Agenda

Jonathan Chin

Manager, Resilience, Clean Transportation, and Analytics Branch, Hawaii State Energy Office

Jon has worked at the Hawaii State Energy Office (HSEO) for more than 14 years in various capacities. As the manager of the Resilience, Clean Transportation, and Analytics branch, he oversees the implementation of energy resiliency projects, emergency response, and energy security planning. Before this, Jon led initiatives including the HI CAN job seeker platform while serving on the Governor's Office Policy Team. In previous years at HSEO, Jon worked to visualize energy data and contributed to the development of HSEO's modeling capabilities using NREL's Engage modeling tool. Additionally, he promoted environmental and energy-efficiency programs, supervising the Lead By Example program and expanding the Hawaii Green Business Program.

Jessica Burdette

Director, Office of Energy Reliability and Security, Division of Energy Resources, Minnesota Department of Commerce

Jessica Burdette is the Director of the Office of Energy Reliability and Security with the Minnesota Department of Commerce. Her responsibilities include representing the interests of Minnesota residents, businesses, and governments at the regional and federal level in matters related to grid reliability and security. She oversees a team focused on critical infrastructure planning, community resilience for vulnerable populations, cyber and physical security issues, and response to energy related emergencies pursuant to Executive Order 23-13. Jessica has been with the Department for over a decade working in a variety of capacities and is an Iowa State University alumni.

Brandi Martin

Assistant Director, Energy Security Policy and Partnerships, Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, U.S. Department of Energy

Brandi Martin is the Assistant Director of the Energy Security Policy and Partnerships team at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER). In this role, Brandi leads the team supporting energy sector security and resilience in partnership with industry and state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) government partners. Prior to joining the Department of Energy in 2016, she served as the Partner Engagement Director at the Smart Cities Council, managing industry-leading energy and technology partners, and engaging city government leaders. She also has 7 years of experience in various roles at Cisco Systems. Brandi received her B.S. in Information Systems Management from the University of California Santa Cruz and her M.S. in Energy Policy and Climate from Johns Hopkins University.

Sharla Artz

Security and Resilience Policy Area Vice President, Xcel Energy

Sharla Artz serves as the Security and Resilience Policy Area Vice President for Xcel Energy where she manages the company’s national security strategic partnerships with our federal and state government partners.  In this role, she works with utilities, government partners, and industry stakeholders to develop strategies that enhance the resilience of critical infrastructures.  Previously, she served as the Senior Vice President of Government & External Affairs at the Utilities Technology Council, where she focused on bringing attention to cross sector interdependencies in critical infrastructure protection efforts. Ms. Artz was formerly the Director of Government Affairs at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL), where she established close working relationships with government officials, contributed insight for sound policy decision making, and was an advocate on the role of technology in grid resilience. Prior to joining SEL, Ms. Artz was the vice president of legal and government affairs for Genscape, Inc., developing business relationships for the company with federal entities. Ms. Artz was the assistant general counsel for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, serving the 50 state utility commissioners on energy regulatory matters pending before the federal government. After receiving her juris doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, Ms. Artz spent four years on Capitol Hill, working on energy policy for a former member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Ms. Artz has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband and two children.

Arthur Lord

Datacenter Energy Resilience Lead, Microsoft Cloud

Arthur is the Datacenter Energy Resilience Lead for the Microsoft Cloud. In this role he works across the Microsoft Energy & Sustainability team, utilities, regulators, and policy makers to develop efforts that ensure that Microsoft datacenters are powered by reliable, resilient, and clean energy sources. Before joining Microsoft, Arthur served as a senior policy advisor on Energy Resilience to multiple Secretaries of Defense in the Office of the Secretary of Defense / Policy (2011-2021). He previously served as an analyst at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Congressional agency tasked with assessing Federal government policy effectiveness (2008-2011). He earned a Masters Degree in Economics and International Studies at Johns Hopkins SAIS (2008) and a Bachelors Degree in American Studies at Amherst College (2003).

Ariah Olsen

Cybersecurity and Physical Security Program Manager, Energy Resilience and Emergency Management Office, Washington State Department of Commerce

Ms. Olsen is a dedicated disaster management professional committed to fostering whole community resilience. With a formal education in cybersecurity, infrastructure protection, technology, and crisis management from the University of Washington and Idaho National Laboratory, she brings a well-rounded skill set to her work.

