Speakers

Jonathan Adelstein, Administrator, USDA Rural Utilities Service
Washington, D.C.
Jonathan S. Adelstein was nominated by Pres. Obama and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate in July 2009 to serve as the 17th administrator of USDA's Rural Utilities Service. He previously served as an FCC commissioner from 2002 to 2009. He was a key staff architect of expanding the RUS' authority to finance broadband services in the 2002 Farm Bill. Adelstein served for 15 years as a staff member in the U.S. Senate, seven of which as a senior legislative aide to then Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, where he advised on telecommunications, financial services, budget, housing, transportation and other key issues. Adelstein was born and raised in Rapid City, S.D.

 

Bryan Batson, Senior Vice President – Governmental and Regulatory Affairs, AGL Resources
Atlanta, Ga.
Bryan Batson was named senior vice president of governmental and regulatory affairs for AGL Resources in February 2009. His responsibilities are executive oversight and coordination of all governmental and regulatory matters that impact the company's regulated utilities: Atlanta Gas Light, Elizabethtown Gas, Florida City Gas, Virginia Natural Gas, Chattanooga Gas and Elkton Gas. Batson previously was senior vice president of external affairs. He has 27 years of professional experience with AGL Resources in various positions including division engineer, manager of measurement, Augusta division manager, service center manager and vice president of regulatory compliance and affairs. Batson also was director of state regulatory affairs, representing the company before the Georgia PSC.

 

John Bear, President and CEO, Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator Inc.
Carmel, Ind.
John Bear was named president and CEO of MISO in 2009 after serving as president and COO since 2006. He has more than 20 years of executive leadership in the utility industry. Prior to joining the Midwest ISO, Bear was president of Reliant Resources, where he directed all operations and commercial activity for the energy company's mid-Atlantic and mid-Continent regions. He served as COO and managing director of Reliant's European operations. Bear was named 2010 president of the Very Large Power Grid Operators, an association of the 12 largest international power grid operators representing more than 60 percent of the world's transmission grids. He has served as a board member of the NERC regional entity ReliabilityFirst.

 

Roger Bezdek, President, Management Information Services, Inc.
Washington, D.C.
Dr. Roger Bezdek has 30 years experience in the energy, utility, environmental and regulatory areas, serving in private industry, academia, and the U.S. federal government, and is the founder and president of Management Information Services, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based economic and energy research firm. He has served as corporate director, corporate president and CEO, university professor, research director in the Department of Energy's Energy Research and Development Administration, special advisor on energy in the Office of the Secretary of the Treasury, and energy delegate to the European Community and to the NATO. He has been a consultant to the White House, federal and state government agencies, and numerous corporations and research organizations.

 

Michelle Bloodworth, Vice President of Business Development, America's Natural Gas Alliance
Washington, D.C.
Michelle Bloodworth works with utilities, regulators and other business-to-business stakeholders to communicate the economic and environmental benefits of the increased use of clean, abundant, domestic natural gas. Prior to joining ANGA in 2010, Bloodworth spent more than 20 years with Energen, most recently as vice president of marketing, sales and communications for Energen's Alabama Gas Corp. Her previous positions with Energen/AlaGasCo included director of residential, industrial and commercial marketing; director of research and development; director of power generation and distributed generation markets. Bloodworth's experience in the natural gas industry includes strategic planning, sales and marketing, pipeline and supply project management, research and development, communications, economic development and government relations.

 

Commissioner David Boyd, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission

St. Paul, Minn.

Dr. David Boyd was appointed to the Minnesota PUC in 2007, reappointed in 2008. He was the chair from 2008 to early 2011. Boyd serves as a member of the NARUC Committee on Electricity, Subcommittee on Clean Coal and Carbon Sequestration, Subcommittee on Education and Research, and chairs the Subcommittee on Nuclear Issues-Waste Disposal. He serves as an executive committee member on the Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition, and in 2010 was appointed to serve on the Midwestern Governors Association's Carbon Capture and Storage Task Force. Boyd was a member of the faculty at the University of St. Thomas from 1989 to 2009, including six years as chairman of the chemistry department.

 

Nick Brown, President and CEO, Southwest Power Pool Inc.
Little Rock, Ark.
Nick Brown was elected president and CEO of Southwest Power Pool Inc. in November 2003. He is responsible for ensuring SPP achieves its mission and goals and he serves on the board of directors. Brown received bachelors degrees in physics and math from Ouachita Baptist University in 1981 and in electrical engineering from Louisiana Tech University in 1982. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu engineering honor societies, and IEEE and NSPE technical and professional societies. Brown is a registered professional engineer and a master electrician in the state of Arkansas and an instrument rated private pilot. He also serves on the board of directors of the Electric Power Research Institute.

 

Meredith Cash Weber, Trainer, South Dakota Bureau of Personnel
Rapid City, S.D.
Meredith Cash Weber has been a trainer for the South Dakota Bureau of Personnel for 19 years. Her primary function is the development and presentation of the supervisory training modules. She also develops and presents a variety of professional and personal development courses.

 

Commissioner Tony Clark, Chairman, North Dakota Public Service Commission and President, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners
Bismarck, N.D.
The citizens of North Dakota first elected Tony Clark to the Public Service Commission in November 2000. He was re-elected in 2006. Clark holds the PSC portfolio on electric generation and transmission. As such, he is active in state and regional efforts to develop North Dakota's vast energy exporting potential and provide affordable, reliable energy to consumers. In November 2010, he was elected to serve a one-year term as president NARUC. Clark is a past chairman of the NARUC Telecommunications Committee. He regularly interacts with other state and federal policy makers, and key stakeholders within academia, public interest groups and the media.

