Board Of Trustees
Executive Committee
Paula Gold-Williams is President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CPS Energy. She assumed the role on July 25, 2016, after serving in the interim capacity for nine months.
As President & CEO, Paula leads its more than 3,000 team members focused on CPS Energy’s vision of “People First.” Under her leadership, CPS Energy is creating and delivering value to its employees, customers and community into a new age of energy solutions.
Paula has more than 30 years of leadership experience in San Antonio, including being a Regional Controller for Time Warner’s cable and telephony regional office and the Vice President (VP) of Finance for Luby’s, Inc. before coming to CPS Energy in late 2004. Over her 12 years at CPS Energy, she has served as Controller & Assistant Treasurer; VP & Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) – Organizational Excellence & Shared Services; Executive Vice President (EVP), Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & Treasurer; and Group EVP – Financial & Administrative Services, CFO & Treasurer, overseeing all enterprise financial functions, while taking on the strategic oversight for People & Culture, Enterprise Safety & Health, Supply Chain, Facilities, Enterprise Information Technology, and Physical & Cyber Security.
Relative to governance, Paula is the sponsor of the company’s Energy Portfolio Strategic Committee (EPSC), as well as two committees that oversee direct and nuclear decommissioning investments. Additionally, she is a member of the Oversight Committee (OC) that provides high-level leadership over CPS Energy’s four Employee Benefits Trusts, which include the pension, health, life and disability plans. Membership for this committee also includes the Board of Trustees (BOT) Audit Committee.
Outside of CPS Energy, Paula serves as Chair on the Advisory Committee of Executives (ACE) for the St. Mary’s University School of Business, her undergraduate alma mater. She also serves on the Boards of University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) and the University of Texas at San Antonio School of Engineering. She is the Chair for the Board of San Antonio’s public television station, KLRN, and holds a post on its Executive Committee. Paula also serves as Advisory Trustee to both the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), an internationally recognized center of excellence in applied research and development, as well as FM Global, an international mutual insurance company. She is also a member of the San Antonio Medical Foundation.
Paula was honored with the San Antonio Business Journal Elite Executive CEO Distinction, as part of their 2016 C-Suite Awards. She also received the San Antonio Women’s Chamber of Commerce (SAWCC) Constellation of Stars Award in 2015. She was appointed as an Honorary Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) Commander in 2014; and has also received Best CFO and Finance awards from the San Antonio Business Journal (SABJ) and La Prensa, respectively. Additionally, Paula mentors numerous people inside and outside of CPS Energy from college students to vice presidents.
Paula has an Associate Degree in Fine Arts from San Antonio College. She has a BBA in Accounting from
St. Mary’s University, also located in San Antonio, Texas, as well as a Finance & Accounting MBA from Regis University in Denver, Colorado. She became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) while working for her first professional employer, the then Big 8 accounting firm of Ernst & Whinney.
Paula is married and has two daughters.
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.
Dede Hapner is a senior executive with extensive experience in Policy and Regulatory Relations. She held several officer assignments at Pacific Gas Electric Company. Hapner is skilled in aligning large groups and organizations, strategy, and managing crisis and change. She is committed to the nexus of Sustainability, Energy Management and Water. Her success is based on building enduring relationships with key individuals and groups on all sides of complex energy and sustainability issues. She is an Executive in Residence at the Ross School of Business and the Erb Institute for Sustainability within the School of Energy and Sustainability at The University of Michigan.
As Vice President, Environmental Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer for FedEx Corporation, Mitch Jackson leads the strategic direction and provides vision for all aspects of the company’s sustainability initiatives and environmental innovations and technologies.
Jackson helped envision and pioneer the implementation of hybrid and electric vehicles in the FedEx fleet, and ultimately in commercial vehicles. He was also instrumental in successfully securing first-ever national fuel economy standards and greenhouse gas requirements for commercial vehicles, He championed the first FedEx solar energy system in 2005, with it being California’s then largest corporate rooftop array. He was also the key driver for the establishment of the first FedEx sustainability goals and has responsibility for current and future goals.