Ms. Olsen's professional journey is marked by notable achievements, including contributions to the Emergency Management Think Tank under the Department of Homeland Security. She has also played a key role in co-developing courses in incident command for security professionals, demonstrating her commitment to advancing emergency preparedness practices. Additionally, her leadership in spearheading an emergency preparedness committee for a local non-profit organization underscores her passion for community engagement and disaster mitigation efforts.

David Terry

President, National Association of State Energy Officials

David Terry is the President of the National Association of State Energy Officials and has worked with NASEO in a variety of capacities since 1996. Mr. Terry leads NASEO's policy actions and programs in support of the 56 governor-designated state and territory energy directors and their offices. NASEO communicates the states' views on virtually all national energy issues. Mr. Terry has participated in governor-led policy meetings, testified before U.S. Congressional Committees and presented at White House and international energy forums.  Mr. Terry has 25 years of experience working on a range of energy issues for such organizations as the Governors’ Wind and Solar Energy and Coalition and Energy Services Coalition. Prior to working in the energy area, Mr. Terry was researcher at the National Academy of Sciences and a statistical analyst for a consumer products market research firm. He received a BA degree from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, and he has completed graduate coursework in statistics and marketing at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia.

Michelle Gransee

Deputy Commissioner, Energy Resources Division, Minnesota Department of Commerce

Michelle Gransee serves the MN Department of Commerce as the Deputy Commissioner for the Energy Resources Division. She is an experienced energy manager with a demonstrated history of working in government administration. She has particular expertise in program development and evaluation, energy policy, clean energy technologies, training and conflict resolution. She has worked for the state since 2009. She received her B.A. from Concordia College – Moorhead in philosophy and art history, post-baccalaureate certification in education from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and M.S. in natural resource from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point.

Megan Levy

State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Project Manager, Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, U.S. Department of Energy

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison; Megan has spent two decades in energy both with the low-income weatherization program and with the Wisconsin State Energy Office as a Resilience Strategist and Energy Emergency Assurance Coordinator.   From 2017 through 2022, Megan served as the Co-Chair of the National Association of State Energy Officials Energy Security Committee.  Megan joined CESER’s SLTT team in September of 2022.

Kristen Worosz

Policy and Partnerships Advisor, E-ISAC Strategy, Policy, and Programs, Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center

Kristen Worosz is the Policy and Partnerships Advisor at the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC). Kristen manages several partnerships enhancing information sharing with key stakeholders regarding cyber and physical security threats to the grid. Prior to joining NERC, Kristen worked as Senior Analyst and Client Engagement Manager for Foresight, delivering client-driven intelligence and analysis on emerging and persistent security and business risks to their companies and sectors. She has also worked as an Intelligence Analyst for the Counterterrorism Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Laura Ritter

Principal Security Policy Advisor, Duke Energy Corporation

Laura Ritter joined Duke Energy in March 2019. Her focus is on industry-government coordination, security policy as well as incident management strategy. These activities include coordination and engagement with the Oil and Natural Gas Subsector Coordinating Council (ONG SCC) and the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council, in addition to involvement with industry trade association security as well as federal and state affairs committees.  She currently serves as the ONG SCC Vice Chair, the Edison Electric Institute Security Committee Chair, and is Past Chair and remains on the leadership team of the American Gas Association Cybersecurity Strategy & Regulatory Action Committee.

Prior to joining Duke Energy, Laura spent four years at Exelon Corporation focusing on security policy and awareness efforts.  Additionally, she worked for 5 years supporting critical infrastructure security and resilience efforts at both the U.S. Department of Energy as well as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spanning most of the 16 critical infrastructure sectors in addition to contributing to DHS’ Active Shooter and Insider Threat Programs. Her primary duties included a focus on public-private partnership engagement, cybersecurity, and physical security; predominantly, from a policy and information/intelligence exchange perspective.

Laura has an M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University and a B.A. in International Studies and Spanish from Ohio University as well as certifications in change management and emergency management.

Jake Carrico

Electricity Program Manager, Indiana Office of Energy Development

Jake serves as the Electricity Program Manager for the Indiana Office of Energy Development, and has served in this role for just under two years. In this role, Mr. Carrico serves as the agency policy expert on all matters related to electric infrastructure, and energy security. This includes serving as the agency lead for updating the Indiana State Energy Security Plan, and developing the policies for grants and studies related to electricity or energy security.

