AJ Howard is an experienced professional and leader with over 20 years of experience working on clean energy technologies including solar, energy storage, electric vehicles, energy efficiency and other Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). From his beginnings designing and building hybrid electric cars while getting his degree in mechanical engineering, AJ has worked across many sectors in the clean energy space. AJ has worked on a variety of programs and projects to enable the deployment of Distributed Energy Resources (DER), focusing on valuation and operations for DER technologies. AJ has also provided technical consulting to the U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR program and built and managed a team of engineers for research and evaluation of clean programs across the country.  

Olivia Patterson, Senior Vice President, brings over a decade of experience in executing research related to load flexibility, rates, and emerging technologies. Olivia has served as the Executive-in-Charge for several demand response engagements, including Xcel Energy’s Demand Response Portfolio Continuous Evaluation, Xcel Energy’s Transportation Electrification Portfolio, PSEG Long Island’s Demand Response Portfolio, and Ameren Missouri’s Demand Response Portfolio, among others. Olivia has overseen a variety of demand response portfolio evaluations, including direct load control and rate-based demand evaluations, across residential and commercial sectors for a variety of clients such as PG&E, Southern California Edison, Xcel Energy, and Ameren Missouri. When overseeing these evaluations, she focuses on integrating results from impacts and process evaluation activities to deliver actionable research recommendations. As load flexibility increases its relevance for DSM portfolios, Olivia has contributed to methodologies to assess the integrated nature of these interventions—and addressed some of the methodological challenges that go along with them. Olivia has evaluated a range of rate-based programs, including PG&E’s SmartRateTM Critical Peak Pricing (CPP) Program, Bill Forecast Alert and High Usage Surcharge programs, and Residential Automated Demand Response research. For the SmartRateTM CPP Program, she assessed the interface and overlap of TOU and demand response efforts while estimating load impacts, as well as the implications for customer baselines. Olivia holds key roles with the Peak Load Management Alliance (PLMA), including serving on the Executive Committee and as Co-chair for Connected Devices Interest Group, as well as serving as an evaluation instructor for Demand Response Evolution training. She is a trusted industry expert on demand response, market research, and impact evaluation, providing subject matter expertise across load impact and demand response research efforts. 

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 m000000arket 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 joining Guidehouse, Robin worked for Synapse Energy Economics in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Robin recently founded Trillium Energy Consulting. 

Aditya Sundararajan (Senior Member, IEEE) is an R&D Associate Staff with the Grid Systems Architecture group in the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He received his M.S. in computer engineering in 2014 and Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering in 2019, both from the Florida International University, Miami. His research interests include applied machine learning, privacy-preserving data analytics, and emerging data strategies for microgrids and distribution grid intelligence. He also serves as the PES Vice Chair for IEEE PELS/PES East Tennessee Joint Chapter. 

Bio coming soon.

Dr. Scott Coe has worked in the electricity sector for two decades ago with an initial concentration on the design and implementation of wholesale electricity markets. 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. 

Ryan Hledik is a Principal of The Brattle Group. His consulting practice focuses on regulatory, planning, and strategy matters related to emerging energy technologies and policies. Mr. Hledik’s work on the grid edge has been cited in federal and state regulatory decisions, as well as by Forbes, National Geographic, The New York Times, NPR, and The Washington Post. He has published more than 30 articles on electricity matters, presented at industry events in 11 countries, given lectures on distributed grid economics at Penn, Stanford, and Yale, and served on the advisory boards of a demand flexibility startup and an energy storage trade association. Ryan received his M.S. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University, and his B.S. in Applied Science from the University of Pennsylvania. 

Chris Rauscher, JD, is VP & Head of Grid Services & Electrification at Sunrun. He leads the business unit responsible for originating and operating distributed power plant programs and contracts across the country. He and his team aggregate hundreds of thousands of customers and hundreds of Megawatts to provide peak reduction, capacity, and demand response, among other utility services. Chris joined Sunrun in 2015 and was previously Senior Director of Market Development & Policy, where he led new business policy and regulatory work with a focus on market entry and development of Sunrun’s EV and electrification business as well as storage, virtual power plants, and wholesale markets. Prior to joining Sunrun, Chris was an energy policy advisor in the US Senate where he worked on a diverse issue set, with a particular focus on DERs. Chris has been on various political campaigns and involved in a number of startup businesses. Chris serves on various boards, including the Efficiency Maine Trust, and was the founding board president of the Puerto Rico Solar and Energy Storage Association. 

