Mark Gentry has over 30 years of experience helping customers meet their business and strategy goals. Some of his roles has been and Account Executive at a large utility company working with their commercial and industrial customers. For over 10 years, he worked as a consultant to commercial and industrial companies helping to identify electric technologies to help lower their overall cost to produce products or better serve their customers. Mark identified bottlenecks within industrial processes where electric technologies either lower production costs, increase line speed, or increased the quality of their product. For Commercial companies, Mark help identify ways to increase comfort, improve lighting or identify electric cooking technologies for Property Management companies, Educational facilities, Hotels. Etc.

Now, at Franklin Energy, Mark is an expert in getting to the heart of the client’s business needs and then drawing on Franklin Energy’s expertise and services to address concerns and present solutions that drive success. 

As Director of Strategic Growth working in the utility sector, Mark fills a key role in providing strategic solutions that help achieve clients’ goals and ensure that they receive the full benefit of all that Franklin Energy has to offer. He provides strategic guidance to clients as they strive to meet their needs to help position themselves for the future. 

Luke Surowiec has over 15 years of experience designing, marketing, and implementing large scale decarbonization and sustainability programs. Throughout his career Luke has personally worked with tens of thousands of large building stakeholders and now helps government and utility clients implement next generation decarbonization and electrification initiatives. Most recently, Luke led the design and implementation of the NYC Accelerator which supports thousands of large buildings a year with decarbonization and compliance with Local Law 97, the most ambitious building performance standard poised to bring over 50,000 large NYC buildings to carbon neutrality. Luke holds a BA and an MBA from Stony Brook University of New York. He is a LEED AP, a BPI certified professional, and has sat on the board of AESP Mid-Atlantic Chapter since 2015. 

Brittainy Pond serves as Product Development Manager at Puget Sound Energy, where she leads the development and implementation of PSE’s commercial and industrial load flexibility programs. Under her leadership, PSE has successfully launched its first system-wide C&I Demand Response offerings, achieving approximately 20 MW of C&I DR capacity in just the first year. She currently heads PSE’s DER and Load Management strategy development while providing crucial support for the company’s Virtual Power Plant initiatives through vendor management and technical requirements development.

With a decade of experience in Northwest utilities, Brittainy has established herself as a leader in innovative customer programs. She has played a key role in growing PSE’s DR team from two to five members and regularly collaborates with other utilities to share best practices and program insights. Her expertise in commercial customer operations and load management systems has made her a valuable industry voice, including presenting at past PLMA and Smart Buildings Exchange conferences.

Brittainy’s commitment to cleaner energy solutions is supported by her academic background, holding dual bachelor’s degrees in Environmental Analysis and Policy and International Relations, as well as a master’s degree in Energy and Environmental Analysis from Boston University. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family exploring the multitude of mountains and waterways throughout the Pacific Northwest.  

Long is an expert in the development and implementation of decarbonization strategies and in the design and analysis of clean energy policy. His work for large companies and governments with net-zero commitments and for regulated utilities, market operators, and regulators focuses on several areas, including emissions reduction strategies and implementation program development for entities pursuing large-scale decarbonization, granular accounting of Scope 2 emissions and clean energy procurement, and the design and evaluation of smart rates, distributed energy resources, and load flexibility programs.

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Mark Bremer develops virtual power plant programs at National Grid. His work engages customer-owned distributed energy resources across NY and MA to provide targeted distribution grid services, enabling our clean energy future. Mark’s prior role as an energy efficiency Product Owner included co-chairing the New York State Clean Heat Joint Management Committee. Mark was formerly a sciences lecturer and campus sustainability leader at SUNY Polytechnic Institute where he spearheaded the Green Building Experiential Learning Collaborative, which utilized student-led certification projects of new and existing campus buildings as learning tools for individual credential development. Mark earned his Master of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from Syracuse University and his Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Colorado College. He is a LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design & Construction.

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Ari’s expertise includes demand response and virtual power plant program evaluation, load forecasting, and energy system decarbonization analysis. Ari has a master’s in environmental and resource economics from Michigan State University and six years of experience in energy utility consulting. Prior to joining Guidehouse he led evaluation and planning research for demand management programs as an associate consultant at Cadmus. Between data wrangling sessions you can find him on birding trails around Detroit MI searching for his next “lifer.”

Leigh Winterbottom is an ICF Director of Strategic Marketing & Communications and since July 2018, has been the ICF Project Manager for the Con Edison Innovative Pricing Pilot. Through her career at ICF as well as VEIC, C3 Energy and JACO Environmental, she has worked with some of the largest utilities in the Northeast, including NYSEG/RGE, New Jersey Clean Energy Program, National Grid, and Eversource, as well as Baltimore Gas & Electric. 

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.  

Brenda Hunt currently manages Load Flexibility market transformation for the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. In this position, she is developing a portfolio of technologies and programs focused on interventions that remove market barriers to deliver a broad array of quantifiable grid benefits to utilities. Prior to NEEA, Brenda managed a team delivering Portland General Electric’s demand response portfolio, rapidly scaling programs through enhanced customer engagement and applying continuous improvement to increase program performance. Her former career experience is deeply rooted in energy efficiency program design, strategy development, and program management. She is passionate about combining the benefits of energy efficiency, permanent peak load reduction, and load flexibility to contribute to a reliable, resilient, and affordable energy future for all. 

