Group Leader, Distributed Systems Group, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

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Ronald Melton Dr. Melton is the director of the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration project, the administrator of the GridWise® Architecture Council, and a senior technical leader for smart grid research and development projects. He has over 30 years of experience applying computer technology to a variety of engineering and scientific problems. In addition to smart grid related projects, recent experience includes research and engineering in cyber security for critical infrastructure protection and process control system security. Dr. Melton is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a Senior Member of the Association for Computing Machinery. Ph.D. Engineering Science, California Institute of Technology M.S. Engineering Science, California Institute of Technology BSEE, University of Washington

Ron Cunningham

IT Enterprise Architect, American Electric Power

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Ron Cunningham

Ron is an IT Enterprise Architect in the Enterprise Architecture and Strategy group at American Electric Power (AEP), focusing on: grid modernization architecture; IT/OT interoperability industry standards development and use; use of enterprise architecture frameworks, development and refinement of grid and IT architectural metamodels, system modeling, formal ontologies; enhancing cybersecurity and grid related telecommunication technologies and architectures. Over 44-year career in the electric utility industry with the last 10 years focused on internal AEP smart grid and grid modernization projects with focus on feasibility and pilot/project selection including projected total-cost-of-ownership, telecommunication technology architecture designs including cybersecurity, project risk mitigation, business modeling. This work also included active participation in external smart grid efforts and other work with SEPA's Grid Architecture Committee (includes standards reviews, ontology development, EA framework assessments, past chair), Technical Committee, Transactive Energy Group, Grid Management, and advisor/presenter and contributor on several research papers and reports in several EPRI research ICT program sets. Ron has double major Mathematics and Physics undergrad degree, with 2 years graduate work in Industrial Engineering.

Gerard Rendell

Lead Business and Technical Consultant, Duke Energy

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Gerard Rendell Lead Business and Technical consultant in Market Solutions Analytics, an advanced analytics incubator and solution development provider within Duke Energy, that focuses on using data science and machine learning to build a smarter energy future. Working on market research and strategy for transformational solutions across the generation, transmission, distribution and customer landscape. Interested in the intersection of design thinking, computational economics, abstract algebra and the use of machine learning with ontologies to solve strategic problems. Gerard gained a Ph.D. from University of London (Kingston in 2012) with concentrations in computing and mathematics with a thesis on evolving machines with human like characteristics of early childhood mathematics development using cognitive models from Jean Piaget. Latest project is working with SEPA to develop a Transactive Energy Ontology for the electric grid using OWL, UML and Python

Rusty Haynes

Research Manager, Smart Electric Power Alliance

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Rusty Haynes Rusty joined SEPA as a research manager in 2020, with a focus on regulatory innovation, utility business models, and transportation electrification. He has worked in the U.S. clean-energy sector since 2001 and is strongly committed to achieving a zero-carbon U.S. energy system. His areas of clean-energy expertise include program and project management, research and analysis, and regulatory and legislative policy. Prior to joining SEPA, Rusty served as program manager at the Electrification Coalition, policy research manager at EQ Research, and DSIRE project manager at the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center at N.C. State University. Rusty received an M.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill and a B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Georgia. He enjoys writing fiction and composing music (despite the quality of the results), and has traveled to 40 countries.

Amanda Mortlock

Vice President, 3Degrees Group, Inc.

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Amanda Mortlock Amanda leads the 100-person national Utility Partnerships (UP) team at 3Degrees, a renewable energy and climate services company committed to helping businesses and their customers take urgent action on climate change. The UP team at 3Degrees designs carbon offset and renewable energy products for regulated utilities and helps regulated utilities build powerful customer relationships and sales channels for their products. Amanda holds an MBA from the University of Oregon.

Milton Geiger

Energy Resources Director, Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association, Inc.

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Milton Geiger Milton is a visionary and accomplished energy sector executive with 14 years of experience leading energy programs and solution development for government entities and utilities. He has invaluable experience finding new and innovative ways to maximize production, delivery, and monetization of emerging forms of energy for the benefit of the consumer, the utility, and society at large. He bears strong expertise in developing mutually beneficial partnerships with stakeholders and vendors, motivating team development, and cross-functional and multi-level communication with a focus on meeting and exceeding organizational goals.