 

Commissioner Robert M. Clayton III, Missouri Public Service Commission
Jefferson City, Mo.
Commissioner Robert M. Clayton III was appointed to the Missouri PSC in 2003 and served as chairman from January 2009 to February 2011. He is a member of the NARUC Telecommunications Committee. Clayton served as chairman of the Missouri Universal Service Board and is a state commission member of the FCC appointed North American Numbering Council. He is also a member of the Federal Communications Bar Association and the Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Law Section of the American Bar Association.

 

Shonnie Cline, Senior Account Manager, Water Research Foundation
Denver, Colo.
Shonnie Cline has more than nine years of experience working with water, wastewater and stormwater utilities. She joined the Water Research Foundation in June 2007 where she holds the position of senior account manager, serving as the liaison between the foundation and drinking water utilities in the southwestern U.S. Prior to joining the foundation, she worked for a Colorado municipality as an environmental manager responsible for stormwater infrastructure, industrial pretreatment, backflow prevention and discharge permits. Cline holds bachelor's degrees in biology and business management and is currently pursuing a master's degree in organizational leadership.

 

Richard Coit, Executive Director, South Dakota Telecommunications Association
Pierre, S.D.
Rich Coit has been the South Dakota Telecommunications Association's general counsel and executive director since 1993. He also is the administrator for the South Dakota Association of Telephone Cooperatives. He represents South Dakota's rural telecommunications companies before the state PUC, other state agencies, the state legislature and the FCC. He has served as a member of the NTCA Industry Committee for a number of years and currently serves as its chairman. Prior to joining SDTA, Coit worked as regulatory counsel for a regional long distance carrier based out of South Dakota. He also worked with the South Dakota PUC as a staff attorney.

 

Lynn Coles, Senior Engineer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Golden, Colo.
Lynn Coles is currently a member of the Transmission and Grid Integration Group at NREL addressing wind and other renewable integration and transmission issues. He brings to the team experience as a utility system planner and as a consultant providing transmission advice and analysis to utilities. Coles' experience includes working with regional transmission organizations and their transmission access rules, developing and critiquing transmission rates, including rate protests at FERC, and working with new NERC reliability requirements. He returned to NREL in 2008 to work with the system integration group. From 1987 through 1996, Coles worked in the NREL utility analysis group.

 

Dawn Constantin, Head of Partnerships & Analytics, BP North America Gas & Power
Houston, Texas
Dawn Constantin is currently the head of partnerships and analytics at BP North America Gas and Power, based in Houston. Her partnerships team acts as the liaison between the gas and power organization and the exploration and production and refining and marketing teams. Her analytics team is responsible for generating long-term views on North American natural gas, natural gas liquids and power markets. She spent four years with TransCanada PipeLines in Calgary, Alberta, before joining BP. Constantin holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the Technical University of Nova Scotia (now Dalhousie University).

 

Mark Cooper, Senior Research Fellow for Economic Analysis, Institute for Energy and the Environment
South Royalton, Vt.
Mark Cooper holds a doctorate degree from Yale University and is a former Yale University and Fulbright Fellow. He is a Fellow at the Donald McGannon Communications Center of Fordham University, Silicon Flatirons at the University of Colorado, and the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School. He has provided expert testimony more than 350 times for public interest clients including attorneys general, people's counsels, and citizen interveners before state and federal agencies, courts and legislators in nearly four dozen jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada. Dr. Cooper has published six books and hundreds of articles and papers on energy, media, telecommunications and high technology industries.

 

Richard W. Cortright, Managing Director, Standard & Poor's
New York, N.Y.
Richard W. Cortright, Jr. is a managing director in Standard & Poor's U.S. Utilities and Infrastructure Ratings group, and is engaged in the analysis and communication of ratings on utility credits. He is a principal spokesperson for Standard & Poor's in the utility sector and leads the department's efforts in communications with state commissions, their staffs and other related entities. His responsibilities also include maintaining the quality of ratings, meeting with utility management and investors, chairing rating committees, and contributing to Standard & Poor's publications.

 

Dean A. Crist, Vice President – Regulation, MidAmerican Energy Co.
Des Moines, Iowa
Dean Crist is vice president of regulation at MidAmerican Energy Co. He has been with MidAmerican for more than 23 years. Crist's responsibilities include oversight of the regulation, legislative affairs and energy efficiency, input on regulatory and legislative strategies and coordination of ratemaking efforts. Prior to his current position, Crist was responsible for the financial and operating performance of MidAmerican's generating and transmission assets. Crist also managed the gas and electric wholesale trading organizations for MidAmerican. He joined the company in 1987 as an electric supply planner. Crist serves as a member of the board of managers, Electric Transmission Texas LLC and Electric Transmission America LLC.

