The key to a great summit is a great program committee. Our committee brings a depth of knowledge, experience and insight that makes the Knowledge2011 Utility Executive Summit a unique experience. In addition to the program design, these individuals play key roles in moderating and leading sessions, workshops and roundtables.
Click on the links below to view our committees:
IT Committee
 Vice President IDC Energy Insights 
Chair: Jill Feblowitz
IDC Energy Insights
Jill Feblowitz is a nationally recognized thought leader in the application of information technology to the business problems of the energy industry. As an analyst, her understanding of the needs of the industry is grounded in experience over the last 25 years working as a consultant and in the field. Ms. Feblowitz has consulted professionals in the energy industry – working with all levels from traders and engineers to C-Level executives – representing Information Technology, Oil & Gas, Trading & Risk Management, Wholesale Energy Supply, Energy Delivery and Customer Operations. She has consulted energy companies on constructing their IT strategy to fit the dynamic needs of the energy industry. |
 Chief Information Officer American Municipal Power 
Branndon Kelley
American Municipal Power
Branndon has spent the last twelve years providing vision, leadership, and governance for technology programs, projects and departments. He approaches IT as a true partner of the business and brings a diverse background in IT operations, project management, executive leadership, strategy, and business development. His technology skills and business acumen allows him to communicate to individuals from a technical to executive-level.
Utilizing his 'partner' approach Branndon has helped organizations realize business value through the implementation of strategic technology solutions. Those technology solutions range in size, complexity and scope including projects in both the private and public sector(s); up to 100 million in total contract value.
Today, Branndon is the Chief Information Officer for American Municipal Power (AMP). At AMP Branndon oversees all information technology and SCADA functions, projects and people. He is responsible for setting, facilitating and leading technology strategy and tactical execution.
Community involvement is very important to Branndon. He is very involved in the local, regional, and national IT community. He participates, shapes and speaks at a number of CIO and IT related events.
Branndon has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems, and a Master of Business Administration. He holds a number of certifications, is an adjunct instructor at a local college, and spends free time with his wife Shannon and his son Jackson. |
 Vice President of Technical Services Wabash Valley Power 
Cathy Ellis
Wabash Valley Power
Cathy Ellis serves as Vice President of Technical Services at Wabash Valley Power in Indianapolis, IN. She and her team are responsible for the management and strategic planning of the company's technology and field engineering services including EMS/SCADA, communications infrastructure, security, network infrastructure, and operational and corporate systems.
Cathy began her career at Wabash Valley in 1983 as a Plant Accountant. In her twenty-seven years with Wabash Valley, she has held various management positions and has been in her current position of Vice President for 12 years. Cathy has over 30 years experience in the electric utility industry. Cathy holds a BS degree in Accounting from Indiana University and an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University. |
 Vice President Technology KCP&L 
Chuck Tickles
KCP&L
Chuck Tickles joined KCP&L in 1980 as an engineer in Power Production. He was promoted to Manager of Computer Applications in 1988, Manager of System Applications in 1994, Director of Information Systems in 1996, Senior Director of Information Technology in 2000 and assumed his current position on August 1, 2007.
Chuck led the corporate-wide benchmarking/best practices initiative and served as transition coordinator for IT and the company in previous merger attempts. He spearheaded the recentralization of the Information Technology Applications teams in 1994.
He graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Rockhurst University Executive Fellows Program in 2001. He is currently serving on the boards of Mid America Assistance Coalition and Big Brothers Big Sisters — Greater Kansas City. |
 Vice President & Chief Information Officer Xcel Energy 
David Harkness
Xcel Energy
Mr. Harkness is Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Xcel Energy. In this role, he is responsible for all information technology operations and governance, cyber security functions, and the company's business continuity program. As CIO, Mr. Harkness is expected to drive innovation and transformation in the company by leveraging technology to create business value. |
 Chief Information Officer Colorado Springs Utilities 
Dawn Roth
Colorado Springs Utilities
Dawn R. Roth is the General Manager of Information Technology Services at Colorado Springs Utilities. Dawn leads over 160 employees focused on every aspect of technology for a four service (water, gas, electric and wastewater) utility including software, hardware, network, database, telecommunications, internet, web 2.0 tools. A B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame plus an IS focused MBA from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs prepared her for the logical problem solving and intense people focus that the role requires. Dawn has served with the utilities for the past eight years. Prior to that Dawn held several roles in manufacturing, scheduling and quality control, telecommunications and customer information systems, customer service and call center leadership and catalog/marketing development. Dawn is the proud mom of two sons - a sophomore at Notre Dame and a sophomore in High School. She enjoys running, hiking, reading, racquetball and gourmet cooking (eating and creating). |
 Director of Information Technology Edison Electric Institute 
Jeanny Ho
Edison Electric Institute
Jeanny Ho is Director of Information Technology at the Edison Electric Institute. Ms. Ho is responsible for the Customer Services & Operations; and a Staff Executive for the Technology Advisory Council (TAC). Prior to joining EEI, Jeanny was working with George Washington University for more than six years where she was responsible for Data Center Management and application development for several medical research programs. A graduate of Leadership of Greater Washington DC and a board member of the organization. |
 Managing Director, Information Technology American Gas Association 
Jim Linn
American Gas Association
Jim has spent the past 20 years of his career in Information Technology management with several non-profit organizations in the Washington, DC area. He is presently Managing Director, Information Technology for the American Gas Association (www.aga.org), and has been for the past ten years. Prior to that he spent eight years as IT Director for the Chemical Manufacturers Association. He planned IT projects and set technical direction for both of these great organizations. In addition, he is a Certified Association Executive, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Cisco Certified Network Associate, and holds several other industry certifications. |
 Vice President & Chief Information Officer NSTAR 
Katherine Kountze-Tatum
NSTAR
Kathy has held her current position at NSTAR since January and is a member of the executive team. Kathy provides the organization with the vision and leadership to assure the timely, innovative and cost-effective use of technology to achieve corporate objectives and improve productivity and effectiveness in serving customers in a constantly changing regulated utility marketplace.
As CIO Kathy is required to collaborate with the executive team and establish the short and long term technology strategies to support the company’s strategic business objectives. She is responsible for setting the strategic direction for the design, development and implementation of technology solutions in the areas of telecommunication, IT security and risk mitigation, IT project management and process improvement, enterprise application selection, implementation and support, information management, IT infrastructure, disaster recovery and IT outsourcing.
Prior to her current position at NSTAR, Kathy worked for eight years at United Illuminating a regulated electric public utility based in New Haven CT. in various technology leadership roles serving over two years as CIO. |
 Editor-in-Chief Intelligent Utility Daily 
Phil Carson
Intelligent Utility Daily
Phil Carson serves as editor-in-chief of Intelligent Utility Daily, bringing readers a diverse array of topics, issues, people and viewpoints every day of the week on the grid modernization process. You may have followed his pre-Knowledge 2011 coverage, featuring interviews with many of your fellow participants, and you can turn to Intelligent Utility Daily for post-event coverage as well. Carson also moderates Intelligent Utility Reality webcasts on topics such as information technology, utility operations, customer outreach, electric vehicles and demand response, and he contributes to Intelligent Utility magazine.
Carson earned a master's degree in science journalism from Northwestern University and an undergraduate degree in biology and geology from the University of Denver. He has worked as a biologist, a geologist and a dog-sled driver. He lives in Littleton, Colorado. |
 Chief Information Officer SCANA Services 
Randal Senn
SCANA Services
Randal M. Senn is the Chief Information Officer for SCANA Corporation, responsible for overseeing their technology services and strategies. Randy has been employed by SCANA for 30 years. He initially assumed his current responsibilities as General Manager of Information Services and Technology in August of 2001 and in May of 2003 he was named Chief Information Officer for SCANA Services, Inc.
Randy initially worked as a student intern from USC Business School. After graduation, he started his full time career as a computer programmer.
Prior to his current role, he has served as a manager in the company's Accounting Department, Customer Billing Department and Shareholder Services Department. Randy has served as project manager for a general ledger system implementation for the company, project manager for the company's Year 2000 compliance project and project manager for the information technology consolidation project associated with the merger between SCANA Corporation and Public Service Company of North Carolina. |
 Chief Information Officer Santee Cooper 
Ricky Jarrell
Santee Cooper
Graduated from The Citadel, B.S. Degree in Business Administration in 1977; Graduated from The Citadel, MBA in 1982; Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from PMI in 2008.
