Inês Azevedo

Associate Professor of Energy Science Engineering, Stanford University

Professor Azevedo is passionate about solving problems that include environmental, technical, economic, and policy issues, where traditional engineering approaches play an important role but cannot provide a complete answer. In particular, she is interested in assessing how energy systems are likely to evolve, which requires comprehensive knowledge of the technologies that can address future energy needs and the decision-making process followed by various agents in the economy.

Chris Angelides

Head of the Energy Transition Program, Shell

Chris Angelides is Head of Shell U.S. Energy Transition Integration which involves identifying opportunities that transcend the established Line of Business boundaries, breaking down siloed thinking and behaviors, and positioning Shell’s U.S. portfolio for success as society moves towards a net‐zero emissions economy. He also held senior roles in Shell Integrated Gas, Upstream Americas, and Shell Catalyst & Technologies. Chris joined Shell as an experienced hire in 2008.

Charles Blanchard

Head of North American Natural Gas Research, Mercuria Energy

Charlie is the head of North American natural gas research at Mercuria Energy, a large commodities trading house based in Geneva. In this role, he builds numerical models to forecast supply and demand, identify mispriced prices and spreads, and is responsible for driving the trading team’s profits. He has worked in natural gas trading since 2015, when he moved from New York City to Houston to work for Electricite de France’s wholesale gas and power trading business. Before that, he was head of natural gas research at Bloomberg. Charlie is also the author of a book about the gas industry, entitled “The Extraction State: A History of Natural Gas in North America”, published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in 2021.

Jason Bordoff

Dean of the Columbia Climate School and Founding Director of the Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University

Jason Bordoff is the Founding Director of the Center on Global Energy Policy, a Co-Founding Dean of the Columbia Climate School, and a Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs at Columbia University SIPA. He previously served as Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and Senior Director for Energy and Climate Change on the Staff of the National Security Council, and, prior to that, held senior policy positions on the White House’s National Economic Council and Council on Environmental Quality.

Danny Broberg

Senior Policy Analyst, Bipartisan Policy Center

Dr. Danny Broberg received his PhD in Materials Science at UC Berkeley, where he researched next generation solar and battery materials. After finishing his PhD, he went to Capitol Hill where he was legislative fellow for Senator Chris Coons (D-DE). While there he helped craft and drive forward bipartisan policies relating to carbon management and clean energy commercialization. After a year and a half on the hill, he joined the Bipartisan Policy Center where he focuses primarily on carbon management policies, with a focus on technological solutions and critical mineral supply chains.

Anna Broughel

Director, Clean Energy Leadership Institute

Anna Broughel is a Director of Energy Leadership at Clean Energy Leadership Institute, an NGO dedicated to training a new kind of clean energy leaders. In the past, she worked as energy economist at an engineering consulting firm Tetra Tech and as a fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy. She holds a PhD in economics and policy from the State University of New York in association with Syracuse University, where she was a Fulbright scholar. She completed her post-doctoral training at the University of St.Gallen in Switzerland and at the University of Maryland, College Park. Since 2020, she has served as a council member for the U.S. Association for Energy Economics and has been a non-resident fellow at the University of Texas at Austin. She teaches graduate classes in artificial intelligence applications in business and digitalization at the Estonian Business School and energy economics at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University.

Joe DeCarolis

Administrator, Energy Information Administration

Dr. Joseph DeCarolis currently serves as Administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Prior to his current appointment, Dr. DeCarolis served as a professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at North Carolina State University. His career and publications have centered on addressing energy and environmental challenges at the intersection of engineering, economics, and public policy, and his core research involves the development and application of energy system models to examine energy futures under uncertainty.

Jim Diemer

Director of Commercial and Strategic Analytics, Sempra Infrastructure

Jim Diemer is Director of Commercial and Strategic Analytics for Sempra Infrastructure. In this capacity Mr. Diemer’s team leads all the fundamentals market research and analytics used in Sempra Infrastructure’s project development, due diligence, marketing, and business strategy activities across its three business lines of LNG & Net-Zero Solutions, Networks and Clean Power. Sempra Infrastructure’s mission is to lead the energy transition by being North America’s premier provider of safe and reliably energy delivery infrastructure to promote a better world. Prior to the October 2021 formation of Sempra Infrastructure, Mr. Diemer was Regional Vice President of Midstream Commercial Development for Sempra LNG.