Kevin Joyce is the global lead for virtual power plants and retail electricity at Tesla Energy. For the last 10 years, Kevin has developed load flexibility and virtual power plant programs leveraging Tesla’s behind-the-meter technology.

Kendrick has been at PG&E for 11 years with a background in electric operations before leading PG&E’s Demand Response programs. He is especially interested in helping California achieve its GHG-free goals by influencing the electric load curve to match the renewable electric supply curve. Kendrick is an attorney and earned a J.D. from the University of San Francisco and two degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. 

Bio coming soon…

Timothy Knief is an Energy Efficiency Consultant at Eversource on the Demand Response and EV charging team. Timothy leads the Commercial and Industrial ConnectedSolutions program across Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire responsible for 150 MW of reduction off the ISO-NE. Timothy also works with residential thermostat, EV/EVSE, and battery demand response programs with a focus on data analytics. Timothy holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering with a business minor from Wentworth Institute of Technology and close to completing a Master of Engineering in Power Systems from Worcester Polytechnical Institute.

Graduated from Texas A&M University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics. Began my career at GVEC immediately after as assistant to the GM and CEO. Focused on administrative task, but also on wholesale power topics related to the decision to extend or terminate the long term contract offering from LCRA. Continued progression and moved to Power Supply Analyst, focusing on GVEC’s short and long-term power procurement strategies. Became Senior Power Supply Analyst, with additional responsibilities including wholesale meter and distributed energy resources. Developed GVEC’s behind the meter DER programs with residential thermostats and batteries from Enphase, Tesla, and Base Power. Became Power Supply Manager in March of 2025, overseeing the day-to-day operations and managing 3 analysts.

Tim Pianta leads Base Power”s utilities business, where he oversees the business development and operations to bring Base”s distributed energy storage technology to regulated markets. Prior to joining Base, Tim was a leader in Bain”s Utilities & Renewables practice, advising the country”s largest investor owned utilities on corporate strategy and grid capital planning. He began his career as an engineer at GE Power. Tim holds a an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech, and a Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia.

Joe Bourg is Vice President of Grid Services Business Development at Olivine, where he drives strategic growth initiatives centered on distributed energy resources (DERs) and grid modernization. With more than 35 years of experience in the electric utility sector, Mr. Bourg has led efforts in utility program design, renewable energy project development, and DER management. At Olivine, Mr. Bourg is instrumental in advancing the company’s Virtual Power Plant (VPP) solutions, leveraging Olivine’s proprietary Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) to integrate and optimize DERs at scale. 

Joel Dickinson is the Senior Manager of Distribution Integration at Salt River Project (SRP) where he leads a team of engineers in advancing grid reliability, affordability, and sustainability. With a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Arizona State University and status as a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Arizona, Joel brings both technical acumen and strategic vision to SRP’s evolving energy projects. Overseeing engineering support for SRP’s distributed energy resource (DER) program and its Distribution Operation Center (DOC), Joel is instrumental in modernizing utility operations. His management role centers on evaluation and deploying advanced grid technologies, constantly challenging and improving the interconnection process for commercial DER, and guiding teams through complex, cross-functional efforts such as microgrids and wildfire mitigation projects. Throughout his career, Joel has championed innovation-from early work on low-head hydro and landfill gas systems to developing solar PV and solar thermal projects for nonprofits in the Phoenix area. His leadership continues to drive progress in leading edge energy solutions for SRP’s distribution network.

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. 