Employed by Santee Cooper for 34 years holding the following positions: Various management positions in the Accounting/Finance department from 1977 to 1988;
Currently: CIO |
 Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer Black Hills Corporation 
Scott Buchholz
Black Hills Corporation
Scott Buchholz directs the information technology related support and services that provide electricity and natural gas services to about seven hundred and twenty five thousand customers in six Midwest/western states. Buchholz also oversees all technology related services and support for other energy related businesses including generation, exploration, production and energy trading. His responsibilities include business applications, hardware/software infrastructure, Information Technology operations (data center operations, service desk, and desktop support), Information Security, voice/data communications, and data base management. |
 Chief Information Officer Omaha Public Power District 
Steve Schmitz
Omaha Public Power District
Steve has been an employee with the Omaha Public Power District, OPPD, since 1989. Steve has held numerous leadership and management positions and was recently appointed Division Manager of Information Technology. During Steve's career at OPPD has managed numerous large multi-million dollar software projects and has served on a number of process improvement and corporate strategy teams Steve has been very involved in the community serving as an Operations Director for the Nationwide Tour Cox Classic presented by Lexus of Omaha for 12 years, team captain for Relay for Life-Midtown, and Boy Scouts Mid American Council Friends of Scouting member. Steve is a graduate from The University of Nebraska Omaha with a bachelor's degree in General Studies and an Executive MBA degree. Steve serves on two Alumni committees at UNO. |
 Chief Information Officer JEA 
Wanyonyi (Wy) Kendrick
JEA
Wanyonyi J. Kendrick is the Chief Information Office at JEA. Ms. Kendrick joined JEA in February 2000 as Director of Corporate Applications. She is responsible for a $500 million information technology portfolio. JEA is a leading electric, water, and sewer utility with over $1 billion in annual revenues. JEA serves more than 800,000 customers in Northeast Florida.
Ms. Kendrick has spent the last 17 years of her career focusing on integrating technology solutions with regulatory, legislative, and business process requirements, resulting in solutions with measurable results.
Ms. Kendrick holds positions on two boards: University of North Florida (UNF) Board of Trustees and the Jacksonville Zoological Gardens. Ms. Kendrick was appointed to the UNF Board of Trustees by former Governor Jeb Bush. Ms. Kendrick has also served on numerous other boards including the INROADs board, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to partnering companies with talented minorities and IT FLORIDA an organization committed to ensuring the IT industry in Florida speaks with one voice on important regional and state issues.
Ms. Kendrick has won several information technology awards including: 2006 CIO 100 innovation award, 2007 CIO 100 transformer award and Small Utility CIO of the Year-1st Runner Up, by EnergyBiz Magazine.
Ms. Kendrick holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and Masters of Accountancy Degree from the University of North Florida. Ms. Kendrick is a Certified Management Accountant and a Certified Public Accountant.
Ms. Kendrick has been married to her husband for 22 years and they have three beautiful children, Angelica 20, Aaron 10, and Joshua Luke 7.
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 Director of Smart Energy J.D. Power & Associates 
Chair: Christopher Perdue
J.D. Power & Associates
Christopher Perdue is Director of Smart Energy at J.D. Power & Associates, where he focuses on voice of the customer research. He is an energy industry veteran with over 20 years in the sector, and his efforts have led to the development and assimilation of databases and reports that are used throughout the industry.
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 Chief Customer Officer Northeast Utilities 
Dr. Johnny Magwood
Northeast Utilities
As V. P. Customer Experience & Chief Customer Officer, Dr. Magwood provides customer experience leadership and management for the Northeast Utilities Service Company; in the New England region. Northeast Utilities System (NU) consists of five operating companies: Connecticut Light & Power, Yankee Gas, Public Service New Hampshire, Western Massachusetts Electric, and Convex Transmission. Prior to his NU assignment, as Senior V.P., Dr. Magwood led the Customer Relations & Account Services division at the Baltimore Gas & Electric Company; a subsidiary of Constellation Energy.
Industry and Non-Industry Related Activities
Education:
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 Senior Vice President, Customer Operations ComEd 
Fidel Marquez, Jr.
ComEd
Fidel Marquez, senior vice president of Customer Operations, is responsible for overseeing all customer support functions, including Customer Financial Operations, Customer Care Center, Customer Field Operations, Customer Support and Advanced Metering Infrastructure.
ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation. ComEd delivers electricity to approximately 3.8 million residential and business customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population.
Exelon Corporation is one of the nation's largest electric utilities with approximately $19 billion in annual revenues. The company has one of the industry's largest portfolios of electricity generation capacity, with a nationwide reach and strong positions in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Exelon distributes electricity to approximately 5.4 million customers in northern Illinois and Pennsylvania and natural gas to approximately 485,000 customers in the Philadelphia area. Exelon is headquartered in Chicago and trades on the NYSE under the ticker EXC.
Prior to his current appointment, Marquez served as vice president of External Affairs and Large Customer Services. In that role, Marquez was responsible for overall leadership and relationship management with the City of Chicago and over 400 municipalities in northern Illinois, as well as community and civic organizations within the ComEd service territory. This included advocating on behalf of ComEd on policy, service, and other issues. Prior to that position, Marquez served as vice president of Transmission and Substation Operations.
Marquez also spent more than two years as senior vice president of Electric Transmission & Distribution for the City Public Service in San Antonio, Texas, overseeing the planning, design, construction and maintenance operation of the transmission and distribution systems. Prior to that role, he served as the director of Transmission Operations at ComEd for more than 17 years. He was team lead of the Operations Working Group on the RTO Development Effort and worked on the Unicom/PECO Merger Integration Team for Transmission Management and Transmission & Substation Processes. In addition, he managed the development of the Power Exchange in Illinois in support of Retail Open Access and Energy Market Development and served as executive staff and financial coordinator for Transmission and Distribution.
A licensed professional engineer, Marquez received his master's in Business Administration from Northwestern University. He also received a bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Marquez is a member of the Board of Trustees for BUILD, Inc; the Illinois Math and Science Academy; the National Museum of Mexican Art; Luna Negra Dance Theater; and Easter Seals of Metropolitan Chicago. He also is on the Development Committee of the Chicago Family Health Center. |
 Division Vice President, Customer Service CenterPoint Energy 
Gregory Knight
CenterPoint Energy
Gregory Knight is division vice president of Customer Service for Regulated Operations for CenterPoint Energy in Houston, Texas. He manages CenterPoint Energy’s electric and natural gas call centers, customer service training and quality assurance, billing exception management, and gas credit and collections. His organization serves CenterPoint Energy’s more than 5 million electric and natural gas customers throughout six states. Knight has more than 18 years of customer service and business operations experience, in both service industries and utilities. His career includes tenures at IKON Office Solutions, Reliant Energy and MCI Telecommunications where he has led a range of customer operations functions which span from technology, strategic planning, regulatory advocacy and Six Sigma.
Knight earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in American studies, with a minor in economics, from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has also completed the executive management program at Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management in Houston. Locally, Knight supports the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Missouri City Alumni Chapter mentoring program and Renegades Little League Football Team of Humble. |
 Chief Customer Officer and SVP, Customer Relations & Accounts Services Baltimore Gas and Electric Company 
Jeannette M. Mills
Baltimore Gas and Electric Company
As Chief Customer Officer and Senior Vice President of Customer Relations and Accounts Services, Jeannette functions as executive level management responsible for the overall processes, systems, and planning that support internal and external customer interfaces. This includes customer contact center, billing and related services, outdoor lighting, service quality investigations, new connections (including pre-engineering and contractual activities), and key business relationships. She is also responsible for accounts receivable management, energy assistance and the profitability of the outdoor lighting business.
During her 22 year career at BGE, Jeannette has held critical positions in the areas of Gas Business Operations and Planning, Vision 2020 – Business Transformation, Gas and Electric New Business, Electric System Planning, Customer Operations, Resource Management, and Project Engineering.
A Baltimore City native, Jeannette graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (Poly) and earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). In 2006, she received a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Loyola University.
Prior to joining BGE as a college graduate in 1988, she gained professional and engineering experience as a Cooperative Student with Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. In 2009, Jeannette was named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women and received the Black Engineer of the Year (BEYA) Pioneer Award. She is also a graduate of the 2009 Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) Leadership and 2005 Leadership Howard County programs. Jeannette is a member of the Advisory Board of The Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering for Virginia Tech. Savoy Magazine recognized Jeannette in 2008 as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America for her dedication to work and commitment to the community. The Baltimore Business Journal selected her as a “40 under 40” in 2006.