In 2012 the British newspaper The Guardian named him as one of the top 15 sustainable business executives on Twitter. He was named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders by Trust Across America for four consecutive years. In 2014 Green Fleet Magazine named Jackson a Sustainability All Star for his contributions to environmental sustainability. And, in 2009 Ethisphere Institute named Jackson as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics.
Jackson is currently a member of the Keystone Policy Center’s Board of Trustees, executive committee and Energy Board, and a board member of Shelby Farms Park Conservancy. He has also served as environmental juror for the Heinz Awards, and was a long-serving member of the American Trucking Associations Board of Directors.
Bob Perciasepe is President of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, which is widely recognized in the United States and internationally as a leading, independent voice for practical policy and action to address the twin challenges of energy and climate change.
Mr. Perciasepe has been an environmental policy leader in and outside government for more than 30 years, most recently as Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 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.
While Mr. Perciasepe served as Deputy Administrator from 2009 to 2014, EPA set stricter auto emissions and mileage standards, increased protections for the nation’s streams and rivers, and developed carbon emissions standards for power plants. Mr. Perciasepe was previously assistant administrator for both the agency’s water and clean air programs, leading efforts improve the safety of America’s drinking water and lower sulfur levels in gasoline to reduce smog.
In 2002, Mr. Perciasepe 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.
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.
Mr. Perciasepe is a member of the Bank of America National Community Advisory Council, the National Academy of Science Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, the National Petroleum Council, and the North American Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance Steering Committee. He is also a member of the Center for Climate Preparedness and Community Resilience Advisory Board at Antioch University and received American University’s William K. Reilly Award for Environmental Leadership.
Mr. Perciasepe 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 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 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.
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.
Clint has been described by clients as “brilliant, dedicated, professional, experienced. He has an amazing ability to work with each Board Member and with each Staff Member on their own level. He has the ability to make each one feel respected and valuable, and to guide even the most contentious topics to amicable resolve. He can also stand against the fiercest opponent successfully; his track record for this company proves that fact. Clint has been victorious in every lawsuit we have been involved in for the last 30 years.”
Dentons was named the “Energy Firm of the Year” by Who’s Who Legal Awards for three consecutive years, in 2015, 2016 and 2017. 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, Legal 500 US and Washington, DC, Super Lawyers.
Dentons was named as one of the “Fearsome Foursome” in 2016, and one of the “Fearsome Five” in 2017 by BTI Consulting Group, an honor bestowed upon four elite law firms that General Counsel of large companies most fear to litigate against, based on its intense approach, fierce tactics and achievement of successful litigation outcomes.
BTI also ranked Dentons No. 2 in the world for client service excellence in its “Client Service A-Team Survey,” which involved in-depth interviews with more than 330 top legal consumers.
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.
Prior to joining Dentons, Clint was the managing partner of the Washington, DC, office of Sullivan and Worcester LLP, where he was also director of the firm’s Energy practice.
He served for many years as co-chair of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, where he was the founder and chair of the firm’s Energy and Environmental practice.
Trustees
Allyson Anderson Book is vice president of energy transition for Baker Hughes. In this role she oversees Baker Hughes’ energy-transition strategy and works to develop new energy products and services that help lower carbon emissions while meeting the world’s growing energy needs.
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 a number of 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.
Barrón leads 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 is 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 also is 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.
Barrón, 50, is married with three children.
As the managing director of government affairs for NRDC and the NRDC Action Fund, John is responsible for developing and guiding federal advocacy direction with the president’s administration and Congress. Bringing more than 20 years of federal advocacy experience, Bowman previously served as a program director at Taxpayers for Common Sense and as deputy legislative director for the Environmental Defense Fund. He also served as chief of staff to Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Most recently, he was director of federal affairs for the American Association for Justice. Bowman received his J.D. from Florida State University and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland. He is based in NRDC’s Washington, D.C., office.
