Paul Andrae has more than twenty-five years of wide-ranging experience in the energy industry. His work spans the oil and gas exploration sector, generation and transmission development within the utility sector, project management, marketing and trading responsibilities within the oil and gas exploration and power sectors, and strategic energy supply and development within the primary metals and chemical industry. As Vice President of Strategy & Transmission at Foresight, Mr. Andrae focuses on transmission planning for Foresight’s portfolio of projects, developing marketing strategies for the project’s output and providing power market analysis in those geographic regions in which Foresight’s projects are located. Prior to working with Foresight, Mr. Andrae served as Director of Transmission Planning and Market Analysis for the non-jurisdictional arm of a leading Southwest electric utility where his activities included transmission development for IPP generation projects and generation development. He also had responsibility for the successful development of natural gas pipeline and natural gas processing plant development on behalf of industrial and oil and gas exploration firms. Mr. Andrae was a leader in the development of one of the first large scale industrial co-generation facilities on the Gulf Coast. Mr. Andrae holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a MS in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a JD from Loyola University in New Orleans.

James Beard, Regional Director, SolarCity Arizona 
James Beard, regional director for SolarCity in Arizona, has more than 30 years of experience in design, installation, sales and marketing of renewable energy systems; water resources consulting engineering; and water utility engineering and management. Prior to joining SolarCity, he was President of Arizona Solar Tech, specializing in the design and installation of residential and commercial PV systems. Prior to Solar Tech, he presided over JD Beard Consulting, providing engineering, planning and management consulting services to municipal and private sector firms. Mr. Beard has also served separate terms as the general manager of Alameda County Water District and general manager of Stockton East Water District, and has held multiple engineering positions for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. He holds a bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering from California State University, Long Beach, and a master’s degree in engineering from Loyola Marymount University.

Sandra Begay-Campbell, Sandia National Laboratories
Sandra Begay-Campbell is a Principal Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories and is a former Regent (Trustee) for the University of New Mexico. Sandra leads Sandia’s technical efforts in the Renewable Energy Program to assist tribes with renewable energy development.

In 1987, Sandra received a Bachelor of Science – Civil Engineering degree from the University of New Mexico. She worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories before she earned a Master of Science – Structural Engineering degree from Stanford University and she also worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Sandra is a recipient of the University of New Mexico’s 2007 Zia Alumnus Award, the 2005 UNM School of Engineering Distinguished Alumnus Award and she received the Stanford University 2000 Multicultural Alumni of the Year Award. She was also selected as a recipient of the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Women from the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women. Sandra is recognized in a new book profiling women engineers, Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers. Begay-Campbell is included in the chapter “Women in Power”, which describes her effort to provide electricity through solar panels and other alternative energy solutions to hundreds of remote tribal members on the Navajo Reservation.

Warren W. Byrne, President & CEO, Foresight Wind Energy 
Warren Byrne is co-founder and CEO of Foresight Wind Energy. His combination of high-level experience in financial analysis, marketing and strategic planning with major corporations; career long dedication to the development of sustainable energy solutions; and strong environmental science and policy credentials have helped him emerge as a leader in the development of markets for renewable power. Mr. Byrne brings 14 years of energy industry experience, including positions with Booz, Allen & Hamilton’s Energy and Chemicals and Utilities Groups, Caithness Energy, and Environmental Defense. He has consulted to major companies in diverse industries including energy, environmental services, telecommunications, transportation, consumer goods, consumer credit, and agriculture,. For the past ten years, Mr. Byrne has focused exclusively on opportunities for renewable power. At Foresight Energy Company, a consulting firm and the predecessor company to Foresight Wind Energy, he and his partners played an important role in increasing the size of California’s renewable power market during deregulation and authored key renewable power subsidy legislation. They also developed power purchase contracting and financial and risk management structures that are now widely used for green power transactions. Mr. Byrne holds a Bachelor’s Degree with honors in Liberal Studies from the University of California in Santa Barbara, and a Master’s of Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies where he was awarded the Switzer Environmental Leader Fellowship. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of NGV EcoTrans, an alternative fuel vehicle systems company.