Jeannette is a board member of Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED). She is also on the Board of Directors for Voices for Children – Howard County’s Court Appointed Special Advocate Program and the Creative Alliance – a Program that builds communities by bringing together artists and audiences from diverse backgrounds to experience spectacular arts programs and engage in the creative process.
Jeannette has been a resident of Howard County, Maryland since 1989 and has two children. |
Managing Director, Information Technology American Gas Association
Jim Linn
American Gas Association
Jim has spent the past 20 years of his career in Information Technology management with several non-profit organizations in the Washington, DC area. He is presently Managing Director, Information Technology for the American Gas Association (www.aga.org), and has been for the past ten years. Prior to that he spent eight years as IT Director for the Chemical Manufacturers Association. He planned IT projects and set technical direction for both of these great organizations. In addition, he is a Certified Association Executive, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Cisco Certified Network Associate, and holds several other industry certifications. |
 Senior Vice President, Customer Service DTE Energy 
Joyce Hayes-Giles
DTE Energy
Joyce Hayes-Giles is senior vice president of customer service for DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE), a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Hayes-Giles is responsible for providing customer service, which includes call centers, business offices, billing services, meter reading and credit and collection.
Hayes-Giles previously served as vice president of corporate resources at MCN Energy Group, the former parent company of MichCon. She joined MichCon as manager of compensation in 1978. Through various director-level positions with the company, she led employees in customer relations, material management, administrative services, customer information and physical assets. Prior to joining MichCon, Hayes-Giles was employed with the Automobile Club of Michigan, Chrysler Corporation and Connecticut General Life Insurance Co.
Hayes-Giles earned a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Knoxville College. She also earned a master of business administration degree from the University of Detroit and a law degree from Wayne State University Law School.
Her professional affiliations include membership in the Detroit, State of Michigan and Wolverine bar associations; the Women's Economic Club of Detroit; Leadership Detroit Alumni Association; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; and The Links, Inc. She serves on both the local and national board of directors of the American Association of Blacks in Energy. In addition, she is actively involved in the community and has served on various boards, including past Board Chair of Marygrove College, the Urban League and the NAACP-Detroit Chapter. Her current boards include the Music Hall, THAW, St. John Providence Health System, Covenant House of Michigan, Wayne State Alumni Association, Detroit Housing Commission Advisory Board and the DTE Energy Foundation. She also served on the Detroit Regional Chamber's Nominating Committee and their Planning Committee for the annual legislative conference. Joyce is the former Vice President of the Detroit School Board.
In 2009, Hayes-Giles was honored by Inforum as one of the area's most powerful and accomplished woman business leaders. She was also the recipient of the Detroit Women's Club Professional Woman of the Year Award. In 2008, Hayes-Giles was recognized by the Michigan Chronicle as one of the "Women of Excellence" awardees. In 2007, she was recognized by Crain's Detroit Business as one of Detroit's Most Influential Women, and was also presented the Political Service Award from the Fannie Lou Hamer Political Action Committee. In 2006, she was appointed by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm to the Mentor Michigan Leadership Council. She was also selected as one of the country's Most Distinguished Black College and University Graduates by US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine. In addition, she was recognized in the Inaugural Edition of Who's Who in Black Detroit as one of Detroit's Most Influential Leaders. In 2005, she was awarded the Booker T. Washington's Two Way Street Award. She has also been recognized by Corp! Magazine as one of Michigan's "Most Powerful African-American Leaders" and in 2005 as one of Michigan's "Extraordinary African-American Achievers." She received the Lewis H. Latimer award from the American Association of Blacks in Energy. She was also selected for "Who's Who Among Black Americans" and was recognized by Crain's Detroit Business as one of Metro Detroit's Most Influential Black Business Leaders. In 2000, she was selected as one of the finalists in Grant Thornton's Executive Woman of the Year award. She was chosen as an Outstanding Young Woman of America in 1981 and received a NAACP 100 Club Award. On the national level, she made Minority Business News USA's list of "Women Who Mean Business" and Women's Informal Networks Most Influential African American Women for 1998.