Michael Rivet

Manager, Renewable Energy Product Development, DTE Energy

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Michael Rivet Michael Rivet is the Manager of Product Development within DTE Energy's Renewable Energy Solutions team. Michael's team is responsible for the research, development, operations, and sustainment of DTE's voluntary renewable energy product suite, MIGreenPower. Prior to this role, Michael was a Senior Strategist in DTE's Electric Strategy team, with responsibilities ranging from facilitating the company's annual planning process to chief of staff work for DTE Electric's President. Michael has a Bachelor's of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toledo and an MBA from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Prior to working at DTE, Michael served seven years in various positions within the U.S. Government's Intelligence Community, with responsibilities ranging from technical product development to project management. Michael, his wife Sarah, and their two young boys, Cameron and Benjamin reside in Northville, MI. The family likes to enjoy the many great outdoor activities that the great state of Michigan has to offer such as hiking, boating, and relaxing at a beach.

Dara Ward

Product Developer, Xcel Energy

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Dara Ward Dara Ward is a Product Developer at Xcel Energy on the Commercial & Industrial Customer Solutions team focusing on renewable energy programs and offerings that will help customers meet carbon reduction and sustainability goals. Prior to Xcel Energy, Dara was the Energy & Sustainability Manager at a large Colorado school district for over 6 years where she implemented energy efficiency and sustainability measures, installed on-site renewables, and developed a behavior conservation program. Dara is a Certified Energy Manager and a Renewable Energy Professional and has a master’s degree in Energy Management from Columbia University.

Erika Myers

Principal, Transportation Electrification, Smart Electric Power Alliance

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Erika Myers Erika H. Myers joined SEPA in 2015 and leads SEPA’s transportation electrification research. She has 16 years of experience in the clean energy sector and specializes in the nexus between the grid, electric vehicles, and renewable energy. Erika currently serves on an electric vehicle (EV) steering committee for the U.S. Department of Energy and is an EV advisor for the National Energy Foundation, a non-profit organization developing curriculum to increase EV literacy in K-12 schools. She was awarded the 2019 Public Utility Fortnightly “Fortnightly Under 40” award for her work on vehicle-grid integration. Prior to joining SEPA, Erika worked as a consultant with ICF International where she helped electric utilities and local governments develop EV readiness plans. She also served as the Renewable Energy Manager for the South Carolina Energy Office and was a Clean Cities Coordinator for the Palmetto State Clean Fuels Coalition. In these roles, she oversaw the development and execution of key state renewable energy and clean transportation policies, regulations, and grant programs. Erika has a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University and a master’s degree from the University of South Carolina with a specialization in clean energy and climate science.

Greggory Kresge

Manager of Electrification of Transportation, Hawaiian Electric

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Greggory Kresge Greggory Kresge is the Manager of Electrification of Transportation-Project Delivery for Hawaiian Electric servicing the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, Moloka`i and Oahu. This environment is unique in that all the islands have separate grids with no import or export capability beyond the resident population. Add to this a tremendous amount of renewable energy that can supply up to 80% of the load in the middle of the day – a perfect fit for Time of Use (TOU) pricing and displacement of fossil fuel with renewable energy for the transportation sector. In his role, Gregg works on furthering the electrification of transportation on the 5 islands Hawaiian Electric serves with workplace charging, DC fast charging networks, electric vehicle workforce development, multi-unit dwelling installations, increasing EV adoption in rural communities and managed charging as a grid resource. Gregg also is the Co-chair of the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) EV Working Group. He is an EV owner since 2013 and lives in a condominium with no access to dedicated charging, thereby feeling the pain of inoperable public charging and an increased awareness of range anxiety. Gregg holds several degrees including Doctor of Philosophy in Sustainability and Green Building, Master of Business Administration in Sustainability, Master of Science in Environmental Management, and Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Communications. Gregg is also a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design and Construction (AP BD&C) and a Home Energy Survey Professional (HESP). In his spare time, Gregg takes advantage of the Maui environment and paddles outrigger for the Hawaiian Canoe Club, kayaks, swims and runs.

Olivier Pincon

CEO, ZappyRide

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Olivier Pincon Olivier is the founder of ZappyRide. ZappyRide provides world-class, end-to-end, integrated experiences to EV consumers to increase EV adoption. We work with electric utilities, OEMs and advocacy groups to make that vision a reality. Over the past 10 years, Olivier’s work has focused on cleantech, renewable energy and electric mobility. Prior to ZappyRide, Olivier was a strategy consultant at PwC, working for clients in the energy and transportation sectors. He also held positions at Booz and Co., SunEdison, and China Greentech Initiative. Olivier holds a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and a B.S. from Ecole Polytechnique, Paris.