Michael L. Connolly, High Pass Energy, Inc. Laguna Resource Services, Inc. 
Michael Connolly is a Principal with High Pass Energy, Inc., a renewable energy consulting & development company and President of Laguna Resource Services, Inc., an environmental consulting company. He has worked for 19 years in management/consulting on environmental, energy and economic development projects. Prior experience includes 12 years of Manufacturing/Industrial Engineering and management in the aerospace industry. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Manufacturing Engineering and is an Adjunct Professor for San Diego State University and Kumeyaay Community College. He has two published books and many published papers on Kumeyaay history, environmental economics and energy. He has worked on the national policy level in the fields of energy, environment and economic development. He has held positions with the National Congress of American Indians, National Tribal Environmental Council, Rural Community Assistance Corporation and the Good Neighbor Environmental Board. He has served a total of 17 years in elected office to the Campo Kumeyaay Nation.

Craig Cox, Executive Director, Interwest Energy Alliance
Craig Cox is executive director of the Interwest Energy Alliance, a non-profit trade association that represents the nation’s leading companies in the renewable energy industry, bringing them together with regional non-governmental organizations in the West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming). Interwest performs outreach and representational activities and seeks to build collaborative, consensus-based approaches to new project development and transmission siting throughout the West.

Cox has been active in renewable energy public policy development since working for Congressman Dan Schaefer in Washington, D.C., where he formed the U.S. House Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus on Schaefer’s behalf in 1996. Cox has been a member of various Western Governors’ Association’s energy task forces in recent years, along with other state and regional task forces and working groups throughout the West. He currently serves on the State of Colorado’s “Renewable Energy Development Infrastructure” task force, which seeks to advance utility-scale renewable energy through the development of technical, financial and policy frameworks. In 2005, Cox received a “Wind Advocacy Award” from the American Wind Energy Association and in 2007 the Colorado Environmental Coalition’s “Conservation Award.” In 2008, Cox received the first annual “Governor’s Excellence in Renewable Energy” individual award from Colorado Governor Bill Ritter.

Chris Deschene, Arizona State Representative
Arizona State Representative Chris Deschene earned a law degree from Arizona State University in 2005 where he concurrently earned a Masters of Science Engineering in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis in renewable and alternative energy development. While in law school, Chris served as a legal associate in the United States Senate, and for Washington DC and Phoenix law firms alike. After graduate school, Chris co-founded the Law Office of Schaff & Clark Deschene, LLC to practice as a tribal energy attorney for tribes throughout the United States. With his law firm, Chris helps tribal communities develop much needed infrastructure and economies with their natural and energy resources. His specialties include small business considerations, rural economic development, and tribal and non-tribal politics regarding business, law, and government. He now speaks nationally on tribal energy issues and helps shape nationally tribal policies that bring together tribal and non-tribal partners.

Tom Fair, Executive, Renewable Energy, NV Energy
Thomas R. Fair was named Vice President, Renewable Energy in February 2009. He is responsible for the procurement and development of renewable energy – green power sources such as geothermal, solar and wind. Fair was previously Executive, Renewable Energy, a position he attained in February 2006 after serving as director of Environmental Services since October 2004.

Fair’s career consists of 35 years in the electric power industry. He spent five years developing wind energy projects, initially as a Project Director at FPL Energy and then as Development Director at Renewable Energy Systems North America LLC. He was responsible for various stages of the development of more than 400 megawatts of wind projects now in operation.

He was appointed to the Nevada Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Task Force in August 2006 and to the Governor’s Renewable Energy Transmission Access Advisory Committee in 2007. In addition to several other executive-level environmental affairs and planning positions, Fair also served as Staff Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the U.S. Department of the Interior under the President’s Executive Exchange program.

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Architecture from the University of Cincinnati, a Masters Degree in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan, and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Miami.