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 725 papers in peer reviewed journals. His most recent books are The Ethics of Sport, (Oxford University Press, 2016 with Brendan Parent) and Vaccination Ethics and Policy, (MIT Press, 2017 with Jason Schwartz).
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.
He is currently the ethics advisor to the U.S. Department of Defenses’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on synthetic biology, a member of the University of Pennsylvania’s External Advisory Committee for its Orphan Disease Center, a member of the Ethics and Ebola Working Group of the World Health Organization and an advisor to the National Institutes of Health on organ transplantation. Dr. Caplan also serves 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, for WGBH radio in Boston and WMNF public radio in Tampa. 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. 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. He also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Bioethics and the Humanities in October.
He holds seven honorary degrees from colleges and medical schools and is a fellow of the Hastings Center, the New York Academy of Medicine, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the American College of Legal Medicine, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Terrance D. Carroll was the 54th Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives. He is the only African-American to have served as Speaker of the Colorado House. Terrance served in the legislature from 2003 until being term-limited 2011. Terrance has been listed by 5280 Magazine as one of the “50 Most Influential People in Denver,” Terrance’s entry noted his reputation as a skillful dealmaker, stating that he is a “critical and respected negotiator.” Terrance is the Colorado State Director for Unite America which is a movement of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents working to bridge the partisan divide in order to further a more representative and functional government capable of solving major challenges.
He also serves as a reserve police officer. Additionally, Terrance has been listed as Power Book Industry Leader in Law by the Denver Business Journal. He is an alum of the Marshall Memorial Fellowship of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Terrance serves on the board of directors for the National Western Stock Show.
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.
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.
Michael Doane is the Managing Director of Agriculture and Food Systems for The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Michael leads a team of the organization’s foremost global experts to scale up conservation outcomes across productively managed farming, ranching and agroforestry landscapes.
Providing food and water sustainably is a top global priority for TNC with a focus on minimizing the conversion of natural landscapes to agriculture, restoring degraded croplands and grasslands with advanced soil health, grazing and nutrient management techniques, and securing freshwater in basins threatened by pollution or overuse. TNC has significant food, water and climate programs across the America’s and emerging programs in Africa, India and China. Michael and his team are developing creative strategies to build new business models designed to accelerate conservation gains through catalytic finance, innovation, public policy and agri-food supply chain programs.
Michael brings twenty years of relevant business and leadership experience to the role and holds a B.S. in Agribusiness and an M.S. in Agricultural Economics, both from Kansas State University. He has led high performing teams in the agribusiness and non-profit sectors across corporate strategy, business development, commercial sales and marketing, public policy and sustainability. In addition, he has played a catalytic leadership role in the development of multi-stakeholder sustainability programs such as the No-Till on the Plains, Soil Health Partnership, Collaboration for Forests and Agriculture, Field to Market Alliance and The Sustainability Consortium.
Michael started farming at a young age and is a partner in his family’s cattle and row crop farming operation located in Kansas. He combines his passion for agriculture with his love for nature as an avid angler and sportsman. He makes his home in Parkville, Missouri with his wife, Julie and their two children.
Charles Dukes serves as an Educational Team Member for Wend Collective. As a member of the Wend team, Charles coordinates youth development opportunities to enhance and improve the educational ecosystem. He is also a Board Member for Climb Higher Colorado, a coalition of trusted partners who work together to elevate student, family, and community priorities in improving Colorado’s educational ecosystem.