Paul Doucette

Hydrogen Program Leader, University of Houston

Recently retired from Baker Hughes, where he served as Energy Transition Executive and General Manager for global policy, external funding, stakeholder engagement and knowledge manager, Paul now serves as Hydrogen Program Leader for the University of Houston. In this role, Paul coordinates the UH hydrogen policy, regulatory and research interests. Working with the Southern States Energy Board, he is the point person for the UH efforts to create a hydrogen hub in Texas. Paul has held executive and leadership positions with GE Oil & Gas, Star Enterprise and Texaco. He holds a BA from Louisiana Tech, MBA from Nichols State University and is a graduate of the Kellogg School’s Advanced Executive Development Program at Northwestern University.

Dean Foreman

Chief Economist, American Petroleum Institute

Dr. R. Dean Foreman is chief economist of the American Petroleum Institute and an expert in the economics and markets for oil, natural gas and power with more than two decades of industry experience including ExxonMobil, Talisman Energy, Sasol, and Saudi Aramco in forecasting & market analysis, corporate strategic planning, and finance/risk management. He holds a Ph.D. degree in economics from the University of Florida and is known for knowledge of energy markets, applying advanced analytics to assess risk in these markets, and clearly communicating with management, policy makers and the media.

Michelle Foss

Fellow in Energy, Minerals & Materials, Center for Energy Studies, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University

Michelle has 46 years of experience in senior positions in energy (oil, gas/LNG, electric power) and environmental research, consulting and investment banking, with early career involvement in mining and mined land reclamation. She was chief energy economist at The University of Texas at Austin’s Bureau of Economic Geology (retired), leading industry research consortia and USG sponsored research including Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration and USAID and the Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources in more than 20 countries.  She is past president of USAEE (2001) and IAEE (2003).

Patricia Hoffman

Principal Deputy Director, Grid Deployment Office, U.S. Department of Energy

Serving as the Principal Deputy Director for the Grid Deployment Office at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Ms. Hoffman is executing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and establishing the Grid Deployment Office. Ms. Patricia A. Hoffman has also served as Acting Under Secretary for Science and Energy from January 2017 until November 2017. Ms. Hoffman was also a Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary for the Office of Electricity from June 2010 to January 2017, after serving as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary since November 2007. The focus of her responsibility was to provide leadership on a national level to modernize the electric grid and enhance the security and reliability of our Nation’s electricity infrastructure. Ms. Hoffman holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Ceramic Science and Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.

Karr Ingham

Petroleum Economist, Texas Alliance of Energy Producers

Karr Ingham is the Petroleum Economist and Executive Vice President of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, a statewide upstream oil and gas trade association serving primarily independent oil and gas operators in Texas. He is also the owner and President of InghamEcon, LLC, an economic research and analysis firm specializing in metro/regional economics and energy economics. He serves an energy economics representative on the Texas Comptroller’s Economic Roundtable, and co-chairs the Supply and Demand Committee of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA). Ingham is a USAEE member holding his affiliation with the Houston chapter.

David Kirsch

Managing Director, US Oil and Gas Sector, Ernst & Young

David is an Executive Director in Ernst & Young LLP’s Oil and Gas Markets, with over thirty years experience in the nexus of the oil industry, global economics, and international politics. He serves teams throughout the energy value chain, government and the financial sector. David’s current focus has been on energy transition planning, strategies and risk management, with support to teams engaged in portfolio optimization, capital allocation and M&A strategies. He has had a special emphasis on ERM approaches to capture the changing risk environment around an invigorated climate agenda, and ESG approaches to move from compliance to strategy articulation and communication. He is also associated with EY’s Geostrategic Business Group, providing strategy and risk management services for clients across industries.

Stuart Levenbach

Executive, Global Policy & Funding Solutions

Stuart Levenbach is an Executive for Energy Transition Policy and Funding at Baker Hughes and leads global teams that analyze and engage on government policies and funding opportunities. He has over 15 years of experience in US natural resource policy, built up primarily in several White House offices. He leverages his in-depth knowledge of federal budgets, regulatory procedures, and legislative process to accelerate energy transition at Baker Hughes.

Bob McNally

President, Rapidan Energy Group

Robert McNally is based in Washington, DC and has over 30 years of government and market experience as an international energy consultant, senior White House policy official, and hedge fund strategist. His expertise spans government, economic, security, and environmental sectors. He is the author of the award-winning and acclaimed book Crude Volatility: The History and the Future of Boom-Bust Oil Prices (Columbia University Press, 2017).

Evan Michelson

Program Director, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Evan S. Michelson, Ph.D. is a Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Dr. Michelson is responsible for overseeing the Sloan Foundation’s Energy and Environment program, which seeks to inform the societal transition toward low-carbon energy systems in the United States by investigating economic, environmental, technological, and distributional issues. The Energy and Environment program is unique for its focus on supporting influential, interdisciplinary research, training, networking, and dissemination efforts. Dr. Michelson has experience designing trend monitoring, horizon scanning, and strategic foresight processes throughout the social sector. He is the author of Philanthropy and the Future of Science and Technology (2020), the first-of-its-kind book that provides a detailed assessment of the current state of science philanthropy and explores opportunities to further enhance the societal responsibility of these institutions going forward. Dr. Michelson received his Ph.D. from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. He also received a M.A. in international science and technology policy from The George Washington University, a M.A. in the philosophical foundations of physics from Columbia University, and a B.A. in philosophy of science from Brown University.

