Board Of Trustees

Executive Committee

Paula Gold-Williams (Co-Chair)
Paula Gold-Williams (Co-Chair)

Paula Gold-Williams serves as the Chair of the Keystone Policy Center and she has been a member of both the Policy Center and its Energy Board since 2016. Paula also serves on the Board of Emera Inc., a publicly traded Canadian multinational energy holding company.

Paula previously served as the President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CPS Energy, San Antonio’s (S.A.) 162-year old fully integrated electric and natural gas municipal utility. During her CEO tenure that extended from November 2015 to January 2022, Paula was the only African American Female CEO in Energy. Paula took the helm of the company by leading more than 3,000 team members with a focus on her vision of keeping “People First.” Under her leadership, CPS Energy delivered value to its customers and community, as it developed a “Flexible Path” to a new age of energy solutions.

Earlier in her 17-year career at CPS Energy, she was Controller & Assistant Treasurer. Next she became the VP & Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)—Organizational Excellence & Shared Services. This was followed by becoming Executive Vice President (EVP), Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & Treasurer. Then Paula was promoted to Group EVP – Financial & Administrative Services, CFO & Treasurer. In that prior role, she oversaw all enterprise financial functions, while also handled the strategic oversight for People & Culture; Enterprise Safety & Health; Supply Chain; Facilities; Enterprise Information Technology; plus Physical & Cybersecurity.

Paula’s over 35 years of leadership experience includes being a Controller for Time Warner’s regional cable and telephony office in S.A., TX. Then she became the Vice President (VP) of Finance for Luby’s, Inc. before being recruited by CPS Energy in late 2004.

Relative to governance, Paula was CPS Energy’s sponsor of its Energy Portfolio Strategic Committee (EPSC), as well as a representative on two committees that oversaw the company’s direct and nuclear decommissioning investments. Concurrently, she was a member of the Oversight Committee (OC) that oversaw CPS Energy’s four Employee Benefits Trusts. (Membership for the OC also included the Board’s Audit Committee.)

Paula is a Board Member & Treasurer of EPIcenter, an innovation think tank; incubator and accelerator; and strategic advisory organization. She serves as an Energy Pillar Co-Chair of Dentons’ Smart Cities & Communities Initiatives & Think Tank. Paula is an Advisory Board Member of iEmpower, an all-inclusive organization that optimizes the concept of community to engage and inspire women. Paula also serves on the U.S. Secretary of Energy’s (Jennifer Granholm’s) Advisory Board (SEAB).

Recently, Paula held other board positions including: 1st Vice Chair of the Electric Power Resource Institute (EPRI); Board Treasurer of Greater SATX, S.A,’s regional economic development engine; a member and designated Chair Pro Tem of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ San Antonio Branch; and a past Chair of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.

In 2022, Diversity Woman named Paula to their Elite 100 Black Women Leaders List. In 2021, Bloomberg designated her a Climate Leader. That year, Smart Energy International listed her as a member of Global & Power Energy Elite. Additionally, the Energy Diversity & Inclusion Council designated her as a Top CEO in Energy. In 2020, Paula was named Woman of the Year by the S.A. Business Journal and she was a finalist for S&P Global Platts’ Chief Executive of the Year. In 2019, Paula was named S&P Global Platts’ Chief Trailerblazer and the Women’s Council on Energy & the Environment (WCEE) voted her as Women’s Champion. In 2018, Paula was recognized as the Energy Thought Leader of the Year by Zpyrme and was a Leadership Award Honoree of the Keystone Policy Center.

Paula has an Associate Degree in Fine Arts from San Antonio College. She has a BBA in Accounting from St. Mary’s University, in S.A., Texas. She earned a Finance & Accounting MBA from Regis University in Denver, Colorado. Paula became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) while working for her first professional employer, the then Big 8 accounting firm of Ernst & Whinney. She is a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).

Paula mentors numerous people, from college students to top executives. She is married and has two daughters.

Mitch Jackson (Co-Chair)
Mitch Jackson (Co-Chair) FedEx Corporation

As Chief Sustainability Officer for FedEx Corporation, Mitch Jackson leads the strategic direction for all aspects of the company’s sustainability, climate-related, and emissions-reduction strategies, programs, and initiatives. He is a thought leader and recognized expert on sustainability and climate-related matters; and advises the FedEx Corporation Board of Directors, CEO, and executive management. In 2021, he led the establishment of the company’s goal of achieving carbon neutral operations globally by 2040, which focuses initially on investments in three priority areas: vehicle electrification, sustainable energy, and carbon sequestration. As Chief Sustainability Officer, Jackson also oversees the publication of the annual FedEx ESG Report and related reporting efforts.

With a background in engineering, Jackson helped envision and pioneer the implementation of hybrid and electric vehicles in the FedEx fleet as well as the market for commercial EVs overall. He was also instrumental in successfully securing the first-ever national fuel efficiency standards and greenhouse gas requirements for commercial vehicles. Additionally, he championed the first FedEx solar energy system in 2005—which was California’s largest corporate rooftop array at the time of its inauguration—and has overseen the growth of on-site and off-site solar energy generation to dozens of FedEx facilities worldwide in the years since.

Jackson’s decades-long sustainability leadership at FedEx has been recognized in the transportation industry and beyond. In 2009 Ethisphere Institute named Jackson as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics. In 2023, Sustainability Magazine named him to the Top 100 Global Chief Sustainability Officers. In 2022, Jackson was named to Constellation Research’s inaugural ESG50 list of top environmental, social, and governance executives championing pragmatic ESG strategies. Jackson was previously named one of the top 15 sustainable business executives on Twitter by British media outlet The Guardian, as well as recognized as a “Sustainability All-Star” by Green Fleet Magazine.

Jackson is currently co-chair of the Keystone Policy Center’s Board of Trustees, executive committee, and sits on its Energy Board. He also serves on the advisory board of the Center for Energy, Development, and the Global Environment (EDGE) at the Duke University Fuqua School of Busi-ness. Additionally, he has served as environmental juror for the Heinz Awards, as a board member of Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, on the American Trucking Associations Board of Directors, and the University of Michigan’s ERB Institute Strategic Advisory Council.

Jackson currently serves on the ESG/sustainability advisory board for The Heritage Group, a fourth-generation business managing a diverse portfolio of more than 30 companies specializing in heavy construction and materials, environmental services and specialty chemicals. He also serves on the ESG/sustainability advisory board for truCurrent, a Distributed Sun microgrid, mobility and virtual power company.

Terry Craig (Board Secretary)
Terry Craig (Board Secretary)

A Kansas native, Terry McGrath Craig has lived in Keystone, CO since 1978. In 1982 Craig, along with her business partner Marty Hibberd, opened the Hibberd McGrath Gallery, representing a number of notable contemporary artists from Colorado and beyond. Established first in Keystone in 1982, the gallery relocated in 1985 to Breckenridge, where it remained popular with locals and visitors alike until it’s closure upon Hibberd’s passing in 2012.

Ms. Craig met Bob Craig, her partner of more than 30 years, in Keystone in 1978. They were married in 1999 and remained together in Keystone until his passing in early 2015.

Previously, Terry developed curriculum and taught environmental education at a number of institutions including the Colorado Outdoor Education Center and Sanborn Western Camps in Florissant, CO; Keewaydin Environmental Education Center in Salisbury, Vermont; and Keystone Science School.

Ms. Craig is an active member of the Summit County community and has served on the Snake River Planning Commission for 12 years. She has also served as president and board member of the Summit Historical Society; president and board member of the Summit Ski Education Foundation; the Summit County Open Space Advisory Council; and the Keystone Citizens League.

Ms. Craig holds a B.A. in Geography/History from the University of Missouri at Columbia.

Paula Glover
Paula GloverAlliance to Save Energy

The Alliance to Save Energy has announced that Paula R. Glover will become the organization’s new president. A dynamic leader with more than 25 years of experience in the energy industry, Glover currently serves as president and CEO of the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE). Glover will assume the new role on Jan. 4, 2021, and will become the Alliance’s seventh president in its 43-year history. Paula R. Glover is President and CEO for the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE), a national energy trade association that represents all sectors of the energy industry. Mrs. Glover leads a 2000-member association with 40 chapters nationwide. The association’s focus is to represent the voice for African Americans and other minorities on energy policy, regulations, and environmental issues.