Colleen Hepner leads the Customer Insights team at ComEd, where she applies expertise in both qualitative and quantitative research to uncover what customers think, feel, and need. She is passionate about translating consumer insights into actionable strategies that drive business decisions across the organization. Since joining ComEd in 2016, Colleen has championed a customer-centric approach, informed by years of experience in B2C and B2B research leadership roles at top research firms. 

Tom Roberts is an energy expert focused on demand side load shaping activities and works in the Innovation Labs at IGS Energy. Prior energy industry experiences include a startup he founded and sold in the energy monitoring space, and a Senior Operations position with a submetering and billing company.  Tom is a naturally curious individual that focuses on the possibilities of situations and thrives on designing solutions to complex problems. His engineering background instills a methodical and systematic approach to problem solving activities, while passions for customer service and branding guide his interactions.

Tom is a Certified Energy Manager and received a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from The Ohio State University. 

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Beth Glynn, PE, is a Senior Program Manager at Cascade Energy with over 17 years of experience in advancing energy efficiency and load management programs. She leads mission-critical industrial and agricultural utility initiatives that help customers scale energy efficiency and load flexibility.  With extensive experience in program design, technical analysis, and customer engagement, Beth has helped hundreds of industrial facilities implement energy improvements, including projects for Darigold, Kroger, and Sysco. She was a contributor to Energy Trust of Oregon’s Energy Intensity Modeling Guidelines and has been a licensed professional engineer in Oregon since 2014.  Currently she manages Cascade Energy’s delivery of Portland General Electric’s Energy Partner on Demand and Energy Smart Thermostat programs, helping customers participate in grid-responsive demand flexibility initiatives. Beth holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Oregon State University. She lives and works in Portland, OR.  

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Kevin is a manager with RMI, where he leads Virtual Power Plant Partnership (VP3). VP3 is a coalition of nonprofit and industry voices changing the necessary policies, regulations, and market rules to unlock and scale VPPs. Kevin has been with RMI for nine years. During that time, he has worked across RMI’s electricity related work, including consulting, research, and convening with utilities, communities and advocates across the United States. Kevin has been involved in multiple RMI internal start-ups including Business Renewables Center (now CEBA) and Shine. Kevin lives with his partner, children, and dog in Carbondale, CO. 

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Bradley Harris is responsible for regulatory affairs on the east coast for WeaveGrid. WeaveGrid works with utilities, automakers, and other parties to solve several EV-grid integration challenges and help integrate renewable energy into the electric system. Previously, Bradley served as the director of government affairs at Resources for the Future, an energy and environmental think-tank. He has also worked on the pricing and customer solutions team at Duke Energy. In that role, he led several of the company’s efforts related to rate design, electric vehicles, rooftop solar, energy efficiency, and energy affordability. Bradley is a 2019 graduate of the UN Kenan-Flagler MBA Program with a concentration in corporate finance and an enrichment in energy. He also has a master’s in public policy from Duke University and a BA in economics from Tufts University. Bradley also is. graduate of the Clean Energy Leadership Institute.

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Dain Nestel is a customer-centric executive with over 20 years of international experience in the Energy, Consumer Products, and Telecommunications industries. With a strong background in demand-side management (DSM), Dain has designed and implemented energy efficiency and flexible load portfolios for utilities since 2008. 

In his most recent role as Portland General Electric’s (PGE) Head of Growth and Commercialization, he led business customer sales, drove program development and portfolio implementation, and advanced key initiatives in transportation electrification, integrated resource planning (IRP), and virtual power plant (VPP) strategies. A recognized thought leader, Dain has presented and participated on panels addressing DSM, best practices in program design, load management, and strategies for serving large load requests from the semiconductor and data center sectors. 

He brings a proven track record in strategy, sales, marketing, and general management, supported by extensive P&L and financial management expertise. 

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Stacy Noblet, ICF’s Vice President of Transportation Electrification, has more than 20 years of experience helping utilities and governments plan, design, and implement clean transportation strategies and programs. She supports efforts to increase EV adoption through informed infrastructure and policy development. Stacy leads utility EV charging and load management program design and execution, EV readiness planning and strategy, and stakeholder engagement. Stacy earned a master’s degree in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Johns Hopkins University and bachelor’s degrees from Western Michigan University. 

Katie Parkinson, Principal at Pipes and Wires Consulting, brings 18 years of utility evaluations, project management, and EV load shifting. Katie helps utilities navigate the DSM landscape through implementation support, program design, evaluation management, staff training, and policy application. In the EV landscape, Katie applies behavioral science to create compelling program designs and incentive structures that both encourage EV adoption and educate customers on their new impact on the grid. Previously, she worked as a Senior Associate at Apex Analytics and as the VP of Utility Services at Rolling Energy Resources. 

Kessie Avseikova is a Vice President at E Source, leading a team of data scientists and statisticians in developing cutting-edge research and evaluation solutions for utility clients across the country to deliver accurate, insightful, and timely impact results.

Kessie routinely works with clients on the evaluations of energy efficiency, demand-response (DR), behavioral, and integrated programs and brings a comprehensive understanding of the program designs, implementation challenges, including challenges with participation persistence, attrition, and design fidelity.