Andrew Bochman

Senior Grid Strategist and Infrastructure Defender, National and Homeland Security, Idaho National Laboratory

Andy Bochman is the Senior Grid Strategist-Defender for Idaho National Laboratory’s National and Homeland Security directorate. In this role, Mr. Bochman provides strategic guidance on topics at the intersection of grid security and climate resilience to INL leadership as well as senior U.S. and international government and industry leaders.

Jesse Noffsinger

Partner, McKinsey and Company

Paul Holloway

Emergency Planning and Energy Analyst, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources

Paul Holloway is an Emergency Planner and Energy Analyst with the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER). Prior to joining DOER in 2018, Paul spent over a decade as an Emergency Planner, first as a Regional Planner and Project Director for the City of Boston Office of Emergency Management and then as the All-Hazards Planning Manager and Senior Advisor for Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives at the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). Paul served as the Planning Section Chief for the Massachusetts State Emergency Operations Center during numerous emergency events between 2011-2018. A Bar Harbor (Maine) native, in the 1990’s he served as a commissioned ranger for the National Park Service.

Ben Bolton

Senior Energy Programs Administrator, Office of Energy Programs, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation

Mr. Ben Bolton, Senior Energy Programs Administrator, serves as the Primary Emergency Services Coordinator for Energy for the State of Tennessee. In this capacity, he plays a central role in running the energy security program for the Tennessee Office of Energy Programs and activities related to critical infrastructure and energy policy. Since 2018, Mr. Bolton serves as co-chair of the NASEO Energy Security Committee and serves on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Mitigation Framework Leadership Group. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with over 400 varieties of Japanese Maples and too many antique books to catalog.

Audrey Alstrom

Director of Alternative Energy and Energy Efficiency, Alaska Energy Authority

Audrey Alstrom is the director of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Programs. She is Yup’ik and from the community of Alakanuk.

Before joining the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA), she was a senior director for the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). She is an alumnus of ANSEP as well. She received her Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from UAA in 2009, Associates of Arts from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Kuskokwim Campus in 2005, and Executive Masters in Public Administration from the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington in 2021.

Alstrom previously worked for AEA as the hydroelectric program manager where she oversaw hydroelectric projects during all phases of development. She also has experience working in the oil and gas and transportation fields. She is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Alaska Native Professional Association.

Alstrom resides in Anchorage and enjoys fishing and camping with her husband and three children, and they try to make it home to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta as much as they can throughout the year.

Jeff Blend

Energy Resource Professional, Energy Bureau, Montana Department of Environment Quality

Jeff Blend is an Environmental Resource Professional within the Montana Energy Office.  Over nearly 25 years in state government, Jeff has worked on economics, energy and environmental issues within Montana and the U.S. West.   Projects include the publication of Understanding energy in Montana, annually updated energy statistics, managing petroleum data, working on legislative policy, and studying regional electricity markets.  Jeff has spent nearly 15 years as the Montana lead for energy emergencies, including writing several energy plans, conducting tabletops, regional planning, and training.

Amanda Eyer

Energy Program Specialist, Energy Programs Office, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Amanda Eyer has been with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Energy Programs Office since mid-2019 and currently works as an Environmental Group Manager, supervising staff whose focus is energy security. In addition to supervising the team responsible for grid security work, liquid fuels tracking, microgrid enhancement, community environmental justice and energy resiliency, she also directly works on several initiatives including liquid fuel planning for local governments and microgrid planning for critical facilities.

Daniel Wiggins Jr

Midwest Tribal Energy Resources Association

Daniel Wiggins Jr is a Bad River Tribal Member and the Mashkiiziibii (Bad River) Natural Resource Department’s- Air Quality Technician (AQT). He has worked for the Bad River Tribe for over 10 years as the AQT and has had oversight of the Tribe’s Energy Activities since 2017. The Tribe recently became a member of the Midwest Tribal Energy Resources Association (MTERA), where Wiggins represents both the Tribe and MTERA as the Vice Chairperson of MTERA. Through the Tribe Wiggins has led policy development for large scale utilities, specifically for energy products and electrical transmission that runs through the reservation. In 2021 he also completed the task as Project Lead for the Ishkonige Nawadide Solar Microgrid Project, which installed over 500 kilowatts of solar and 1,000 kilowatt hours of batteries at three tribal facilities.