Mrs. Glover directs the association’s strategic plan, business development and policy positions. She represents the organization before energy industry executives and national and state policy makers. She is an industry thought leader for issues around diversity and inclusion. Her work on international energy issues underscores the importance of energy to improve the quality of life for people throughout the African Continent. The association under Mrs. Glover’s leadership has partnered with the US Department of Energy on its Minorities in Energy initiative as well as business development programming for minority entrepreneurs. She has also testified before Congress about the impact of policies on underserved communities. Ms. Glover’s has more than 25 years of experience in the energy industry, including 15 years in both electric and natural gas distribution companies where she has worked in government affairs, regulatory affairs and economic development.

In March 2014 Ms. Glover was appointed to the National Petroleum Council by U.S. Secretary of Energy, Dr. Ernest Moniz. She continues to serve on the Council having been reappointed by Secretary Perry in 2016 and Secretary Brouillette in 2020. She serves on the board of the Alliance to Save Energy and Groundswell, a community solar development organization. She is also a Trustee for Cardigan Mountain School, a junior boarding school in Canaan, NH. She received her B.S. in Marketing Management from the University of Delaware.

She is the recipient of the Bring It Home to Hartford Award, the Clarke Watson Chairman’s Cup, and the Platinum Achievement Award from the Cooperative Developmental Energy Program at Fort Valley State University. In February 2019, she was named a Champion in Energy by the Florida Women’s Energy Leadership Forum. She is a 2003 graduate of Leadership New Haven and has contributed to article on work life balance in Take Pride magazine.

Bob Perciasepe
Bob PerciasepeCenter for Climate and Energy Solutions

Bob Perciasepe has been an environmental policy leader in and outside government for more than 40 years, most recently as the president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES). He now serves as a senior advisor to several organizations including C2ES.

Prior to serving as C2ES’s president Bob was the longest serving Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He is a respected expert on environmental stewardship, natural resource management, and public policy, and has built a reputation for bringing stakeholders together to solve issues.

Bob served as Deputy Administrator from 2009 to 2014. He was previously assistant administrator for both the agency’s water and clean air programs from 1993 to 2000, leading efforts to improve the safety of America’s drinking water and development of a new infrastructure revolving fund for drinking water. He also led efforts to lower sulfur levels in gasoline and diesel fuel to reduce smog.

In 2002, Bob joined the National Audubon Society, one of the nation’s oldest conservation organizations, as its senior vice president for public policy. He served as the group’s chief operating officer from 2004 to 2009, and worked to protect wetlands and expand environmental education, especially in urban areas.

He has also held top positions in state and municipal government—as Secretary of the Environment for the state of Maryland from 1990 to 1993 and as a senior planning official for the city of Baltimore, where he managed the city’s capital budget from 1980 to1986.

Bob is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. He serves on the boards of the Keystone Policy Center, the George B. Storer Foundation, and the Environmental Law Institute. He has received American University’s William K. Reilly Award for Environmental Leadership, the Chesapeake Water Environment Association’s Abel Wolman Award, and the American Lung Association’s Distinguished Service Award.

Bob holds a master’s degree in planning and public administration from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Science degree in natural resources from Cornell University.

Christine Scanlan
Christine ScanlanKeystone Policy Center

Christine Scanlan is President and CEO of the Keystone Policy Center, a nonprofit organization which over the past 40 years, has built a portfolio of substantive work in energy, environment, education, health, and agriculture. Keystone has accomplished this work with a series of complementary approaches that reflect the diverse strategies utilized in leadership and successful issue resolution.

Christine joined the Keystone Policy Center from her role as Director of Legislative Affairs and Strategic Initiatives and Senior Education Policy Advisor to Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. Prior to her senior staff role in the Governor’s Office, Christine was a Colorado State Representative for House District 56 and served in leadership as Majority Whip.

In earlier years, Christine had previously been at Keystone as Senior Vice President and COO. Christine has extensive public policy experience as a seasoned facilitator, negotiator and policy expert and is a respected leader in finding policy solutions through collaborative dialogue to complicated issues of urgency and import. Christine received both her MA Nonprofit Management and BA History from Regis University, Denver, Colorado.

Tom Sheldon (Audit Committee Chair)
Tom Sheldon (Audit Committee Chair)National Ecological Observatory Network, Inc. (NEON)

Tom Sheldon recently retired from his position as Chief Financial Officer of Global CO2 Science Initiative, a start-up non-profit whose focus was to fund and mentor research in the areas of carbon capture and use. Prior to that Tom served as Chief Financial Officer of the National Ecological Observatory Network, Inc. (NEON) where he spent over five years developing the business functions necessary to support construction and operations of the 110 site ecological observatory. Tom previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Sorin Group North America for eight years, and worked for TRW Inc. in various financial management capacities for over 19 years, including overseas and corporate staff assignments.

Tom received a BA in economics from the University of Colorado and an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Clinton A. Vince
Clinton A. VinceDentons US LLP

Clint Vince is the chair of Dentons’ US Energy Practice and Co-Chair of Dentons’ Global Energy Sector.

Clint is rated as one of the leading energy lawyers in the US and has directed the expansion of the US Energy team into a premier practice that includes professionals spanning the continent coast-to-coast, offering a full range of services to energy industry clients. He is widely recognized for his cutting-edge theories and solutions within the energy industry and has a top-tier litigation track record. Recently, Clint created the groundbreaking Dentons Smart Cities & Connected Communities Think Tank and he is one of the industry leaders on this subject.

Clint remains at the forefront of energy developments and continuously handles some of the highest profile cases in the industry. His experience involves major project development, legislative and regulatory advocacy on behalf of public and private clients, and litigation and appellate cases including US Supreme Court advocacy.

Clint has handled more than 650 regulatory and litigation proceedings and argued before trial and state appellate courts; numerous US District Courts; and the US Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, Tenth, Eleventh and District of Columbia Circuits; and the Supreme Court of the United States, in some instances multiple times. He also has handled too many complex energy transactions, negotiations and projects to count.

Dentons was named the “Energy Firm of the Year” by Who’s Who Legal Awards for five years, in 2015-2017 and 2021-2022. Clint and his team of energy professionals, also were awarded Energy Daily’s Leadership Award for “Most Dynamic Energy Practice” in the US. Clint was recently honored as one of the 2015 “Energy & Environment Trailblazers” in the National Law Journal’s inaugural supplemental issue. He also has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA, Chambers Global, Legal 500 US, Washington DC Super Lawyers and most recently the 2023 Lawdragon 500 Leading Energy Lawyers.

Dentons was named as one of the “Awesome Opponents” by BTI Consulting in BTI Litigation Outlook 2023, an honor bestowed upon 12 elite law firms. Acritas has named Dentons in the Acritas Global Brand Elite Index 2021 in two categories including, the second best known law firm and the third most favored law firm. That value is the result of Dentons’ unstinting focus on quality, inclusion, breadth and depth of capability to bring together the best teams, and a polycentric approach which combines local knowledge and relationships with a global outlook.

Clint is a past editor-in-chief of the Energy Law Journal and has served as Co-Chair of the prestigious Keystone Policy Center, a think tank known for its work in the energy and environmental fields. Clint currently chairs the Board of the Alliance to Save Energy, a leading energy efficiency nonprofit. Clint is a co-founder and chair of the Energy Advisory Council of the World Resources Institute.

Trustees

Paul Aliu
Paul AliuNovartis

Paul is the Head of Medical Excellence, Operations and Governance at Novartis, with responsibility for defining and governing enterprise-wide medical standards and policies, ensuring timely clinical trial disclosure and transparency; and the oversight, standards, training, systems and operations for compassionate use/expanded access, scientific grants, peri- and post-registration medical programs (e.g. Investigator initiated trials, research collaborations, non-interventional studies, registries, and patient support/assistance programs).

He has over 20 years’ experience in the Pharma industry across multiple therapeutic areas and roles. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, he practiced as a clinical pharmacist, and is trained in law, business, bioethics, and general management. He previously served as an industry representative over a 5-year period on the WHO/Roll-Back Malaria (RBM) case management working group and has managed various partnerships (Public-Private & Private-Private).

Paul is a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (MRPharmS). He has a Doctorate in Clinical Pharmacy from the University of Florida, a first-class honors master’s degree in Pharmacy from the Sunderland School of Pharmacy in the UK, a qualifying Law degree from the College of Law in London (now University of Law), certificates in Global Health Delivery and Public Leadership from Harvard University, a Fellowship in Bioethics from the Harvard Medical School, and an executive MBA from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

He is a regular speaker/panelist at conferences on Global Health, Patient Access, Medical Governance, and also publishes on these topics.