Her work extends beyond delivering rigorous and accurate impact results; she also advises clients on most effective program design components and strives to deliver actionable insights through data mining and customer research.

Kessie is a co-chair of PLMA’s Electric Transportation Interest Group. She holds a Bachelor’s from Minsk State Linguistic University and a Master’s degree in Market Research from Boston University. 

Meghan Jennings is a DER Administrator at Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC), where she leads the development and management of member-facing energy programs, including demand response, distributed energy resources, and net metering initiatives. In her role, Meghan works at the intersection of utility operations, policy, and emerging energy technologies to design programs that support grid reliability while delivering value to cooperative members. 

Devi Mohan is a Section Manager of E-Mobility at Con Edison Company of New York, Inc., where she leads the Commercial Managed Charging and SmartCharge Technology programs. With over 15 years at Con Edison, Devi oversees the nation’s first large-scale EV commercial managed charging initiative, advancing grid-beneficial charging through incentives, load management, and smart energy technologies. Devi brings deep expertise in EV programs, distribution engineering, and energy markets.

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. 

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Kitty Wang is a Technical Director at Energy Solutions on the Distributed Energy Resources team focusing on flexible load management, demand response, and integrated demand-side management programs. She has been with Energy Solutions for 15 years and currently leads implementation of PG&E’s automated demand response (ADR) Program, which incentivizes controls and communication equipment for non-residential customers to automate load curtailment. Prior to Energy Solutions, Kitty was a principal at Rocky Mountain Institute, where she led projects in automated demand response, utility resource planning, and DSM potential studies. She is based near Boulder, Colorado. 

Wendy Brummer develops and supports DR programs at Pacific Gas and Electric Company in San Francisco. Since 2008, she has focused on residential DR programs including AC cycling, behavioral, DER technologies and critical peak pricing along with non-residential AutoDR incentives. 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 also loves gardening and small dogs.

With more than 20 years of experience in the utility industry, Chetna Smith leads Southern California Edison’s Demand Response organization, overseeing planning, operations, systems, pilots, and program delivery. In this role, Chetna provides strategic direction for the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of both residential and non residential demand response programs. A recognized thought leader, Chetna contributes to statewide demand response policy efforts and plays a key role in supporting California’s clean energy goals. Known for a customer centric approach, Chetna has championed improvements that enhance the customer experience while driving meaningful growth across SCE’s Demand Response portfolio—particularly during recent years of heightened grid reliability challenges. 

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Responsible for the planning, initiating, executing, monitoring and reporting for high impact cross functional matrix projects. Brian has over 25 years experience in project management including leading teams for Special Projects & Utility of the Future “U2.0” PMO, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Intelligence, Energy Efficiency & Renewables, Finance as well as land use planning, forestry, and wildland fire management. He holds an Executive MBA from Hofstra University, a Bachelor of Science from Emory University and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Brian has been interviewed in energy industry publications and his projects have been recognized with awards from EnergyStar, E-Source, Chartwell, Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative, and Customer Service (CS) Week. 

Coming soon.

Eva Molnar is a Senior Manager in Customer Solutions at Southern California Edison. She leads the planning and execution of new rates for SCE’s 5 million customers and is responsible for launching and maintaining customer energy management tools. Eva has been with Edison for 19 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.

Christian Woods has 10+ years of utility and project management experience and is PMP certified. He has a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry from the University of Delaware, and an MBA with a major in finance and a certificate in international business from Iona College. Between his previous career as a Senior Scientist in the pharmaceutical industry, six years with Consolidated Edison, and his current work with Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., Christian has experience in QA/QC, Supply Chain, Emergency Management, and Battery Storage. He manages his company’s Virtual Power Plant demonstration project and will be the lead project manager on a Long Duration Energy Storage project that is anticipated to be in service 2027.

Christian Woods has 10+ years of utility and project management experience and is PMP certified. He has a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry from the University of Delaware, and an MBA with a major in finance and a certificate in international business from Iona College. Between his previous career as a Senior Scientist in the pharmaceutical industry, six years with Consolidated Edison, and his current work with Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., Christian has experience in QA/QC, Supply Chain, Emergency Management, and Battery Storage. He manages his company’s Virtual Power Plant demonstration project and will be the lead project manager on a Long Duration Energy Storage project that is anticipated to be in service 2027.

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Derek Kirchner is an expert to utilities in Distributed Energy Resources, Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems, and Retail and Wholesale energy markets. Mr. Kirchner spent over 22 years working within regulated utilities in Michigan managing multiple utility programs, products, and services in Demand Side Management in support of utility generation planning and clean energy goals. He has spent the last 4 years in a consulting role at TRC Companies supporting utility clients in the advancement of DERs and DERMS. He provides real world insights into implementation challenges while addressing concerns on regulation and utility cost recovery. He is a PLMA board member and has presented findings and opinions at national conferences and state utility commissions in advancement of Demand Side Management throughout the country. Mr. Kirchner is a Certified Energy Manager and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Detroit-Mercy. 

Ross Tomlin has coordinated Austin Energy’s residential demand response programs (thermostats and EVs) since 2020.