Before joining Wend Collective, Charles dedicated a significant amount of his career as an education policy director and central office school district administrator. As an Education Policy Director, Charles served as a liaison between the City of Denver and Denver Public Schools to support the alignment between educational institutions, companies, and governance structures. As the Director for College and Career Success at Aurora Public Schools, Charles was a catalyst for changing systems at both the school and district levels to ensure all students have access to postsecondary education and workforce credentials. As the Director of College Access Initiatives at Denver Public Schools (DPS), Charles actively worked with the Denver community, parents, and schools to ensure all DPS students were prepared academically and socially to enter postsecondary opportunities.
Charles is recognized nationally for his work. Recognitions include the “Advocate of the Year” award by the American School Counselor Association (2011), “Friend of CACTA” award by the Colorado Association
of Career and Technical Administrators (2012) and the Sawaya Values “Hope” award from the Sawaya Law Firm (2012) for instilling a sense of hope and providing a brighter future for people in and around their community.
Charles holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Colorado Mesa University, a master’s degree in Education Foundations Practice and Policy from The University of Colorado at Boulder, and a second master’s degree in leadership from Grand Canyon University.
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.
Susie Feliz is the Vice President for Policy and Legislative Affairs at the National Urban League where she brings over fifteen years of federal legislative, policy and advocacy experience to her passion for advancing social and economic change. In this position, she is responsible for leading the Washington Bureau’s policy team in the development of policy priorities and legislative strategies that advance the National Urban League’s economic empowerment and civil rights agenda before Congress and the Administration.
Prior to joining the National Urban League, Mrs. Feliz spent ten years working in both the U.S. House and Senate for four Members of Congress including as a legislative aide for former Senator Hillary Clinton and as a legislative director for Representatives Joe Baca, Al Green, and Karen Bass.
She is active in various professional associations and non-profit entities and is currently on the boards of the Hispanic Lobbyists Association and The George Washington University Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration where she received a master’s in public administration.
Mrs. Feliz received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Denver and is the recipient of the GW Trachtenberg School’s 2018 Distinguished Public Servant Award given to alumni for their outstanding public service and achievements in the fields of public policy.
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.
Ambassador Edward Gabriel has an extensive background in international affairs, having convened multilateral policy forums involving national security, environmental, trade, and energy issues. He has been involved in matters of Russian and European nuclear non-proliferation and safety, and he has been active in advising the US Government on Mideast policy matters. From November 1997 to March 2001, he was the US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco. Currently, Ambassador Gabriel is President and CEO of The Gabriel Company, where he advises American corporations on risk assessments for international business projects in the Middle East and North Africa.
Ambassador Gabriel was founder and CEO of the Madison Public Affairs Group, one of the largest public affairs companies in Washington, from 1983-1990. He has served as a senior economic analyst with the Department of Energy, Executive Director of the Council of Energy Resource Tribes, and Director of the Keystone Policy Center Energy Project. Ambassador Gabriel has authored numerous publications in the fields of energy and on Middle East and North African policy. He has been a guest lecturer at leading US universities and served as a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
He is currently President and CEO of the American Task Force on Lebanon, and a member of the boards of the American Schools of Tangier and Marrakech, The Keystone Center, AMIDEAST, the Lebanese American University, and the Arab American Institute. Ambassador Gabriel holds a B.S. degree (business) and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Gannon University.
Ambassador Gabriel is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor (2018), Arab American of the Year (ACCESS, 2012), and the Spirit of Keystone Award (Keystone Center, 2001), among others. He has also been recognized by Lebanon with the National Order of the Cedar (2002) and by Morocco with the Order of the Ouissam Alaouite (2001).
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.
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.
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 Wal-Mart, 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 principle 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 Advisory Board for the University of Texas Energy Institute; and the board of the Living Classrooms Foundation for the national capital region.
Carrie Houtman is currently Director of Global Public Policy & Issues Management. In this role, Carrie has responsibility for leading Dow’s new Global Public Policy Team in the development of sound policy positions on matters of strategic importance to the company. She also has responsibility for developing and implementing Dow’s Global Issues Management Strategy and Process to issues of highest risk to our reputation or license to operate, serving as the company spokesperson on key enterprise-wide issues, directing Dow’s engagement on issues with the company’s external stakeholders and providing issues- related counsel to corporate leadership.