Allyson Anderson Book
Allyson Anderson BookBaker Hughes

Allyson Anderson Book is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Baker Hughes. In this role she oversees Baker Hughes’ energy transition strategy by driving sustainable operations, supporting commercial energy transition solutions for customers, and ensuring market creation of these solutions via stakeholder engagement and policy development.

In 2021 alone, she was recognized by Petroleum Economist as among Top 10 Women Leading Energy Transition in Sustainability, by Oil & Gas Investor as among 25 Influential Women in Energy, and by Hart Energy for its ESG Champion of Year Award.

Before joining Baker Hughes, she served as the executive director of the American Geosciences Institute, which represents more than 250,000 geoscientists and focuses on increasing public awareness of the role geosciences play in society’s use of resources. Prior to that, she held several academic, policy and senior government positions, including teaching at Georgetown University, working for the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and serving as the associate director of strategic engagement of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) at the U.S. Department of the Interior. She began her career as a geoscientist for ExxonMobil.

She holds bachelor’s degrees in geology and music from the University of Northern Iowa, and a master’s degree in geology from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Sarah Brown
Sarah Brown BASF Corporation

Sarah Brown leads public affairs for BASF Agricultural Solutions, North America. She brings more than 15 years of experience in public affairs and industry relations across the agriculture industry.

Most recently, Sarah served as Vice President of External Affairs for renewable energy start-up, Nacelle Solutions and Avolta. Sarah previously was Executive Director of Industry Relations at American Farm Bureau Federation based in Washington, DC. Prior to her career at AFBF, Sarah worked in management consulting advising Fortune 100 financial services companies. She started her career managing U.S. sales and marketing for Dutch produce company, Intergrow Greenhouses, Inc. based in New York.

Sarah is a graduate of Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, where she currently serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council. She is part of an 8th generation family farm, located on the shores of Lake Ontario in New York State, that was founded in 1804. She currently resides in Washington, DC, where she and her husband are actively engaged in agriculture both personally and professionally.

Kathleen Barrón
Kathleen BarrónConstellation

Profile
Barrón serves as executive vice president and chief strategy officer for Constellation, the nation’s largest producer of carbon-free energy and the leading competitive retail supplier of energy products and services for 2 million homes and businesses across the United States. In this role, Barrón is responsible for corporate strategy, corporate development, public policy, sustainability, communications, corporate relations and philanthropy for Constellation. She is also part of Constellation’s Executive Committee.

Professional History
Barrón previously served as Exelon’s executive vice president for government and regulatory affairs and public policy, where she led the development and implementation of federal, state and regional governmental, regulatory and public policy strategies for Exelon Corporation, the nation’s largest producer and distributor] of clean energy. She was responsible for identifying and assessing key federal and state policy issues of interest to Exelon, crafting the company’s position on such issues, and developing strategies for achieving public policy objectives on behalf of Exelon’s customers and businesses. She was also responsible for managing the company’s wholesale market design advocacy in each of the regional markets where the company operates.

Prior to joining Exelon, Barrón was the Deputy General Counsel at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), where she advised the Commission on all aspects of its responsibilities and represented the Commission before Congress, government agencies, and industry groups. Previously, Barrón was the FERC’s associate general counsel for energy markets, where she led a group of about 90 lawyers on legal and policy matters related to electric power sales and transportation, electric system reliability, corporate regulation of public utilities and natural gas and oil pipeline transportation. Prior to joining FERC, Barrón was in private practice with the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP. There, she represented utility and independent power producer clients in proceedings before FERC, U.S. Courts of Appeal, and state utility commissions.

Family
Barrón is married with three children.

 Arthur L. Caplan
Arthur L. CaplanNYU Langone

Currently the Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine in New York City.

Prior to coming to NYU School of Medicine, Dr. Caplan was the Sidney D. Caplan Professor of Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, where he created the Center for Bioethics and the Department of Medical Ethics. Caplan has also taught at the University of Minnesota, where he founded the Center for Biomedical Ethics, the University of Pittsburgh, and Columbia University.  He received his PhD from Columbia University.

Dr. Caplan is the author or editor of thirty-five books and over 850 papers in peer reviewed journals. His most recent books are Vaccination Ethics and Policy, with Jason Schwartz and, Getting to Good: Research Integrity in Biomedicine with Barbara Redman.

He has served on a number of national and international committees including as the chair of the National Cancer Institute Biobanking Ethics Working Group, chair of the Advisory Committee to the United Nations on Human Cloning; chair of the Advisory Committee to the Department of Health and Human Services on Blood Safety and Availability. He has also served on the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illnesses, the special advisory committee to the International Olympic Committee on genetics and gene therapy, the Special Advisory Panel to the National Institutes of Mental Health on Human Experimentation on Vulnerable Subjects, the Wellcome Trust Advisory Panel on Research in Humanitarian Crises, and the co-director of the Joint Council of Europe/United Nations Study on Trafficking in Organs and Body Parts.

Caplan has served since 2015 as the chairperson of the Compassionate Use Advisory Committee (CompAC), an independent group of internationally recognized medical experts, bioethicists and patient representatives which advises Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals about requests for compassionate use of some of its investigational medicines.

Dr. Caplan is a regular commentator on bioethics and health care issues for WebMD/Medscape, WGBH radio in Boston, WOR radio in New York City, Hearst Media Group, Connecticut and CNN.  He appears frequently as a guest and commentator on various other national and international media outlets.

Dr. Caplan is the recipient of many awards and honors including the McGovern Medal of the American Medical Writers Association and the Franklin Award from the City of Philadelphia. He was a USA Today 2001 “Person of the Year and was described as one of the ten most influential people in science by Discover magazine in 2008.  He has also been honored as one of the fifty most influential people in American health care by Modern Health Care magazine, one of the ten most influential people in America in biotechnology by the National Journal, one of the ten most influential people in the ethics of biotechnology by the editors of Nature Biotechnology, and one of the 100 most influential people in biotechnology by Scientific American magazine.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, he co-directed an advisory group on sports and recreation for the US Conference of Mayors, created a working group on coronavirus vaccine challenge studies, developed an ethical framework for distributing drugs and vaccines for J&J, helped develop rationing policies for NYU LMC and many other health systems, is a member of the WHO advisory committee on Covid, ethics and experimental drugs/vaccines, helped set policy for WIRB/WCG for research studies He was an advisor to Moderna.  And serves on the NCAA Sports and Covid committee.

He received the Patricia Price Browne Prize in Biomedical Ethics for 2011. In 2014 he was selected to receive the Public Service Award from the National Science Foundation/National Science Board, which honors individuals and groups that have made substantial contributions to increasing public understanding of science and engineering in the United States. In 2016 the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) honored him with their Rare Impact Award and e received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Bioethics and the Humanities. In 2018 he was awarded the Food and Drug Law Institute’s Distinguished Service Leadership Award. In 2019 he was honored by the Food and Drug Administration’s, Reagan/Udall Foundation with its Innovation Award.

He holds seven honorary degrees from colleges and medical schools.

Terrance D. Carroll
Terrance D. CarrollSherman & Howard LLC

From being a police officer to serving as the 54th speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives to owning his own small business to practicing law, Terrance Carroll pulls from life experiences to provide his clients with unique and well-informed counsel.

Terrance represents clients in corporate and transactional matters, as well as in government & political law. His clients range from those seeking his advice on navigating the complex political, governmental, and regulatory environment to small-to-mid sized companies to minority-owned businesses.

Growing up in Washington, D.C. and having a mother active in politics, Terrance knew from an early age he wanted to work on behalf of others. He also had a famous neighbor, Thurgood Marshall, who served as a role model. Terrance developed a passion for law and recognized it as an opportunity to positively impact others’ lives. He began his career in law enforcement and eventually made his way to law school.

In 2003, Terrance was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives, where he served as the 54th speaker of the House, the only African American to do so. While serving, he finished his law degree at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

Since then, he has become known as well-respected attorney who is a trusted ally to his clients, whose unique experiences sets him apart from his peers.

Terrance is involved in many professional and civic organizations and has served as an adjunct professor and distinguished guest lecturer at educational institutions.

Terrance is a graduate of the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and holds a Master of Divinity degree from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver. He also an ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches-USA and the Progressive National Baptist Church.