Craig Ferreira

Innovation Development, Green Mountain Power

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Craig Ferreira Craig Ferreira has been with Green Mountain Power for almost 10 years, with the majority of the time being spent in the Innovation Development space. He has a B.S. in Business Administration from Colby-Sawyer College and a M.S. in Environmental Science from Green Mountain College. His role in Development is to discover and implement strategies and technologies that provide a value and benefit to all of GMP’s customers with a focus on cleaner, greener, and affordable energy. Craig has been heavily involved in all of GMP’s energy storage pilots and programs, and continues to work to increase the amount of distributed resources available to GMP.

John Gibson

Chief R&D Engineer / Distribution Services Lead, Avista Utilities

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John Gibson

John Gibson, P.E., is Avista’s Chief Research & Development Engineer. He leads the team that develops grid products and services for Avista’s electric and natural gas customers. With more than 25 years of experience in the electric utility industry, John is currently leading the development of a shared energy model called an eco-district, which uses a centralized plant to supply energy to multiple buildings in an area. This innovative model could transform how the electric grid of the future operates and help reinvent the utility business model.


Matthew Wallace

Distribution Standards Engineer, PPL Electric Utilities Company

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Jamie Kolln

Senior Associate Electrical Engineer, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

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Jamie Kolln

Jaime has worked in the consumer electronics industry since the early 2000's. The majority of this time was spent managing his own installation and system integration business with a focus on automation and controls. He earned his Electrical and Computer Engineering Degree at Portland State University specializing in Power Systems. While working as a research assistant at Portland State he performed studies in grid based IoT and transformer thermal modelling in collaboration with Portland General Electric. He was awarded for his work in transformer modeling at the 2018 IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting. Jaime joined PNNL in December of 2018 as a Senior Associate Electrical Engineer. At PNNL he studies interoperability, distributed energy resources (DER) and energy efficient building controls. He is a member of IEEE-PES and SEPA where he assists with advancing DER standards. 


Kate Strickland

Manager, Utility & Regulatory 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.

April Bolduc

President, S Curve Strategies

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April Bolduc

April is passionate about transportation electrification and has driven electric since 2011. She has inspired thousands of drivers to do the same by working with states, municipalities and utilities across the U.S. to develop and launch their electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure strategies.  

April assists state agencies to create fast charging corridors and strong EV policies. She helps utilities build strong EV teams, develop strategic plans and implement their EV customer experience efforts. 

April has done hundreds of speaking engagements and media interviews on overcoming barriers to transportation electrification. 

Prior to forming S Curve Strategies, April led San Diego Gas & Electric’s EV customer experience. Today, this region has one of the highest EV adoption rate of any city in the country.

Robert Tucker

Director, Industry Strategy, Smart Electric Power Alliance

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Robert Tucker

Robert Tucker is an energy industry professional with 25 years of experience working with utilities across the US. Robert has helped utilities with a wide range of business and technology solutions to solve complex business problems or changing regulatory requirements. Robert has worked with utilities and regulators to address the challenges and opportunities of grid modernization and the growth of DERs. Prior to SEPA Robert worked for both consulting firms and technology/ service providers to the utility industry. Robert earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and a Masters of Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. 


David Schlosberg

Vice President, Operations, Enel X e-Mobility

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David Schlosberg

David Schlosberg is Vice President of Energy Market Operations at eMotorWerks, an Enel Group Company, and leads the company's participation in energy markets and other programs operated by regulatory agencies. He also provides industry leadership on EVs and distributed energy resources in regulatory and legislative forums. Previously, he was Principal, Energy Market Analysis, within the Alphabet / Google Access & Energy division, where he was responsible for regulatory activities as well as related business development initiatives with utilities, energy management providers and renewable energy companies. Previously, David held regulatory and government affairs roles with BrightSource Energy, a provider of large scale solar thermal power plants. David received his BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business and an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business.