Orly received her Bachelor degree in Computer Science from Northridge State University.

More recently he has worked with utilities to design processes to accurately model, properly value, and efficiently support the integration of renewable generation and controllable devices into the distribution grid.

Dr. Coe has broad international experience with major projects delivered in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. Through his consulting company, GridOptimize, he focuses on standardizing approaches to improve utility metrics across three metrics: Reliability, Efficiency, and – most importantly – Sustainability.

A long-time PLMA member practitioner, Dr. Coe also serves as a co-chair of PLMA’s Global Load Management Interest Group. 

David Pudleiner has over 8-years of experience working in the field of building energy analysis. Since joining ICF in 2014, Mr. Pudleiner has served as the technical lead for a variety of studies including non-wires alternatives, energy efficiency potential analyses, building-specific and policy level energy simulations, and creation of customer tools. 

During this time, he has worked to develop improved analysis methods for informing program design and measure selection, as well as improving the utilization of sensitivity and uncertainty analysis within the design of energy efficiency program and potential estimations. 

He holds a B.S. from Virginia Tech and M.S. from Georgia Tech, both in Mechanical Engineering. 

Julie Michals directs and coordinates the National Energy Screening Project (NESP) at NASEO, focusing on developing economic guidance to assess cost-effectiveness of energy resource investments using the National Standard Practice Manual (NSPM). She provides technical assistance to state agencies on application of the guidance, along with other NESP resources, and oversees NESP’s training and certification program. Prior to joining E4TheFuture, Julie spent over a decade at Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) directing the Regional Evaluation, Measurement and Verification (EM&V) Forum, an 11-state project steered by regulatory commissioners and state energy office officials with the mission to create consistent EM&V protocols for energy efficiency programs in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Julie came to NEEP after fours year at the MA energy office facilitating stakeholder input and negotiations on utility EE plan filings. Julie holds a B.A. in Business Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and an M.A. in Energy and Environmental Analysis from Boston University. 

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Boaz Ur leads business development and market development activities at Nostromo Energy. He previously served on the board of California’s Energy and Demand Management Council (CEDMC). In the past Boaz managed PG&E’s demand response program portfolio serving commercial and residential customers, including aggregator and third-party channels. He holds a dual B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Tel Aviv University and an MBA from UC Berkeley. 

Pat Hermann is the Portfolio Segment Manager for Demand Response and Residential Energy Efficiency at Seattle City Light. In this role, he leads the utility’s teams that design and implement said programs. A champion for grid innovation, Pat recently led cross-functional efforts to rapidly scale enrolled DR capacity in under a year. He is a 2025 Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI) Fellow, holds an MBA, and brings diverse past experience across the climate tech and energy sectors. Outside of scaling grid assets, Pat is an avid endurance athlete based in the Pacific Northwest. 

Sarah Chatterjee is the Founder and Principal of Tala Energy Advisory, where she works at the intersection of distributed energy resources, electrification, and grid transformation. With nearly two decades of experience in the energy and electric utility sector, she advises utilities, developers, and technology providers on how to design, integrate, and scale distributed energy solutions that deliver both customer and grid value. Her work spans demand response, virtual power plants, transportation and building electrification, battery energy storage, and distributed generation, with a focus on how these resources can be coordinated to provide reliable, flexible grid services. Sarah is particularly focused on the evolving role of customers in the energy system and the infrastructure, software, and market structures required to support a more dynamic and decentralized grid. Prior to founding Tala Energy Advisory, Sarah worked in engineering consulting and held roles within electric utilities where she led the design and implementation of customer programs and grid-integrated technologies. Sarah is a recognized voice in distributed energy strategy, known for translating complex system challenges into practical, actionable approaches that support scalable and resilient energy systems. 

Robin Maslowski is a director and leads the clean Energy programs modeling team within Guidehouse’s Energy, Sustainability, and Infrastructure segment. Robin provides expertise in distributed energy resources (DER) and non-wires solutions (NWS) project management, cost-benefit assessment, potential studies, strategic planning, and modeling analytics. Recent project work includes determining market potential and forecasting for DER, developing cost-effectiveness frameworks for electric vehicles (EV) and demand response (DR), identifying implementation strategies and providing procurement support for DR resources, and identifying key areas of opportunity for market growth, such as utility intervention strategies for supporting the adoption of EVs.
Prior to joiningGuidehouse, Robin worked for Synapse Energy Economics in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Robin recently founded Trillium Energy Consulting.

Jeff Conrad came to Wabash Valley Power Alliance in 1999 and has served in various leadership roles, including Chief Operating Officer, before being named President & Chief Executive Officer in 2022.

As CEO, Jeff is responsible for leading the organization and keeping the board informed related to all functions of the company including operations, legislation, regulations, future planning and provides recommendations to the board on policy matters. He is a member of the Wabash Valley Enterprise-Risk Management Committee and serves on the ACES Power Marketing and National Renewable Cooperative Organization Board of Directors.

In his previous roles as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Jeff pursued the company’s first credit rating, which increased the company’s credit limit with its business partners. He also expanded the company’s lender base allowing WVPA to raise the capital necessary to fund asset growth and led a power supply contract renewal with our cooperative members.