Shelby Coffey III
Shelby Coffey IIIFreedom Forum

Currently a senior fellow at The Freedom Forum and Vice Chairman of The Newseum in Washington, DC, Coffey is the author of “Best Practices: The Art of Leadership in News Organizations,” a book on leadership that draws on the experiences of top media executives. Previously the president of CNN Business News and CNNfn, he was responsible for the overall leadership of CNNfn, which expanded to a 24-hour programming schedule under his leadership, and for all business and financial programming on CNN/U.S., CNN International, CNN Headline News, CNN Airport Network and the news content of CNNfn.com.

Prior to joining CNN, Coffey was the executive vice president of ABC News, and also served as the editor and executive vice president of the Los Angeles Times from 1989 to 1997. In 1995, he was named Editor of the Year by the National Press Foundation in recognition of the Los Angeles Times’ coverage of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the 1994 Northridge earthquake and the 1994 O.J. Simpson trial. He also received the Ida B. Wells Award in 1995 for exemplary achievement in the hiring and advancement of minorities in the news media. Other positions he has held include serving as senior vice president and editor of the Dallas Times Herald and editor of U.S. News & World Report. He began his career at The Washington Post where he held a variety of positions during his 17 years there.

Jeff Danter
Jeff Danter Trust for Public Land

As the executive vice president of field programs, Jeff is responsible for overseeing all state and area programs including land protection, urban parks development, and community-based conservation. Jeff joined TPL in 2011 and has worked in conservation since 1994. Prior to that he worked for an international electrical engineering company. Jeff received his BS in Chemical Engineering, MBA, and PhD in Ecological Management Communications from The Ohio State University.

Michael Doane
Michael DoaneThe Nature Conservancy

Michael Doane is the Global Managing Director of Food and Water for The Nature Conservancy (TNC).  Michael leads a global team of the organization’s foremost experts across agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, and freshwater management. Top priorities for his program include mainstreaming regenerative agriculture and electronic monitoring of fisheries, eliminating deforestation and scaling up investment in nature-based solutions for freshwater management.

Michael brings twenty-five years of relevant business and leadership experience to the role.  Prior to TNC, he spent sixteen years with Monsanto, where he led high performing teams across sustainability, food and nutrition security, corporate affairs and commercial business operations.  In addition, he has played a catalytic leadership role in the development of multi-stakeholder sustainable sourcing organizations such as Field to Market and The Sustainability Consortium.

Prior to his time in agribusiness, Michael served as Executive Vice President for the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, where he played a leadership role in the advancement of no-tillage farming systems in the Great Plains region.  Michael started farming at a young age and is a partner in his family’s farming operation located in Kansas.  He combines his interest in farming with his love for the great outdoors as an avid angler and upland game hunter.

Michael currently serves on the board of directors for the Keystone Policy Center and the Farm Foundation.  Additionally, he serves on the technical advisory board of the United Soybean Board, PrairieFood and Benson Hill.

Michael holds a B.S. in Agribusiness and an M.S. in Agricultural Economics, both from Kansas State University.  More importantly, he brings a wealth of practical experience and business savvy to the global conservation movement.  Michael and his wife, Julie have two children and make their home in Parkville, Missouri.

John E. Echohawk
John E. EchohawkNative American Rights Fund

John Echohawk, a member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, was a co-founder of the Native American Rights Fund in 1970 and has been its Executive Director since 1977. The Native American Rights Fund has been involved in most of the major Indian rights litigation since 1970. He serves on many national boards and has received numerous service awards and other recognition for his leadership in the Indian law field.

In 1992, he served on the Clinton-Gore transition team for the Department of the Interior and in 2008 he served on the Obama-Biden transition team for the Department of the Interior. B.A., University of New Mexico (1967); J.D., University of New Mexico (1970); admitted to practice law in Colorado.

Shelley Fidler
Shelley FidlerVan Ness Feldman

Shelley Fidler supports clients operating at the intersection of business and government in areas as diverse as, business strategy, government relations, innovative governance, advocacy, federal funding, regulatory assistance, thought leadership, coalition management, mentorship, nonprofit effectiveness, relationships with regulators and policymakers and participation and visibility for companies at government’s highest levels.  She assists in subject areas as diverse as trade, utility models, smart grid and  grid modernization, energy efficiency and renewable energy, energy innovation in fuels, transportation, power, agriculture, and public lands, as well as with deep engagement in regulation and emerging energy technologies and regulatory trends..  Shelley utilizes more than 45 years of Washington D.C. experience to assist clients in obtaining creative, responsive, sustainable solutions to complex and vexing business, public policy and regulatory challenges.

Prior to her last two decades in the private sector as part of the deeply substantive, well respected, collaborative law firm of Van Ness Feldman,  Shelley served six years in the Clinton White House Council on Environmental Quality with an assignment at the Department of Energy.  Shelley also served twenty years in the U.S. House of Representatives with former Congressman Philip R. Sharp, finishing her Capitol Hill service as Staff Director at the Subcommittee on Energy and Power of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Edward M. Gabriel
Edward M. GabrielAmerican Task Force on Lebanon

Ambassador Edward Gabriel has an extensive background in international affairs, having convened multilateral policy forums involving national security, trade, and energy issues. He has been involved in matters of Russian nuclear non-proliferation, and he has been active in advising the US government on Middle East policy concerns.

In 1997, he became the 16th US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco. Currently, Ambassador Gabriel is the volunteer President and CEO of the American Task Force on Lebanon, a nonprofit organization that seeks to build greater understanding and cultural ties between the United States and Lebanon. In August 2022, the US Senate confirmed the nomination by President Biden of Ambassador Gabriel to become a member of the Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace.

Ambassador Gabriel was founding CEO of one of the largest public affairs companies in Washington, the Madison Public Affairs Group. He was a senior economic analyst with the Department of Energy, and was founding Executive Director of the Council of Energy Resource Tribes, an association of American Indian tribes that owned energy resources. He was also Director of the Keystone Policy Center’s Energy Project which pioneered electricity sector reform.

He serves on the boards of the American Schools of Tangier and Marrakech, the Keystone Policy Center, AMIDEAST, and Lebanese American University.

He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and ACCESS Arab American of the Year, among others, and was recognized by the FBI for his work on bilateral security issues. He is the recipient of Lebanon’s National Order of the Cedar and Morocco’s Order of the Ouissam Alaouite.

Ambassador Gabriel holds a B.S. degree in business and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Gannon University. Ambassador Gabriel grew up in Olean, NY, and lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, Kathleen Linehan.

Rudy D. Garza
Rudy D. GarzaCPS Energy

Rudy D. Garza is the President & CEO for CPS Energy, the nation’s largest community-owned electric and natural gas utility. He is the first Hispanic leader to hold the position. Rudy has more than 25 years of experience as a leader in the utility industry and has served in both the public and private sectors over the course of his career.

Rudy has successfully led the company to the approval of the first-rate case in 8 years and approval for the next phase of energy efficiency and conservation programs. He also led the comprehensive strategic engagement strategy for Board of Trustee approval of a blended generation planning approach to power our growing community. To deliver on CPS Energy’s mission to serve our community, Rudy developed a strategic plan called Vision 2027, a roadmap to guide CPS Energy through the rapid transformation of the utility industry.

Rudy joined CPS Energy in 2012 and previously served as Chief Customer & Stakeholder Engagement Officer and as Senior Vice President of Distribution Service & Operations where he oversaw the maintenance and construction activity of the electric distribution system. He has also served the company in the role of Vice President of External Relations.

Rudy has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas in Austin and a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Texas. He continues to serve his Austin alma mater as an Engineering Advisory Board member for the Cockrell School of Electrical Engineering.
Rudy is dedicated to public service and is actively engaged in his community through multiple board roles, including the Archdiocese Hope for the Future, Brooks Development Authority, greater:SATX, United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County, Texas Energy Reliability Council, and the Large Public Power Council.

David Goldston
David GoldstonMassachusetts Institute of Technology

David Goldston became Director of the MIT Washington Office in May 2017. Prior to that, he was the Director of Government Affairs at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a leading environmental group, for eight years, where he helped shape NRDC’s federal political strategy, policies and communications. Before that, he spent more than 20 years on Capitol Hill in Washington, working primarily on science policy and environmental policy. He was Chief of Staff of the House Committee on Science from 2001 through 2006. After retiring from government service, Goldston was a visiting lecturer at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 2007 and at the Harvard University Center for the Environment in 2008 and 2009.