Michael Cohen

Principal Critical Infrastructure Protection Systems Engineer, MITRE

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Michael Cohen

Dr. Michael L. Cohen, is the Homeland Security Center, Principle Critical Infrastructure Systems Engineer. Dr. Cohen is a MITRE corporate resource in the area of critical infrastructure security and resilience, including critical infrastructure Cyber resilience. Dr. Cohen’s own critical infrastructure sector specialty is the Energy Sector, more specifically Electric Power, Smart Grid, Nuclear Power, and Oil &Natural Gas. Most recently Dr. Cohen has been focusing on assessing the risk to critical infrastructure from High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse, which has a particularly devastating effect on the Power Grid. Just prior to that he focused on the impacts of emerging technological threats to nuclear power. Prior to that he examined the impact on  critical infrastructure from disruption of GPS timing services. In parallel with that work he has been supporting critical infrastructure Cybersecurity, Cyber Resilience, and supply chain risk management.  Dr. Cohen earned his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, his master’s degree (M.S.) in Physics at Northeastern University and his bachelor’s degree (B.S.) in Physics at Boston University.

Paul Stith

Director, Global Transportation Initiatives, Black & Veatch Corporation

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Paul Stith

Paul Stith is director of global transportation initiatives for Black & Veatch’s Growth Accelerator where he develops ecosystems needed to plan, finance, deploy and operate sustainable transportation and distributed clean energy infrastructure at scale. Paul leverages a decade of involvement in vehicle electrification and infrastructure supporting investors, utilities, fleets, energy and transportation providers to electrify and automate ground, aviation and marine fleets. Paul serves on the board of directors at Forth https://forthmobility.org/ and NACFE https://nacfe.org/

Srinivas Katipamula

Staff Scientist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

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Srinivas Katipamula

Dr. Srinivas Katipamula is a Staff Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). For over 25 years, Katipamula’s career has focused on improving the operating efficiency of commercial buildings. Prior to joining PNNL, he led the analytics group at the Enron Energy Services (EES). 

Ahmed Mousa

Manager - Utility of the Future - Electric & Gas Asset Strategy, PSE&G

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Ahmed Mousa

Ahmed Mousa is currently the manager of the Utility of the Future at PSE&G. Mr. Mousa was the Founder/CEO of the Electric Bridge Consulting firm. He served as an adjunct professor, senior judge & Industry Advisory Board member at NJIT, on the NJ Association of Energy Engineers board, Rutgers University Cyber Security board. Additionally, he has authored four books and several PE professional engineering online courses.

Nelson Hastings

Manger, Cybersecurity and Privacy Applications Group, National Institute of Standards and Technology

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Nelson Hastings

In addition to chairing SEPA’s Cybersecurity Working Group, Nelson Hastings leads the Cybersecurity and Privacy Applications Group of Applied Cybersecurity Division within Information Technology Laboratory at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).  His team supports the cybersecurity aspects of NIST’s Smart Grid program as well as other NIST efforts including privacy engineering, public safety communications, voting systems, and industrial control systems. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Iowa State University, M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Western Michigan University, and B.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Taylor Marvin

Clean Transportation Business Development Advisor, San Diego Gas & Electric

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Taylor Marvin

Taylor Marvin is the Clean Transportation Business Development Advisor at San Diego Gas & Electric where he leads Leading SDG&E's EV High Power (EV-HP) commercial EV rate project.

William Radasky

President, Metatech Corporation

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William Radasky

Bill Radasky founded and has served as President of Metatech Corporation. Dr. Radasky has played a central role in the development of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and related electromagnetic environment specifications applicable to defense electronic systems. A major current interest is the development of EM standards that are compatible with EMC requirements. Dr. Radasky is particularly well known to the EMP community in the United States and abroad for his continuing contributions to EMP/SREMP research, a field in which he has been active since 1968. Dr. Radasky is Chairman of the IEC Advisory Committee on EMC (ACEC) and is currently the Chairman of SC77C which deals with HEMP/HPEM standards for commercial systems. He has authored over 250 publications on EM subjects and holds the following academic degrees: B.S., Air Force Academy; M.S., University of New Mexico; and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, University of California at Santa Barbara.  

Mac Keller

Senior Analyst, Research, Smart Electric Power Alliance

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Mac Keller

Mac joined SEPA as a Research Analyst in December 2018 after having interned and worked as a research assistant on SEPA’s Utility Market Snapshots. He has supported SEPA’s annual Utility Data Collection Effort and subsequent Snapshot Series development and currently focuses on SEPA’s new Utility Transformation Challenge. Mac holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics with a minor in sustainability from the University of Maryland, College Park. In his free time, he enjoys cooking up a storm and playing ultimate frisbee.