 

Kevin Cullather, Senior Policy Manager, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
Chicago, Ill.
Kevin Cullather is MEEA's senior policy manager. He has more than 20 years of experience working on and educating utility policymakers, senior managers and staff about policy issues affecting the electric utility industry. Most recently, he was the director of education for the American Public Power Association. In this role, Cullather oversaw the development and delivery of more than 100 utility-focused educational programs and conferences annually. He also directed the association's workforce development initiatives, including launching the Careers in Public Power campaign. He has also served as manager of regulatory and policy issues for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

 

Charles M. Davidson, Director, Advanced Communications Law & Policy Institute at New York Law School
New York, N.Y.
Charles M. Davidson is a director of the ACLP at New York Law School. He oversees all aspects of the program, including its focus on broadband policy. Prior to joining the ACLP, Davidson served as a commissioner on the Florida PSC. Before that, he held a variety of positions in government and the private sector including serving as the executive director of Florida's Information Technology Task Force and as the staff director of Florida's first committee on information technology. In the private sector, Davidson was an attorney in the New York offices of Baker & McKenzie and subsequently Duane Morris.

 

Commissioner Jeff Davis, Missouri Public Service Commission
Jefferson City, Mo.
Jeff Davis has served on the Missouri PSC since 2004, including four years as chairman. He is a member of the Missouri Universal Service Board, the Financial Research Institute Advisory Board and NARUC, where he serves on the electric committee. Davis is the president of the Regional State Committee for Southwest Power Pool and past president of MARC. His career also includes activities with the Missouri Energy Task Force, the FRI Advisory Board at the University of Missouri, the FERC Joint Oversight Board for Economic Dispatch for the MISO-PJM region, the Missouri Oil and Gas Council, the Organization of MISO States and the NARUC gas committee.

 

Robert W. Gee, President, Gee Strategies Group
Washington, D.C.
Robert Gee is president of Gee Strategies Group LLC, a firm providing policy analysis, advocacy and litigation support for the energy sector. His more than 30 years of experience have positioned him to provide critical thought leadership on energy matters, whether local or international. His public service career includes serving as an assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy, chairman of the PUC of Texas and as a FERC attorney. He served as a vice president for the Electricity Innovation Institute, as counsel at Tenneco Oil Co., and at the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld.

 

Paul H. Genoa, Director – Policy Development, Nuclear Energy Institute
Washington, D.C.
Paul Genoa is the director of policy development at the Nuclear Energy Institute. His focus is on developing unified industry policies and effectively communicating those policies to key stakeholders. He is vice chair of the Industry Trade Advisory Committee which advises the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative on energy issues. Genoa's nuclear industry career has spanned nearly 30 years working as a health physicist on radiation protection and environmental issues at the Florida Power Corporation - Crystal River Nuclear Plant, the Arizona Public Service - Palo Verde Nuclear Generation Station, and the Consumers Power - Big Rock Point Atomic Plant. He joined the institute in 1995.

 

Raymond Gifford, Partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP
Denver, Colo. Raymond Gifford counsels communications, electric and gas utilities and information technology companies on state and federal aspects of regulation, administrative law and competition policy. He is an expert in public utilities law as it relates to telecommunications and energy matters. He litigates on behalf of clients in state and federal courts and serves as an expert witness on utility regulation in federal and state courts, and at state utility commissions. Before returning to private law practice, Gifford served as president of The Progress & Freedom Foundation. Before that, he was chairman of the Colorado PUC.

 

James Gignac, Midwest Director, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign
Chicago, Ill.
James Gignac is Midwest director of Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign. Based in Chicago, he coordinates and manages the campaign's legal, organizing and communications activities across a 13-state region. Gignac also serves as the Coal Working Group Leader for RE-AMP, a regional network of non-profits and foundations. Prior to joining Sierra Club in June 2008, he worked as an associate with Mayer Brown LLP's environmental practice group in Chicago and served as a law clerk for the Alaska Supreme Court. Gignac received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 2004 and his bachelor's degree from Albion College in 2001.

 

Sharon Gillett, Wireline Competition Bureau Chief, Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C.
Sharon Gillett is chief of the Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau. Prior to joining the commission, Gillett served as the director of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute and previously headed the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable. From 1995 to 2006, she was at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she engaged in academic research, program management and teaching focused on Internet and telecommunications policy with a particular focus on broadband. She is a former software engineer and manager at Thinking Machines Corp. and BBN Communications Corp., where she worked on ARPANET computer networking technology.

 

Jimmy Glotfelty, Executive Vice President of External Affairs, Clean Line Energy Partners
Houston, Texas
Jimmy Glotfelty is an expert in electric transmission and distribution, generation, energy policy and energy security. Prior to joining Clean Line Energy Partners, he was vice president of energy markets for ICF Consulting. Glotfelty was the founder and director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Electric Transmission and Distribution. He also was the lead U.S. representative to the joint U.S.-Canadian Power System Outage Task Force investigating the blackout of August 2003. While at DOE, he led teams that researched transmission and distribution technologies, gained presidential permits for cross-border transmission lines, studied the impacts of Regional Transmission Organizations, identified major transmission bottlenecks, and secured critical energy infrastructure for the U.S.

 

Michael Goggin, Manager of Transmission Policy, American Wind Energy Association
Washington, D.C.
Michael Goggin joined the American Wind Energy Association in February 2008. As the manager of transmission policy, he works to promote transmission investment and advance changes in grid operations to better accommodate wind energy while making the power system more reliable and more efficient. Prior to joining AWEA, Goggin worked for two environmental advocacy groups and a consulting firm supporting the U.S. Department of Energy's renewable energy programs. He holds a bachelor's degree with honors in social studies from Harvard College.