Brittany Blair, Manager of Research and Industry Strategy at Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA), specializes in vehicle-grid integration (VGI) topics, including managed charging, bidirectional charging, equity in transportation electrification, and the intersection of transportation electrification and DERMS. At SEPA, Brittany regularly convenes utilities, vehicle and charger manufacturers, software providers, nonprofits, and others to develop industry resources and reports highlighting VGI trends and best practices. Prior to joining SEPA in 2021, she interned for Newport Consulting on projects pertaining to microgrid business models, net-metering tariff revisions, and transmission & distribution surveys. Brittany holds a MS in Energy Systems Management from the University of San Francisco and a BS/MS in Biotechnology from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Amy leads ChargeScape’s regulatory engagement, collaborating with state agencies and utilities on initiatives to advance vehicle-grid integration in close connection with EV OEMs. She brings over a decade of experience from Eversource Energy, where she designed and implemented demand response and managed charging programs for residential and commercial customers, including the industry-leading ConnectedSolutions VPP program and development of the company’s DERMS strategy. Amy holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Kate Merson leads North American Sales & Client Success at ev.energy, shaping the future of over 30 smart EV charging and virtual power plants. She helps utilities and customers use electricity smarter, cleaner, and more efficiently, turning innovative energy ideas into real-world impact. Before ev.energy, Kate scaled customer energy programs as Vice President of Utilities at Enervee, leveraging online marketplaces to connect consumers with energy-efficient choices. At Resource Innovations, she focused on accelerating adoption of emerging technologies through market transformation, designing programs that encouraged widespread adoption of clean energy solutions. During her ten year tenure at E Source, where she led the Customer Energy Solutions team, she conducted research and engaged with leading utilities across North America, sharing best practices in program design and energy management. Kate holds an MA in International Energy Studies from the University of Denver and a BA in Public Relations & Advertising from Ithaca College. Based in Longmont, Colorado, she continues to champion smarter, greener energy solutions that benefit both utilities and customers.

Charlie Buck currently leads load flexibility and VPP strategy at SMUD. He has over 16 years of experience working on demand-side management programs at local governments, non-profits, software companies and utilities. Prior to joining SMUD, Charlie spent 8 years at Opower leading regulatory affairs and market development in the west. Charlie holds an MBA and MA in International Environmental Policy and a BA in Political Science. He resides in Concord, CA with his wife and 18 month old daughter, and when not preparing PLMA presentations enjoys kitesurfing, cycling and running.

Mark leads the programmatic implementation of the Electric Vehicle (EV) Managed Charging (MC) initiative in Connecticut, which encompasses more than 8,500 EVs and networked smart chargers participating in demand response as well as passive and active managed charging in 2025. He is currently focused on launching the Eversource Managed Charging program in Massachusetts and supports multiple V2X and commercial & industrial (C&I) pilots. Prior to joining Eversource, Mark’s experience included project management for new construction and battery-solar projects, designing one-line diagrams, and ensuring compliance with evolving fire codes for residential battery installations. He holds a BS in Resource Economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts Boston, with a concentration in clean energy and sustainability.

Dr. Brendan Banfield is the co-founder and CEO of Gridsight, a leading grid-analytics company transforming how utilities manage electrification and distributed energy resources. With deep expertise in distribution networks, advanced modeling, and AI, Brendan helps utilities unlock capacity and accelerate grid modernization using grid-edge data. Before founding Gridsight, Brendan worked at Australian utility Evoenergy and completed a PhD in Electrical Engineering at the University of Wollongong. Under his leadership, Gridsight has grown into a market leader in Australia and New Zealand and is now deployed at scale across multiple major utilities internationally. 

Peter Ambiel is a Senior Strategic Business Planner at Sacramento Municipal Utility District leading commercial EV strategy and VGI efforts, including commercial EV charging infrastructure program design, long term EV business strategies, and EV load controls pathways and DERMS integration. He has extensive experience deploying EV charging infrastructure and managing utility infrastructure programs at Tesla and Peninsula Clean Energy.

Zach Pollock is a prominent energy industry expert, currently the Director of Grid Strategy & Emerging Technologies at Xcel Energy, focusing on grid modernization, DER integration, and future energy systems. Previously Zach served as the Business Development and Product Strategy Executive for Distributed Energy Resource Management (DERMS) at Smarter Grid Solutions, defining market strategies for their software. He’s a seasoned strategist, consultant, and thought leader in smart grids, DERs, and integrated planning, having worked with utilities, regulators, and tech vendors. 

Barton Hellyer is the CER Innovation Manager at Endeavour Energy, bringing over 15 years of experience in Asset Management, Strategy, and Future Network Innovation. He currently leads the rollout of the Flexible Exports and Emergency Backstop project, driven by a passion for transformative business solutions.