Chris Moser

Executive Vice President, Head of Competitive Markets and Policy, NRG

Chris Moser, Executive Vice President, Head of Competitive Markets and Policy, leads the regulatory and government affairs teams at NRG. In this newly created position, he is responsible for advancing and protecting competitive energy markets while developing NRG’s advocacy strategy and defending the company’s interests both at the state and federal levels. Prior to this role, Chris served for six years as Executive Vice President, Market and Plant Operations, where he oversaw both the operation of the company’s generation fleet and the commodity trading activity. Chris has a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and a bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College.

Chris Nichols

Chairman, USAEE Government Affairs Committee

Chris Nichols is a senior analyst with the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL) Systems Engineering and Analysis Directorate. In this capacity, he performs a variety of analyses related to the economic, environmental and energy security impacts of new energy-related technologies. Mr. Nichols graduated from Drew University with a degree in Physics and has a master’s degree in Safety and Environmental Management from West Virginia University.

Brett A. Perlman

CEO, Center for Houston’s Future

Brett A. Perlman serves as the CEO of the Center for Houston’s Future, a nonprofit organization working to address matters of highest importance to the long-term future of the greater Houston region. His career has spanned senior positions in business, government and community service organizations. Perlman served for four years as a Commissioner on the Public Utility Commission of Texas, where he was appointed in 1999 by then-Governor George W. Bush. He holds advanced degrees in public policy from Harvard University and in law from the University of Texas, and was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Northwestern University.

David Rapson

Chancellor’s Leadership Professor, Department of Economics, UC Davis

David Rapson is a Chancellor’s Leadership Professor in the UC Davis Economics Department, Policy Advisor & Senior Research Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and Co-Director of the Davis Energy Economics Program (DEEP). The central objective of Professor Rapson’s work is to understand and demonstrate how consumers and firms respond to incentives, and what this implies for effective energy, environmental and economic policy. His work examines a central tension of the energy transition. On one hand, government intervention can improve outcomes when markets fail and when government policies set correct incentives; on the other hand, poorly conceived government interventions may create incentives that undermine goals that they are trying to achieve. Professor Rapson’s research seeks to understand the difference to discern which policies will be effective.

Aileen Roder

Attorney Advisor, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Aileen Roder currently serves as a senior legal advisor in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Office of Energy Policy and Innovation, where she advises the Office Director. Prior to her current role, FERC selected Aileen to provide the Environmental Protection Agency with electricity market expertise and policy guidance as it finalized the Clean Power Plan. She has also been a legal advisor to both FERC Commissioner Suedeen Kelly and Commissioner John Norris, advising each of the Commissioners on a wide range of legal and policy matters pertaining to the electric and natural gas industries. Aileen has a degree in History and Geography from the University of Delaware and a law degree from Pace University School of Law.

Alison Silverstein

Principal, Alison Silverstein Consulting

Alison Silverstein is an independent electricity consultant and researcher based in Austin Texas.  She has worked on power system reliability, electric markets and clean energy for decades, including work as a senior official at the Texas PUC and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Benjamin Sovacool

Professor of Earth and Environment, Boston University

Dr. Benjamin K. Sovacool is Professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University in the United States, as well as Professor of Energy Policy at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex Business School in the United Kingdom. He is also University Distinguished Professor of Business & Social Sciences at Aarhus University in Denmark. Professor Sovacool works as a researcher and consultant on issues pertaining to energy policy, energy justice, energy security, climate change mitigation, and climate change adaptation.

Anna Spurlock

Research Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Dr. C. Anna Spurlock is a Research Scientist and a Deputy Department Head in the Sustainable Energy and Environmental Systems Department at Berkeley Lab. She recently completed a one year Detail to the U.S. Department of Energy as a Justice40 Fellow, served on the Technical Working Group for Discounting, Equity and Risk Aversion in support of the U.S. Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases, and the Distributional Analysis Subgroup in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget process for Modernizing Regulatory Review. Dr. Spurlock’s research most recently focuses on transportation systems simulation, transportation behavior, as well as consumer and market impacts of energy efficient standards regulation.