Carrie began her career with Dow in 1996 in technical service and development for emulsion polymers and Dow Microbial Control. She has spent more than 10 years in Environmental Health and Safety, including various roles in the Toxicology and Environmental Research and Consulting (TERC) organization and in product stewardship. She also served on the Global Remediation Team as the External Engagement Leader and was Regulatory Services Leader for Michigan and Minnesota sites. During her nearly five years in Government Affairs, she has represented Dow at trade associations, lobbied on supply chain and remediation issues, and has staffed Dow’s Chairman & CEO and other senior executives on President Obama’s Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, U.S. Department of Commerce Manufacturing Council, various White House roundtables and initiatives, and the Australian Growth Centre Programme. She has also led, or currently leads issues management teams on Dow’s legacy matters, the Cyclics POP issue, microbeads, dioxin and several remediation projects, is the company’s focal point for human rights policies, and serves on the 2025 Increasing Confidence in Chemical Technology Sustainability Goal team.
A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Carrie is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt, and is a Leadership Midland alumnus. She has also completed programs in Risk Analysis and Risk Communication at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health.
She is currently based in Midland, MI, where she lives with her husband and three children.
Paul E. Jarris, MD, MBA is a national leader in public and population health, health policy, health equity, wellness and health promotion. He currently serves as the Senior Principle Health Policy Advisor within MITRE Corporations Health Transformation Technical Center. MITRE operates the CMS Alliance to Modernize Health Care (CAMH), a federally funded research and development center. CAMH serves as an objective advisor to CMS, the Department of Health and Human Services, and other government agencies with health-related missions. Dr. Jarris is an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine.
He is the Principal of PE Jarris Health and Recreation, LLC which promotes health through connectedness with nature and guides Forest Therapy immersion experiences.
Dr. Jarris served as the Chief Medical Officer for the March of Dimes Foundation between February 2017 and March 2018. Prior to this he served as the Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President for Maternal and Child Health and NICU programs. Under his leadership the March of Dimes expanded its mission to include a public heath approach including social and structural determinants and improving equity in birth outcomes.
Dr. Jarris served as the Executive Director of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), which represents public health agencies in the United States, its territories and freely associated states, and over 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. In this capacity he collaborated across the federal government health agencies, congress, and the White House on heath policy and public health emergencies such as pandemic influenza and Ebola.
Jarris came to ASTHO with more than 18 years of experience in public health and healthcare leadership. From 2003 to May 2006, he served as state health commissioner for the Vermont Department of Health. While there, he implemented the Vermont Blueprint for Health Chronic Care Initiative, a statewide public-private partnership to improve the health of Vermont residents while reforming the state’s health care system. Jarris also lead the establishment of Vermont’s first inpatient substance abuse treatment program for adolescent and women’s care.
As medical director for Community Health Plan from 1992-1996, for the Vermont Market, Kaiser Permanente Northeast Division, and as CEO of Vermont Permanente Medical group from 1996 to 1999, Jarris oversaw medical functions such as quality improvement, resource management, value-based purchasing, and medical affairs for 140,000 members.
As a board certified family physician, he worked with Vermont’s underserved populations in a federally qualified health center, inner city school, and homeless shelter for adolescent youth.
Jarris is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Washington. In addition to his dedication to public health and healthcare, Jarris is a devoted husband and father and an avid outdoorsman. He cofounded Vermont’s Catamount Trail, North America’s longest cross-country ski trail that spans the 300-mile length of the Green Mountains.
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 Leap Innovations. Past board involvement includes 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 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.
Curious, bold and caring in all things from a diverse career in law and business, Ken’s role at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP includes both Managing Director in the advisory practice as well as marketing and sales market leader for the Bay Area and Northwest region.