 

Ken Grant, Smart Grid Program Managing Director, OGE Energy Corp.
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Ken Grant is managing director of Positive Energy® Smart Grid Programs at OGE Energy Corp. His education includes a bachelor's degree from the University of Oklahoma and a master's degree from the University of Central Oklahoma. In his current role at OG&E he directs a team of professionals tasked with understanding all aspects of smart grid technologies and the potential implications on OG&E and its customers. The team has completed deployment of the first Positive Energy® Community in Norman, Okla. and is continuing deployment across the remainder of the Oklahoma service territory.

 

Commissioner Darrell Hanson, Iowa Utilities Board
Des Moines, Iowa
Darrell Hanson was appointed to the Iowa Utilities Board in 2007. He serves on the NARUC Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment, the Iowa Energy Center Advisory Council and the Financial Research Institute advisory board. His professional career includes service with Iowa State University Extension, senior director of transportation and economic development for the Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments, economics instructor (Upper Iowa University) and political science instructor (University of Northern Iowa). He served eight terms in the Iowa Legislature. From 2000 to 2007 he served on the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission including three terms as commission chair.

 

Commissioner Gary Hanson, Vice Chairman, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission
Pierre, S.D.
Gary Hanson is vice chairman of the South Dakota PUC. He is in his second term and was the commission's chairman in 2005 and 2008. Hanson is a member of NARUC's Committee on Electricity and represents NARUC commissioners on the steering committee of the National Wind Coordinating Collaborative. He chaired the South Dakota Underground Pipeline Task Force, is past treasurer of the Organization of MISO States and a founder and chairman of Lewis and Clark Rural Water. Hanson was twice elected as mayor of Sioux Falls and twice as the city's utility commissioner, and to three terms in the South Dakota Senate.

 

Scott Hempling, Executive Director, National Regulatory Research Institute
Silver Spring, Md.
Scott Hempling is the executive director of NRRI. As an attorney in private practice, he represented many state commissions. His legal and policy research has included mergers and acquisitions, the introduction of competition into formerly monopolistic markets, corporate restructuring, ratemaking, utility investments in nonutility businesses, and state-federal jurisdictional issues. Hempling received a bachelor's degree cum laude in economics and political science and music from Yale University, where he was a recipient of a Continental Grain Fellowship and Patterson research grant. He received his law degree magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a recipient of an American Jurisprudence award for Constitutional Law.

 

Commissioner Colette D. Honorable, Chairman, Arkansas Public Service Commission
Little Rock, Ark.
Colette D. Honorable is the chairman of the Arkansas PSC, where she was appointed as a commissioner in 2007. Honorable is treasurer of MARC and NARUC, chairs the Audit and Investment Committees of NARUC, and is a member of the committees on gas, consumer affairs and the Utility Market Access Subcommittee. She also serves on the executive committee and the board of directors. She serves on NARUC/White House Smart Grid Working Group, the Smart Grid Collaborative, and is a member of the Advisory Council of the New Mexico State University Center for Public Utilities. She was appointed to the U.S. DOT's Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee and leads NARUC's Pipeline Safety Task Force.

 

David Hostetter, Assistant Vice President – Public Policy, AT&T Services
Washington, D.C.
David Hostetter's work is focused on the development of state and federal universal service policy and planning initiatives and rural broadband initiatives for AT&T Services. He started with Southwestern Bell in 1974 in Austin, Texas, and has more than 37 years experience with AT&T. He has held a variety of network and regulatory positions in Texas, Missouri and Washington, D.C. Hostetter has extensive regulatory experience with issues such as interconnection, access charges, universal service, pricing flexibility and tariff matters. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

 

Mario Hurtado, Executive Vice President, Clean Line Energy Partners
Houston, Texas
Mario Hurtado is executive vice president of development at Clean Line Energy Partners. He leads the development efforts for the Plains & Eastern Clean Line, a high voltage direct transmission line that will transport up to 7000 MW of primarily wind-generated energy from Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas to the Mid-South and Southeast. Hurtado has more than 16 years of extensive experience developing and managing power projects and other energy infrastructure for large corporate and start-up venture companies in the electric power and natural gas industries. He obtained his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in New York City with a major in political science.

 

Edward Johnston, Managing Director – Delivery Sector, Gas Technology Institute
Des Plaines, Illinois
As the managing director of the delivery sector, Eddie Johnston directs Gas Technology Institute's efforts to address the strategic concerns of domestic gas storage, transmission and distribution infrastructure. He leads a staff of approximately 50 engineers and scientists to provide applied solutions that address technical industry challenges. Areas of focus include safety, pipeline and distribution integrity, intelligent infrastructure, cost reduction for construction and operations and maintenance activities, workforce efficiency, alternative fuel interchangeability, and reduction of the utility's carbon footprint. Prior to joining Gas Technology Institute in 2007, he worked for Atmos Energy Corp. for 15 years and in the off-shore oil industry for eight years with Rowan Companies in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

John Jones, Vice President of Public Policy and Federal Legislative Affairs, CenturyLink
Monroe, La.
John Jones serves as vice president of public policy and federal legislative affairs for CenturyLink, Inc. Prior to the close of the Qwest transaction, he was responsible for state regulatory, legislative and government relations issues for CenturyLink. Jones began working for what was then CenturyTel in 1993 with responsibilities for state and federal regulatory and government relations. He has been an active participant in state and federal regulatory reform initiatives, including universal service and intercarrier compensation reform efforts. He has also held leadership and committee positions in both ITTA and US Telecom. He also played a leadership role in gaining both state and federal approvals for the Embarq and Qwest transactions.