Steve Goldstein, Host, Here and Now, KJZZ Radio
Steve Goldstein is the Host of KJZZ Radio’s Here and Now, the National Public Radio-Phoenix affiliate’s only locally-produced talk show. His regular guests include former Governor and current Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Senator Jon Kyl, and Congressmen Harry Mitchell and Jeff Flake. The program covers issues of importance to residents of the Southwest—water, energy, growth, and education, among others. Goldstein is also the Host/Anchor of the local segments of All Things Considered and his feature reports have aired nationally on Marketplace, Weekend Edition, and On the Media.
Goldstein’s journalistic work has been honored by the Radio and Television News Directors Association, the Associated Press, and the March of Dimes. He was also named Phoenix New Times’ Best Talk Show Host in Phoenix in 2008.

Goldstein is almost an Arizonan native, moving to Phoenix with his family from Chicago, Illinois at the age of four. He currently lives in Scottsdale with his wife, Deanne Poulos, and their Dalmatian, Trudi.

Bob Gough, Intertribal Council on Utility Policy
Bob Gough is an attorney with graduate degrees in sociology and cultural ecology, with over 30 years experience and two law fellowships on tribal cultural and natural resource issues.

The first director of the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Utility Commission, Mr. Gough participated in WAPA negotiations for tribal allocations of federal hydroelectric power. He is the secretary of the Intertribal Council On Utility Policy, an organization composed of federally recognized Indian tribes in the Northern Great Plains providing a forum on rights and resources for utility services on tribal lands, and co-chairs the national assessment’s Native Peoples/Native Homelands Climate Change Workshop, part of the national assessment on climate change and variability through the United States Global Change Research Program and has participated in the Kyoto Protocol COPs 6 in The Hague and the COPs 6b in Bonn as part of the Indigenous Peoples delegation. He also maintains a private law practice in indigenous rights.

A member of the Western Governors’ Clean and Diversified Energy Advisory Committee, Mr. Gough contracts with the Department of Energy (DOE)-Wind Powering America program’s Wind Powering Native America Initiative, and co-directs the NativeWind.org supporting partnerships between ICLEI-Cities for Climate Protection and the Intertribal COUP Tribes interested in building sustainable homeland economies based upon efficiency and renewable energy. The Intertribal COUP plan for tribal wind development across the West was recently recognized with the inaugural World Clean Energy Award forCourage, in Basel, Switzerland.

Steve Horne, Co-founder, SolFocus
Steve Horne’s technical and entrepreneurial background spans multiple disciplines including power generation and transmission, semiconductor test equipment design and manufacture as well as research in advanced renewables technology. Before co-founding SolFocus, Steve was the Director of Engineering at GuideTech, a leading semiconductor test equipment company, and had previously spent six years running a technology consulting firm known as Tuross Technology. He served as Vice President of Engineering at Ariel Electronics, where he was responsible for acquisition of company funding as well as integration of engineering disciplines ranging from mechanics, software, electronics and chemistry. His early-career experience includes commissioning two 500MW steam generated power plants in New South Wales, Australia.

Lon Huber, Solar Policy Program Associate, Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy
Lon Huber is a solar policy program associate at the Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy (AzRISE). Lon holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy and management from The University of Arizona where he currently serves as the director of the Student Green Fund.

As an undergraduate, Lon served as an intern for the City of Tucson, The University of Arizona’s president, and local city council member. During that time, Lon obtained national support for his green fund project from former President Bill Clinton’s Global Initiative organization. Lon has recently concluded a solar energy focused fellowship for a member of Congress in Washington D.C.

Presently, Lon is a member of President’s Climate Change Commitment Committee and student representative on The University of Arizona’s Campus Sustainability Steering Board. Lon is also the co-founder of the ASUA Sustainability Action Committee – an official coalition of students tasked with transforming the University of Arizona’s campus into the foremost model of sustainability. Lon is currently pursing a master’s degree in business administration at the Eller College of Management.

David G. Hutchens, Vice President of Energy Efficiency and Resource Planning, UniSource Energy Corporation
Mr. Hutchens has been with TEP since 1995 and has served in various positions in the wholesale power trading, marketing and fuels areas including Vice President of Wholesale Energy for UniSource Energy, including Tucson Electric Power (TEP) and TEP’s affiliates, UNS Gas and UNS Electric. Mr. Hutchens has also served as Vice President of Operations for UNS Gas in which he oversaw all functions of the gas distribution utility which serves 150,000 customers in 30 communities in northern and southern Arizona.