In his advisory practice, Ken serves clients in multiple ways. As a large company Global Relationship Leader, he is responsible for maintaining and managing senior executive relationships between the client and PwC, as well as ensuring the overall quality and delivery of our service by PwC teams. Additionally, he actively engages in their respective PwC Alliance teams, joint go-to-market efforts, and the relationship aspects of PwC’s significant buy-from activities.
Ken’s approach in working with clients starts with a simple idea. PwC’s best expertise, delivered in the most caring, bold, and creative manner, creates value second to none in the market.
His responsibilities at PwC also include marketing, sales and account development for Bay Area and Northwest region. In this role, Ken has mentored and guided hundreds of teams and individuals as a leader, manager, and coach in delivering value and impact to our clients. His unique approach to leadership leads to motivated teams who are always focused on the client’s needs and the most efficient and effective business solutions.
For almost twenty years prior to joining PwC, Ken was a proud partner at Holme, Roberts & Owen, (now Bryan Cave), a preeminent corporate law firm with offices in the western US and Europe, where he served as firm wide managing partner from 2002 to 2010. In 2010, Ken agreed to join the cabinet of Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, first as his Chief Legal Counsel and then as his cabinet secretary for the Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
Kathleen “Katie” McGinty is Vice President & Chief Sustainability, Government and Regulatory Affairs Officer for Johnson Controls, a leading energy efficiency and buildings technology company. Katie helps drive JCI top tier sustainability performance including recognition as one of the Global 100’s Most Sustainable Corporations and AAA MSCI ESG Rating, and promotes government policies encouraging smart buildings and energy efficiency. Katie has over 25 years of public and private sector experience. A recognized innovator in clean energy and environmental protection, Ms. McGinty champions technology development, sustainability, and creative policies to solve tough environmental problems. Her public sector career includes serving as Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and as Deputy Assistant to the President (1993-1998), as Pennsylvania Secretary of Environmental Protection (2003-2008), and as Chair of the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (2004-2008).
Ms McGinty currently serves on the boards of the Alliance to Save Energy, the Carnegie Mellon Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, the Delaware River Port Authority, the Energy Futures Initiative, and FSEP, LLP. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from St. Joseph’s University and a law degree from Columbia University. She also served as a Senior Visiting Fellow at TERI in New Delhi, India and is the proud recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including honorary doctorates from Muhlenberg University, Dickinson College, and Clarion State University. She is the Woman of Conservation Lifetime Achievement Awardee of PennFuture, “Global Leader for Tomorrow” (World Economic Forum), “Business Leader of the Year” (Woman’s Network for a Sustainable Future), the “Ansel Adams Award” of the National Wildlife Federation, and “Woman of the Year” (Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment).
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 McNamara is Chief Executive Officer of OCP North America, Inc. He has held various roles in the OCP Group since 2010, including Advisor to the Chairman & CEO, and Executive Director of OCP Research, the predecessor to OCP North America. 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.
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.
Kevin Patterson was named Chief Executive Officer of Connect for Health Colorado in April of 2015. Patterson previously served as chief administrative officer to Gov. John Hickenlooper and has an extensive history of public service. He has served as the interim executive director of three state agencies during leadership transitions, the Governor’s Office of Information Technology, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs and the Governor’s Energy Office. He brings a strong understanding of state government and stakeholder engagement to this role. Patterson has held leadership roles for the city and county of Denver in the Budget Office, the Planning Department, the Department of Human Services, the Department of General Services and the Department of Parks and Recreation. As the governor’s chief administrative officer, Patterson served as a member of the State Board of Equalization, the Capitol Building Advisory Committee, the State Internet Portal Authority, and supervised 10 gubernatorial appointed public trustees. He was elected to the Denver Board of Education in 2001 and 2005. Patterson graduated with a
B.A. in Teaching from Sam Houston State University and holds both a Masters of Public Administration and Masters of Urban Regional Planning from the University of Colorado at Denver.