He is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. From 2007 through November 2009, he wrote a monthly column for Nature on science policy titled “Party of One.” Goldston also was the project director for the Bipartisan Policy Center report “Improving the Use of Science in Regulatory Policy,” which was released in August 2009. He authored a chapter in The Science of Science Policy: A Handbook (Stanford University Press, 2011). He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the National Academy of Sciences’ Division of Environment and Life Sciences and has served on numerous panels of the Academy and other science policy organizations. He holds a B.A. (1978) from Cornell University and completed the course work for a Ph.D. in American history at the University of Pennsylvania.

Carolyn Green
Carolyn Green EnerGreen Capital Management

Carolyn is the founder and managing partner of EnerGreen Capital Management, LLC, which invests in growth stage lower and middle market firms in the environmental and energy industries. EnerGreen owns controlling interest in a St. Louis, MO based environmental engineering firm and a Houston based energy efficiency auditing and consulting firm. Prior to starting EnerGreen, Carolyn was Vice President of Health, Environment & Safety for independent oil refiner/marketer Sunoco, Inc. were served as Chief EHS Officer and published the company’s annual CSR/Sustainability report.

Beginning her career as an urban planner, Carolyn has provided strategic planning, process improvement, regulatory analysis and compliance, government and public affairs, and community outreach services for state and local air pollution control agencies, the homebuilding industry, electric and natural gas utilities, and the oil & petrochemical refining and marketing industries.

Carolyn holds a Bachelor of Music and completed graduate coursework in Urban & Regional Planning from the University of Iowa. She also has completed a course in Planning & Public Policy at the University of California, the US Small Business Administration’s Emerging Leaders Program for small business owners, and an NACD board member training program.

Carolyn is a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC) and serves on the President’s

Council of Ceres. In 2019, she co-authored the book The Energy Within Us.

 

Bruce Harris
Bruce HarrisWalmart Stores, INC

Bruce C. Harris is the Vice President of Federal Government Affairs for Walmart.

He is the head of the Washington, D.C. office for the Fortune #1 company, and is responsible for all aspects of the company’s advocacy strategy before the federal government. He leads a team that manages a broad array of complex policy issues, including tax policy, trade, sustainability, food and agriculture, financial services, healthcare, e-commerce, and privacy issues.

Prior to joining Walmart, Mr. Harris was the Chief Policy Advisor for Energy and Air Quality with the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in the U.S. House of Representatives. In that capacity he was the principal advisor to the chairman, subcommittee chairman, and Democratic members of the committee on issues before the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality including climate change, alternative energy, renewable fuels, electricity policy, oil and gas, pipeline safety, and nuclear power. He represented the committee and its members in negotiations with the U.S. Senate and various branches of the federal government including the Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Transportation.

He began his work with the committee in 2003 and worked on every energy bill passed by the U.S. Congress from 2003 through 2008 including the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

Mr. Harris began his career in 1992 on the staff of then-U.S. Representative Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D-AR), as a legislative assistant covering energy, agriculture, transportation, appropriations, and special projects. In 1996 he was appointed Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative Marion Berry (D-AR) where he managed an 18 member staff with offices in Washington, D.C. and Arkansas.

Prior to joining the staff of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, Mr. Harris was a Senior Director of Corporate Communications for America Online, Inc. In that capacity he served as deputy head of business communications and developed strategic messages for the company’s commerce and content transactions, as well as cross-divisional marketing and advertising alliances between AOL and Time Warner.

Mr. Harris is a 1992 graduate of the University of Arkansas and holds degrees in English and Communication. He is a member of the Keystone Center Board of Trustees; the Board of Directors for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute; and the Board of Directors for the Clean Energy Buyers Association.

Duane Highley
Duane HighleyTri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc.

Duane D. Highley is the Chief Executive Officer of Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. headquartered in Westminster, Colorado. He has held this position since April 2019. 

Tri-State is a not-for-profit cooperative power supplier with a mission to provide its member systems a reliable, affordable and responsible supply of electricity in accordance with cooperative principles. Tri-State is a generation and transmission (“G&T”) association of 45 members, including 42 electric distribution cooperatives and public power districts in four states that together provide power to more than 1 million electricity consumers across nearly 200,000 square miles of the West. 

As CEO, Highley leads the executive management team in its strategic and operational initiatives while reporting to the association’s member-appointed board of directors. Highley is working with the board to define the 21st century G&T cooperative as one that is reliable, affordable, increasingly flexible, increasingly clean and, as always, member-focused. 

Highley also serves as Co-Chair of the Electric Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC), coordinating security efforts between electric utility CEOs and cabinet-level officials of the U.S. Government. 

Highley is a Registered Professional Engineer in Missouri and has over 39 years of professional experience leading energy portfolio transitions with large electric power supply cooperatives. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management, both from Missouri University of Science and Technology (then University of Missouri-Rolla). He also completed the Executive Program at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Management and the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. 

He began his professional career as a resource planning engineer with Associated Electric Cooperative (“Associated”), a G&T cooperative serving six other G&Ts which, in turn, serve 51 retail electric distribution cooperatives in Iowa, Missouri and Oklahoma. Collectively, Associated and its members serve over 1 million consumers. During his 28 years with Associated, he held positions of increasing responsibility, supervising transmission planning, resource planning, power marketing, power generation operations, mining reclamation operations, and plant construction, ultimately holding the position of Senior Vice President. In 2011, he accepted the position of President and CEO of two organizations: Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation, a state-regulated G&T cooperative serving 17 retail distribution cooperatives with over 1 million consumers, and Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc., a national utility service cooperative with multiple subsidiaries providing utility equipment sales, warehouse management, right-of-way management, transformer manufacturing, smart grid research and development, utility scale solar and battery storage development, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. 

 

Carrie Houtman
Carrie HoutmanDow, INC

In her role as Global Sustainability Director for Climate, Carrie will accelerate our efforts and strategies around climate, water and biodiversity. She will organize a team of technical experts to support and guide the Company efforts on key sustainability priorities and will provide strategic input for external ESG reporting. In this capacity, she also has responsibility to represent Dow externally with several key stakeholders, including the CEO Water Mandate and Task Force for Nature Related Disclosures.

In her previous role as the Director of the Global Public Policy and Issues Management team, she was responsible for the company’s policy and strategy development to matters of key strategic importance for Dow, including addressing climate change and resolving plastic waste management issues, among others, and leading multi-disciplinary teams to mitigate enterprise risk.

Carrie joined Dow in 1996 in technical service and development. Throughout her career, she has spent more than 12 years in Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability, including various roles in Dow’s toxicology laboratory, environmental expertise and product stewardship. She also served on the Remediation team representing the company to external stakeholders and media. In her 13 years in Government Affairs, she has led cross-functional issues teams to manage key challenges to Dow’s licenses to operate and sell, represented Dow at trade associations, lobbied on Capitol Hill, and staffed Dow’s Chairman & CEO and other senior executives with the Obama White House, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Australian Growth Centre Programme.

A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Carrie is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt, and is a Leadership Midland alumnus. She is on the Board of Directors for the Saginaw Children’s Zoo and is on the Board of Trustees for the Keystone Policy Center. She has also completed programs in Risk Analysis and Risk Communication at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health.

Helayne Jones
Helayne Jones(Former) Education Strategy Advisor

Helayne Jones is an Education Consultant specializing in Education strategies in Innovation, Personalized Learning, Scaling and Sustaining non-profits and Leadership. She is a Sr. Strategy Advisor to New Profit, a national venture philanthropy fund. Prior to that she served as a Sr. Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation developing and implementing the Innovation & Personalized Learning strategy. Prior to joining the foundation, Jones was the President & CEO of the Colorado Education Initiative (CEI). As the leader of CEI, a dynamic, growing organization, Jones drew on 15 years of expertise gained as an education consultant, her experience as a college professor, and her previous work as a marketing executive. Her consulting experience includes work with, for profit & not for profit education firms, school districts and education foundations in Colorado and throughout the country to focus on systems change resulting in improved student outcomes for all students. She also has extensive experience with private-sector and nonprofit organizations to facilitate strategic planning, board communications, and managing the impact of change.

Jones has been an active philanthropist and community leader. She currently serves on the board of Throughline Learning; The Learning Accelerator; EdsUp. Past board involvement includes InnovateEDU, NGLC, the Boulder Valley School Board for 8 years, 4 of those years as Board President; past trustee of the Rose Community Foundation, past chair of the Health committee and the Education Committee. She served as a member of Governor Hickenlooper’s Education Leadership Council and a board member of the Boulder Community Health Foundation.

Prior to consulting, Jones spent three years as an adjunct professor at Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y., and 12 years in the technology industry including several executive marketing positions at Wang Laboratories.