Mr. Hutchens’ current position is Vice President of Energy Efficiency and Resource Planning for UniSource Energy Corporation. In this role he is responsible for oversight of energy efficiency initiatives and planning and procurement of long-term reliable energy supplies including supply contract evaluation, negotiation and performance monitoring and capacity planning. Mr. Hutchens also communicates with regulators, customer groups and other external stakeholders in the planning processes. He is further tasked with developing business strategies for profitable investment and growth in these areas. He also oversees the contracting and procurement of coal and natural gas supply as well as the electricity supply, trading, risk management and marketing functions.

Prior to joining TEP David was a Submarine Officer in the U.S. Navy. Mr. Hutchens holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aerospace Engineering and a Master of Business Administration degree both from the University of Arizona in Tucson.

 

Andy Kruse, Vice President, Southwest WindPower
Andrew Kruse is co-founder and Executive Vice President of Southwest Windpower a leading manufacturer of small-scale wind turbines and maker of the new Skystream 3.7 wind generator for backyard residential use.www.skystreamenergy.com. Southwest Windpower’s products are used to supply energy for lighting, water pumping, telecommunication systems and grid connected homes.

Andy has been in the renewable energy industry since 1986 and has installed numerous solar and wind systems around the world. He has traveled to some 70 countries promoting small wind systems. His background is in Management and International Marketing. Currently he oversees the company’s sales and marketing departments and is responsible for developing long term market strategies.

Andy has also written and had published numerous articles on renewable energy relating to system design and market opportunities and won a number of awards relating to export development.

Laverne Kyriss, Senior Planning, Western Area Power Admnistration 
LaVerne Kyriss was named Senior Planning Advisor for Western in April 2007. She previously served seven years as Western’s Corporate Communications Manager where she was responsible for the agency’s externals and internal communication programs.

Kyriss leads a variety of teams of Federal and contract staff that address strategic efforts at Western to ensure the agency and its employees are positioned to succeed in the challenges the utility faces in its future. One of her current assignments is to assist in launching Western’s new Transmission Infrastructure Program. This program, authorized in the American Recovery and xxxx Act, gives Western access to $3.25 billion in U.S. Treasury borrowing authority that can be used to plan, construct, operate, maintain, facilitate and study construction of transmission facilities that will help deliver energy from renewable resources to market.

From July 2007 to December 2008, she served as the Department of Energy’s project manager for a programmatic environmental impact statement examining transmission corridors on Federal lands in the West.

Kyriss has more than 25 years of Federal public affairs experience, beginning with a career in the U. S. Army. Kyriss served in a variety of Army public affairs positions during 13 years of active duty and 10 years in the U.S. Army Reserves, including her final assignment as sergeant major (mobilization augmentee) for the Chief of Public Affairs, Department of the Army.

Kyriss holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of the State of New York and a master’s degree in communications from the University of Northern Colorado.

Barbara D. Lockwood, P.E., Manager of Renewable Energy, Arizona Public Service Company 
As the Manager of Renewable Energy for Arizona Public Service (APS) Lockwood is responsible for APS’ renewable energy programs including wholesale energy acquisition, customer programs, initiatives and policy. Lockwood joined APS in 1999 and began her career in the chemical industry at E.I. DuPont de Nemours in various engineering and management roles on the East Coast. Subsequent to DuPont, Lockwood moved into consulting and managed diverse projects for national clients across the US. Lockwood holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Clemson University and a Master of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Lockwood is a registered professional chemical engineer in Arizona and California.