Michael Troge

Project Planner, Oneida Nation

Heather Thole

State Hazard Mitigation Officer, Wisconsin Emergency Management

Heather Thole has been with Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) for 2.5 years and is the State Hazard Mitigation Officer. She works with Tribal nations, counties, and municipalities to implement FEMA hazard mitigation grants. Heather interprets state and federal policies, provides technical assistance, and conducts outreach with communities. She works on many mitigation project types including property acquisition and demolition, community safe room, coastal revetment, wetland and floodplain restoration, energy infrastructure protection, and hazard mitigation planning.

She has a master’s degree in Geology from Michigan Technological University and a bachelor’s degree in Geoscience from UW-Stevens Point. In 2023, Heather published an article titled “Community-based natural hazard vulnerability assessment in rural Jamaica”,  in the Environmental Hazards scientific journal. She has been studying and working in hazard mitigation since 2017.

Mike Christianson

Protective Security Advisor, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Mike Christianson serves as a Protective Security Advisor (PSA) with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with duty in Minnesota. In this capacity, Christianson is responsible for representing CISA within the State of Minnesota serving as a liaison to the private sector as well as with federal, tribal, state, and local mission partners. As CISA’s on-site critical infrastructure specialist, Christianson provides assistance and support as appropriate to DHS mission partners for all-hazards prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery efforts as well as during designated security events in order to enhance infrastructure security and resilience. In this capacity Christianson has worked closely with the State of Minnesota over the past seven years to further the mission of protecting our Nation’s and Minnesota’s critical infrastructure.

Prior to his PSA duties, Mike retired after thirty years in the Army and Minnesota Army National Guard. After retirement, he served as a Critical Infrastructure Planner for the City of Saint Paul and later, a School Safety Specialist for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Mike was also a teacher in the 1990s. Christianson has spent over forty years in public service.

Mike is a certified Minnesota Emergency Manager, holds a B.S. in Biology and has a teaching degree in the Life Sciences.

Robert Tallman

Senior Engineer, Reliability Assessments, North American Electric Reliability Corporation

Robert Tallman is a Senior Engineer, Reliability Assessments at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). The long-term and seasonal reliability assessments that NERC produces are widely used by industry, regulators, and energy policymakers for informing decisions about the current and future adequacy and reliability of the North American electricity grid.

Before joining NERC in 2021, Robert held engineering, operations and regulatory policy management positions at electric and gas utilities in New England and the Midwest. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and an MBA from the University of Rhode Island, and JD from the University of Connecticut. Robert is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Connecticut.

Evelyn Robinson

Director, Governmental Services, PJM Interconnection

Prior to joining PJM, Robinson was the manager of government affairs with Green Mountain Energy Company. She led the regulatory effort as Green Mountain successfully provided cleaner energy to NOPEC, the largest governmental aggregation in the country at that time.

Robinson began her career in the utilities industry with the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC). She served as assistant consumers’ counsel for almost 17 years, where she represented residential utility consumers before state and federal regulatory agencies and the courts. Robinson is most proud of her opportunity to argue before the Ohio Supreme Court while at OCC.

Robinson earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama. She earned her Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University College of Law.

Robinson is a member of the National Bar Association, the Columbus Bar Association and the American Association of Blacks in Energy. Robinson also serves on the Board of Advisors for the Institute for Regulatory Policy Studies at Illinois State University and the Advisory Committee for the Energy Executive Course at the University of Idaho.

Matthew Milford

Project Manager, Energy Resilience and Emergency Preparedness, New York State Energy Research Development Authority

Matt Milford is currently a Project Manager on the Energy Resilience and Emergency Preparedness Team with NYSERDA.  Matt’s current portfolio of responsibilities including emergency planning, response, and coordination specifically to NYSERDA’s ESF-12 role for liquid fuel markets including co-leading the New York State Energy Security Plan and the New York State Energy Emergency Plan.  Matt is also the lead project manager for the first in the nation New York State Strategic Fuel Reserve.  With over 15 years of service in state government with NYSERDA, Matt has been involved with numerous state energy emergency responses including Superstorm Sandy in 2012.  Matt holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy from the State University of New York at Albany and a Bachelor of Science in Policy Analysis and Management from Cornell University.