Jeff came to Wabash Valley Power from Cinergy’s Energy Commodity Business Unit and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting in 1990 and a Master of Business Administration in 1995, both from the University of Indianapolis. An avid athlete, Jeff was a college tennis player and has completed many marathons, including the Boston Marathon.

As Senior Director of Grid Strategy at the Smart Electric Power Alliance, Lakin manages a research portfolio focused on making the distribution grid flexible and resilient to better serve all customers affordably. Lakin specializes in load flexibility and utility resource planning, working closely with SEPA’s membership to identify key strategies and tactics for the cost-effective deployment of resources. He also provides oversight for several key SEPA Growth initiatives, including the Database of Large Load Tariffs (DELTa), and regularly engages with SEPA member groups, including utility commissioners and staff.

Neil Veilleux is the Vice President of Corporate and Market Development at Uplight, where he leads the company’s regulatory strategy, market expansion, and corporate development initiatives. With over 20 years of experience in the energy sector, Neil specializes in scaling distributed energy resource (DER) solutions and navigating the complex regulatory landscapes required to unlock grid flexibility. Before joining Uplight, he served as VP of Energy Services at The Cadmus Group, leading their DER practice. A former Fulbright scholar and Rappaport Public Policy Fellow, Neil is dedicated to building the strategic partnerships and market structures necessary to accelerate an affordable, reliable, and flexible grid. 

Coming soon.

Jim Conrad is Senior Director of T&D Smart Grid and Automation at PPL Corporation, where he leads engineering and operational support teams across Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Rhode Island. He oversees PPL’s Distribution System Operator initiative and Distributed Energy Resource Management program, focused on integrating automation, analytics, and DERs into real‑time grid operations. Jim also serves as Business Lead for the IT Grid Value Stream, guiding delivery of platforms such as ADMS, AEMS, and grid analytics. He joined PPL in 2014 after eight years in the Intelligence Community. 

Jay oversees the Virtual Power Plant Expansion and Development at APS. He has been part of APS for nine years, contributing to Technology Assessment and Advanced Grid Technology. Prior to his tenure at APS, Jay owned an electrical contracting and solar PV business and helped launch two start-ups in Phoenix.

Coming Soon.

As the President and CEO of the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC), Nathan Shannon leads the organization’s research, membership and policy initiatives. He started as SECC’s Deputy Director in early 2015, and in this role, he grew membership to over 150 organizations (a 40-percent increase). Along with his work on the Research and Policy Committees, Nathan leads member recruitment and engagement and routinely presents SECC’s research at industry conferences and policy workshops across the U.S. and Canada. He previously served as Director of Operations and Major Gifts Officer at Athens Land Trust where he had a focus on policy and sustainability through his work with land conservation and carbon credits. He also gained extensive knowledge in the realm of nonprofit development and capacity building. Nathan has a bachelor’s in economics from the University of Georgia and a background in financial management.

Mayson directs Cobb EMC’s program management office and is responsible for establishing and managing project approval and delivery processes across the company. This includes planning and delivering solutions that align with overall corporate strategies and coordinate resource availability across projects and divisions. Mayson currently manages Cobb’s “Sustainability Working Group”, established by Cobb Leadership to develop, coordinate and implement Cobb’s enterprise strategies to prepare for the expected growth of sustainable technologies in the coming years and decades. Prio to joining Cobb, Mayson worked for EY in their utility consulting practice. Mayson holds a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Georgia State University.

Arnold Santayana is a founding leader of Customer Experience at CPS Energy, currently serving as its Interim Director. He helps teams use customer research, data analytics, and innovation to improve customer outcomes and strengthen trust.

Sarah’s favorite quote is, “they may not remember your name, but they will remember how you made them feel.”

How does Sarah live up to FreeState’s culture statement? Collaboration, dedication, and doing whatever needs to be done.

Dr. Hillman brings over 25 years of experience in energy and resource management, ranging from national energy policy development to local government greenhouse gas inventory and sustainability management to leveraging customer analytics to drive utility demand-side management program implementation. For the last 15 years, he has focused on the building energy and customer engagement fields, specializing in the use of predictive analytics to help utilities more cost effectively achieve program goals. At ICF, Dr. Hillman has led analytics and customer insights deployments for over two dozen large U.S. utilities and government entities focusing on understanding customer response and engagement trends among tens of millions of customers across dozens of residential and commercial programs in energy efficiency, demand response, utility rate plans and corporate customer engagement. When not chasing data in one form or another, Tim enjoys competing internationally in Xtreme Bocce tournaments (the only game where uneven ground equals a level playing field).

Jingjing Liu is a Program Manager in the Building Technology and Urban Systems Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She is currently managing the CEC funded $16M CalFlexHub program and leading demonstrations of automated dynamic price response technologies. With 17 years of professional experience in utility demand-side management, she is also leading research on grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEB), demand flexibility for grid services, building electrification, EV smart charging, and workforce development. Prior to joining LBNL, she worked at consulting companies DNV GL and Nexant Inc. leading field technology assessments and quality assurance for large energy efficiency projects for utility programs nation-wide. Jingjing is a Professional Engineer registered in California and Certified Data Center Professional (CDCP) among other credentials. She received her MS in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University and her MS and BS from Tsinghua University. 