Chairman Kristin K. Mayes, Arizona Corporation Commission
Kristin K. Mayes was born and raised in Prescott, Arizona. After graduating from Prescott High School and winning the prestigious Flinn scholarship, Mayes attended Arizona State University. While attending ASU, she served as editor in chief of the State Press, one of the nation’s largest college newspapers and completed an internship with the Johannesburg Star in Johannesburg, South Africa. In addition, Mayes won the Truman Scholarship, the nation’s top scholarship for public service, was a national finalist for the Rhodes scholarship and graduated valedictorian from ASU with a degree in political science. Also in college, Commissioner Mayes’ love for politics was fostered when she interned in Washington D.C. for Congressman Bob Stump.

Mayes immediately went to work as a general assignment reporter for the Phoenix Gazette, and later as a political reporter for the Arizona Republic, covering the Arizona State Legislature. Mayes left her post at the Republic to attend graduate school at Columbia University in New York, where she earned a Master of Public Administration. While at Columbia, Kris wrote her thesis on electric deregulation.

Following graduate school, Mayes returned to the Arizona Republic, where she was assigned to cover the 2000 presidential campaigns of Sen. John McCain, former Vice President Dan Quayle, publisher Steve Forbes and then-Governor George W. Bush. During this time Mayes co-authored a book entitled “Spin Priests: Campaign Advisors and the 2000 Race for the White House”. After the presidential campaign, Mayes attended ASU College of Law and graduated magna cum laude.

Commissioner Mayes was appointed to the Corporation Commission in October 2003. She has devoted much of her time since the appointment to pipeline safety, renewable energy and natural gas issues.

Jason A. Marks, Commissioner , New Mexico Public Regulation Commission
Jason Marks was first elected to the PRC by the voters in his Albuquerque-area district in November 2004. He was reelected by a large margin in 2008. Marks served as PRC Vice-Chair for 2005 through 2007, and as Commission Chair for 2008.

Commissioner Marks believes that the PRC has an important role to play in the transition from fossil-fuel dependency to energy supplies that are environmentally and financially sustainable. In 2007, he sponsored and passed renewable energy rules at the Commission that create diversity targets for solar energy and distributed generation. In 2006, he brought an order to the Commission that requires utilities to use standardized prices for carbon dioxide emissions in their long range resource planning, and he joined with Commissioner Lujan in initiating a rulemaking that resulted in the highest net metering limit in the nation, and in sponsoring the PRC’s entry into the Western PUC Commissioner’s Joint Action Framework to Address Climate Change.

Commissioner Marks has a Bachelors degree from Reed College and a law degree from the University of New Mexico. He is a member of the New Mexico legal bar and serves on the governing board for the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System, the Steering Committee for the Western Renewable Energy Zones Project, and the Advisory Committee for New Mexico State University’s Center for Public Utilities.

Charles Reinhold, Electric Resource Strategies
Charles Reinhold established Electric Resource Strategies, Inc. in 1998 to provide consulting services to the electric utility industry, and currently brings 30 years of industry experience to his practice. Charles was retained by WestConnect in 2001 as Project Manager for the member transmission owners’ ongoing efforts to develop wholesale market enhancements.

Prior to beginning his consulting practice, Charles was the Executive Director of the Arizona Power Pooling Association, Inc. from 1989 to 1998, and served in a variety of positions with Salt River Project from 1979 to 1989.

Charles has held Board positions in a number of industry organizations. He holds degrees in law from the University of Denver and business administration from the University of Arizona.

James Sahagian, Vice President, Commercial Development – Sempra Generation 
James Sahagian is vice president of Commercial Development for Sempra Generation, which operates power plants for the competitive market in North America. Sempra Generation is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy, a San Diego-based Fortune 500 energy services holding company whose subsidiaries provide electricity, natural gas and value-added products and services. The Sempra Energy companies’ 13,600 employees serve more than 24 million consumers worldwide. In his current position, Sahagian is responsible for the commercial development of new, renewable-generation investment opportunities. Prior to this role, Sahagian served as vice president of Corporate Development for Sempra Energy where he focused on the long-term direction of the company and was responsible for identifying and developing new market opportunities.

Previously, he held the position of vice president of Commercial Development for Sempra LNG, a company subsidiary that leads Sempra Energy’s efforts to develop, build and operate liquefied natural gas (LNG) receipt terminals. In that position, Sahagian secured the commercial capacity contracts necessary for growth of the company’s LNG business. Before joining Sempra LNG, Sahagian served as vice president of Planning & Analysis for Sempra Generation where he spearheaded the launch of Sempra Generation’s business along the U.S Gulf Coast.