Sarah Trent

Senior Program Manager, Energy Security, National Association of State Energy Officials

Sarah Trent supports the NASEO’s energy security program, where she works with states on a number of resilience and energy security issues, including cybersecurity, energy emergency response, resilience funding, and energy emergency exercises. Prior to NASEO, Ms. Trent interned at the Federal Aviation Administration assisting in research and stakeholder engagement. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from James Madison University.

Dr. Michele Zemplenyi

Project Manager, Grid Deployment Office, U.S. Department of Energy

Michele Zemplenyi is a Project Manager with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Grid Deployment Office (GDO). As part of the Grid Resilience Strategy and Analysis Program, she leads the development of grid resilience technical assistance offerings for states by coordinating across DOE’s National Laboratories, as well as university and industry partners.  Prior to joining GDO, Michele worked with DOE’s Federal Energy Management Program on the development of a government-wide carbon-free electricity procurement strategy. Michele holds a PhD in Biostatistics from Harvard University, where her research focused on the effects of air pollution on the genome.

Eric Faucette

Technical Programs Coordinator, Energy Office, Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment

Eric B. Faucette, Jr. is an Engineer with the Arkansas Energy Office of the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment.

Born in Missouri and raised in Arkansas, Mr. Faucette earned his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology Management and Applied Engineering from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and he has a Master's of Engineering Management from Arkansas State University.

After serving 8 years in the United States Army, Mr. Faucette worked in the industry with Consolidated Electrical Distributors and as an Industrial Supervisor for the State of Arkansas before serving as an Engineer for the Arkansas Energy Office.

Jim Harmening

Cybersecurity and Risk Management Director, Illinois Commerce Commission

James Harmening has spent his entire career in the Information Technology Sector.  From his time working for the University of Illinois at Chicago, through starting with the Illinois Commerce Commission he has focused his work on making improvements in IT & Cybersecurity.  Prior to coming to the ICC, he was the president of Computer Bits, Inc. for 25 years, a small software development, IT support, and computer forensic company in the Chicagoland area.  His company focused on the legal industry, provided services to the Cook County Sheriff’s office and Illinois Secretary of State, as well as many small businesses.  James has a degree in Mathematics & Computer Science and has written several chapters in college textbooks.  He was an Encase Certified Examiner and has taken courses in ethical hacking and application development.  He looks forward to meeting each of you and working on improving Cybersecurity on the 21st century.

Daniel Eitzman

Energy Program Specialist, Office of Energy Programs, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Daniel Eitzman is an Energy Program Specialist for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s State Energy Office. He serves as the T&D system programmatic expert, conducts microgrid initiatives, and leads the Pennsylvania Grid Resilience Grants Program funded through U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience State/Tribal Formula Grant Program. In this role, he convenes public and private sector experts to accelerate improvements to the U.S. electric transmission and distribution network, specifically in the avenues of resilience and reliability.

Kenneth Thomas

Team Leader, Nuclear Risk and Health Physics, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Kenneth Thomas is the Team Leader of the Nuclear Risk and Health Physics Team at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Kenneth specializes in emergency management, nuclear energy policy and rulemaking, and risk-informed decision-making. He leads initiatives that apply regulatory and risk analyses to complex national security and nuclear energy challenges. Kenneth's work includes developing policies and regulations for Small Modular and Micro Reactors, nuclear power training, and has been instrumental in shaping methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria for emergency management and consequence analyses.

Rebecca O'Neil

Advisor, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Rebecca O’Neil is an Advisor for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and in her career, she has served at the lab relationship manager for the DOE-EERE Renewable Energy Portfolio. She has also served a rotation in the Water Power Technologies Office to develop a hydropower-grid research program, and led the regulatory area for energy storage. Her research interests relate to energy equity, energy storage, community-scale innovation, sustainable hydropower and marine energy development. She joined the lab in 2015 from the Oregon Department of Energy, where she represented the agency on water power development, oversaw the state renewable portfolio standard, and ran a multi-million-dollar portfolio of federal grants ranging from renewable energy feasibility studies, agricultural efficiency measures, energy assurance, and woodstove replacement programs.

Irena Netik

Project Manager, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Irena Netik is a Project Manager at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and supports projects in energy security, energy equity, and hydropower incentives. She has over 17 years of utility experience in operations and planning. She has successfully led project teams in the delivery of measurable results in resource planning, stakeholder engagement, renewable resources integration, hydro and wind operations and asset management, dam safety, and FERC license analysis and implementation. Irena builds strong coalitions between technical teams, stakeholders, and communities to advance clean energy solutions.

