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Keystone Board Adds New Trustee, Energy Board Conducts Retrospective at 2020 Winter Meetings
Keystone Policy Center’s Board of Trustees and Energy Board gathered in Keystone, Colo. Feb. 18-21 for their 2020 winter meetings. The Board of Trustees conducted its meetings Feb. 18-19 to consider new board nominations, evaluate ongoing and new Keystone initiatives, hear programmatic updates directly from staff, and offer guidance and feedback for the organization.
Kathleen L. Barrón’s nomination was approved during the meetings, making her the newest Keystone trustee. Barrón is senior vice president of federal regulatory affairs and wholesale market policy for Exelon Corporation. She oversees Exelon’s management of federal regulatory policies and strategies and is responsible for identifying and assessing key policy issues of interest to Exelon, crafting the company’s position on such issues, and developing strategies for achieving Exelon’s public policy objectives. She also is responsible for managing the company’s wholesale market design advocacy in each of the regional markets where the company operates. Barrón received a juris doctor from the University of Houston Law Center and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from American University.
With the focus on Keystone’s American Indian/Alaska Native program growing, board members also heard from Troy Eid, the co-chair of the American Indian Law Practice Group at GreenbergTraurig, about the basics of Indian law. Members of the Energy Board also attended Eid’s presentation.
The Energy Board met Feb. 20-21 to discuss topics ranging from building communities that are more adaptive to extreme weather and natural disasters, to renovating state regulatory processes and practices. The Energy Board is Keystone’s longstanding forum for energy sector leaders to learn about and discuss timely issues, examining the linkages among energy, environmental and economic policies.
The Energy Board also heard a retrospective from one of its founding members, Ed Gabriel. Gabriel explained the circumstances that led to the establishment of the Energy Board, highlighted the issues the board tackled in its early years, and examined how the approach of the board has evolved in its more than 30 years.
Effective March 1, 2025, Thomas J. Vilsack, former United States Secretary of Agriculture and Governor of Iowa, became the first Chief Executive Officer for the World Food Prize Foundation. In this new role, Governor Vilsack is focusing on expanding the Foundation’s global network, and will further position the Foundation as a leader in addressing global food and nutrition insecurity, continuing his lifetime of public service.
Shelby Coffey III is a distinguished journalist, media executive, and thought leader whose career has helped shape the landscape of American news and public discourse. Over several decades, Coffey has held some of the most influential roles in journalism, including serving as editor of the Los Angeles Times, executive vice president of ABC News, and deputy managing editor of The Washington Post. His editorial leadership extended to key roles as president of CNN Financial News, editor of the Dallas Times Herald, and U.S. News & World Report.
Jerry Steiner has spent 40 years involved in agriculture following growing up on a Wisconsin dairy farm. He began his career with Monsanto, in multiple business leadership roles. From 2003-2013 he served as a member of 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. This experience got Jerry connected to the Keystones centers work in agriculture. 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. Two unique partnership that developed under his leadership were drought tolerant corn with 5 African countries, CIMMYT and the Gates foundation, and a building a sustainable business model in Brazil with the value chain leading to significant multi-company investment and soybean varieties that can protected themselves.
Jennifer Morris is the Chief Executive Officer of The Nature Conservancy, leading a team of nearly 6,000 staff working in more than 80 countries and territories tackling the dual crises of the 
Congressman Joe Neguse represents Colorado’s 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected to his first term in November 2018, becoming the first Black Member of Congress in Colorado history. In December 2022, Rep. Neguse was elected by his colleagues to serve as Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), becoming the first Coloradan to serve in a senior elected leadership role in the House in over 85 years. He serves on the Natural Resources and Judiciary Committees, and was also appointed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to serve as one of four Democrats on the prestigious Rules Committee. Rep. Neguse serves as Ranking Member on the House Subcommittee on Federal Lands, which he previously Chaired in the 117th Congress.
Llewellyn King was born in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. He went into journalism as soon as he turned 16, stringing for Time magazine and United Press in Africa.
Steven Williams is the Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo North America, overseeing a more than $48 billion business that spans PepsiCo’s Foods and Beverage operating units. His leadership encompasses more than 125,000 associates and over 900 locations across the U.S. and Canada. Steven joined PepsiCo in 2001 as part of PepsiCo’s acquisition of the Quaker Oats Company, which he joined in 1997, and has held leadership positions of increased responsibility since.