Christine Tezak

Managing Director, Research, ClearView Energy Partners

Christine Tezak’s leadership of ClearView’s electricity markets, interstate pipelines, energy infrastructure and U.S. environmental policy coverage relies on her more than two decades of experience in the electric utility and natural gas pipeline sectors.

Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Tezak was a senior research analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co. and a senior vice president with the Washington Research Group. She has testified before the FERC and the U.S. House of Representatives.

Ms. Tezak served eight terms as a board member of the Washington, D.C.-based Women’s Council on Energy & the Environment, including two as its President. She remains active in WCEE and is a member of the Natural Gas Roundtable and the Women’s Energy Network, and she is also a non-attorney member of the Energy Bar Association.

Ms. Tezak holds a bachelor’s degree in Russian from Boston College and an MBA in Finance from the George Washington University.

Burçin Ünel

Energy Policy Director, Institute for Policy Integrity,
NYU School of Law

Dr. Burçin Ünel is the Energy Policy Director at the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law. She is an expert in utility regulation, and environmental and energy policy. Recently, Dr. Ünel served as a Senior Fellow in the Department of Energy’s Office of Policy, where she worked on domestic energy and climate policy issues, focusing on federal clean energy legislation, clean energy deployment, and infrastructure planning.

Gregory Upton

Associate Research Professor,

Louisiana State University Center for Energy Studies

Dr. Greg Upton is Associate Research Professor at the Louisiana State University Center for Energy Studies. LSU-CES was created by the Louisiana Legislature in 1982 and is mandated to provide energy information and analysis that responds to the needs of the legislature, public agencies, and business and civic groups. Dr. Upton’s research is at the intersection of energy and environmental economics. He has over 30 publications and has presented his work to approximately 150 industry, governmental and academic audiences, and has been quoted or cited over 100 times in local and national media including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and NPR’s Marketplace.

Dr. Upton holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Louisiana State University where he also received both an M.A. in economics and a B.S. in economics with a concentration in empirical analysis.

Rick Westerdale

Executive Director, Energy Futures Initiative

With more than thirty years of international business experience, Rick W. Westerdale II is a highly entrepreneurial global C-Level executive with a proven track record of success in both the private sector and public service. Rick is currently an Executive Director at The Energy Futures Initiative (EFI), a Washington, DC based non-profit thinktank. Additionally, Rick is General Manger of Westerdale Holdings, LLC. Westerdale Holdings is project incubator and holding company, focused on business development and client relations for a wide range of investment, project development and business planning activities in the US and internationally. Affiliates of Westerdale Holdings include Integrated Energy Partners (IEP), Energy International Corporation (EIC) and Bloodtrust LLC.

Previously, Rick served as Senior Vice President and on the Board of Directors for Jiangnan Environmental Protection Group Inc. (JNG), an environmental technology provider where Rick was responsible for the corporation’s oil & gas strategy. Prior to joining JNG, Rick was a Senior Advisor with the Department of State. Rick advised senior principals, including the Secretary, on the nexus of energy with U.S. national security and international energy policy priorities. His focus was on energy affairs and their effect on U.S. business interests including governance, access to energy, increasing access to conventional energy resources, and use of alternative and renewables technologies.

Rob Wingo

EVP for Corporate Ventures, EQT

Mr. Wingo is Executive Vice President, Corporate Ventures for EQT, the largest natural gas producer in the US. In this role he leads the company’s effort to identify and enter new businesses including low carbon energy opportunities. He was previously a Managing Director at Encap Flatrock Midstream and prior to that was Senior Vice President of Midstream and Marketing for Rice Energy, as well as Chief Operating Officer and a member of the board of directors for Rice Midstream Partners where he helped launch the company’s midstream business and led its growth to become one of the largest providers of dry gas gathering and freshwater delivery services in the Marcellus and Utica shales and one of the largest sellers of natural gas in the Appalachian Basin. Prior to Rice, he worked for Copano Energy, where he held positions in operations, engineering, project management, business development and corporate development. Mr. Wingo earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Derek Wissmiller

Director of Energy Systems Modeling, GTI Energy

Derek Wissmiller is the Director of Energy Systems Modeling at GTI Energy, an R&D organization focused on technology advancement to enable low-carbon, low-cost energy systems.  He currently leads GTI Energy’s efforts to characterize the environmental and economic impacts of technology solutions in transitioning energy systems.  Derek has a rich background in technology development, with experience leading R&D programs from small-scale proof-of-concept to commercial-scale demonstration.

Pat Wood III

CEO, Hunt Energy Network

Pat Wood III is the CEO of the Hunt Energy Network, deploying a portfolio of power storage assets across Texas. He past Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT). Mr. Wood has been a forceful advocate throughout his career for customer-centered, technology-unleashing competition and for robust infrastructure investment.