Heather Evans is the Manager of Business Demand Response for Duke Energy Carolinas and the Midwest, where she leads the strategy and oversight of demand response programs that enhance grid reliability and support flexible load participation in evolving energy markets. She has more than 10 years of experience managing DSM programs specializing in Large C&I Demand Response.

Kevin Knight is the Senior Energy Efficiency Program Manager with BGE. He has worked in several capacities with energy efficiency programs including with teams that design programs that include home performance, smart thermostat technology, home automation, and multifamily configurations. Kevin’s experience with several facets of residential energy efficiency allows him to see critical opportunities for occupants to learn about and interact with their homes to gain convenience increase their energy savvy. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech with both a bachelor’s and a master’s in Sustainable Materials. He is also a Yellow Belt in Six Sigma.

Coming soon.

Energy professional with experience in electricity policy, market innovation, real-time market operations, and trade. At the Independent Electricity System Operator, contributes to initiatives that support efficient electricity markets, grid reliability, and the energy transition, including decarbonization and sustainability efforts across the electricity sector.  

Joined ERCOT as Manager, Market Design in 2022. Prior to joining ERCOT, I spent 10 years in Market Development and Strategy roles at IESO in Toronto, Canada. I began my career at the Ontario Ministry of Energy working in electricity policy and regulatory affairs. Honors BA, Political Science from Western University, MPA from Queen’s University.

Diego Meucci is a Distributed Resources Operations Analyst at the New York ISO (NYISO). He supports the administration of the NYISO’s Special Case Resource (SCR) program and Emergency Demand Response Program (EDRP), as well as the more recent DER & Aggregation participation model. His work spans from operational support for the reliability-based demand response programs to manual updates and software enhancements to help further integrate DER into NYISO-administered markets. Diego received a B.S. in Environmental Studies from Yale University with a concentration in Energy Studies, and is currently pursuing a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Clarkson University.

Kari Gehrke is the Senior Manager, Customer Load Management at Alliant Energy Corporation, responsible for leading energy efficiency, demand response, and electrification programs. With over 19 years at Alliant Energy, Kari has held various roles in DSM product management and regulatory support for DSM and renewable energy projects. Alliant Energy serves approximately 1 million electric and 425,000 natural gas customers in Iowa and Wisconsin.

Eliza is a Product Marketing Manager at Uplight, where she focuses on go-to-market strategy for Uplight’s demand management and flexibility solutions. Prior to joining the Product Marketing team, she worked in product operations, where she was responsible for scaling Virtual Power Plant programs. Based in San Francisco, she enjoys skiing, surfing, and spending time outdoors. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Environmental Science from Colby College.

Kate Peters is an Energy Associate with The Brattle Group based in New York. Kate focuses on strategic planning and regulatory issues related to an increasingly decarbonized electric power system. She has supported utilities, renewable developers, research organizations, and technology companies in matters related to resource planning, capacity expansion modeling, electrification grid-impact studies, and the emerging role of demand flexibility in decarbonized markets. Kate has contributed to high-profile studies assessing the economic viability of distributed energy resources, modeling the grid impacts of electrification, and evaluating the role of demand flexibility as a reliable grid resource. Her recent consulting experience includes estimating the cost-effective potential for grid flexibility in New York, assessing the market opportunity for VPP deployment in California, and modeling electrification scenarios to inform climate policy decisions in Maryland. She additionally has expertise in capacity expansion modeling, using Brattle’s in-house model (gridSIM) to lead utility integrated resource planning studies and economic analyses of generation resources. Her recent focus has been modeling highly decarbonized and electrified markets, to examine the resource adequacy performance of a portfolio of assets (e.g., transmission, renewable technologies, and flexible demand) across a range of weather conditions.

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Jesse DeGrendel is a Senior Growth Manager at CLEAResult, where he focuses on the design, evaluation, and scaling of demand‑side flexibility programs across EVs, water heaters, thermostats, and other connected loads. His work sits at the intersection of program performance, platform capabilities, and utility expectations, with a strong emphasis on operational readiness and real‑world delivery. Jesse works closely with utilities, OEMs, and technology partners to navigate the complexities of multi‑vendor integrations, program evaluations, and evolving regulatory requirements. He is particularly focused on translating technical performance into clear client outcomes and helping organizations move from pilot concepts to scalable, dependable programs.

Candyce Offett is a Program Manager at The AES Corporation, where she leads customer programs focused on energy efficiency and demand response. Based in Indianapolis, Candyce brings a passion for creating meaningful customer experiences while driving measurable impact in energy efficiency initiatives. Since joining AES in 2023, she has worked closely with implementation partners and internal teams to ensure programs not only meet performance goals but also resonate with the communities they serve. Candyce thrives on collaboration, continuous improvement, and finding creative ways to make energy programs more accessible and effective. Candyce is committed to delivering programs that empower customers and support AES’s mission to accelerate the future of energy.

Karen Liu is a Conservation Policy Analyst at Seattle City Light and leads strategic planning on demand response. In this role, Karen is developing a strategy that will identify why the utility should pursue demand response, what opportunities make sense to tap into, and how to operationalize at scale. In addition, Karen researches and makes recommendations on early opportunities to develop new customer demand response programs. Karen’s passion lies at the intersection of energy policy and justice, and she aims to bring an equity-centered approach to her work. Prior to her role at Seattle City Light, Karen was a management consultant that supported energy sector clients across the UK on flexibility, electricity system planning at the distribution and transmission levels, and integration of distributed energy resources (DERs).

Elizabeth is a Principal at Resource Innovations focusing on strategy and planning for DERs, including transportation electrification and flexible load. Elizabeth brings a broad range of experience in the energy sector having worked for international organizations, the private sector, NGOs, and academia. Her expertise and experience are widespread: ranging from commercial solar development in NY to power system market structure evaluation in Panama to national energy security modeling in Tbilisi, Georgia to the development of national strategies for transportation electrification in countries in Latin America while working for United Nations Environment Program. Elizabeth holds a B.S. in Chemistry, a Master’s in Environmental Science, and a graduate degree in Economics from Universidad de la República, Uruguay, as well as a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbia University.

Angela is the Founder & CEO of Rockcress, an Oregon-certified woman-owned, minority-owned small business specializing in clean energy consulting. With nearly 20 years of experience in the energy sector, Angela is a seasoned leader in strategic planning, program development, and implementation for distributed energy resources (DERs), electrification, VPPs, resilience, and grid modernization. Before founding Rockcress, Angela held leadership roles at Portland General Electric (PGE) and PacifiCorp, where she led groundbreaking initiatives in distribution system planning, DER integration, energy equity, and grid resiliency. At PGE, she was instrumental in developing the utility’s first Distribution System Plan and played a pivotal role in crafting the utility’s inaugural Clean Energy Plan (CEP). Her experience includes leading multiple DER potential studies, IRP and CEP development, and near-term and long-term DER strategies including VPPs and non-wires solutions.

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Alex is a Senior Program Manager at ICF with more than 11 years of experience supporting utility demand-side management initiatives. He oversees load management programs across the Mid-Atlantic, leading growth strategy, customer engagement, and the advancement of load flexibility solutions.

Allison Hamilton is the Director, Markets and Rates in the Business and Technology Strategies group at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). NRECA represents roughly 900 rural electric cooperatives in the U.S. Ms. Hamilton serves as the technical expert for NRECA staff and membership with respect to retail and wholesale rate structures and evolving energy services business models.  

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As Software Director at Carrier Energy, Dan leads the strategy, architecture, and delivery of software platforms that power Carrier’s next generation of intelligent energy solutions. With a multi disciplinary background spanning mechanical building design, utility consulting, AI consulting, and large-scale IoT platform delivery, he brings a systems-level perspective to how buildings and the utilities can work together to better manage and optimize energy loads.

Previously a program manager for the SmartAC residential load control switch program and current program manager for the Automated Response Technology (ART) program.

John Hernandez is a recognized leader in the energy and technology sectors, bringing more than 20 years of extensive experience across utility operations, product management, policy development, and clean energy innovation. Throughout his career, John has specialized in creating and implementing customer-focused solutions that leverage demand response, distributed energy resources (DERs), and advanced technologies to enhance grid reliability, affordability, and support the transition to a decarbonized energy future. Currently, John is a Manager at Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). In this capacity, he oversees strategic initiatives aimed at transforming and optimizing demand-side resources for future grid challenges and opportunities. He leads a diverse team in the development of both residential and non-residential load management solutions, ensuring alignment with PG&E’s long-term supply and infrastructure needs utilizing demand-side flexibility. He has also driven the rapid rollout of reliability pilot projects, collaborating closely with state leaders to meet stringent regulatory and operational deadlines. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco and is a published contributor to several Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory studies on automated demand response, renewable energy integration, and grid interoperability.

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Victoria is the EV Program Manager at AES Indiana, responsible for the design and implementation of electric vehicle charging programs, with a focus on operational alignment between customer charging infrastructure and utility load management. Prior to joining AES Indiana, Victoria worked in medium‑ and heavy‑duty fleet electrification, supporting end‑to‑end electrification transitions including financial planning, change management, operational execution, and fleet charging infrastructure development. She brings a program‑level, implementation‑focused perspective on the technical and operational considerations of scaling EV charging load growth, including bidirectional charging as an emerging distributed energy resource (DER).

Nick Fiore is the Clean Transportation Innovation Manager at San Diego Gas & Electric where he leads on pilots and external partnerships with a focus on vehicle grid integration. Prior to SDG&E, Nick most recently held key roles in clean tech and government at EV Match and the British Embassy. With additional experience managing political campaigns, directing nonprofit initiatives, and serving as an adjunct professor, Nick brings a multidisciplinary approach to innovation and policy. 

Matthew Mills has ten years of experience in the utility and energy sector, specializing in program design for vehicle-grid integration and distributed energy resources. Acting as a Business Development Manager at The Mobility House, he collaborates with electric utilities and energy partners across North America to deploy EV charging solutions that support grid flexibility, optimize energy use, and advance decarbonization goals. Prior to joining The Mobility House, Matthew was a Technical Program Manager at Portland General Electric, where he designed and led pilot programs within the Smart Grid Test Bed and collaborated across teams to value the integration of customer-owned DERs into grid operations. His expertise spans interconnection coordination, flexible load management, and the development and exploration of innovative EV use cases. Matthew holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from UC Santa Barbara and an M.S. in Civil Engineering – Energy Infrastructure from the University of Washington. 

Brittany Proctor is a Clean Energy Project Lead in the DER Integration and Management team at Con Edison. She leads pilot projects to support DER interconnection.

Ari Michelson is a Principal Consultant at DNV with over 12 years of experience. He specializes in market research, stakeholder engagement, and program evaluation for energy storage, electric vehicles, grid modernization, building codes, and emerging technologies. Ari is currently leading DNV’s work with Con Edison to leverage AMI, SCADA and supplemental data to improve DER forecasting capabilities. Ari also manages DNV’s support for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s Advancing Commonwealth Energy Storage (ACES) program, providing technical assistance to 18 energy storage systems funded through the program and analyzing system dispatches to quantify revenues across a variety of energy storage use cases.

Desmond Smith is an Analyst working in Con Edison’s Commodity forecasting department. His work is primarily focused on analyzing Solar PV performance and creating solar generation curves for Con Edison’s electric peak forecast. 

Katie Leinenbach is a Senior Quantitative Analyst at Demand Side Analytics. She earned her PhD in Economics from Emory University and specializes in applied statistical methods, including difference-in-differences, to estimate the impacts of energy efficiency on energy prices and evaluate multi-technology demand response programs. She has led and supported projects on demand response evaluation, DRIPE, and avoided energy cost analysis, including assessments of new Southern California Edison initiatives and core evaluation work with the Maryland EmPOWER team.

Since joining Edison in October 2023, Jake has been involved with a number of demand response (DR) programs at SCE, where Jake and team are facilitating in model development and implementation, adhering to the CPUC’s Load Impact Protocols, and ensuring load reductions during peak hours or times of grid stress. Jake also works on various energy efficiency (EE) programs with the EM&V team, such as Pop-NMEC and Home Energy Reports, where principal goals are to reduce energy use and generate TSBs, and just as importantly, verify that reported kWh savings are accurate. Jake received his Ph.D. in Economics from Claremont Graduate University in 2023, where his dissertation re-examined the method in which generation costs are measured, the levelized cost of electricity, and developed a unique, adjusted evaluation metric to estimate power plants’ costs. Furthermore, Jake has over ten years of experience as a university professor, and has taught courses in economics, statistics, business, and forecasting (primarily at University of La Verne). Jake and his wife, Laura, live in Claremont. They love vacationing in Cambria, CA and spoiling D.J. (their black labrador). Jake and Laura got married in Cambria in 2024.

Debyani is an expert in Demand Response (DR)/demand flexibility and DERs and manages and leads DR/flexibility studies conducted by Guidehouse in the areas of potential assessment, portfolio development and program design, strategic planning, procurement of DR/DERs, emerging technology roadmaps, and program evaluation. She has 20 years of experience in the area. Debyani is a trainer for Peak Load Management Alliance’s (PLMA’s) “Flexibility Fundamentals” and “Flexibility Program Design and Implementation” courses for industry practitioners.

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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. 

Josh Logan brings more than 20 years of strategic management experience with the United States Army, complemented by direct, customer-facing experience as a certified Ski and Snowboard Instructor at Vail Resorts’ Breckenridge Ski Resort. After a brief stint in accounting, Josh joined SRP in December 2022. Since then, his responsibilities have expanded to include managing all SRP Demand Response programs, including Business Demand Response, Bring Your Own Thermostat, and Flexible Load Reduction.

Brian Lusher serves as the Manager of Duke Energy’s Residential Demand Response team in the Integrated Grid Strategy and Solutions organization. His team 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. 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. Brian joined Duke Energy in 2017 and has held a series of engineering and project management roles. A native of Virginia, Brian earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech and later went on to complete a Masters in Business Administration at the University of South Carolina. Brian is a registered professional engineer in North Carolina. 

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Tim Larsen is an economist with experience researching price incentives and behavioral programs, as well as larger DR and EE programs across several states. He has expertise in program evaluation using experiments as well as econometric methods. At DSA, Tim has also been heavily involved with data collection, management and analysis for statewide energy studies in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Colorado and taught economics for several years at Colorado, Vanderbilt, and Berry College.

Josh Bode specializes in advanced applications of data analytics using large volumes of hourly and sub-hourly data for evaluation, valuation, planning and forecasting in the energy sector. He has led over 50 studies including some of the first innovations and largest applications of smart meter and SCADA data analytics.

Charles Cochin is a Section Manager at Con Edison, where he leads SmartCharge New York, one of the nation’s largest utility‑run managed EV charging programs, overseeing program strategy and execution. His prior experience comes from high‑growth scale‑ups, where his work focused on building and scaling the operational foundations needed to support new products and market expansion.

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Pat Hermann is the Portfolio Segment Manager for Demand Response and Residential Energy Efficiency at Seattle City Light. In this role, he leads the utility’s teams that design and implement said programs. A champion for grid innovation, Pat recently led cross-functional efforts to rapidly scale enrolled DR capacity in under a year. He is a 2025 Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI) Fellow, holds an MBA, and brings diverse past experience across the climate tech and energy sectors. Outside of scaling grid assets, Pat is an avid endurance athlete based in the Pacific Northwest.