She received her doctoral degree in educational administration from the Columbia University Teachers College with an emphasis on school reform. She received a master’s in English from the University of Massachusetts and a bachelor’s, honors college, from the University of Michigan.

Doyle Karr
Doyle KarrDOYLE XT LLC

Doyle Karr is director of Consumer Insights and Social License for Corteva Agriscience. In this role since 2017, Doyle leads efforts to understand global consumer preferences and integrate relevant insights into the business planning within the company. He also directs efforts to engage with traditional and non- traditional stakeholders to achieve social license for emerging technologies that the company is pursuing.

Previously, Doyle was director of Biotechnology Public Policy for DuPont where he led development and implementation of company-wide strategies for biotechnology policies, acceptance and communications across business units and functional areas.

Doyle began his career at DuPont in 1989 with the marketing communications group for North America operations of Pioneer Hi-Bred. He held a variety of communications roles before being named the director of global communications for Pioneer in 2004. While in that role, Doyle also led global public affairs for DuPont Agriculture & Nutrition business. He was named director of DuPont biotechnology public policy in 2013.

Prior to joining Pioneer, Doyle was a journalist in Illinois and Iowa. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois in Journalism and Agriculture and was raised on a small farm in central Illinois.

Doyle is currently chair of the Center for Food Integrity Board of Directors; and chair of the Des Moines Public Schools Foundation Board of Directors.

Kit Kennedy
Kit Kennedy Natural Resources Defense Council

Kit Kennedy leads NRDC’s Climate and Clean Energy Program, which advocates for decarbonizing key sectors of the U.S. economy in an affordable and equitable manner. Kit has more than thirty years of experience as an environmental and clean energy attorney and advocate. Kit served as a Special Assistant Attorney General and directed the Environmental Protection Bureau at the New York Attorney General’s Office from 2007-2010. Kit has taught environmental and clean energy classes at Yale Law School, Fordham Law School and Vermont Law School. She serves on the board of the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund and the Executive Board of the New York State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section. She is a member of the American College of Environmental Lawyers. Kit is a co-founder of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York and the New York Offshore Wind Alliance. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard College. She is based in New York City.

Anjali Marok
Anjali MarokIndependent C-Suite and Leadership Advisor

At Corteva, Anjali led strategy and execution of Corteva’s Global Responsibility program, representing the global integration of Corteva’s ESG efforts and initiatives across Community Investment, Sustainability, and Agriculture Development in over 140 countries. She worked with stakeholders and colleagues across Corteva to help shape the future of sustainable agriculture, ensuring progress for future generations of producers and consumers.

She has 11+ years of experience in responsible business, strategy, analytics across private sector, consulting, NGOs, social enterprises, and international organizations. She holds an MBA with Honors from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

 

David McLaughlin
David McLaughlinConservation International

After nearly 30 years in the industry Dave can grow just about anything you see in the produce section of your local grocery store, especially bananas. He spent nearly 30 years in Latin America growing bananas for one of the world’s biggest produce companies – Chiquita Brands International. At first glance it’s an interesting career path for someone with a graduate degree in finance.

If you dig a little deeper you’ll find that Dave’s love for Latin America led the way. The son of a geologist, he was born and raised in South America. After finishing graduate school in the United States, he found the perfect job in the finance department of Chiquita’s Costa Rica operation, so he sold his car at the airport and jumped on a plane.

Over the course of his career, Dave was able to make some real improvements to the agriculture industry in Latin America. In the 1980s, he was one of the few plantation managers in the oil palm industry to embrace a plan to make the farms and extraction mills more sustainable. In the 1990s when leading Chiquita’s banana operations in Costa Rica, he listened to the appeals made by environmental groups, did the math, and implemented a host of measures that made the cultivation of bananas more sustainable while contributing to the bottom line. He started with two farms in Costa Rica and ultimately executed a $20 million effort to implement the standards across Chiquita’s global operation’s in Latin America, Asia and Africa. Along the way Chiquita became the first multinational banana producer to be certified by the Rainforest Alliance in sustainable cultivation.

Dave applies these lessons learned to a host of agricultural industries including livestock, sugar cane and palm oil where he actively engages the business community to become part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

Kerry S. McNamara
Kerry S. McNamaraOCP Group

Kerry McNamara is a Senior Advisor in the OCP Group, a leading global crop nutrition company. He has held various roles in the OCP Group since 2010, including serving as founding CEO of OCP’s North American subsidiary. From 2008 to 2010 he was an independent consultant to a broad range of international development agencies, foundations and corporations. From 1996-2008, at the World Bank, he played an important role in the international donor community’s efforts to understand and strengthen the contribution of information and communication technologies to economic development and poverty reduction.

From 1993 to 1996, he served as Executive Director of the Civic Education Project, building CEP from a pilot project to a 10-country initiative assisting higher education reform in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

A political scientist by training (University of Chicago), Mr. McNamara has served as a Research and Teaching Fellow at Harvard University, an Instructor at the University of Notre Dame (where he also received his undergraduate degree), and one of the early staff members of the EastWest Institute in New York.

Rob Meyers
Rob Meyers PepsiCo Inc.

Rob has been with PepsiCo since 1997 and is currently Vice President of Sustainable Agriculture leading PepsiCo’s Positive Agriculture agenda across their global supply chain. Rob has played a key role in developing PepsiCo’s sustainable agriculture strategy and programs since their inception in 2008.

Throughout his career Rob has consistently demonstrated the ability to implement “big” initiatives across complex global supply chains. Prior to joining the Global Sustainable Agriculture Group Rob was a Sustainability Director in PepsiCo’s Global Operations function delivering productivity and minimizing risk for PepsiCo’s global enterprise and supply chain. In this position, Rob was responsible for PepsiCo’s ReCon (“Resource Conservation”) program, maintaining global environmental metrics systems and reporting, and directing PepsiCo’s Environmental Sustainability Council, a global & cross-divisional team of environmental professionals.

Prior to joining PepsiCo Global Ops Rob worked for PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America division in various Environmental and Energy Engineering positions. Rob holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Akron (Ohio, USA) and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Cincinnati (Ohio, USA). Rob lives with his wife of nearly 30 years and two daughters in the Dallas, Texas, USA area.

Philip D. Moeller
Philip D. MoellerEdison Electric Insititute

The Honorable Philip D. Moeller is Executive Vice President, Business Operations Group and Regulatory Affairs at the Edison Electric Institute (EEI). EEI is the association that represents all of the nation’s investor-owned electric companies.

Mr. Moeller has significant responsibility over a broad range of issues that affect the future structure of the electric power industry and new rules in evolving competitive markets. He has responsibility over the strategic areas of energy supply and finance, environment, energy delivery, energy services, federal and state regulatory issues, and international affairs.

EEI’s member companies increasingly are focused on delivering innovative solutions that meet customers’ changing expectations. Mr. Moeller works with EEI’s member companies to identify policy solutions and business opportunities to better serve customers.

Prior to joining EEI in February 2016, Mr. Moeller served as a Commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), ending his tenure as the second-longest serving member of the Commission. In office from 2006 through 2015, Mr. Moeller ended his service as the only Senate-confirmed member of the federal government appointed by both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. At FERC, Mr. Moeller championed policies promoting improved wholesale electricity markets, increasing investment in electric transmission and natural gas pipeline infrastructure, and enhancing the coordination of theelectric power and natural gas industries.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Moeller headed the Washington, D.C., office of Alliant Energy Corporation. He also served as a Senior Legislative Assistant for Energy Policy to U.S. Senator Slade Gorton (R-WA), and as the Staff Coordinator of the Washington State Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee in Olympia, Washington.

Mr. Moeller was born in Chicago and raised on a ranch near Spokane, Washington. He received a BA in Political Science from Stanford University.

David Naylor
David Naylor Rayburn County Electric Cooperative, Inc.

David Naylor is the President / CEO of Rayburn Country Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Rayburn), a generation and transmission cooperative representing four distribution cooperatives who serve consumers in sixteen counties north and east of the Dallas Metroplex.

He has over 25 years of experience in the utility industry.  Prior to becoming the President / CEO of Rayburn, David served as Rayburn’s Executive Vice President and was a managing consultant with C. H. Guernsey & Company.

He is a licensed Professional Engineer, with a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma.

