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Speakers
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Shankar Achanta
Director for the Distribution Controls and Sensors Group
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
Shankar V. Achanta received his M.S. in electrical engineering from Arizona State University in 2002. He joined Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL) in 2002 as a hardware engineer, developing hardware for power utility products. Shankar currently holds 20 SEL patents, and he is an inventor on several patents that are pending in the field of distribution sensors, precise timing, and wireless communications. He currently holds the position of engineering director for the distribution controls and sensors group at SEL.
Andy Albrecht
Business Development
AT&T
Andy works in Business Development for AT&T in their 5G and Edge Center of Excellence. He supports the AT&T sales organization across the north-central part of the US across all verticals. Prior to his current role, Andy worked in the Smart Environments and was an early member of AT&T’s Smart Cities team. In that role, he supported the AT&T Sales team in promoting the value of smart cities technologies to municipalities and utilities across the U.S. Andy started his career with General Electric and worked there for 18 years. Andy held roles in Product Development and Product Management at GE and helped launch technologies in smart cities as well as indoor and outdoor lighting controls. Andy earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio and a Ph.D. in Physics from Clark University in Worcester, MA. He currently lives in Shaker Heights, OH with his wife and two sons.
Dan Anderson
Execution Manager, Land Services & Acquisition
Black & Veatch
Daniel Anderson has 12 years of experience in Telecom leasing and management with more than 15 years’ experience in commercial real estate property management and leasing. He has been key in conducting attachment rate studies for utilities and been involved in consulting for 3rd party make-ready attachment process for major utilities.
Liana Ault
CX Idea to Innovation Lead
Nokia
Lee Ayers
VP - Engineering
Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative
Lee Ayers received a BS in Electrical Engineering from Clemson University in 1982. From 1982 until 1986, he worked for Central Electric Power Cooperative in Columbia, South Carolina. Since 1986, he has been employed with Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative in Lexington, South Carolina, where he currently serves as VP of Engineering, managing system planning, power supply, substations, metering, system control and dispatch, and outside plant fiber optic communications and technology. He has worked extensively with electric service rate design and implementation. Presently he is managing MCEC’s FttM (Fiber to the Meter) project that will enable internet service to the MCEC’s entire membership along with system wide electric distribution automation and data collection, as well as real-time electric service usage data to consumers.
Christopher Bailey
Director, Strategic Broadband Alliance Programs
WESCO Distribution
Julie Bajer
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security
Julie Bajer is the Energy sector lead at the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security in Ottawa. For the past 15 years she has worked in both the private and public sectors, applying her knowledge from her University degree in Software Engineering by leading development teams and coding software solutions. She recently joined the Cyber Centre’s critical infrastructure partnerships team.
Steve Bandy
General Manager
OzarksGo
Steven Bandy has over 20 years of utility experience from the field to management level that has included leadership roles in engineering, operations, customer service, billing and dispatch. In his previous positions, Steven worked for independently-owned utility companies focused on distribution of natural gas and also a diversified company with both natural gas and electric customers. Steven joined Ozarks Electric Cooperative in 2016 as vice president of member relations. He was promoted to general manager of OzarksGo in February 2019. As general manager, Steven works to provide the superior services of all-fiber gigabit internet, high-definition television and long-distance phone services to Ozarks Electric’s members. He manages the fiber network that provides these services and the additional benefits of smart grid management that ultimately increases the reliability of Ozarks’ entire electric system. Steven’s ability to understand concepts from field, design and customer perspectives allows him to bring a well-rounded view that ultimately lead to better customer satisfaction. Steven is a member of Arkansas 811 Board of Directors, the Fayetteville Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors and is an active volunteer with other community organizations that focus on the improvement of young adults’ lives. He has served as a volunteer coach on numerous sports teams within the community. Steven is a graduate of the University of Arkansas.
Jamie Barnett
Senior VP Government Services
RigNet Inc.
Retired Navy Rear Admiral Jamie Barnett is the Senior Vice President for Government Services for RigNet. He is the former Chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission. In 2015, he was named a Top Lawyer for Cybersecurity by The Washingtonian magazine.
Greg Bathrick
Director of Field Marketing
Calix
With more than 20 years in the telecom industry working for GTE, Nokia and Texas Instruments, Greg Bathrick joined Calix in 2014 as Director of Field Marketing responsible for regulatory matters and driving the launch of its broadband access solutions. Greg also serves as Distinguished Fellow at the Broadband Forum and earned an M.B.A. from Cornell University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UNM.
Daniel Bayouth
PE - Project Manager, Networks, Integration & Automation
Burns & McDonnell
Mr. Bayouth is an electrical engineer specializing in telecommunications and network engineering. He is currently the project manager and architect for projects that include 100 Gbps Ethernet, DWDM, NERC CIP cyber and physical security, and communications design for protective relay transport, volt/VAR control, recloser automation, and automated metering infrastructure.