 

Kimberly Joyce, Manager of Regulatory Affairs, Aqua America Inc.
Bryn Mawr, Penn.
Kimberly Joyce leads a team at Aqua America's headquarters that oversees regulatory policy and provides key support functions to filings and rate operations throughout the Aqua 13-state footprint. Joyce, an attorney, spent five years with the Pennsylvania PUC, most recently as counsel to Commissioner Pizzingrilli. She advised the commission on electric, gas and telecommunication matters and defended commission orders before state and federal courts. She previously clerked for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court President Judge James Gardner Colins and worked for Baker & Botts LLP in their Washington, D.C., energy and natural resources office. Joyce earned degrees from Villanova University and the University of Pittsburgh.

 

Jim Kapsis, Director of Market Development & Policy Strategy, OPOWER
Arlington, Va.
Jim Kapsis is the director of market development and policy strategy at OPOWER, an energy efficiency and smart-grid software company based in Arlington, Va. OPOWER is working with more than 50 utility clients in 22 states to help their residential customers use less energy and save money on their bills. By the end of 2011, OPOWER will be engaging more than 10 million households and saving enough energy to power nearly 50,000 homes. Prior to OPOWER, Kapsis was an energy advisor in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He has held positions at the State Department, Defense Department and in the U.S. Congress.

 

Steve Klick, Executive Policy Manager, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
Harrisburg, Penn.
Steve L. Klick is executive policy manager for Pennsylvania Public Utility Chairman Robert F. Powelson, serving as an advisor on financial and rate matters with a focus on energy and water issues. He is also vice chair of NARUC's Subcommittee on Water, coordinator of NARUC's Rate School, and advisor to Water Committee Chairman Butch Howard. Previously he was employed by American Water Works as senior manager of rates and assistant treasurer for Pennsylvania American Water Company. From 2004 to 2006, he was director of regulatory planning for United Water, where he was responsible for regulatory strategy. Prior to joining United Water, he worked in various positions for Allegheny Energy.

 

Commissioner Steve Kolbeck, Chairman, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission
Pierre, S.D.
Steve Kolbeck was elected to the South Dakota PUC in 2006. He is currently the commission's chairman and the president of MARC. He is a member of NARUC, serving as co-vice chair of the association's committee on telecommunications. He holds appointed positions through NARUC to the FCC's Interstate Telecommunications Relay Services Fund Advisory Council and the Federal-State Joint Board on Jurisdictional Separations where he is the state chairman. Kolbeck is also the chairman of the Regional Oversight Committee. He has extensive experience in the telecommunications industry, having held positions with Northern Telecom, AT&T, SDN Communications and Alliance Communications.

 

Anna-Maria Kovacs, Founder, Strategic Choices
Cambridge, Mass.
Anna-Maria Kovacs founded Strategic Choices to consult to clients in the communications industry on issues of finance, strategy and regulation. Dr. Kovacs has followed the telecommunications industry for 30 years, as either a financial analyst or consultant. For more than a decade she has analyzed federal and state regulation of the telecom and cable industries for investors. Kovacs is a chartered financial analyst. She holds a bachelor's degree (economics and English) from Boston University, a doctorate degree (comparative literature, with extensive work in economic and social history) from Harvard University, and a master's degree from the Harvard Business School. 

 

Commissioner Larry Landis, Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission
Indianapolis, Ind.
Larry S. Landis was founder and president of Marketrends Inc., a marketing/communication company in Indianapolis and cofounder of American Grassroots LLC, prior to being appointed to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission in 2003. He was reappointed in 2004 and 2007. He is on the NARUC board and is active on NARUC's Telecommunications Committee. Landis is a member of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service and is the state chair of the Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecommunications Services. Additionally, he served on NARUC's Legislative Task Force and was vice chair of NARUC's Intercarrier Compensation Task Force.

 

Commissioner Carolene R. Mays, Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission
Indianapolis, Ind.
Carolene R. Mays was appointed to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission in 2010. Mays is the secretary of MARC and serves on several NARUC committees including Water and Critical Infrastructure. Prior to joining the IURC, from 1997 to 2010 she was the publisher and president of the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper and the Indiana Minority Business Magazine. From 2002 to 2008, Mays also served in the Indiana House of Representatives. Currently, Mays serves on the Marion County Capitol Improvement Board, the Indiana Sports Corporation and Peyton Manning's PeyBack Foundation, among others. She was chairperson for the 2011 NCAA Women's Final Four and has been named division chairperson for the 2012 NFL Super Bowl in Indianapolis.

 

Michael McMahan, Vice President – Smart Grid & Technology, Commonwealth Edison Co.
Downers Grove, Ill.
As vice president of Smart Grid and Technology, Michael McMahan is responsible for developing and implementing operation plans for the installation of ComEd's Smart Grid projects and other related technologies. Prior to his current role, McMahan served as vice president of engineering and project management where he developed and implemented planning and maintenance programs for the electric distribution infrastructure serving ComEd's 3.8 million customers. Earlier, McMahan served as vice president of special projects for EED. He also served as vice president of outage and project management for nuclear where he was responsible for outage services and projects across 17 nuclear units in two regional operating groups.