Gilberto Ocañas
Gilberto OcañasDentons LLP US

Gilberto Gilberto has spent thirty years working to build a network of political and business relationships with community leaders, operatives, entrepreneurs, and elected officials. His coalition-building skills include gathering local intelligence, performing political outreach, and crafting communications strategies that work for his clients. This unique combination of experience has led to Gilberto providing quality business management consulting services to clients in both the public and private sectors, domestically and internationally.

A veteran of four presidential campaigns, Gilberto most recently led the National Latino Presidential Campaign for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2000. Other roles include twice serving as the DNC regional field director, in addition to his role as DNC director of the Office of Voter Participation under the late Chairman Ron Brown. Gilberto has run statewide campaigns in Texas. When he began, he was one of the first Hispanics to do so. When he was director of Communications for the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, he led one of the most successful voter registration and education groups in the Southwest.

Gilberto’s experience in turning a start-up business in 1992 into a successful security printing and fulfillment company has given him insights into key business issues of governmental contracting. The success of his business enterprise, coupled with his commitment to maintain a strong civic presence, garnered him local recognition as the “Hispanic Businessman of the Year” as well as “Volunteer of the Year” by the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Hispanic Magazine recognized Gilberto as a “Rising Entrepreneur” and among his successful startups is the web-based Latino News Digest “Newstaco.com”, providing innovative and insightful news, critique, analysis, and opinion from a Latino perspective in a 24-hour world.

Gilberto has served on the National Advisory Boards of the Resolution Trust Corporation, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the U.S. Secretary of Energy and the Smithsonian Task Force on Latino Affairs. With special pride, Gilberto serves on the board of the Mi Familia Vota Education Fund (MFVEF), a national non-profit organization working to unite the Latino community and its allies to promote social and economic justice through increased civic participation. In addition, Gilberto serves on the board of the Texas Democracy Foundation, publisher of the Texas Observer, and also serves on the Texas Advisory Board of the Environmental Defense Fund.

Alex Perera
Alex PereraWorld Resources Institute

Alex Perera is the Acting Director of WRI’s Global Energy Program. Joining WRI in 2007, Alex has nearly 20 years of experience in energy policy, finance, and corporate energy strategy.

Prior to joining WRI, he helped found a company called Bigbelly Solar, a renewable energy company with a mission of developing innovative new solar energy products that are helping reduce transportation related emissions.

Alex has worked at the Natural Resources Defense Council, where he participated on New York Governor Pataki’s Greenhouse Gas Task Force. He also served on two advisory committees that invested in over $7 million in renewable energy R&D projects in New York.

Alex was a Financial Analyst at the investment bank Bear, Stearns and Co. Inc. where he helped to structure over $1 billion in municipal financing in the utility sector.

He has served as the Program Director for the New York Energy Efficiency Council, an organization that represented Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) in New York State electric deregulation proceedings.

Alex has an MBA from F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College, and a BA from Boston University in Environmental Science, Economics, and French. He has written and co-authored numerous publications on corporate strategy and renewable energy. He is a watercolor painter and lives in Bethesda, MD, with his wife and two children.

Frank Prager
Frank Prager Xcel Energy

Frank Prager is Senior Vice President for Strategy, Security and External Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer. As chief of staff to the CEO, Prager is responsible for the tracking and development of the company’s strategic initiatives.  His organization is also responsible for the company’s energy, environmental and climate policy priorities and security and emergency management programs.

As Chief Sustainability Officer, Prager develops Xcel Energy’s sustainability strategy and promotes the company’s sustainable priorities in its environmental, social and governance programs and practices.  His organization includes Federal Government and Regulatory Affairs, Corporate Strategy and Planning, Strategic Communications, Resource Planning, Energy and Environmental Policy, and Enterprise Security and Emergency Management.

Prager has worked at Xcel Energy for more than 28 years. Previously, he was the company’s vice president of Policy and Strategy. He also served as vice president of Environmental Policy and Services where he was responsible for the company’s environmental compliance and policy. Prager started his career at Xcel Energy as assistant general counsel, representing the company on environmental matters.

Prager is a graduate of the University of Colorado, with degrees in Chemical Engineering and English. He earned his law degree from Stanford University. Prior to joining the utility industry, Prager was an associate at Holland & Hart in Denver and in-house environmental counsel at The Gates Corporation.

Jon Sohn
Jon Sohn Capital Power

Throughout his career Jon Sohn has served as a trusted advisor and advocate on climate change, clean energy investment and sustainability policy.  Jon is currently the Director of Government Relations & Regulatory Affairs for Capital Power a North American independent power producer. Capital Power has a 7,000mw portfolio of clean and renewable energy facilities in North America.   At Capital Power, Jon leads the Washington, DC office and presence for this Edmonton, Alberta-based company. This work includes Congressional, Executive Branch and stakeholder engagement, while directing U.S. public policy strategies for clean energy investment, including corporate efforts to achieve a Net Zero emissions goal. Jon also works closely with the Business Development team, entrenched in state and local government engagement to advance solar, wind and natural gas opportunities across the United States.

Previously, Jon has worked on domestic and international environmental and social risks and opportunities in both policy and specific infrastructure projects for the US Government, private sector and non-profit organizations. These varied experiences include Vice President for Market Development at Climate Change Capital, LLC investment banking group, Counsel at Dentons Law Firm advising energy clients, public and private financial institution engagement at the World Resources Institute and Friends of the Earth-US, and as Environment & Labor Counsel for the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (now U.S. International Development Finance Corporation) during the Clinton Administration. At DFC, Jon was responsible for development and implementation of the first Environmental & Social Investment Policy of any international bilateral finance agency.  President Bill Clinton announced these groundbreaking policy commitments as part of his 1997 United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) pledge to strengthen environmental standards for bilateral lending agencies including standards to conserve tropical forests and conduct greenhouse gas emissions accounting.

Jon currently serves on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Energy and is a Non-Resident Fellow at Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines.

Jon lives in Bethesda, Maryland with his wife Devorah, son Jordan and their three dogs.

I Ling Thompson
I Ling ThompsonFoundation for America's Public Lands

I Ling Thompson is the CEO of the Foundation for America’s Public Lands, the Congressionally chartered charitable partner for the Bureau of Land Management. She has long believed in the power of conservation and public lands to unite, benefit and transform people and communities, having spent the last 20+ years in leadership roles with Trust for Public Land, The Nature Conservancy, and the Outdoor Industry Association.

She serves on the boards of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable Together Outdoors Coalition.

Most weekends, you can find her mountain biking, hiking her dogs or enjoying the rivers and mountains of the West. She makes it a regular practice to explore outdoor places across the West that she’s never been, with her husband, two dogs and fly gear in tow. She lives in Grand Junction with her husband, an avid hunter and angler, and their two dogs.

Brian Vallo
Brian ValloPueblo of Acoma

Brian Vallo, a member of the Pueblo of Acoma tribe in New Mexico, has 30 years of experience working in the areas of museum development, repatriation, cultural resources management, historic preservation, tourism, and the arts.  Brian recently served a three-year term as Governor of his tribe.  Prior to his appointment as Governor, Brian served as Director of the Indian Arts Research Center at the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico where he led the development and publication of Guidelines for Collaboration, a set of standards for meaningful and collaborative work between museums and tribes. An independent consultant, Brian serves as an advisor and consultant to various cultural institutions including the Field Museum in Chicago, the de Young Museum in San Francisco, and the Denver Art Museum where he provides guidance on a variety of issues including repatriation, exhibit development, and collections stewardship.  Brian also has extensive experience working with both federal and state policy and associated legislative process.

Brian studied Business Administration at New Mexico State University and Anthropology at the University of New Mexico.  A self-taught artist, he incorporates natural elements into multi-media paintings that celebrate Acoma culture and history.

Scott Vitters
Scott VittersNike

Scott Vitters joined Nike in early 2015. Previously he was responsible for leading The Coca-Cola Company’s global PlantBottle™ packaging program.

Scott joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1997 and has held various roles of increasing responsibility, including Corporate Environmental Manager; Environmental Director – 2002 Winter Olympic Games; North America Packaging Sustainability Director; and Corporate Packaging Sustainability Director. Some notable advances during his leadership included the establishment of the company’s worldwide packaging sustainability program, global investments in cutting edge recycling technologies, creation of a for-profit recycling collection enterprise and the launch of a multi-million-dollar consumer marketing campaign promoting recycling.

Prior to joining The Coca-Cola Company, Scott served as a consultant to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Solid Waste. He also was a research fellow with the Environmental and Energy Study Conference, a congressional legislative caucus in Washington, DC.

Scott is a highly respected leader in the field of packaging sustainability and innovation, speaking regularly at global conference and events. He is an advisor to Michigan State University’s Center for Packaging Innovation & Sustainability. In 2011, Scott was recognized by Fortune Magazine as a “Green Star Within the Most Admired Companies.”

Scott has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Franklin & Marshall College and a Masters of Business Administration from Georgetown University.

Dr. Karen Wayland
Dr. Karen Wayland GridWise Alliance

Dr. Karen Wayland is the CEO of GridWise Alliance and a recognized expert in national energy and environmental policy. Through her consulting firm, kW Energy Strategies, she works with major companies on grid modernization, cybersecurity and clean energy policy. She served in leadership positions at the highest levels of government and nonprofit organizations, including as advisor to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid.  She worked at the U.S. Department of Energy in the Obama Administration, where she established a team for Secretary Ernest Moniz to develop strategies for DOE’s work with states and served as Senior Advisor for Domestic Energy Policy to Deputy Secretary Liz Sherwood Randall.

Dr. Wayland has extensive experience working with nonprofit and academic organizations. She was the Executive Director of the Clean Energy Project and Legislative Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, where she oversaw the organization’s federal initiatives and chaired the national environmental community’s climate and energy coalition. She directed the Earth and Marine Sciences Program at Earthwatch, a nonprofit that funds scientific research through support from paying volunteers. She is on the Board of the Center for Sustainable Energy, a Distinguished Associate at the Energy Futures Initiative, an Equity in Energy Ambassador at the US DOE, and on the Board of Directors for the Desert Research Institute Foundation. She holds an M.S. from the University of Connecticut and a Dual Ph.D. in the fields of geochemistry and resource development from Michigan State University.

Trustees Emeritus

David E. Greenberg
David E. GreenbergUniversity of Denver (Emeritus)

David retired from his post as Vice Chancellor for Institutional Partnerships at the University of Denver in May, 2020. Is his eight years he served as the point person for the University when it hosted the Obama-Romney debate in 2012 and chaired the development of the University’s first Master Plan, which in its first phase has resulted in $150 million in campus improvements.

He is the Founder of the Denver School of Science & Technology, and served as the first Board Chair of its successor organization, DSST Public Schools (dsstpublicschools.org).

For his work in education he was named the 2014 Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Annual Award Honoree for Community Service.

He was co-founder and managing partner of GBSM, a public policy and strategic communications consultancy headquartered in Denver. A graduate of Columbia University and the Harvard Law School, David was legal advisor and speechwriter for Colorado Governor Richard Lamm, served as a White House Fellow working with EPA Administrator William K. Reilly and was a Senior Advisor to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling.

David I. Greenberg
David I. GreenbergInternational Seaways

David Greenberg serves as Chair of the Governance and Risk Assessment Committee and a member of the Audit Committee of International Seaways (NYSE: INSW), one of the largest global crude oil and petroleum tanker companies.  Mr. Greenberg’s previous board experience (2006 to 2016) was as the independent director – and member of both the Audit and Compensation Committees –of APCO Worldwide, a private communications and government affairs consultancy and as a director (2013 to 2016) of Clean Tech Group, which creates opportunities for industrial companies to invest in innovative, clean technology.  He also served for 5 years as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Keystone Center, a Colorado non-profit that brings together oil, chemical and pharmaceutical companies with leading NGOs to find solutions to complex public policy challenges at the federal and state levels.

From January through October 2020, he servied, at the Board’s request, as interim CEO of LRN Corporation, a technology and education company that provides ethics and compliance strategy, education, communications and a technology platform to corporations across the globe. LRN has helped to elevate the conduct of more than 35 million corporate employees around the world.

Greenberg is currently Managing Director of Cortina Partners LLC, a private equity firm that owns companies in the air medical, addiction treatment, bedding, textile and outdoor recreation industries and is CEO of Acqua Recovery, a residential drug and alcohol addiction center.

For 20 years prior to 2008, Mr. Greenberg served in various senior positions overseeing government affairs, corporate affairs, communications and strategy at Altria Group, Inc. – then the parent company of Philip Morris USA, Philip Morris International, Kraft Foods and Miller Brewing – culminating in his role as Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer and a member of the Executive Committee.  As one of five senior vice presidents of the corporation, he served on the Management Committee, which oversaw all strategy and company operations.  He was also a principal architect of the company’s very successful efforts to end the ‘tobacco wars’ which threatened the company’s very existence.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Greenberg was a partner in the Washington D.C. law firm of Arnold & Porter and also served as Legislative Director and General Counsel of the Consumer Federation of America.  He attended Williams College and has JD/MBA degrees from the University of Chicago.

Greenberg has testified before the U.S. Congress, the European Union, the Israeli Knesset and other governmental bodies over two dozen times and has appeared on ABC Nightline, the CBS Morning News, BBC Morning, and the PBS News Hour, and has spoken at leading events for CEOs and boards.

Glenn Prickett
Glenn PrickettGulf of Maine Research Institute

Glenn Prickett is currently the President and CEO of the Gulf of Main Research Institute. He most recently served as President & CEO of the World Environment Center.

Prior to leading WEC, Glenn was Founder and Principal of Rock Creek Strategies, LLC, a strategic advisory firm that helped companies, investors, and organizations incorporate the value of nature into economic development. Glenn launched Rock Creek Strategies in 2019, after three decades of leadership in global development, corporate sustainability, and environmental, natural resource, and climate change policy and practice.

From 2010 to 2018, Glenn served as Chief External Affairs Officer at The Nature Conservancy, the largest non-governmental organization working around the world to conserve the lands and waters on which life depends. As a member of TNC’s executive team, Glenn oversaw public policy and government relations, corporate engagements and sustainability efforts, and relationships with other leading organizations.

Prior to TNC, Glenn spent 14 years at Conservation International, where he led efforts to engage the private and public sectors in conservation and sustainability. He founded CI’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business to engage the private sector in solving environmental challenges. He also led CI’s policy and climate change initiatives. In 2009, he served as a senior fellow at the United Nations Foundation to help shape an effective global response to climate change.

Glenn served in the Clinton Administration as Chief Environmental Advisor at the U.S. Agency for International Development, where he oversaw environmental and energy assistance to developing nations. Glenn began his career as a policy advocate with the international program of the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, DC.

Glenn graduated from Yale University in 1988. He lives in Great Falls, Virginia with his wife, Lisa, and sons, Benji and Jed. Aside from his family, conservation, and the outdoors, Glenn’s other passion is music. He performs with The Oxymorons, a blues, rock, and funk band in Washington, DC.

Jerry Steiner
Jerry SteinerCoverCress

Jerry is CEO of a agricultural startup, CoverCress Inc. CoverCress is aiming to develop Pennycress as a winter crop that is a soil and nutrient cover crop as well as producing vegetable oil and animal protein as a third crop in the two year corn soy rotation.

Jerry Steiner retired from Monsanto after a 30 plus year career. From 2003-2013 , he served on the executive team as the company’s Executive Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Affairs. He led the company’s global Government, Public and Industry Affairs teams across the 70 countries where Monsanto conducts business.

Jerry led the efforts to build the novel business model for biotechnology in soybeans in Brazil, Argentina

and Paraguay. Jerry also was a key architect for the strategy to build a profitable business for Roundup herbicide following its global patent expiry.

Key among his responsibilities were shaping the company’s public policy and building partnerships aimed at helping farmers around the world produce more food, while conserving valuable resources like water and energy. A significant partnership that developed under his leadership is the WEMA partnership with five African countries, CIMMYT and the Gates foundation and others. It is now the leading program to deliver higher yielding more drought tolerant corn seeds to African seed companies and farmers.

Mr. Steiner represented the company at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he serves on The New Vision for Agriculture Project Board.

He is a Trustee of Keystone Policy Center which convenes public, private and civic leaders to address societal issues for the environment, health policy, and education. Working with Keystone, he is a founder of Field to Market, a diverse alliance of over 50 entities including leading companies and grower groups that span the value chain all seeking to create sustainable outcomes for agriculture.

He is a member of the board of directors of the Albemarle Corporation (NYSE) and Bpard chair of RNAgri, and ag startup specializing in RNA interference, a way to control agricultural pests without synthetic pesticides. Steiner served as a Board member and Chair of CropLife International Plant Biotechnology Strategy Council and BIO’s Food and Agriculture Section Governing Board.

Steiner received a B.S. degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Wisconsin, and an MBA from Washington University. He and his family are actively involved with their church, school, and volunteering their community.