Jessica Shipley

Principal Research Analyst, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Jessica Shipley is a Principal Research Analyst at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory where she has primarily specialized in direct technical assistance to state energy officials on topics such as grid modernization, investments to enable electrification of end loads, and energy security planning. Prior to joining PNNL, she worked on utility policy and regulatory issues including rate design, utility regulatory reform, integrated utility planning, and electrification at the Regulatory Assistance Project. She was also previously a senior policy advisor on clean energy and greenhouse gas policy at the Oregon Department of Energy.

Heather Bevacqua

Senior Energy Analyst, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Heather Bevacqua is a Senior Energy Analyst at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on a Federal Technical Support team. Previously, Heather supported a Department of Homeland Security recognized Fusion Center, where she delivered analysis on critical infrastructure protection and national security issues. While at the Congressional Research Service, Heather supported Congress on topics including oil markets, SPR, LNG markets, energy security, energy resilience, international energy policy, DOD energy use, and others. Heather is passionate about advancing the understanding and awareness of energy and security issues among diverse audiences and stakeholders.

Matt Kelly

Director, Energy Markets, ICF

Matt Kelly is a Director at ICF with more than 11 years of consulting in energy markets with experience in market assessments, energy resilience, critical energy infrastructure risk assessment, and energy security. Matt has supported the Department of Energy’s CESER office since 2017 planning for and responding to energy disruptions. Additionally, Matt has worked directly with State Energy Offices on projects related to energy disaster planning and energy security including having worked with Alaska, Hawaii, Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island amongst others.

Catherine Reed

Senior Program Director, Electricity, National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO)

Catherine Reed supports NASEO’s electricity program, which informs and educates the states and territories on issues related to generation, transmission, and distribution. Prior to joining NASEO, she served as Deputy Director of the State Energy Office in the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff.  This was her second tenure with the South Carolina Energy Office, having first worked there between 2007 and 2012, implementing a range of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs through various federal grants, including the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. She also had experience working in the private sector on the design and implementation of commercial and industrial demand side management programs for an investor-owned utility. She has more than 20 years of combined experience in energy programs, resource conservation and management, public policy and planning, and stakeholder engagement.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a Master of Public Administration from the University of South Carolina.

Karin Haas

Policy Advisor, Grid Deployment Office, U.S. Department of Energy

Wade Forbes

Chief Hope Officer/Chief Illustration Officer, RedTale Communications

Wade began illustrating and sketch noting to pursue his true passion of creating art every day. His love of drawing began as a child and was put on hold because he believed he could not make a living as an artist. After spending the last 18 years working in cyber security and consulting with the Department of Defense and the Intelligence community, he’s now bringing conversations to life and creating art for his government clients, non-profits, commercial businesses, his church, and many more. He’d like to live out the rest of his days covering surfaces that help inspire others to do good work and follow their dreams. It would also be nice to eat delicious food with mainly forks or chop sticks since he often has a lot of ink or paint on his hands.

Miranda Heiland

Systems Engineer, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Juan Gomez

Energy Sector Analyst, ICF

Dr. Thomas Benson

Post Doc Research Associate, Risk and Environmental Assessment Group, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Dr. Alyse Taylor-Anyikire

Acting Chief of Staff, Office of Policy, U.S. Department of Energy

Alyse Taylor-Anyikire, Ph.D., currently serves as the Acting Chief of Staff in the Office of Policy at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). She serves as a senior leader within in the Office and is responsible for reinforcing climate, jobs, & justice goals of the Administration & Secretary of Energy in all DOE domestic policy.

Prior to becoming the Chief of Staff, Alyse was a senior policy advisor on the State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Engagement team advising on clean energy, equity, energy security, cybersecurity, and resilience.

Before returning to DOE, Alyse worked with the National Governor’s Association advising Governors’ offices on electricity policy, energy cybersecurity, as well as energy resilience.

Alyse has a doctorate and master’s in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a focus in renewable energy and public policy.

Frank Ciampa Ciampa

Program Manager, Energy Resilience and Emergency Preparedness, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority

Sabrina Xie

Research Analyst, Office of Energy Supply and Infrastructure, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection