47th PLMA Conference

47th PLMA Conference: Speaker Bios

Concurrent Interest Group Activities

Commercial & Industrial Load Flexibility Interest Group

Debyani Ghosh, Guidehouse Debyani Ghosh
Associate Director
Guidehouse

Debyani Ghosh is an Associate Director with Guidehouse based in San Francisco, CA. She serves as a principal investigator in several Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Potential studies that Guidehouse (formerly Navigant) is currently engaged in. She has over fifteen years of experience on Demand Response (DR) with prominent national and international clients in the areas of strategic planning, potential assessment, program design and implementation, market and technology assessment, and program evaluation. ​

Before joining Guidehouse, Dr. Ghosh was a Senior Associate at Applied Energy Group and EnerNOC Utility Solutions (currently Enel X). Earlier in her career, she conducted research at Harvard University’s Kennedy School in the areas of energy policy analysis, climate change, energy system modeling, and deployment of renewable energy technologies and published in several peer reviewed journals and co-authored book chapters. ​

She has an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering with a Ph.D. in Public Policy.

Bruce Brazis, Arizona Public ServiceBruce Brazis
Account Executive
Arizona Public Service

Professional in the clean energy management field for 15+ years. Recently with Arizona Public Service managing demand response (DR) programs for both residential and commercial customers. Directed the growth of smart thermostat DR program from design to operationalization of 100+ MWs.

Vasudha Lathey, Olivine Vasudha Lathey
Vice President
Olivine

Vasudha Lathey (Ph.D.) is a Director of DER Community Programs at Olivine with over 20 years of experience in the CleanTech industry. She is currently focused on driving organization growth through rapid deployment of Olivine’s CommunityTM Programs and grid connected DER technologies designed to lower costs, decarbonize and provide equitable clean energy access for utilities and end-use customers.

Over a diverse career, Ms. Lathey has spearheaded clean energy and sustainability solutions for high-profile clients including Fortune 500 companies, major utilities, federal, state, and local governments, international funding agencies, and clean energy startups. With a deep commitment to client success and comprehensive energy industry domain expertise she has become a trusted partner, forged lasting connections, and secured/expanded multi-million-dollar engagements. Her educational credentials include Ph.D. in Urban-Evnironmental Planning, M.S. Building Design and a Bachelors in Environmentally Conscious Architecture.

Tom Roberts, IGS EnergyTom Roberts
IGS Energy

Tom's career is diverse, starting with 7 years as an Engineer in the research centers of two Fortune 500 companies. Self taught computer skills led him to a consulting role as an application developer, then to the role of IT Director for a leading residential real estate developer. Customer service skills led to responsibilities over the Warranty department. These skills and his interest in branding led him to guiding the company's marketing activities, with emphasis on web and digital marketing efforts. Most recently, he has moved back to his core technical skill set to oversee technology and business processes for an emerging energy service provider.

Andy Taylor, Duke Energy Andy Taylor
Manager, Products and Services
Duke Energy

Andy is a Manager of Products and Services with eight years of experience managing DSM programs at Duke Energy. He manages the team responsible all non-residential Demand Response programs, including those available in Indiana, Kentucky, the Carolinas, and Florida. Andy received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and is a licensed professional engineer in Indiana. Prior to joining Duke, Andy performed numerous energy assessments for commercial and industrial customers across the state. Andy lives near the Plainfield office with his wife and three children and enjoys spending his free time with family.


Customer Engagement Interest Group

Vanessa Richter, Oracle Energy and Water Vanessa Richter
Global Vice President of Sales
Oracle Utilities

Vanessa Richter is a Global Vice President with Opower. She works with utility teams to drive customer engagement initiatives, including energy efficiency, rates engagement, peak management, and digital self-service. Focused on the utility customer space for over a decade, she is passionate about advancing the role of the customer in the clean energy future. She has been a PLMA Customer Engagement co-chair since 2019.

Lenore Zeuthen, Opinion DynamicsLenore Zeuthen
Customer Engagement Specialist
Opinion Dynamics

Lenore Zeuthen's expertise is in qualitative research and communications strategy. Having previously worked as an independent consultant specializing in customer engagement, she is now an Associate Director at Opinion Dynamics. Lenore manages evaluations and studies that hinge on the customer experience, ranging from website usability to EV public charging.

Ana Villarreal, ComEd Ana Villarreal
Senior Program Manager
Commonwealth Edison

Ana Villarreal is a Senior Program Manager for ComEd, an Exelon Company delivering electricity and services to approximately 4 million customers across Northern Illinois. Ana has professional experience in finance, retail, engines, IT, and now utility. She joined the ComEd Customer Innovation Technologies (CIT) team in 2018, focused on identifying and pursuing early-stage technologies that can be used to create customer value and increase ComEd’s ability to effectively adopt new products and programs to support demand response (DR), distributed energy resources (DER), beneficial electrification (BE), and smart grid solutions. Early in her ComEd career, Ana focused on creating a measure of success for the innovative concepts and pilots, including customer-centric success criterion and integration plans with demand response programs and utility strategies. Ana now collaborates with various teams to effectively launch and lead pilots through to successful program establishment including delivery of initiatives, high customer satisfaction, and cost-effective energy savings. 


Global Load Management Interest Group

Scott Coe, GridOptimizeScott Coe
Founder and President
GridOptimize

Scott works with grid operators to help them make markets more efficient and the grid more stable, improving the ability of the grid function with more renewable resources and adapt to new control technologies. He has direct experience with all wholesale electricity market operators in North America as well as several established and emerging markets across the globe.  Scott focuses on integration solutions for distributed resources and has a personal interest in pushing the envelope for implementing pricing constructs that bridge wholesale and retail grid.  Scott holds a BA in Engineering Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a PhD in Physical from Yale University.

Michael Brown, NV Energy Michael Brown
Manager of DSM Services
Berkshire Hathaway, NV Energy

Michael has over twenty years of experience in the energy sector focused on demand response, energy efficiency, and renewable energy in both deregulated and regulated electricity markets. He has held a variety of positions at consulting and energy service firms. Since 2005, Michael has worked at NV Energy building out smart grid enabled demand response and energy efficiency solutions. He is a Co-Chair of the Global Load Management Interest Group and immediate past Chair of the Board of Directors of PLMA—an international non-profit representing the voice of load management professionals. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and International Relations from The College of William and Mary, and an MBA from The Cranfield School of Management.

Ross Malme, Bowen Capital AdvisorsRoss Malme
President and CEO
Malme Energy Consulting

Ross is President and CEO of Malme Energy Consulting, providing services to utilities and the energy technology community, specializing consulting and raising growth capital for early to mid stage energy tech companies. Previously Ross was Senior Advisor at Bowen, Inc. a leading growth capital investment banking advisory firm where he co-managed the firm's Energy Technology practice and has led the Smart Grid practice for Skipping Stone, LLC, an energy consulting firm. He has served on the Advisory Board of DistribuTECH, the largest industry conference in the electric utility industry for over 15 years.

Ross was the inventor of the first utility wireless automatic meter reading system in the industry which became the industry standard for over 25 years and the founder of one of the first successful electricity demand response technology and service companies in North America.

Jon Hilowitz, Orange and Rockland UtilitiesJon Hilowitz
Orange and Rockland Utilities

Bio coming soon!


Electric Transportation Interest Group

Meghan Jennings, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative Meghan Jennings
Clean Energy Programs Specialist
Rappahannock Electric Cooperative

Meghan Jennings is a Clean Energy Programs Specialist for Rappahannock Electric Cooperative and serves REC’s membership by supporting the development and administration of clean energy programs. She administers renewable energy projects for the Cooperative’s residential members and coordinates the residential electric vehicle program. Meghan earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Integrated Science and Technology with a focus on Renewable Energy Development and Environmental Information Systems from James Madison University. 

Wendy Brummer, Pacific Gas and ElectricWendy Brummer
Program Manager
Pacific Gas and Electric

Wendy Brummer is a DR practitioner at Pacific Gas and Electric Company in San Francisco. Since 2008, she has managed AC cycling, technology incentive, a critical peak pricing programs along with a variety of pilots. With higher than ever smart technology adoption rates, she continues to keep a focus on the customer experience and the value proposition, while being mindful of the feasibility to implement. She is currently the chair of the board of directors for Literacy for Environmental Justice which empowers youth and young adults through workforce development in a native plant nursery, habitat restoration and urban park stewardship. She has previously been a café owner and has managed energy efficiency programs as a third party. As a resident of the gorgeous state of California, she enjoys exploring natural areas through kayaking, swimming and gardening.

Linda Stevens, OATILinda Stevens
Chief Strategy Officer
OATI

Linda Stevens is the OATI Chief Strategy Officer - Smart Grid and Smart City. Ms. Stevens has dedicated her career to the energy industry and has been with OATI since 2011, taking on various leadership roles. She originated her career at an Investor Owned Utility where she learned firsthand about utility operations. This experience led her to an energy industry software and technology sales career path with Siemens and, eventually, on to OATI. In her current role, she collaboratively develops, sets and executes business initiatives and go to market strategies to advance the OATI Smart Grid, Smart Utility and Smart City portfolios in support of corporate growth goals and customer segment needs and objectives. She works with the CEO and other executive stakeholders to drive alignment at all levels with strategic objectives. Ms. Stevens holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management and Leadership from Concordia University, St. Paul, MN.

Savannah Robertson, Drive Electric TennesseeSavannah Robertson
Director
Drive Electric Tennessee

Savannah Robertson is a green thumb enthusiast, wannabe beekeeper, lover of the natural environment, and an East Tennessee native. Savannah’s greatest passion is to create a greener, brighter Tennessee than how she found it. This passion and her advocacy for creating a healthy, meaningful life for all fuels her drive to tackle air pollution within the transportation sector. Before joining ETCleanFuels, Savannah managed Smart Trips, a federally funded program that encourages sustainable modes of transportation. At work, you will find Savannah writing electric vehicle deployment guides, guiding several EV-related projects and initiatives, and forgetting to unmute herself on Zoom. Outside of work, you can find Savannah teaching at her local yoga studio, finding excuses to buy that concert ticket, and fact checking her cat (Arya).

Pearl Donohoo-Vallett, OATIPearl Donohoo-Vallett
Key Manager - Strategy
Pepco Holdings

Bio coming soon!


Retail Pricing Interest Group

Bill Atzl, Con Ed Bill Atzl
Director of Rate Engineering
Con Ed

As Director of Rate Engineering, Bill Atzl leads the electric, gas and steam rate design activities and tariff administration for Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. and its utility affiliates Orange and Rockland Utilities and Rockland Electric Company.  Bill has over 35 years of utility industry experience in New Business, Demand Side Management/Energy Efficiency, Regulatory Affairs and Rate Engineering.  He is experienced in utility regulation, rate design and tariff development, as well as the challenges associated with distributed energy resources and clean energy/decarbonization objectives such as electrification of heating and transportation. 

Brian Uchtmann, Driftless Energy Brian Uchtmann
Partner and Senior Engineer
Driftless Energy

Brian Uchtmann, J.D., is a registered P.E. in Wisconsin with over 15 years of technical experience. He currently focuses on designing and evaluating utility energy efficiency programs, developing end user solutions, and supporting utilities, stakeholders, and regulatory bodies by providing expert analysis and audit services related to energy savings, end-user cost-of-service, and economic analysis of non-wire/non-pipe transmission and distribution alternatives.

Brian brings a unique set of skills to the task at hand. In the past he has worked on skilled teams to provide audit and technical support to regulatory staff in Ohio, Missouri, Arkansas, and Vermont. He has worked as an engineer optimizing chemical systems in the automotive sector, served as a law clerk for the Michigan Public Service Commission, reviewed hundreds of complex energy and infrastructure projects across the country, and provided training to utility staff across the United States and Canada related to utility energy efficiency program design and compliance. Brian graduated with a J.D. degree from Michigan State College of Law and a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Illinois.

Jeff Pollard, Indian Electric Cooperative Jeff Pollard
VP of Engineering
Indian Electric Cooperative

Born and raised in Oklahoma, I have been working in the Cooperative network for approximately 19 years. My work experience started with a focus on metering and SCADA operations.  It has since evolved to providing planning, leading, and organizing functions in staking, GIS, smart grid deployment and engineering studies.  Educationally, I have obtained my Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering Technology from Oklahoma State University.  Since then, I have obtained my professional engineer’s license in Oklahoma and completed NRECA’s Management Internship Program.  I am now working toward completing a Master of Science degree in Engineering and Technology Management from Oklahoma State University.


Decarbonization thru Load Management Strategic Initiative

Dave Alspector, Tierra Resource Consulting Dave Alspector
Director
Tierra Resource Consulting

Dave Alspector is a Director with Tierra. Dave is a registered professional engineer with 15 years of experience supporting electric and gas utilities with strategic planning, research, and evaluation of their customer-facing distributed energy resource (DER) programs. He develops holistic approaches to impact, process, and market evaluation to provide program managers and regional stakeholders with actionable feedback to strengthen their programs. He applies his background in building science engineering to develop data driven analyses, sophisticated financial modeling tools, and in-depth market research that quantify utility and customer value of energy efficiency, demand response, load shifting, and energy storage programs. Dave currently supports Arizona Public Service, Tucson Electric Power, and Duke Energy with integrating DER program evaluation and research findings into their strategic planning processes and program designs. Dave believes and strives for a collaborative approach to problem solving that is based on a positive, inclusive, and fun work environment that encourages colleagues to be creative and innovative, while feeling supported and understood. 

Stacy Philips, Duke Energy Stacy Philips
Duke Energy

Bio coming soon! 

Brian Grunkemeyer, FlexCharging Brian Grunkemeyer
FlexCharging

Bio coming soon! 

Rich Hasselman, GDS Associates Rich Hasselman
GDS Associates

Bio coming soon! 


Connected Devices Interest Group

Wendy Brummer, Pacific Gas and ElectricWendy Brummer
Program Manager
Pacific Gas and Electric

Wendy Brummer is a DR practitioner at Pacific Gas and Electric Company in San Francisco. Since 2008, she has managed AC cycling, technology incentive, a critical peak pricing programs along with a variety of pilots. With higher than ever smart technology adoption rates, she continues to keep a focus on the customer experience and the value proposition, while being mindful of the feasibility to implement. She is currently the chair of the board of directors for Literacy for Environmental Justice which empowers youth and young adults through workforce development in a native plant nursery, habitat restoration and urban park stewardship. She has previously been a café owner and has managed energy efficiency programs as a third party. As a resident of the gorgeous state of California, she enjoys exploring natural areas through kayaking, swimming and gardening.

Nick Bengtson, EnergyHub Nick Bengtson
Sales Executive
EnergyHub

Nick leads EnergyHub’s utility engagement and sales efforts in New England, California, and Texas, drawing on fifteen years of experience in the utility DSM and load flexibility space. Prior to joining EnergyHub Nick worked for a number of program implementers, where he focused on demand response product development and program delivery, spanning residential, multifamily, and commercial & industrial sectors. Nick is a co-chair of the PLMA Electric Transportation Interest Group and holds a BS in Environmental Policy from the University of Minnesota. 

JT Thompson, Generac Grid Services J.T. Thompson
Senior Vice President of Sales
Generac Grid Services

As Senior Vice President of Sales, Jonathan ‘J.T.’ Thompson leads a global team of sales and commercial operations leaders who help utilities and cooperatives solve their grid problems. Over the course of his career, he has held myriad roles in the energy business across companies including ICAP, Constellation NewEnergy, GE, Noble Americas Energy Solutions and others. He’s been an energy broker, sales leader, and, most recently at Generac Grid Services, the VP of enterprise accounts.


Opening Session

Keynote Address

Doug McGowen Doug McGowen
President and CEO
Memphis Light, Gas and Water

Doug McGowen is MLGW's President and CEO and has served in that role since December 2022.

Mr. McGowen most recently served as the Chief Operating Officer for Mayor Jim Strickland and the City of Memphis. As COO, Mr. McGowen directly oversaw all city operating departments and related agencies. From March 2020 to March 2022, he also led the Memphis and Shelby County COVID-19 Joint Task Force, coordinating all aspects of a successful pandemic response. Passionate about making Memphis a better place to live and work, McGowen also serves as Board Chair of the Mid-South American Heart Association and Board Chair for Explore Bike Share.

Immediately prior to his COO role, he served as Director of the Innovation Team for the City of Memphis (now Innovate Memphis) and headed the Memphis Sexual Assault Kit Task Force. Prior to joining the city team, Mr. McGowen served as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy, retiring as a Captain in 2011 after 26 years of service. His last assignment was as Commanding Officer of the Naval Base in Millington, TN. Mr. McGowen also served as Commanding Officer of Strike Fighter Squadron ONE ZERO TWO, Chief Operating Officer for the US Navy Recruiting Command, and Chief Operating Officer for Carrier Air Wing NINE. During his career, Mr. McGowen completed multiple overseas deployments and participated in combat operations during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom flying the F-14 TOMCAT and later the FA-18F Super Hornet.

McGowen holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Military Institute and an M.A. in National Security from the United States Naval War College. Born in Meadville, PA, McGowen and his family are proud to call Memphis home.


General Session 2

Defining a Buzzword: Virtual Power Plants and the Orchestration of Distributed Energy Resources

Angela Long, Portland General Electric Angela Long
Senior Manager of Strategy and Planning
Portland General Electric

Angela Long is Portland General Electric’s (PGE’s) Senior Manager of Strategy & Planning, where she leads the Distribution System Planning (DSP), Energy Equity, and Distributed Resource Planning (DRP) teams. These teams are responsible for ensuring PGE's vision of a 21st century human-centered distribution system that encourages and utilizes clean energy resources, accelerates decarbonization, and provides direct benefits to communities (especially environmental justice communities). This is achieved through the strategy and planning of distributed energy resources (DERs); a transition to a human-centered planning approach for the distribution system, DER and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) data and analytics; non-wire solutions (NWS); and supporting emerging regulatory and policy related to clean energy and equity. Angela has over 14 years of professional energy conservation and community outreach experience working in the utility, consulting and public sectors. In previous roles, Angela led teams that developed and implemented small and large-scale utility and government clean energy programs. Angela holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with a specialization in energy conversation and renewable energy from Ohio State University. 

William Burke, Virtual Peaker Dr. William Burke
Founder and CEO
Virtual Peaker

Dr. William (Bill) Burke is the Founder and CEO of Virtual Peaker. He has a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in Controls and Artificial Intelligence and over 15 years of experience with high-performance residential energy management and connected devices. He was previously at GE Appliances in the Connected Home Software Group where he built whole home energy management applications and helped develop the API that GE uses to communicate with their connected devices. While at Berkeley, Bill wrote the software for the first programmable communicating thermostat under contract from the California Energy Commission and focused his dissertation research on aggregate control of thermostats using price signals. Bill founded Virtual Peaker in 2015, and their first utility contract was with Glasgow (KY) Electric Plant Board. He wrote the first version of the Virtual Peaker Platform, and today he is responsible for the product vision, technology architecture, and intellectual property. Today, Virtual Peaker provides the most sophisticated and friendly DER platform on the planet to dozens of utilities, big and small, around the world.

Virtual Power, Real Reliability: The Economics of Virtual Power Plants

Ryan Hledik, The Brattle Group Ryan Hledik
Principal
The Brattle Group

Ryan Hledik is a Principal of The Brattle Group. His consulting practice is focused on regulatory and planning matters related to emerging energy technologies. Mr. Hledik has consulted for more than 80 clients across 35 states and nine countries. He has supported his clients in matters related to load flexibility, energy storage distributed generation, electrification, retail tariff design, energy efficiency, and grid modernization.Mr. Hledik has published more than 30 articles on electricity matters and has presented at industry events throughout the United States as well as in Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Poland, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. His research on the “grid edge” has been cited by Forbes, National Geographic, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, and in trade press such as GreenTech Media, Utility Dive, and Vox. Mr. Hledik received his M.S. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University, where he concentrated in Energy Economics and Policy. He received his B.S. in Applied Science from the University of Pennsylvania, with minors in Economics and Mathematics. Prior to joining Brattle, Mr. Hledik was a Research Assistant with Stanford’s Energy Modeling Forum and a Research Analyst with Charles River Associates.

VPP Power Half Hour: Panel Discussion and Audience Questions

Adam Light, Portland General Electric Adam Light
Senior Solution Manager, Grid Products
Portland General Electric

Adam Light is Senior Solution Manager for Grid Products. He leads development of the technology platform for PGE's Virtual Power Plant (VPP). Since joining PGE in 2020, Adam's focus has been grid modernization. This includes technology solutions for EV charging, commercial, industrial, and residential flexible load programs, grid edge storage, and rooftop solar, as well as operational technology to supply capacity, energy, and other grid services through the VPP. He is a member of PGE's Smart Grid Testbed team, and a key contributor to PGE's SALMON/Flexible Feeder project, which is supported by $11.7 M in from the U.S. Department of Energy and the state of Oregon. Adam brings more than 20 years of experience in software development to his role. Prior to joining PGE, he founded and operated SoTech, a consultancy specializing in Agile transformation. As Principal Consultant, Adam worked with a mixture of enterprise clients, including Starbucks Coffee Company, as well as SaaS companies like Cirium, Vertafore, and NWEA. Before his time with SoTech, Adam served as Director of Planning and Program Management at TransUnion. Adam graduated from Dartmouth College and studied climate science at the University of Colorado and the University of Oregon. He holds a Ph.D. in geography.

William Burke, Virtual Peaker Dr. William Burke
Founder and CEO
Virtual Peaker

Dr. William (Bill) Burke is the Founder and CEO of Virtual Peaker. He has a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in Controls and Artificial Intelligence and over 15 years of experience with high-performance residential energy management and connected devices. He was previously at GE Appliances in the Connected Home Software Group where he built whole home energy management applications and helped develop the API that GE uses to communicate with their connected devices. While at Berkeley, Bill wrote the software for the first programmable communicating thermostat under contract from the California Energy Commission and focused his dissertation research on aggregate control of thermostats using price signals. Bill founded Virtual Peaker in 2015, and their first utility contract was with Glasgow (KY) Electric Plant Board. He wrote the first version of the Virtual Peaker Platform, and today he is responsible for the product vision, technology architecture, and intellectual property. Today, Virtual Peaker provides the most sophisticated and friendly DER platform on the planet to dozens of utilities, big and small, around the world.

Ryan Hledik, The Brattle Group Ryan Hledik
Principal
The Brattle Group

Ryan Hledik is a Principal of The Brattle Group. His consulting practice is focused on regulatory and planning matters related to emerging energy technologies. Mr. Hledik has consulted for more than 80 clients across 35 states and nine countries. He has supported his clients in matters related to load flexibility, energy storage distributed generation, electrification, retail tariff design, energy efficiency, and grid modernization.Mr. Hledik has published more than 30 articles on electricity matters and has presented at industry events throughout the United States as well as in Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Poland, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. His research on the “grid edge” has been cited by Forbes, National Geographic, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, and in trade press such as GreenTech Media, Utility Dive, and Vox. Mr. Hledik received his M.S. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University, where he concentrated in Energy Economics and Policy. He received his B.S. in Applied Science from the University of Pennsylvania, with minors in Economics and Mathematics. Prior to joining Brattle, Mr. Hledik was a Research Assistant with Stanford’s Energy Modeling Forum and a Research Analyst with Charles River Associates.

Rizwan Naveed, Google Rizwan Naveed
Lead Product Planner (Grid Services)
Google

Rizwan Naveed is the Lead Product Planner for grid services at Google Nest. In his role, Rizwan is responsible for developing and coordinating growth initiatives that increase the footprint of Residential VPPs in the US, expand services to new flexible assets, and assist with market development and regulatory engagement efforts for VPP participation in the US and overseas. Prior to his role at Google Nest, Rizwan was a leader in the Sustainability practice at McKinsey & Company, where he led teams serving utility, investor and startup clients on decarbonization and power market topics. Rizwan holds a B.Eng (Electrical Engineering) from The National University of Singapore, and a joint MBA/MA from The Wharton School and The Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania.

Angela Long, Portland General Electric Angela Long
Senior Manager of Strategy and Planning
Portland General Electric

Angela Long is Portland General Electric’s (PGE’s) Senior Manager of Strategy & Planning, where she leads the Distribution System Planning (DSP), Energy Equity, and Distributed Resource Planning (DRP) teams. These teams are responsible for ensuring PGE's vision of a 21st century human-centered distribution system that encourages and utilizes clean energy resources, accelerates decarbonization, and provides direct benefits to communities (especially environmental justice communities). This is achieved through the strategy and planning of distributed energy resources (DERs); a transition to a human-centered planning approach for the distribution system, DER and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) data and analytics; non-wire solutions (NWS); and supporting emerging regulatory and policy related to clean energy and equity. Angela has over 14 years of professional energy conservation and community outreach experience working in the utility, consulting and public sectors. In previous roles, Angela led teams that developed and implemented small and large-scale utility and government clean energy programs. Angela holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with a specialization in energy conversation and renewable energy from Ohio State University. 


General Session 3

The Good, the Bad, and the Reality of Program Design

JT Thompson, Generac Grid Services Moderator
J.T. Thompson
Senior Vice President of Sales
Generac Grid Services

As Senior Vice President of Sales, Jonathan ‘J.T.’ Thompson leads a global team of sales and commercial operations leaders who help utilities and cooperatives solve their grid problems. Over the course of his career, he has held myriad roles in the energy business across companies including ICAP, Constellation NewEnergy, GE, Noble Americas Energy Solutions and others. He’s been an energy broker, sales leader, and, most recently at Generac Grid Services, the VP of enterprise accounts.

Michael James Colby, Xcel Energy Michael Colby
Manager of Clean Transportation and Product Development
Xcel Energy

Michael James Colby is the Manager of Clean Transportation Product Development at Xcel Energy, where he leads a team focused on developing industry leading clean transportation products and services. He brings fifteen years of experience in the electric and natural gas utility industry, primarily focused on customer-facing initiatives. He has expansive knowledge of electric vehicles, energy efficiency, demand management, and distributed generation from a program design and management perspective, a forecasting and modeling perspective, and a research and analysis perspective.

Santosh Veda, Dominion Energy Santosh Veda
DERMS Manager
Dominion Energy

Dr. Santosh Veda completed his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2012. As an Electric Distribution Program Manager at Dominion Energy Virginia (DEV), Dr. Veda leads design and deployment of a full-scale Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS). Before joining DEV in 2021, Dr. Veda led a group of 20 research engineers at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. His group worked with electric utilities and vendor partners on grid integration of distributed energy resources (DERs), and development, evaluation and implementation of advanced grid platforms like the advanced distribution management system (ADMS), and DERMS. Dr. Veda has over 20 peer-reviewed publications and conference papers with over 1000 citations and 6 awarded patents.

Andy Taylor, Duke Energy Andy Taylor
Manager, Products and Services
Duke Energy

Andy is a Manager of Products and Services with eight years of experience managing DSM programs at Duke Energy. He manages the team responsible all non-residential Demand Response programs, including those available in Indiana, Kentucky, the Carolinas, and Florida. Andy received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and is a licensed professional engineer in Indiana. Prior to joining Duke, Andy performed numerous energy assessments for commercial and industrial customers across the state. Andy lives near the Plainfield office with his wife and three children and enjoys spending his free time with family.


General Session 4

Grid Resiliency: Innovative Approaches to Increasing Demand Response Participation

Kari Binley, ecobee Kari Binley
Senior Manager, Energy Partnerships
ecobee

Kari Binley is the Senior Manager of Energy Partnerships at ecobee managing their Marketplace business and New Business Development.  Kari is passionate about residential demand side management and the problems it can solve for the utility, as well as the customer.  Prior to ecobee, Kari was on the energy-efficiency team at PG&E leading the smart home strategy. 

Lilli Trinkley, SDG&E Lilli Trinkley
Demand Response Program Advisor
San Diego Gas and Electric

Lilli Trinkley has worked with San Diego Gas and Electric since 2017. She joined the Demand Response group in 2018. Lilli is the advisor for the Smart Thermostat Program offered by SDG&E. She and her DR team are always trying to come up with innovative ideas to help the grid and get customers engaged in Demand Response.


Track A - Retail Pricing

Evaluating Customer Impacts from Consolidated Edison's Smart Home Rate Demonstration

Chelsea Wolgel, ICF Chelsea Wogel
Manager
ICF

Chelsea Wolgel is a Manager at ICF, where she has worked for the last five years. With a background in energy, customer communications and strategic planning, she supports utility clients in implementing demand response pilot programs with smart home technology. Prior to joining ICF, Chelsea worked at a variety of organizations from research institutes to conservation non-profits, with her work focused on energy and sustainability. Chelsea is a graduate of Boston University where she completed a four-year combined B.A. / M.A. program. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Analysis & Policy and a Master’s degree in Energy & Environment.

Candice Tsay, Con Ed Candice Tsay
Senior Planning Analyst
Consolidated Edison

Candice Tsay is a Senior Planning Analyst for Customer Energy Solutions at Con Edison, where she is responsible for implementing demonstration projects that advance adoption of clean energy technologies. Before joining Con Edison, Candice worked on energy policy and resiliency planning at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability. She holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley.

Eric Bell, Apex Analytics Eric Bell, PhD. 
Principal
Apex Analytics

Dr. Eric Bell is an economist with expertise in Measurement & Evaluation (M&E). He has over 14 years of experience and specializes in load and bill impact evaluations of DSM programs including pricing pilots, DR, and energy conservation. He has extensive experience with experimental and quasi-experiment design, econometric modeling of customer characteristics, billing, and AMI usage data for both residential and non-residential customers. Dr. Bell has led impact evaluations for the California Statewide Opt-in Residential TOU Pilot, SCE and SDG&E Default TOU Pilot Evaluations, Con Ed’s Innovative Pricing Pilot and Smart Home Rate Evaluations, Duke Energy’s TOU and CPP Pilot, ComEd’s Residential TOU Pricing Pilot, and dozens of other program evaluations. He also led California DR load impact evaluations including Statewide CPP, Statewide Permanent Load Shifting (PLS), the Statewide PEV Submetering Pilot, PG&E’s BYOT Smart Thermostat Evaluation, SCE’s DR programs (SDP, PTR, API, RTP), and the SCE TOU-Prime EV Focused Rate. In total, projects led by Dr. Bell have required applying data analytics to approximately 550,000 businesses and over 4 million residential customers. Dr. Bell completed his PhD in Economics—with an emphasis on industrial organization—and MBA at the Claremont Graduate University.

Residential Household and EV Owner Impacts from ComEd’s Time-Of-Use Pilot

Araceli Martinez, Commonwealth EdisonAraceli Martinez
Senior Business Program Manager
Common-wealth Edison

Araceli Martinez is a Senior Business Program Manager for Commonwealth Edison Company (“ComEd”), an Exelon Company delivering electricity service to approximately 4 million customers across northern Illinois. She manages ComEd’s Smart Meter Connected Devices service and ComEd’s residential dynamic pricing programs, which include Hourly Pricing, an hourly supply rate option, and Time-of-Day Pricing, a time-of-use supply rate option. Araceli has over seven years of experience in utility program administration and compliance. She collaborates with various internal teams and vendors to focus on program implementation, raise program awareness, and enhance customer outreach initiatives. She enjoys combining her project management skills with her analytical skills to make data-driven business decisions that help create program efficiencies and improve the customer journey. Araceli holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Russian and a certificate in Criminal Justice from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She also holds a Master of Science in Data Science, with a specialization in Analytics and Modeling from Northwestern University.

George Jiang, Resource InnovationsGeorge Jiang
Principal, Behavioral Science & Analytics
Resource Innovations

George Jiang is a Principal in Resource Innovations’ Behavioral Science and Analytics group. He has over twelve years of energy consulting experience. He specializes in multiple aspects of program evaluation, including econometric analysis and processing/analyzing interval load data. He leads impact and process evaluations for utilities, commissions, and system operators in North America. George’s projects typically focus on demand response programs and electric rates. He utilizes statistical regression techniques to estimate demand and energy savings for demand side management (DSM) programs. He often performs process research in parallel with impact analyses to evaluate customer and implementer perceptions of these programs. George holds an MBA from the University of San Diego as well as bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Eric Bell, Apex Analytics Eric Bell, PhD. 
Principal
Apex Analytics

Dr. Eric Bell is an economist with expertise in Measurement & Evaluation (M&E). He has over 14 years of experience and specializes in load and bill impact evaluations of DSM programs including pricing pilots, DR, and energy conservation. He has extensive experience with experimental and quasi-experiment design, econometric modeling of customer characteristics, billing, and AMI usage data for both residential and non-residential customers. Dr. Bell has led impact evaluations for the California Statewide Opt-in Residential TOU Pilot, SCE and SDG&E Default TOU Pilot Evaluations, Con Ed’s Innovative Pricing Pilot and Smart Home Rate Evaluations, Duke Energy’s TOU and CPP Pilot, ComEd’s Residential TOU Pricing Pilot, and dozens of other program evaluations. He also led California DR load impact evaluations including Statewide CPP, Statewide Permanent Load Shifting (PLS), the Statewide PEV Submetering Pilot, PG&E’s BYOT Smart Thermostat Evaluation, SCE’s DR programs (SDP, PTR, API, RTP), and the SCE TOU-Prime EV Focused Rate. In total, projects led by Dr. Bell have required applying data analytics to approximately 550,000 businesses and over 4 million residential customers. Dr. Bell completed his PhD in Economics—with an emphasis on industrial organization—and MBA at the Claremont Graduate University.

Program Insights from Leveraging CPP and DR for Grid Flexibility

Jennifer Starrh, Services Coordinator, SMUDJennifer Starrh
Senior Product Services Coordinator
SMUD

Jennifer Starrh is a Senior Program Manager for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. Jennifer’s experience includes managing residential programs ranging from green pricing, LCSF, solar, and customer service, to load management and battery storage. Jennifer has been instrumental in the design and implementation of SMUD’s residential, customer-facing load flexibility programs including the suite of programs offered through My Energy Optimizer. My Energy Optimizer is a component of SMUD’s goal of zero carbon by 2030.

Rachel Henderson, UplightRachel Henderson
Senior Product Marketing Manager
Uplight

Rachel Henderson is passionate about accelerating customer-centric transitions to a decarbonized energy future. As a Senior Product Marketing Manager, she leads the go-to-market strategy for Uplight's Orchestrated Energy load flexibility solution. Rachel has nearly a decade of experience working closely with electric and gas utilities, Fortune 500 companies, and rural communities to advance clean energy solutions. She is a 2017 Fellow of the Clean Energy Leadership Institute and holds a dual BA from the University of Virginia.


Track B - Other Topics

Demand Flexibility Under Building and Transportation Electrification: Trends and Performance

Sean Murphy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Sean Murphy
Senior Scientific Engineering Associate
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Sean Murphy is an Energy/Environmental Policy Researcher in the Electricity Markets and Policy Department at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Sean’s research focuses on the policy and economics of distribution energy resources and regulated electric utilities, with a focus on energy efficiency, demand flexibility, and building electrification.

Terry Borges, SMUD Terry Borges
Project Manager II
Sacramento Municipal Utility District

Terry Borges has worked for SMUD for the past 14 years. Her first six years were spent working as an account manager where she collaborated with several school districts helping them reduce their energy consumption. She was then promoted to a program manager were for four year she managed commercial programs that helped customers become more energy efficiency, reduce their carbon, install EV chargers and participating in ADR. Terry is now a part of the research and development team as a project manager 2 where she focuses her studies on load flexibility.

Entergy Arkansas' Smart Demand Response Program Solves Declining Capacity Challenge

Heather Hendrickson Moderator
Heather Hendrickson
Energy Efficiency Project Manager
Entergy Arkansas

Heather Hendrickson joined Entergy Arkansas’ Office of Energy Efficiency in 2017 as a Project Manager. Hendrickson is responsible for the company’s residential energy efficiency programs, which include the Home Energy Solutions Program, Manufactured Homes Program, Multi-family Homes Program, Low-Income Solutions Program, and Smart Direct Load Control Program. Prior to joining Energy Efficiency, Hendrickson served on Entergy Arkansas’ Business & Economic Development team. During that time, she implemented the state’s first, comprehensive buildings and sites website, the Arkansas Site Selection Center. She is a past board member of Arkansas Women in Power. She is a member of AAEE and AESP, and is a certified Energy Efficiency Professional (EEP) and Business Energy Professional (BEP). Prior to joining Entergy, Hendrickson served as the Assistant Director of Economic Development for the City of Rosenberg, Texas. Hendrickson holds a M.S. in Community and Economic Development and a Graduate Certificate in Geographical Information Systems from the University of Central Arkansas. She received a B.A. in both Spanish and Political Science from Ouachita Baptist University.

Santiago Asimbaya, Entergy Arkansas LLC. Santiago Asimbaya
Project Engineer
Entergy Arkansas LLC.

Santiago Asimbaya joined the Arkansas Entergy Arkansas’ Office of Energy Efficiency in January 2019 as a Project Engineer. Asimbaya is responsible for the company’s Energy Efficiency quality assurance and control and provides technical oversight for the direct load control programs, which include the Agricultural Irrigation Load Control Program, Residential Direct Load Control Program, and the Smart Direct Load Control Program. He is a member of AEE and is a Certified Energy Auditor, Business Energy Professional and BPI Analyst Professional. Prior to joining Entergy Arkansas, Asimbaya served at Hartford Steam Boiler as a Loss Control Inspector. He also served eight years in the United States Navy as a Gas Turbine Technician. Asimbaya holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a A.S in Nuclear Technology from Arkansas Tech University. 

Lisa Lucas, ICF Lisa Lucas
Senior Account Manager
ICF

Lisa serves as Sr Account Manager at ICF with over 10 years’ experience in the energy efficiency industry.  Prior to her current role in demand response programs, Lisa worked with  point of purchase and commercial midstream implementation programs.  Lisa has also served in account management and customer service roles with several technology companies.  

Terry Rohrer, Connected Energy Terry Rohrer
CTO/CSO and SVP Marketing
Connected Energy

As CTO of Connected Energy, Terry leads the development and support of the SaaS CNRG DERMs platform. He has a passion for working with customers to bring meaningful features that provide solutions to challenging problems. Prior to his 14 years at Connected Energy, Terry led engineering teams at ABB and Sterling Software. He is excited about the potential for the integration and orchestration of the full suite of DER assets that provide a better customer experience while optimizing the electric grid's capacity and operational needs.

Optimizing for Equity, Environment, and Resiliency Benefits in DER Planning

Angela Long, Portland General Electric Angela Long
Senior Manager of Strategy and Planning
Portland General Electric

Angela Long is Portland General Electric’s (PGE’s) Senior Manager of Strategy & Planning, where she leads the Distribution System Planning (DSP), Energy Equity, and Distributed Resource Planning (DRP) teams. These teams are responsible for ensuring PGE's vision of a 21st century human-centered distribution system that encourages and utilizes clean energy resources, accelerates decarbonization, and provides direct benefits to communities (especially environmental justice communities). This is achieved through the strategy and planning of distributed energy resources (DERs); a transition to a human-centered planning approach for the distribution system, DER and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) data and analytics; non-wire solutions (NWS); and supporting emerging regulatory and policy related to clean energy and equity. Angela has over 14 years of professional energy conservation and community outreach experience working in the utility, consulting and public sectors. In previous roles, Angela led teams that developed and implemented small and large-scale utility and government clean energy programs. Angela holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with a specialization in energy conversation and renewable energy from Ohio State University. 

Fred Schaefer, Cadeo Fred Schaefer Fred Schaefer
Principal
Cadeo Group

In his role as principal, Fred leads Cadeo’s team of data scientists. His many years of consulting experience and deep analytical and statistical expertise elevate the firm’s market research, evaluation, customer segmentation, and resource planning projects. He is continuously scanning for ways to use new data and advanced analytics to provide innovative solutions to the complex problems that Cadeo’s clients face. Still, Fred maintains a practical approach, and his clients can count on him for useful and reliable products.


Track C - Electric Vehicle Topics

EV Behaviors Across Various TOU Rates at Southern California Edison

TBD Eva Molnar
Senior Manager
Southern California Edison

Eva Molnar is a Senior Manager in Customer Service at Southern California Edison. She leads the planning and execution of new rates for SCE’s 4.5 million customers and is responsible for launching and maintaining customer rate management tools. Eva has been with Edison for 16 years and has over 25 years of business experience. She has a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Aimee Savage, Apex Analytics Aimee Savage
Senior Associate
Apex Analytics

Aimee has nearly a decade of experience evaluating a variety of utility programs and pilots. She specializes pricing program evaluation where she uses regression analysis of AMI data to estimate demand reduction and conservation effects. She also uses her analytical skills to measure customer bill impacts and enrollment trends. In cases where a randomized controlled trial is not a viable option, Aimee uses statistical techniques to develop suitable comparison groups for evaluation purposes. Aimee also has extensive experience estimating and validating energy and demand savings from large-scale behavioral programs, such as home energy reports and other neighborhood comparison programs. She is regularly involved in the design and sampling of treatment cohorts for the HER programs she evaluates. As part of her behavioral program evaluation work, Aimee estimates joint savings across multiple energy efficiency programs. In addition, she has measured the persistence of related treatment effects for multiple HER programs. Aimee holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science from the University of Puget Sound.

Beneficial Electrification with Vehicle to Grid: Roanoke Electric Cooperative's Experience

TBD Cathy Davison
Chief Financial Officer
Roanoke Electric Cooperative

Cathy Davison has a diverse background in executive management, economic development, finance and human resources including 20 plus years in local and regional government prior to retiring to start a second career with Roanoke Electric Membership Corporation in October 2018. Cathy currently serves as Roanoke’s Chief Financial Officer after serving as Roanoke’s VP of Finance and Accounting, and VP Corporate Services. Cathy oversees the Accounting Department and financial operations for Roanoke Electric and its subsidiaries, including its broadband subsidiary, Roanoke Connect, along with leading Roanoke’s Office of Strategy Management implementing Vision 2025. Cathy has enjoyed a variety of opportunities to expand her knowledge and skills, both academically and professionally. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and Liberal Arts from Anderson University, a Masters of Arts from the University of Denver in Organizational Leadership and Human Resources Administration. Cathy also holds a Masters of Public Administration and Finance and Budgeting from Norwich University. Cathy also holds a Cooperative Financial Professional Certification. Cathy volunteers in her community and serves as the President of River City Toastmasters Club in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. In her free time, Cathy enjoys spending time boating, fishing and laughing with her proud veteran sweetheart and husband Jim, and experiencing life through the eyes of their son John, head chef at Paradiso Roma Restaurante. She simply adores her two German Shepherds Dogs, Cash and Ozzy; they keep her active. She is a working artist at Studio 32 in Sunbury, North Carolina where she volunteers and offers her custom jewelry. Cathy also advocates for Thyroid Cancer Awareness, Xylitol is Toxic to Dogs Awareness, and supporting childhood chronic illnesses with Beads of Courage. 

Melissa Chan, Fermata Energy Dr. Melissa Chan
Director of Grid Solutions and Strategic Partnerships
Fermata Energy

Dr. Melissa Chan (Director of Grid Solutions & Strategic Partnerships) leads and scales Fermata V2X solutions to maximize benefits to end users and the grid. She has over 20 years of experience advising, planning, deploying, and evaluating energy infrastructure deployment from centralized coal to microgrids. A two-time entrepreneur and industry consultant before joining Fermata Energy, Melissa has launched new grid edge technologies that deliver benefits to utilities and their customers. She holds a Ph.D. in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon.

Active vs Passive: Lessons Learned From EV Managed Charging Program

Nick Bengtson, EnergyHub Moderator Nick Bengtson
Sales Executive
EnergyHub

Nick leads EnergyHub’s utility engagement and sales efforts in New England, California, and Texas, drawing on fifteen years of experience in the utility DSM and load flexibility space. Prior to joining EnergyHub Nick worked for a number of program implementers, where he focused on demand response product development and program delivery, spanning residential, multifamily, and commercial & industrial sectors. Nick is a co-chair of the PLMA Electric Transportation Interest Group and holds a BS in Environmental Policy from the University of Minnesota. 

Julie Cain, CPS Energy Julie Cain
Residential Program Manager
CPS Energy

Julie has been the Residential Program Manager for CPS Energy since 2017. She serves as a vital part of a collaborative team responsible for the achievement of CPS Energy’s aggressive DSM goals. Julie handles the day-to-day operations for residential Demand Response programs including multiple thermostat programs and Behavioral Demand Response totaling close to 500,000 customers. She also assists with the continuing expansion of new residential programs from ideation, launch, and ultimately program management.   


Track D - Water Heating

EcoPortTM is Live! The Grid-Connected Water Heater

Rolf Bienert, OpenADR Alliance Rolf Bienert
Managing and Technical Director
OpenADR Alliance

Rolf Bienert is Technical & Managing Director at the OpenADR Alliance, where he is responsible for crafting and managing the strategy, direction and activities of the Alliance. Rolf was involved in many international standardization efforts for Telecom and Grid technologies. He has been an active member of the NIST SGIP, USNAP Alliance, ZigBee Alliance, and other organizations driving the development of new technologies with a specific focus on certification and interoperability.

Brian Lusher, Duke Energy Brian Lusher
Residential Demand Response Manager
Duke Energy

Brian Lusher serves as the Manager of Duke Energy’s Residential Demand Response team in the Integrated Grid Strategy and Solutions organization. He is responsible for developing, marketing and operating products that serve both our customers and the grid by providing load reductions when we they are most needed. The current portfolio of products includes smart thermostats, controllable water heaters, pool pumps and HVAC systems. By saving on system costs for all customers the team also drives earnings for the company. Additionally, this team works closely with the Energy Control Center on when to call for Critical Peak days and Behavioral Demand Response events that encourage customers to conserve energy and reduce usage during peak times.

Understanding the Potential of Residential Water Heaters as Energy Storage for Grid Flexibility

Benjamin Futrell, UNC Charlotte Benjamin Futrell
Research Engineer
UNC Charlotte

Benjamin Futrell is a Research Engineer at UNC Charlotte in EPIC. His research interests include building energy modeling and improved energy utilization in commercial buildings and industrial facilities. He works closely with many industry partners, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Ingersoll Rand, Duke Energy and Atrium Health. He serves as Operations Director of the Department of Energy Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) and the National Science Foundation Industry / University Cooperative Research Center for Sustainably Integrated Buildings and Sites (SIBS).


Track E - Thermostat Programs

Test, Learn, Iterate: A Story of DR Pre-Enrollment and Mass Save

Jonathan Coons, EFI Moderator
Jonathan Coons
Vice of Marketing and Product
EFI

Jonathan brings over 19 years of eCommerce, digital, traditional, and demand response marketing experience to EFI. His leadership, innovative thinking, and customer-focused mindset are already driving success across EFI client marketplaces, client marketing outreach, and tactics as well as EFI branding, and product expansion. Jonathan's experiences span a wide variety of digital outlets including, running eCommerce account teams, managing and implementing an eCommerce instance for an industry-leading medical supply firm, and leading sales and marketing for a digital start-up. While owning the strategic and innovative vision for EFI's digital tools and programs, Jonathan also leads and manages EFI's growing marketing team.

Vince Faherty, Google Nest Vince Faherty
Head of Energy Marketplace Partnerships
Google Nest

Vince Faherty is the Head of Energy Marketplace & Implementation Partnerships at Google. As part of the Industry Partnerships team of Google’s Devices & Services Business Organization, Vince is responsible for developing and executing strategic partnerships with electric and gas utilities, e-commerce platforms, and energy implementation service providers that leverage Google hardware and services. Vince joined Google in 2017 via Nest, where he led utility partnerships in the Eastern US from Google’s office in Cambridge, MA. Prior to joining Google, Vince spent 15 years working at the intersection of clean energy, technology, and financial services. Vince spent 7 of those years with EnerNOC (now Enel X), in a mix of sales, marketing, and market development roles, during which he built new demand response and energy efficiency resources with utilities and grid operators in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Vince holds a BA from Princeton University and an MBA from London Business School. 

Michael Haber, EnergyHub Michael Haber
Program Marketing Director
EnergyHub

As Director of Program Marketing, Michael drives EnergyHub’s customer enrollment strategy, from identifying target audiences and testing new channels to optimizing creative and improving the user experience. He always has at least one eye on the data, whether it's enrollment trending, web interaction data, or campaign metrics, and uses it improve program outcomes.

David Roman Ubeda, National Grid David Roman Ubeda
Senior Program Manager
National Grid

David Roman Ubeda is the National Grid Residential Demand Response Program Manager in Massachusetts. He has held energy efficiency senior roles in utilities, both in Spain and the USA. He also has worked as an independent consultant for various Spanish and USA organizations, both corporate and NGO’s. He has deep knowledge of areas such as energy efficiency, load control, and solar photovoltaic and electric vehicle programs. In his spare time, he loves cooking, being with family and friends and his new puppy, and exploring the natural beauty of state and national parks. 


Track F - Planning, Inclusion, Innovation

Name of Session

Tyson Brown, Google Tyson Brown
Strategic Partnerships Manager
Google Nest

Tyson's career has been dedicated to breaking things in the energy industry and helping to rebuild them better than before. His 15+ years at Honeywell, Evergy, Uplight, and now Google have given him a wide range of experiences in the energy space. He uses that experience to help Google's energy partners connect the dots for a clean energy future that is accessible to all. 

Eamonn Urey, Salt River Project Eamonn Urey
Senior Product Manager
Salt River Project

Eamonn Urey is a Senior Product Manager at Salt River Project (SRP). Eamonn’s background includes eight years in electric utility program and product management at SRP. Eamonn has spoken at various professional organizations as a guest speaker for AESP, SEPA, ESource, and PLMA. He currently manages Demand Response programs (totaling 150 MW of dispatchable load) for residential smart thermostats (BYOT), Business Demand Response programs, a Multifamily Demand Response program via smart thermostats (MF BYOT), the country’s first small business Demand Response via smart thermostats (SMB BYOT) and is expanding SRP’s EV managed charging programs. Previously, he worked for Apple, managing interconnection programs. Eamonn is currently enrolled in the Harvard Extension School’s Sustainability Master’s degree program. Eamonn is a disabled combat veteran with over 20-years of service in the United States Army Reserve, specializing in Counterintelligence operations and targeting operations with various combat deployments. He has recently been selected for promotion to Command Sergeant Major, the highest enlisted non-commissioned officer rank in the United States Army. 


Closing Session

Grid Resilience and Demand Flexibility in the Wake of Extreme Weather Events

Beth Reid, Olivine Beth Reid
CEO
Olivine

Beth Reid is the Founder and CEO at Olivine, Inc., and has previously held senior management positions at multinational corporations focusing on the development of emerging technologies and capabilities to support grid resiliency. Beth has most recently been focusing on the adaptation to climate change and the development and execution of flexible resources and emergency programs such as the Power Saver Rewards Program and the Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP) which Olivine is the implementer and administrator on behalf of the California IOUs. Furthermore, she has overseen the evolution of Olivine’s own proprietary solution known as ClimateResponse®, which engages end-users by delivering real-time information when energy prices and local GHG emissions are high, or when the energy grid is stressed, and educates them on what actions to take to save energy while offering incentives for program participation. Olivine is proud of collaborations with utilities to tackle complex problems and under Beth’s leadership was awarded the Program Pacesetter Award by PLMA in 2022 for such collaborations with PG&E. 

Aimee Gotway, National Grid Aimee Gotway Bailey, PhD.
Director, Innovation
National Grid

Aimee Bailey is the Director of Innovation at National Grid Partners. She has over 12 years of energy sector experience with a focus on cleantech commercialization and the energy transition. Prior to NGP, she has held positions at Silicon Valley Clean Energy, EDF, PG&E and the US Department of Energy, cumulatively overseeing $30M+ in investments in innovative pilots and programs spanning clean power supply, building electrification, transportation electrification, and grid integration. Aimee has a BSE in materials science from the University of Pennsylvania, a PhD in physics from Imperial College in London, and an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.

Denise Munoz, ComEd Denise Munoz
Director, Strategic Planning and Innovation, Customer Solutions
Commonwealth Edison

As part of ComEd’s Customer Solutions team, Denise is the Director for Strategic Planning and Innovation. This team designs and manages strategies across the full portfolio of ComEd’s Energy Efficiency Portfolio and Demand Side Management solutions for customers to support the overall ComEd Strategy, policy and regulatory commitments. Her team also has responsibility for the innovation and new products function ensuring the development of new products and services that directly support the achievement of portfolio targets as a result of the Future Energy Job Act. Since joining ComEd in 1992, Denise has held a variety of roles in Energy Efficiency, Distribution Operations, Project Management, Regulatory, and Marketing. Denise graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Science degree in the field of Chemical Engineering. Denise is currently on the board of directors for the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, the Consortium for Energy Efficiency, and on the advisory committee for the University of Iowa’s Honors Program.

Erica Keating, SCE Erica Keating
Principal Manager, Customer Demand and Generation
Southern California Edison

Erica Keating is the Principal Manager of Customer Demand and Generation Programs at Southern California Edison.  In her current role, she leads a dynamic team to deliver roughly 1000 MW of carbon free demand response and 285 MW of distributed generation to the California electric grid.  Erica and team are lead for all matters involving grid emergency response as it relates to emergency demand response operations, and they are the owners of all matters pertaining to behind-the-meter energy and capacity.  Most recently, Erica has overseen various initiatives within SCE’s Demand Side Management organization including portfolio planning and strategy, compliance, public partnerships and demand response programs for large customers.  Prior to her time in Customer Service, Erica worked within SCE’s Energy Procurement & Management group where she was responsible for running wholesale power procurement solicitations, negotiating power purchase agreements and managing SCE’s Resource Adequacy procurement activities.  Erica also spent the first 10 years of her career working in local government.  For her full bio you can look her up on LinkedIn.   

John Moura, NERC John Moura
Director, Reliability Assessment and Performance Analysis
North American Reliability Corporation 

John Moura is the Director of Reliability Assessment and Performance Analysis at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), where he has been working since 2008. In this role, John leads NERC's efforts to assess and report on the reliability, adequacy, and associated risks of the North American bulk power system. He is responsible for developing NERC's annual long-term and seasonal reliability assessments, as well as evaluating system performance, resilience, event analysis and system forensics, critical infrastructure interdependencies, and emerging issues facing the North American Bulk Power System. John has extensive experience in cultivating relationships with North America's leading experts on Bulk Power System reliability and has served as a thought leader and advisor to key policy makers at the federal, state, and provincial levels. He coordinates the efforts of NERC's Reliability and Security Technical Committee and other stakeholder groups, bringing together the power industry's expertise on electric system operations, resource and transmission planning, and cyber and physical security. Throughout his career, John has been dedicated to improving and safeguarding the grid and has been instrumental in advocating on behalf of NERC, the ERO, and its stakeholders. He has co-authored numerous NERC special reports and technical publications and is recognized as an expert in the field of electric reliability. John graduated from Rutgers University. In his free time, he enjoys traveling and spending time with his two boys, Carter and Carson. 


Welcome to Charlotte for the 48th Conference!

Stacy Phillips, Duke Energy Stacy Phillips
Director, Demand Response
Duke Energy

Stacy Phillips leads Demand Response at Duke Energy. She has also held roles in Energy Efficiency strategy and leading renewable customer programs in her 12 years at Duke. Prior to joining the utility, Stacy worked in marketing and operations in banking, frozen food and advertising agencies. Stacy resides in Charlotte.