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 Director of Customer Service DC Water 
Lauren Preston
DC Water
Lauren A. Preston is the Director of Customer Service for the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water). She is responsible for DC Water's customer services, which include metering, billing, credit and collections, and customer services.
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 Vice President, Customer Relationships JEA 
Marlene Murphy-Roach
JEA
Marlene came to JEA in 1998 as manager of market management & product development and was later promoted to director, market management and product development, director of customer sales and service, and acting vice president, customer relationship. She temporarily assumed the responsibilities of vice president customer relationship while Jim Dickenson led the implementation of JEA’s new Customer Account Information Resource (CAIR) system. Marlene assumed responsibility for JEA’s Customer Relationship Department in May 2003, when Jim Dickenson was appointed vice president and chief operating officer. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in management studies from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica. Prior to joining JEA, Marlene was marketing director, SafeCard Services, Inc.; merchant marketing manager, Mondex-AT&T Universal Card Services; and new business development manager, Grace Kennedy (USA) Inc. |
 Vice President, Electric Operations Support South Carolina Electric & Gas Company 
Stacy Shuler
South Carolina Electric & Gas Company
Stacy Shuler is the Vice President of Operations Support at South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G). This area covers Customer Service, Right of Way, Fleet Services, Materials & Stores, Safety and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). His previous experience includes Purchasing, E-business, Customer Service, and Information Technology. In addition to his normal job responsibilities listed above, he is also the company's Emergency Response Coordinator which includes handling the company's corporate storm response as well as developing plans for a range of operational threats from earthquake and flooding to weapons of mass destruction.
Stacy has been with SCANA for 25 years. Stacy graduated from the University of South Carolina and is an active Board Member of the Harvest Hope Food Bank. |
 Director of Customer & General Services Avista Utilities 
Victoria L. Weber
Avista Utilities
Vicki Weber is the Director of Customer and General Services for Avista Utilities. Her current responsibilities include overseeing the Contact Centers, Billing, Inquiry, Customer Care, Credit and Collections, Meter Reading, Flight Operations, Facilities Management, and is Executive Sponsor for the new CSS replacement project at Avista. Vicki has thirty-five years experience in the utility industry in various fields of electric, natural gas and telecommunications. Vicki serves as a Customer Service Executive Committee Member and a Business Acumen Mentor for the Western Energy Institute (WEI). She is a member of AGA/EEI and also an Executive Mentor for the Aspiring Leader Program at Avista Utilities. She has earned several industry awards and recognition for contact center performance as well as exceptional and innovative leadership. |
 Partner Boreas Group, LLC 
Chair: Robert Sarfi Ph.D., PE
Boreas Group, LLC
Robert Sarfi, a partner of Boreas Group LLC, is recognized for his experience in delivering business vision and technology solutions for electric utilities. Dr. Sarfi has successfully led numerous business transformation initiatives for large and mid-tier utilities across the Americas. Prior to founding Boreas Group in 2001, Dr. Sarfi held executive positions with management consulting and engineering firms. Dr. Sarfi has authored over forty-five papers related to improving distribution system operations, smart grid planning, and technology benefit realization. He received a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (First Class Honours) from the Royal Military College of Canada, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario and a member of the IEEE. |
 Advisor Alberta Utilities Commission 
Allen Synder
Alberta Utilities Commission
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 Mobility Program Manager Southern California Edison 
Bryan Strong
Southern California Edison
For more than 100 years, Edison International has been leading the way in electricity. Our roots lie in Southern California in the 1880s, when various small companies began experimenting with power generation and transmission. Pioneers and people of vision led California into the new 20th century. From that collaboration came innovation and the founding of a new industry.
That is the heritage we claim at Edison International; a legacy driven by our values—integrity, excellence, respect, continuous improvement and teamwork—that have made historical firsts possible and that will continue to bring value to our customers and communities through the next 100 years. |
 Director of Engineering Clark Public Utilities 
Cal Morris
Clark Public Utilities
Cal Morris joined Clark Public Utilities in 2002 and is currently Director of Engineering. He is responsible for Systems and Customer Engineering, NERC Compliance, Substation Construction and Maintenance, Metering, GIS/Mapping and Joint Use. Prior to joining Clark Public Utilities, Morris worked at PacifiCorp for 21 years. He held a variety of management positions in Field Operations and Engineering at locations in Washington and Oregon. Morris holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Idaho. |
 Sr. VP and COO Delaware Electric 
Gary Cripps
Delaware Electric
Delaware Electric Cooperative is a member-owned electric distribution company serving over 75,000 members in Kent and Sussex County, Delaware. Our commitment is “Keeping the Lights On” by providing safe, reliable and competitively priced energy services for our member-owners and communities. |
 Senior Vice President, Operations El Paso Electric
Hector R. Puente
El Paso Electric
Hector R. Puente, El Paso Electric’s Senior Vice President of Operations oversees the execution of all functions of the power generation, transmission and distribution, and system operations in the El Paso Electric service territory.