Prior to joining Sempra Energy, Sahagian was president of American Consumer Industries, a privately held company that owned and operated a number of independent power projects across the United States as well as a San Francisco Bay Area photovoltaic manufacturing company. Sahagian was one of the founders of Pyropower Corporation, a San Diego based energy generation equipment manufacturing and energy project development firm. Prior to that, he held management positions at Lurgi Corporation, an international engineering and construction company focusing on synthetic fuel plant design, and at Envirotech Corporation, a leading manufacturer of water and air pollution control equipment.

Sahagian holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Massachusetts and a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Connecticut.

Paul Sheldon, Senior Consultant, Natural Capitalism Solutions 
Natural Capitalism’s Senior Consultant, Paul Sheldon is well-known for his work recommending energy and economic alternatives to coal-fired power plants. He is a popular speaker on the topics of renewable energy, energy and food security, water issues, and regenerative communities. He has advised utilities like Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison on wording, evaluation and measurement of city, county, state, and federal codes and regulations for energy efficiency of lighting (indoor and outdoor, residential and commercial), televisions, cable TV set top boxes, battery chargers, and other electronic devices. He also provided similar advice on codes and regulations to the California Energy Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission, members of the California and Colorado State Legislatures, the U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR program, and Natural Resources Canada. In addition, he has advised the Cities of Los Angeles, CA, Eureka, CA, Arcata, CA, and Los Angeles, the Hoopa Tribe and Blue Lake Rancheria on the wording of codes and policies to regulate workers’ compensation, taxicabs, limousines, moving companies, and smoking in public places. As a Senior Underwriting Consultant to California’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fund, Mr. Sheldon wrote policies, procedures, codes and regulations regarding employment status, and insurance regulations, and advised the California Legislature on wording for codes and regulations relating to the above topics.

Paul also specializes in organizational development, and staff training. He consults widely for businesses, governments, non-profit groups and philanthropists, as well as having served as Senior Manager of Policy and Research for Ecos Consulting. He has served as a Senior Underwriting Consultant to California’s State Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fund. His clients have included General Motors, Bank of America, Muzak, Suzuki Motors and a number of cities and local organizations. Paul also has extensive business experience in wholesale and retail travel, hospitality, real estate, personnel and insurance industries. He helped to organize the Los Angeles-based TreePeople, Friends of the Los Angeles River, and many other non-profit organizations. Paul holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in Human Development and a lifetime college teaching credential in Business and Industrial Management. Since 2003, Paul has worked closely with Hunter Lovins, co-teaching “Principles of Sustainable Business Management,” “Implementing Sustainable Business Practices,” and “Effective Management, Communication and Action” at Presidio School of Management, the first fully accredited M.B.A. program in Sustainable Management. He lives in Longmont, Colorado, with his wife and two friendly dogs.

JD Sitton, President and CEO, Infinia Corporation 
J.D. Sitton joined Infinia as its President and Chief Executive Officer in October of 2002. During his tenure at Infinia, Mr. Sitton has led the company’s entry into the market for solar power generation products and systems and has closed on four rounds of venture, private equity and convertible debt financing totaling over $80 million. Mr. Sitton is a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience developing and commercializing new technologies, products and services in domestic and international energy markets. Prior to joining Infinia, Mr. Sitton formed a new business for, and led technology investments on behalf of Integrated Electrical Services. Prior to that, Mr. Sitton led the successful start-up of an international provider of hydrocarbon measurement services, now a part of Emerson Electric Company (NYSE: EMR). Mr. Sitton was Director of Marketing and Sales at Capstone Turbine Corporation (Nasdaq: CPST) where he was responsible for building early-market customer relationships, sales channels and key transactions. Mr. Sitton began his career with the gas pipeline and energy trading subsidiaries of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK). Mr. Sitton holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University and a Master of Business Administration from the Executive Program at the University of Houston.