Steve Mannhard is the Chief Commercial Officer at Optiwatt, a leading EV-managed charging and whole-home load management platform with 80,000+ EV users across North America that is providing load management solutions for over 30+ utilities. Steve is responsible for Optiwatt’s client success, sales, business development teams supporting Optiwatt’s utility and broader ecosystem partnerships. He brings 18+ years of climate-tech startup and management consulting experience working with utilities on load management, EV managed charging, electrification, energy efficiency, and customer engagement solutions.

Nathan is SECC’s President & CEO and leads the organization’s research, membership and policy initiatives. He came on as SECC’s Deputy Director in early 2015, and in this role, he grew membership almost 40% to over 150 members. Along with his work on the Research and Policy committees, Nathan leads member recruitment and engagement and routinely presents SECC ‘s research at major industry conferences and policy workshops around the country. 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 non-profit development and capacity building. Nathan has a Bachelors in Economics from the University of Georgia and a background in financial management.

John Smith is the Director of Product Management and Partnerships, Energy Transition Solutions at Vistra Corp., a leading electricity generator and competitive retailer serving over five million customers in 18 states through leading retail energy brands that include TXU Energy, Ambit Energy, TriEagle Energy and Dynegy. John is responsible for managing products, programs and partnerships that help customers participate in the Clean Energy Transition. These include green / clean retail rate plans and add-ons, distributed generation products including rooftop solar and batteries, net metering plans, smart thermostats and demand response. Prior to this John served as VP sales & marketing for Crius Energy and TriEagle Energy. John has been in the retail energy industry since 2016 after spending the previous 15+ years in the telecom industry in sales management and business development roles.

Leigh Winterbottom is the Director of Rate Marketing at ICF. She is an integrated marketing expert with 6 years’ experience managing and marketing innovative rates and 15+ years of experience evaluating, directing, and implementing integrated energy efficiency marketing campaigns. She possesses an extensive knowledge of the energy and utility industry, its challenges, goals, and key players. She has presented at numerous industry conferences, including Peak Load Management Association, CS Week, Association of Energy Service Professionals, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy Summer Study, and Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.

Jen is AESP’s fearless leader. She is a LEED accredited professional whose passion lies in integrating clean energy and efficiency technologies to create a brighter tomorrow. She serves on several boards including IREC and ASES and has authored over forty publications in her twenty-five year career.

Zachary (Zach) Ionadi is the Product Development Lead for Electric Vehicles (EVs) & Emerging Technologies at Austin Energy, focusing on advancing EV infrastructure, integration, and new energy solutions within the utility’s customer offerings, often speaking at industry events about smart cities and EV adoption. He plays a key role in Austin Energy’s drive towards sustainable, future-focused energy products and customer-centric tech.

Jesse Hitchcock researches regulatory, policy, and program innovations that help utilities advance distributed energy resources (DERs) cost-effectively and at scale. She’s particularly focused on transportation electrification program design, EV load management, and performance-based ratemaking.

Before joining E Source, she led client engagement and policy for EnergyX Solutions, helping utilities across the US and Canada use technology solutions to improve their efficiency and deep retrofit programs. Jesse also implemented demand-side management, low-income, and EV programs and policies for Efficiency PEI. She completed a parliamentary internship in the Canadian House of Commons and holds a BS in biology from the University of Alberta and an MS in environmental science from the University of Prince Edward Island.

Jordan is a Director at Opinion Dynamics, where he uses a social science lens to study the intersection of human behavior and energy consumption. Jordan has a decade of experience conducting customer research for the energy industry, including countless process evaluations and market research studies to support energy efficiency programs – many of which have focused on low-income populations and increasing equity of utility offerings. In addition to his experience conducting research directly for utility clients, he has an extensive history with SECC as its Research Chair since fall of 2021. Alongside his involvement in conducting SECC research studies, he has routinely presented research at both in-person and virtual SECC events. In addition to his involvement at SECC, he is also a key player in other high-profile industry organizations, currently serving as the Co-chair of the Peak Load Management Alliance’s (PLMA) Retail Pricing Interest Group and Co-chair of the Association of Energy Services Professional’s (AESP) Resilience Topic Committee.

Cole Ashman is the Founder and CEO of Pila Energy, creators of the Pila Mesh Home Battery: an intelligent battery platform solving the toughest barriers to scaling residential storage—install complexity, cost, and building type limitations—to bring resilience, grid services, and appliance-level intelligence to all homes and buildings. With a background in smart home IoT and energy infrastructure, Cole previously led product for SPAN and developed category-defining energy products at Tesla, including Powerwall and Backup Gateway. Cole is a Tulane alum, class of 2016, receiving his bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering.

Heather has spent her career working on the deployment of leading edge clean energy technologies, including more than 25 years in solar; and most recently adding transportation electrification to her portfolio. She started her career as a renewable energy policy consultant in Washington DC before going to work for the U.S. Department of Energy in 2000, where she led both the national and regional coordination of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Million Solar Roofs Initiative. In 2006, she transitioned to the utility industry, working for Puget Sound Energy, where she manages PSE’s renewable energy and electric vehicle products& services. Heather’s prior Board Service includes serving 6 years on the board of Spark Northwest, a non-profit organization supporting the creation of community led clean energy generation and efficiency projects for frontline communities until 2019. She currently serves as the utility representative on the Green-e Governance Board.

Kimberly DiCello has extensive experience in energy management and professional athletics. Since March 2009, Kimberly has held various leadership roles at CLEAResult, currently serving as Senior Director, overseeing a multi-million dollar portfolio of energy efficiency programs in Southern California, while managing team performance and cross-functional business processes. Kimberly holds a B.S. in Finance and a B.A. in Religious Studies and Environmental Studies from Santa Clara University.

Manish Murudkar is the Director of Distributed Energy Resources Strategy at Cobb EMC, and he has been with Cobb EMC for about 24 years. Manish and his team are responsible for leading the distributed energy resource development and strategy that aligns with the company’s strategic initiative goals in promoting renewables, battery storage, microgrid, smart homes, and electric transportation technologies.

His current focus is on leading the cooperative in the adoption of the next generation of DER-related digital technologies that can create energy efficiency and demand response opportunities and improve the reliability and resiliency of the system. Manish has a bachelor’s degree in computer and electrical engineering and an Executive MBA from Georgia State University. He is also a Certified Energy Manager and a Project Management Professional.

Scott Rosenberg is the co-founder and CEO of 257, a venture-backed NYC company using data and AI to accelerate residential electrification. 257 builds digital energy twins for every U.S. home—using AI, dozens of data sources, and billions of data points—which are then used to help partners in the utility, HVAC, and solar sectors identify which homes are most likely to benefit from specific energy products and services.

Daniel is responsible for smart home research involving market trend analysis, competitor and positioning assessments, technology evaluations, and forecasts of relevant industry metrics. Daniel is a market research industry veteran with 13 years of experience across multiple research types, such as shopper insights, brand equity, brand health tracking, and customer experience.  Daniel has also conducted research across multiple sectors such as consumer-packaged goods, consumer electronics, specialty retail, transportation, travel, and hospitality. Daniel has a BA in Sociology from the University of Texas at Arlington, with specializations in Research and Evaluation, Diversity, and Family and Gender Studies.

As the Founder and CEO of POWERCONNECT.AI Inc., Steve Dawson’s journey in the tech and utility industries has been fueled by an unwavering commitment to innovation and customer service excellence. After spending 15 years in the corporate world working with industry-leading platforms such as SAP, Salesforce, and Oracle, he took the bold step to establish his own AI-CX company. Initially, he focused on enhancing customer service in the utility sector, bridging the gap between customers and agents through cutting-edge AI solutions. In just one year, POWERCONNECT.AI has grown to a team of 15 employees and is actively collaborating with numerous utilities. Based in Tampa, it is rapidly emerging as one of the fastest-growing AI companies in 2024.

Georges Gonzalez, MBA, is the Hillsborough County Water Resources Enterprise Solutions Director, based in Tampa, Florida. Though Georges has only been with Hillsborough County for just over a year, he brings over 27 years’ experience in private and public sectors serving in senior and executive roles.

Georges holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Tampa and an undergraduate degree from Eckerd College. Georges is a member of the American Water Works Association and is a veteran of the United States Air Force where he served in the Gulf War. Additionally, Georges is an avid long-distance runner and has run a marathon in all 50 states.