Puente has been with El Paso Electric since 1980 and has served in various capacities including Vice President of Transmission and Distribution, Vice President of Distribution Operations, Vice President of Generation, Manager of Substations/Relay, Group Manager of Power Generation and Manager of Substations and Supervisor of Distribution Standards. Puente holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso and is a licensed professional engineer. |
 Editor-in-Chief Intelligent Utility Magazine 
Kate Rowland
Intelligent Utility Magazine
Kate Rowland is the Editor in Chief of Intelligent Utility magazine, and a contributor to Energy Central's Intelligent Utility Insights. She has over 30 years' experience as an editor, writer and researcher with national news and business publications as well as radio. Kate has written about energy issues for numerous trade and mainstream business publications for more than a decade. |
 Director, ComEd Solutions Exelon Business Services Company 
Mark Browning
Exelon Business Services Company
Exelon Generation has one of the industry’s largest portfolios of electricity generation capacity, with a nationwide reach and strong positions in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. It is the largest owner/operator of nuclear plants in the United States. Exelon delivers electricity to approximately 5.4 million customers in northern Illinois via ComEd and southeastern Pennsylvania via PECO, as well as natural gas to approximately 490,000 customers in the Philadelphia area via PECO. Exelon is headquartered in Chicago and trades on the NYSE under the ticker symbol EXC. |
 Information Technology Business Services Manager Northeast Utilities 
William E. McEvoy
Northeast Utilities
William E. McEvoy is an Information Technology Business Services Manager for Northeast Utilities. He is responsible for IT within the Transmission line of business which includes identifying, prioritizing and aligning all IT services and investments with the companies Transmission strategies and objectives. Bill is also the Northeast Utilities Smart Grid Information Technology Program Manager. Prior to being name the Smart Grid Program Manager, he spent the last 4 years in the role of Northeast Utilities Cyber Security Program Manager.
A native of Waterbury, CT, McEvoy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems and a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Management Information Systems, both from the University of New Haven.
McEvoy started his professional career at NU in 1982. Over his career at NU he has held various IT management positions including product manager, technology manager and account manager. In addition to the various roles within IT, McEvoy also held several management positions within the transmission business; including Coordinator of Staff Services, Project Manager and Manager of Transmission Operations & Engineering.
McEvoy currently represents Northeast Utilities on the EEI Cyber Security Working Group, EEI Smart Grid Working Group, North American Transmission Forum Cyber Security Working Group, is a voting member on the North American Reliability Council (NERC) Critical Infrastructure and Protection Committee (CIPC); he also served 2 years as the Chairmen of the Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC) Task Force on Infrastructure and Technology (TFIST).
McEvoy resides in Woodbury, Connecticut, with his wife and two teenage children. |
 CEO & Chief Storyteller The Mark of a Leader 
Doug Keeley
The Mark of a Leader
Doug Keeley, CEO and Chief Storyteller of The Mark of a Leader, is one of North America’s leading communicators, a serial entrepreneur, and a self-professed “leadership junkie”.
Today his revolutionary program, The Mark of a Leader (www.themarkofaleader.com), is inspiring leaders and workforces to improved performance with a revolutionary approach called Five Level Leadership.
Doug started the first of several businesses in 1978, and quickly became a pioneer in the marketing and communications industry, travelling the globe working with many of the world’s top corporations and executives.
In 2004, he embarked on a journey to help create a new generation of leaders with The Mark of a Leader. This unique, story-based program uses incredible multimedia to share insights into the success of many of the world’s greatest leaders and brands and show how they can be applied to business today.