 

Chris Mele, Legislative Director – Energy, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners
Washington, D.C.
Chris Mele is the legislative director for energy issues for NARUC. He is responsible for NARUC's legislative advocacy regarding energy issues in Washington, D.C. Mele has been a government and government affairs professional for more than 20 years. His career includes staff positions with U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the 1988 Presidential Campaign of George H.W. Bush, the Pennsylvania State Senate and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Mele also spent 10 years as the manager of government affairs for the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association and Allegheny Electric Cooperative.

 

Clair J. Moeller, PE, Vice President – Transmission Asset Management, Midwest ISO
St. Paul, Minn.
Clair Moeller is responsible for the Midwest ISO's transmission planning functions and transmission services. He is a well-respected industry expert with more than 25 years of experience in the operation of power systems in the Upper Midwest. His current assignment includes infrastructure planning in collaboration with the utilities that serve the 13 states and one Canadian Province that constitute the Midwest ISO region. Under his guidance, transmission planners in the region have begun to explore transmission infrastructure value by utilizing techniques borrowed from generation and strategic planners in an effort to give policy makers context for the decisions they will face as the electric energy future unfolds.

 

Bob Morman, Manager - Gas Supply, Montana-Dakota Utilities/Great Plains Natural Gas
Bismarck, N.D.
Bob Morman is the manager of gas supply for Montana-Dakota Utilities and Great Plains Natural Gas Company. He manages all aspects of gas supply, storage and pipeline reservation procurement for the local distribution companies. Morman is a 30-year veteran of the natural gas industry having worked in the operations, gas control and gas supply segments. He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and business administration from the University of Mary.

 

W. Richard Morris, Senior Counsel – Federal and State, Sprint Nextel
Overland Park, Kan.
Rich Morris began his telecommunications career with Northwestern Bell Telephone in 1978, joining AT&T at divestiture in 1983. In 1990, he joined Sprint, then known as United Telecommunications, where he has worked in the telecommunications policy, state and federal regulatory, interconnection negotiations and privacy areas. Morris graduated from the University of Utah with bachelor's degrees in economics and business management and graduated law school at Brigham Young University.

 

Commissioner Donna Nelson, Public Utility Commission of Texas
Austin, Texas
Donna L. Nelson was appointed to the PUC of Texas in 2008. She served as a special assistant and advisor to Gov. Rick Perry on energy, telecommunications, and cable budget and policy issues. She assisted with the preparation of the Texas 2008 State Energy Plan. She served as director of the PUC telecommunication's section and legal advisor to the PUC chairman. She is a former assistant attorney general of Texas, where she specialized in antitrust law. Nelson also worked as a legislative assistant to a United States senator. She is a licensed attorney with a bachelor's degree from Black Hills State College and a law degree from Texas Tech University.

 

Karla Olson Teasley, President, Illinois American Water
Belleville, Ill.
Karla Olson Teasley is president of Illinois American Water, the largest investor-owned water utility in the state. She reinforces and strengthens customer, regulatory and government relationships, drives operational and financial results and is the principal external contact for American Water in Illinois. Prior to joining American Water, Teasley was vice president of Louisville Water Co. in Kentucky where she was responsible for all customer contact functions, business development, capital budget and infrastructure planning, and pipeline design and construction. Teasley has also served as vice president and general counsel of Florida Water Services (aka Southern States Utilities, Inc.).

 

David E. Parker, Senior Utility Analyst, Robert W. Baird & Co.
Tampa, Fla.
David Parker's career has been associated with the utility industry since he graduated from Michigan State University in 1980. During the past 19 years, he has provided utility research as a senior analyst for Robert W. Baird, A.G. Edwards and Duff & Phelps Investment Research. Throughout the past decade, Parker has been identified by Reuter's, the Financial Times, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal as one of the industry's leading analysts. Prior to becoming an analyst, he gained 12 years of utility industry experience in several finance-related positions at CMS Energy, a diversified electric and gas utility headquartered in Michigan.

 

Judy M. Poferl, President and CEO, Northern States Power Company-Minnesota, an Xcel Energy company
Minneapolis, Minn.
Judy Poferl is president and CEO of Northern States Power Company-Minnesota, an Xcel Energy company, with responsibility for electric and natural gas operations in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Previously, Poferl was regional vice president of customer and community relations for NSP-Minnesota. She joined Xcel Energy in 1998 and in 2006 began directing the Minnesota regulatory and legislative group. Poferl has also held leadership positions within the Minnesota Department of Public Service (now Office of Energy Security) and Minnegasco (now CenterPoint Energy – Minnegasco), managing state and federal regulatory activities. She has more than 20 years of experience in energy and regulation.

 

Brad Ramsay, General Counsel, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners
Washington, D.C.
Brad Ramsay is general counsel for NARUC where he is responsible for all association-related legal issues and for managing the policy department in all policy, regulatory and legislative matters where NARUC is active. He directly supports the NARUC executive committee and the NARUC board of directors. He also directly supports the telecommunications, consumer affairs, water and critical infrastructure committees, and sometimes the electric, gas, and energy resources and the environment committees. He is a member of the senior management team and has worked for NARUC since 1990.

 

Robert C. Rowe, President and CEO, NorthWestern Corp.
Helena, Mont.
Robert Rowe has served as president and chief executive officer of NorthWestern Corporation since August 2008. He was formerly co-founder and senior partner at Balhoff, Rowe & Williams LLC, a specialized national professional services firm providing financial and regulatory advice to clients in the energy and telecommunications industries. Rowe served as chairman and commissioner of the Montana PSC from 1993 to 2004 and also served as president of NARUC. He holds a bachelor's degree from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore., a law degree from the University of Oregon and has completed the Kennedy School Senior Executives' Program.

 

Bob Schoonmaker, President & CEO, GVNW Consulting
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Bob Schoonmaker is the president and CEO of GVNW Consulting, Inc. He specializes in providing consulting services in the areas of rate and regulatory policy, inter-company compensation, universal service and business planning for both individual clients and groups of companies. Representation of client groups has included assignments in seven states. Schoonmaker was appointed by the FCC to serve as a member of the Rural Task Force on Universal Service. On a personal level, he is the father of 11 children, has 31 grandchildren and one great-grandchild, and is active in family and church activities

 

Commissioner Doug Scott, Chairman, Illinois Commerce Commission
Springfield, Ill.
Doug Scott was appointed chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission in 2011. Prior to his appointment, Scott served as director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency from 2005 to 2011. He chaired the Illinois Governor's Climate Change and Advisory Committee and was a member of the Midwestern Governors' Association panel charged with developing a regional cap-and-trade system. He served as chairman of The Climate Registry board of directors and co-chair of the Keystone Foundation Energy Board. He was mayor of Rockford, Ill. from 2001 to 2005. Scott was a state representative from 1995 until 2001 when he became mayor. Scott also served the city as city attorney.

 

Pamela Sherwood, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, tw telecom
Indianapolis, Ind.
Pamela Sherwood is vice president of regulatory affairs for tw telecom, responsible for legislative and regulatory matters for eight states in the central/Midwest region. Sherwood advocates before various governmental bodies to create a regulatory environment that fosters competition and is conducive to achieving the company's business objectives. Before joining tw telecom, Sherwood was an attorney in private practice focusing initially on general litigation, then developing a specialty in telecom issues. She has been with tw telecom 11 years. She has served as a witness in regulatory proceedings, given speeches on various telecommunications topics, including pole attachments, and serves in leadership roles in universal service industry task forces and committees.

 

Robert C. Skaggs, Jr., President and CEO, NiSource Inc.
Merrillville, Ind.
Robert (Bob) Skaggs, Jr., is president and CEO of NiSource Inc. He is responsible for the strategic direction of the company and overseeing its operations. He was named president in 2004 and added CEO responsibilities in 2005. Prior to October 2004, he was executive vice president of regulated revenue for NiSource, responsible for developing regulatory strategies and leading external relations across the corporation's 10 energy distribution markets and its extensive interstate pipeline system. He also led regulated commercial activities and federal governmental relations. Skaggs is past chairman and current director of the American Gas Association's board of directors.

 

V.J. Smith, Life's Greatest Moments
Brookings, S.D.
V.J. Smith has been a professional speaker for more than a decade. He has also been a bill collector, solar collector salesman and a fundraiser. Drawing on his lifetime experiences, Smith peppers his talks with anecdotes and personal stories to illustrate key points. A 1978 graduate of South Dakota State University, Smith spent a decade working for the Allied Signal Aerospace Company in Kansas City, Mo. He returned to his alma mater to serve as assistant athletic director for the SDSU athletic program then as executive director of the SDSU Alumni Association. Smith is the author of The Richest Man in Town and Jackrabbit Tales.

 

Curt Stamp, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Cox Communications
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Curt Stamp is director of regulatory affairs for Cox Communications in Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas. Prior to assuming this role in June 2010, he was president of the Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance, the national trade association for mid-sized local exchange carriers. From 2005 to 2007, Stamp served as a member of the Iowa Utilities Board, the three-member panel responsible for the regulation of Iowa's gas, electric, telecommunications and water utilities. He has also held various policy positions in the public and private sectors. Stamp received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Iowa State University and his law degree from Drake University Law School.

 

Paul Suskie, Senior Vice President – Regulatory Policy & General Counsel, Southwest Power Pool
Little Rock, Ark.
Paul Suskie serves SPP as senior vice president of regulatory policy and general counsel. He is responsible for managing the organization's legal and regulatory policy groups. Prior to joining SPP, he was appointed as chairman of the Arkansas PSC. At the time of his appointment to the commission, he was in his third elected term as North Little Rock's city attorney. Prior to joining the city attorney's office, Suskie worked for former U.S. Sen. David Pryor and for Arkansas Attorney General Winston Bryant. Suskie is a lieutenant colonel in the Arkansas Army National Guard's JAG Corps and is a veteran of both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

Cindy Tindell, Vice President of Business Management – Midwest Region, NextEra Energy Resources
Juno Beach, Fla.
Cindy Tindell is the vice president for business management for the Midwest U.S., Quebec, Nova Scotia and Spain for NextEra Energy Resources. She has overall profit and loss responsibility for a business with nearly $900 million in revenues including a portfolio of 34 power generation plants. Previously, she managed NextEra's West Region, led fossil-fueled and solar thermal generation development for the Florida Power & Light utility, and managed unregulated investments in power and energy assets and businesses. She has extensive experience in project finance, contract and regulatory negotiations, and project development. Tindell has served as an official at the U.S. State Department and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

 

Eugene Trisko, Attorney, American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity
Berkeley Springs, W.Va.
Gene Trisko is an energy economist and an attorney. He has lectured on the Clean Air Act and climate change at Pennsylvania State University, West Virginia University College of Law, and the University of Virginia. He is the author of "Energy Cost Impacts on American Families," prepared on behalf of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. Trisko was active in the reauthorization of the Clean Air Act in 1990, and has participated as a NGO representative at all major United Nations climate change negotiation sessions since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. He served as a member of U.S. EPA's Clean Air Act Advisory Committee from 2003 to 2011.