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.
Willie L. Phillips was appointed to the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia (PSC) by Mayor Vincent Gray in 2014 and reappointed by Mayor Bowser to serve as Chairman in 2018.
Chairman Phillips is an experienced regulatory attorney combining over a decade of legal expertise in private practice and as in-house counsel. He has an extensive background in the areas of public utility regulation, bulk power system reliability, and corporate governance. Chairman Phillips has represented the District of Columbia in national and international energy policy discussions, including dialogues at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), U.S. Congress, and U.S. Department of State. He has also led efforts to influence PSC communications and to update public-facing platforms.
Prior to coming to the PSC, Chairman Phillips served as Assistant General Counsel for the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a not-for-profit international regulatory authority, in Washington, D.C.; he also worked for a Washington, D.C. law firm, Van Ness Feldman LLP, where he advised clients on regulatory compliance and policy matters and assisted on litigation and administrative proceedings on the Federal and State level.
Chairman Phillips is an active member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) where he currently serves on the NARUC Board of Directors, as Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Supplier and Workforce Diversity, and a member of the Electricity Committee. He is also Second Vice President of the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (MACRUC), a member of the Advisory Council to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Harvard Electricity Policy Group, Keystone Policy Center Energy Board, Energy Bar Association, Dentons Smart Cities & Communities Think Tank, and the American Association of Blacks in Energy. And he serves on the Board of Directors of the Organization of PJM States, Inc. (OPSI) and the Living Classrooms Foundation of the National Capital Region.
Chairman Phillips has a Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Montevallo. He is also a member of the District of Columbia Bar and Alabama State Bar Association.
Glenn Prickett serves as President & CEO of the World Environment Center. Founded in 1974, WEC advances sustainable development through the business practices of its member companies, in partnership with governments and civil society. With headquarters in Washington, DC, WEC operates in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. WEC supports its member companies with thought leadership, capacity building, and honoring excellence through its Gold Medal Award for International Achievement in Sustainable Development.
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.
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.
As TNTP’s Chief Executive Officer, Dan Weisberg oversees TNTP’s executive team and all aspects of the organization’s operations, strategy, and growth.
Prior to becoming CEO in June 2015 as part of TNTP’s long-term growth strategy, Dan was the Executive Vice President for Performance Management and General Counsel. In this role, he built and led a 130-person team to support the efforts of school systems and states nationwide to recruit, develop, and retain effective teachers and principals. The talent, academic, and community engagement practices developed under Dan’s leadership have been responsible for improving the quality of education for over 1 million students just in the past two years.
Previously, as Vice President of Policy, Dan helped build TNTP into a leading voice on teacher quality and co-authored TNTP’s acclaimed study on the failures of the nation’s teacher evaluation systems, The Widget Effect, which helped catalyze evaluation reforms in more than 30 states since 2009. He later led the development of the groundbreaking reports, The Irreplaceables (2012), which explored the teacher retention crisis through the experience of the country’s best teachers, and The Mirage (2015), which found enormous resources being devoted to teacher development with little to no impact and set a new path for more engaging and effective teacher support.
Most recently, Dan oversaw the development and launch of TNTP’s highest-impact study and most ambitious public engagement strategy with the 2018 release of The Opportunity Myth, TNTP’s report on student experience which has drawn over 100,000 unique visitors and resulted in over 400 briefings, over 4,000 downloads of tools, and over 40 national education leaders signing on to its commitments.
Before TNTP, Dan served as Chief Executive of Labor Policy and Implementation for the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE), the country’s largest public school system. In this role, he led negotiations between the Department and the United Federation of Teachers that resulted in a series of groundbreaking reforms, including the city’s highly regarded “mutual consent” system, which gives teachers and schools the primary voice in school staffing. He also led a team responsible for several high-impact talent initiatives such as the redesign of teacher tenure, principal compensation, and principal evaluat