J. Charles Smith, Executive Director, Utility Wind Integration Group 
Mr. Smith is a Senior Member of the IEEE Power Engineering Society, and a member of CIGRE, the International Council on Large Electric Systems. He received his BSME and MS degrees from MIT in 1970. He currently serves as the Executive Director of the Utility Wind Integration Group (UWIG), and is also the Managing Director of the consulting company Nexgen Energy. Previously, he served as President of Electrotek Concepts, a power engineering consulting firm. He has 38 years of experience in the electric power industry.

Marc Spitzer, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
Marc Spitzer was nominated by President George W. Bush to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and confirmed by the U.S. Senate for a term expiring June 30, 2011.

Commissioner Spitzer believes the FERC’s primary missions are to ensure that America’s ratepayers have safe, economic, and reliable supplies of electricity and natural gas; and transparent, robust and competitive wholesale energy markets. Commissioner Spitzer believes that successful regulation of FERC-jurisdictional industries requires a balancing of all competing interests to ensure just and reasonable rates.

As Chairman of the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), he focused on policies encouraging expansion of natural gas infrastructure, specifically distribution and storage; creating a demand side management policy; enhancing the ACC’s renewables standard; and advancing consumer privacy concerns in telecommunications. As Chairman, he established a legacy of balancing competing interests, while ensuring Arizonans received safe, economical and reliable utility services.

The expansion of and improvements to the bulk transmission system and the nation’s natural gas pipeline system are high priorities for Commissioner Spitzer. He also believes those enhancements are essential to the dispatch of environmentally friendly resources as well as ensuring reliability and efficiency. Commission Spitzer also believes that the expanded enforcement authority provided by EPAct 2005 will help deter market manipulation and other anticompetitive behavior and will enhance FERC’s ability to appropriately penalize those who are culpable.

Commissioner Spitzer was elected in 2000 to the ACC and in 2002 was elected Chairman by his colleagues. He received recognition for his leadership of the Arizona Commission from 2003-2005.

At the FERC, Commissioner Spitzer is building on his record in Arizona on environmental issues. Demand response, energy efficiency, and access to the grid by alternative resources were major focuses of Commissioner Spitzer in retail rate cases and policy decisions before the Arizona Commission. Commissioner Spitzer believes that EPAct 2005 supports his commitment to those issues, which are germane to both Federal and State regulators.

Randy Udall, Leading Activist in Promoting Energy Sustainability
Randy Udall, former director of the Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE), is one of the nation’s leading activists in promoting energy sustainability. CORE’s partnerships with electric utilities and local governments have led to remarkable accomplishments, including Colorado’s first solar energy incentive program, the world’s first Renewable Energy Mitigation Program which has raised $7 million, and some of the most progressive green power purchasing programs in the country.

Udall is co-founder of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil-USA and has keynoted annual conferences for the Rocky Mountain Electric League and American Wind Energy Association. In recent months he has addressed the Nebraska Municipal Power Pool, Colorado Rural Electric Association, Colorado Association of Municipal Utilities, Utah Association of Municipal Utilities, and the Northern California Power Association. Udall was recently featured in a CNBC documentary The Hunt for Black Gold.

Derek Walker, Director, California Climate Initiative and Deputy Director, States Climate Program
Derek Walker develops and coordinates legislative and communications campaigns in target states throughout the U.S. to generate support for strong global warming and clean energy policies. His primary responsibility is managing a team of policy and legal experts working on implementation of California’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), which was enacted in 2006 and co-sponsored by Environmental Defense Fund. In this role, he engages political, community, business and environmental leaders to build consensus, leverage resources and sustain public support for California’s pioneering environmental leadership.

From 2001-2005, he was Senior Vice President of the Hawthorn Group, where he provided strategic counsel for and managed public relations projects for Fortune 500 companies, trade organizations and business groups, and launched national philanthropic partnerships for a Dow 30 company.
Walker began his career as a Congressional Aide to U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD). He received a B.A. from the College of William & Mary in Virginia, and studied European literature and politics at University College, Oxford