 

Commissioner Betsy Wergin, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission
St. Paul, Minn.
Betsy Wergin has been an appointed member of the Minnesota PUC since 2008. She serves as a member of the NARUC Committees on Consumer Affairs, Critical Infrastructure, Washington Action, and International Relations. Her public service career includes more than five years as a Minnesota State Senator, eight years as a county commissioner and five years as a township officer. In her private sector career, Wergin was a business owner, cost accountant, benefits and payroll manager and assistant CFO. Wergin has a strong commitment to family, having provided a home, with her husband, for about 100 foster children, primarily teenage girls, for 17 years.

 

Commissioner Greg R. White, Michigan Public Service Commission
Lansing, Mich.
Greg R. White was appointed to the Michigan PSC in December 2009. The majority of his professional career has been in energy and telecommunications policy and the fields of electricity supply, nuclear issues, renewable energy development, and oil and gas development at the Michigan PSC, the Michigan Energy Administration and the Michigan Geological Survey. White is a member of NARUC and serves on the committees on Energy Resources and the Environment and Critical Infrastructure, and is vice chair of the Subcommittee on Nuclear Issues – Waste Disposal. He sits on the board of directors of the Organization of PJM States and is a member of the Eastern Interconnection States Planning Council.

 

Jeff Wiese, Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety, U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Washington, D.C.
Jeff Wiese manages PHMSA's pipeline safety program for the nation's 2.3 million miles of natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines, including the development of safety regulations and inspection and enforcement. He also works with pipeline safety stakeholders to reduce threats to pipeline integrity, service and reliability. In various roles with the agency, Wiese has led the implementation of the PIPES Act of 2006, including creation and rollout of the agency's enforcement transparency website and directed major new policy initiatives including design, development and deployment of integrity management oversight and improved pipeline public awareness programs. Jeff was instrumental in building the Common Ground Alliance for preventing underground utility damage.

 

Scott Wilensky, Vice President, Regulatory and Resource Planning, Xcel Energy
Minneapolis, Minn.
Scott Wilensky is vice president of regulatory and resource planning for all of Xcel Energy's operating companies. He has more than 25 years of experience in utility regulation, having served both as managing director of rate revenue and as managing director of government affairs prior to his current position. Before coming to Xcel Energy, he spent 10 years as assistant attorney general with the Minnesota Attorney General's Office in areas affecting public utility regulation. Wilensky earned a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lansing, Mich., and a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

 

Paul Wilkinson, Vice President of Policy Analysis, American Gas Association
Washington, D.C.
Paul Wilkinson has served in the policy analysis group at AGA for 29 years. In his current role as vice president, he is responsible for the development and implementation of AGA's analysis program, including AGA's activities in the gas supply, gas demand, statistics, economics and environmental areas. He holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree in economics from the University of Maryland and the Catholic University of America, respectively. Prior to his employment with AGA, Wilkinson served as an energy economist for the consulting firms of Foster Associates and Bozo, Allen & Hamilton for a combined total of six years.

 

Kathryn Zachem, Senior Vice President of Regulatory and State Legislative Affairs, Comcast Corporation
Washington, D.C.
Kathy Zachem serves as senior vice president of regulatory and state legislative affairs for Comcast Corporation.  She oversees the company's advocacy before federal agencies, including the FCC, and state regulatory and legislative bodies. Zachem joined Comcast in 2008 from the law firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP, where she was founding partner and practiced communications law for 23 years, representing clients from nearly every segment of the communications. Zachem was named among the "Most Powerful Women in Cable" in 2010 and to "The CableFAX 100" list in 2008 by CableFAX magazine, and as one of "Washington's Best" lawyers by Washingtonian Magazine in 2007.

 

Chad Zamarin, Vice President of Engineering, NiSource Gas Transmission & Storage
Houston, Texas
Chad Zamarin is vice president of engineering for NiSource Gas Transmission & Storage. His responsibilities include overall maintenance and regulatory compliance of NiSource's interstate pipeline system and related facilities. Prior to joining NGT&S, Zamarin held positions at Duke Energy Gas Transmission, Panhandle Eastern, General Electric and Colonial Pipeline. In his role at NGT&S, Zamarin provided leadership for restructuring the company's integrity management program, building and strengthening relationships with PHMSA, and implementing infrastructure enhancements to the pipeline system. He has been an active in initiatives including pipeline design, operating and maintenance standards, integrity management programs, federal regulations for pipeline safety, and industry best practices.

 

Guide to abbreviations

 

  CLEC: Competitive local exchange carrier
  FCC: Federal Communications Commission
  FERC: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
  IXC: Interexchange carrier
  MARC: Mid-America Regulatory Conference
  MISO: Midwest Independent System Operator
  NARUC: National Association of Regulatory Commissioners
  PSC: Public Service Commission
  PUC: Public Utilities/Utility Commission