Daisy Chung

Manager, Industry Solutions, Smart Electric Power Alliance

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Daisy Chung

Daisy Chung joined SEPA in 2014. She focuses on utility deployment at the distribution level, with specialty in asset management and operations & maintenance. She also collaborates with industry stakeholders such as electric service providers and integrators. Daisy comes with seven years of thin‐films engineering, process implementation, as well as technical knowledge transfer experience from Samsung. Through her global experience, she specialized in system start‐ups, qualification, standardization, and failure and root-cause analysis through Six Sigma data analytics and system monitoring strategies. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, with minors in Business Foundation and Chinese Language from the University of Texas; she is also an honor’s graduate of the Master in International Public Affairs program, specializing in Energy Analysis and Policy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Longhorns and badgers play nicely together in her household.

Ben Ealey

Principal, Grid Integration, Smart Electric Power Alliance

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Ben Ealey Ben joined SEPA in 2020 as Principal, Grid Integration. He leads SEPA’s Grid Integration pathway focused on integrating increased penetrations of carbon-free energy with positive impacts to affordability, safety, security, reliability, resiliency and customer satisfaction. Ben spent the previous 10+ years working at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) conducting research on information and communication technologies for distributed energy resources. He has strong expertise related to the development and implementation of control, monitoring, and communication technologies to support scalable integration of new energy resources like smart solar, storage, and flexible loads. Ben has led and served on several industry committees related to interoperability and DERs. Ben holds his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and is the author of numerous industry technical publications.

Trevor Gibson

Analyst, Research, Smart Electric Power Alliance

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Trevor Gibson

Trevor joined SEPA in August 2019 as a research analyst after having worked as a research assistant on SEPA’s Utility Market Snapshot Series. In his role, Trevor helps support SEPA’s Annual Utility Survey, along with a range of other research projects, including distribution resource planning and utility decarbonization efforts. Prior to joining SEPA, Trevor attended the University of Maryland, College Park, where he received his B.S. in Environmental Science and Policy in 2017 and his MPP in International Security and Economic Policy in 2018. In his free time, Trevor enjoys spending time outdoors, golfing, and rooting on his favorite sports teams. He is a devote University of Connecticut basketball fan.

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 – Utility Business Models, Regulatory Innovation, Grid Integration and Transportation 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.

Natalia Mathura

Principal, Utility Business Models, Smart Electric Power Alliance

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Natalia Mathura Natalia Mathura joined SEPA in 2019 as Principal, Utility Business Models with 19 years of regulated and non-regulated electric utility experience. She currently leads SEPA’s utility models content portfolio and engagement opportunities focused on carbon reduction, stakeholder engagement and innovation strategies for utility deployment. Prior to this, she spent nearly fourteen years as Manager, Energy Services and Utility of the Future for Pepco Holdings, Inc utilities covering New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia regulatory constructs related to retail choice, smart community, and electric vehicle programs. She also worked as a utility consultant for KPMG Consulting at a number of Fortune 500 US utility firms focused on software implementations, new technology strategies, and mergers and acquisitions. Natalia received her Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Mary Washington College and an MBA from Georgetown University.

Spencer Schecht

Manager, Member Experience, Smart Electric Power Alliance

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Spencer Schecht Spencer joined SEPA in November 2017 as an internal advocate for the continuous improvement of the SEPA member experience. Prior to his work at SEPA, Spencer spent two years at the DC Sustainable Energy Utility helping some of the largest institutions in the nation’s capital adopt energy efficiency measures. He has also worked within teams at The World Bank and The Natural Resource Defense Council around renewable energy and climate change mitigation. In his spare time Spencer can be found slapping the bass and enjoying pricey ice cream.

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.

Cuong Nguyen

Lead, Smart Grid Testing and Certification, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Moderator

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Cuong Nguyen

Cuong Nguyen joined NIST in 2010 and leads the Smart Grid Testing and Certification Project in the Smart Grid and Cyber-Physical Systems Program Office. He works with industry to support standards-based interoperability test programs to help accelerate smart grid deployments, and he also manages the NIST Smart Grid Advisory Committee. He is an avid pool player but these days, he spends his busy weekends with his family. 


Bill Colavecchio

General Manager, Electric Utility Services, Underwriters Laboratories Inc.

Speaker

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Bill Colavecchio Bill Colavecchio leads new business growth for UL's Energy & Power Technology Division, focused in the Electricity Value Chain; including Smart Meters, Smart Grid, Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Automation, Functional Safety, Cybersecurity and related spaces.