It has been used with great success by companies like ADP, Bank of America, Capital One, Coca-Cola, Disney, Frito-Lay, General Mills, HP, Lego, Microsoft, Pepsi-QTG, Scotiabank, Starbucks, Universal Studios, Xerox, and many other leading corporations, associations, and schools.
He has written a book of inspiring stories, authored many magazine features and columns, appeared as a subject expert in several books on creativity and corporate culture, and been interviewed many times on radio and television on the subjects of leadership and innovation. He is also an inductee in the Meetings & Incentive Travel Hall of Fame.
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 Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer JEA 
James A. Dickenson
JEA
James A. Dickenson, Jim has been the Chief Executive Officer of JEA since June 15, 2004 and also serves as its Managing Director. Mr. Dickenson joined JEA in 1973 as an engineer in the Transmission Design Group. He has held various positions including Manager of Transmission and Substation Engineering, Manager of Distribution Engineering, Vice President of Distribution Operations, Executive Vice President of Services, Vice President of Customer Relationship and Vice |
 Director, Smart Grid San Diego Gas & Electric 
Lee S. Krevat
San Diego Gas & Electric
Lee Krevat is director of the smart grid initiative for Sempra Energy’s San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).
Krevat leads enterprise-wide smart grid strategy, policy, and project alignment for SDG&E. In 2010, he was named one of the top 100 movers and shakers who are influencing the smart grid market by GreenTech Media and was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the GridWise Alliance, a smart grid advocacy coalition with the mission to transform the electric grid to achieve a sustainable energy future through the advocacy of well-reasoned smart grid policies at the federal, state, and local levels.
SDG&E has built a strong foundation in Smart Grid technologies, including self-healing grid technology, automated sub-station condition-based maintenance, advanced outage and distribution management systems, and microgrid projects funded byDOE and CEC. SDG&E filed a 10 year Smart Grid Deployment Plan on June 6, 2011 which described a vision for the future as well as a roadmap composed of 82 projects. SDG&E was ranked number one in the nation in 2009 and 2010, the first two years of the Smart Grid rankings published by IDC Energy Insights and Intelligent Utility magazine.
Krevat’s prior positions at SDG&E include director of program delivery, where he oversaw IT for advanced technology projects and the development of new systems to improve operating efficiency and customer experience. Krevat was also director of IT strategy and business partnership where he worked to align strategic direction between IT and the utility business units, as well as director of infrastructure engineering & operations.
Before joining Sempra, Krevat led the Software Process Engineering, Technology Transfer and Software Process Improvement Teams at Tandem Computers.
Krevat graduated with university honors and holds a Bachelor of Science in applied mathematics/computer science from Carnegie Mellon University.
SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides service to 3.4 million consumers through 1.4 million electric meters and more than 840,000 natural gas meters in San Diego and southern Orange counties.
Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2008 revenues of nearly $11 billion. The Sempra Energy companies’ 13,600 employees serve about 29 million consumers worldwide. |
 Chief Information Officer OGE Energy Corp. 
Reid Nuttall
OGE Energy Corp.
A native of San Diego, CA, Mr. Nuttall earned a Masters degree in business administration at Brigham Young University. Prior to joining OGE in 2006, he worked for a major oilfield manufacturer in Strategic Planning, Operations Management, Manufacturing, Management of Asia Pacific and then Eastern Hemisphere sales and operations, Marketing, Project Management, and Systems and Technology. He has resided in Spain, Singapore, Scotland, Texas, and now Oklahoma.
As CIO, he is a leader in the transformation of the OG&E Electric Services that allows the company and our customers to benefit from the exciting new technologies that are now becoming available. With the assistance of a $130 million grant from the OGE, OG&E is rolling out smart meter and AMI capabilities to all customers, implementing demand management capabilities, and developing advanced distribution management systems. |
 Vice President and Chief Information Officer Southern Company 
Wes McDowell
Southern Company
Wes McDowell is the vice president and chief information officer for the Georgia region of Southern Company. In early 2009, McDowell was named smart grid coordinator for Southern Company.
McDowell has a bachelor’s degree in business from Georgia State University and a master’s in business administration from Mercer University. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School Program for Management Development and a recent graduate of Leadership Atlanta.
McDowell serves on the board of the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Technology Association of Georgia, Smart Grid Society of Georgia, and the University of Georgia Management Information System’s board. |