Ronald Beck
Network Engineer
Central Lincoln PUD
Mr. Beck is the Network Engineer for the Central Lincoln People’s Utility District in Newport, Oregon. In this role, he is responsible for the design, engineering, and construction of the utility’s telecommunications systems, local and wide area networks and cyber-security systems.
Klaus Bender
Vice President, Engineering, Training and Standards
Utilities Technology Council
Electrical engineer with strong background in wireless telecommunications. Professional interests include utility telecommunications issues, RF safety implementation and policy, and Federal telecommunications policy and its impact on private industry. Specialties: Wireless telecommunication system analysis; FCC policy analysis; RF safety training and analysis
John Biasi
Senior Cyber Security Specialist
Burns & McDonnell
John is an accomplished professional with success directing a broad range of IT and cyber security initiatives while participating in planning, analysis, and implementation of solutions in support of business objectives. He has hands-on experience developing solutions for a broad range of regulations and security frameworks including HIPAA, ISO 27001, NERC CIP, NIST, PCI-DSS, and SOX.
Ronald Bilodeau
Sr. Solutions Consultant
Osmose Utilities Services Inc.
Ron provides solutions to the utility and broadband industries on wide-ranging topics including joint use, and wireless collocation programs and processes. Ron has more than 35 years of management experience in the telecom and electric space, he earned an MBA from Western Governors University and a BA from the University of Las Vegas Nevada and is a certified Project Management Professional
Jay Borer
Corning
Vivan Bouet
Chief Information Officer
CPS Energy
Vivian Bouet is Chief Information Officer (CIO) of CPS Energy. As Chief Information Officer, Vivian is responsible for overseeing the technology roadmap, enterprise architecture, business solutions development, digital experience, and innovation functions at CPS Energy – as well as providing leadership in corporate strategic planning. Vivian has over 20 years of experience transforming and leading strategic business, technology and operational imperatives through the integration of people, process and technology. She leverages strategic insight and a customized approach to drive growth through organizational, technology and strategy development, business planning and capability enablement and program and operational excellence. Vivian delivers results through innovative and strategic thought leadership and a daily mindset of continuous improvement and doing what’s right for the business. She combines her experience from Fortune 20-100 companies, as well as from smaller organizations with her diverse skillset to deliver results to the bottom-line. Prior to joining CPS Energy, Vivian served in executive leadership and management positions as well as worked as a senior principal consultant. Her two most recent leadership positions were with Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., a Fortune 19 company and Anthem Health Insurance Inc., a Fortune 29 company. Vivian has a bachelor’s in computer science from the University of New York, Albany with graduate studies in software engineering at DePaul University. Vivian is married with children and in her spare time she enjoys writing, specifically children’s books.
Dwayne Bradley
Project Manager
Burns & McDonnell
Delivering innovative and creative solutions related to fiber optic infrastructure and telecommunications. I providing turn-key engineering services for deployment projects. Project experience includes project management, client coordination, electrical system design, code review and standards, site acquisition/leasing, and construction services for commercial telecommunications.
Bernard Brault
Power Utility Sales Director
OTN Systems
Bernard Brault is a professional Engineer. He has a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Southern California where he specialized in communications and control. Bernard has 25 years of experience working with Power Utilities in designing, building and implementing telecommunications network for critical power applications.
Andreas Breuer
VP New Technologies / Projects
Innogy
Dr. Andreas Breuer has been the Vice President of New Technologies / Projects at innogy S.E. in Essen since September 2009. His responsibilities include: - operational research and development work on distribution grids for the RWE Group (e.g. future energy grids, super-conducting cables, broadband cable networks), - Group-wide pooling of activities related to Smart Grids, - metering services (e.g. Smart Metering), - application technology (technology assessment, micro-CHP, virtual power plant) - system assessments - decentral energy solutions Andreas Breuer's division identifies and evaluates technology trends, is in charge of development activities, and ensures implementation and/or introduction of new technologies. innogy S.E’s position on the subject of the energy transition and how it is to be designed is represented by Andreas Breuer's division in numerous national and international bodies and associations. In addition, system assessments are performed with a view to strategic questions, in particular for the European electricity transmission system. Before joining the RWE Group in 2003, Dr. Breuer was a product manager in the Consulting division of ABB AG with a focus on maintenance strategies. Subsequently, he was the Managing Director of Süwag Erneuerbare Energien GmbH and Head of Concession Contract Management at Süwag Energie AG, a regional company of the RWE Group based in Frankfurt/Main.
Geoff Burke
VP Global Marketing and PLM
DZS
Geoff Burke is responsible for all marketing and product management globally for DZS. A renowned marketer and recognized industry visionary, he brings a wealth of experience in leading marketing transformations and championing major communications industry initiatives to the company, most recently as Chief Marketing Officer at Broadband Forum. Prior to joining Broadband Forum, Mr. Burke led Corporate Marketing at Calix, responsible for the Calix brand and company messaging worldwide. Mr. Burke has also held a variety of senior marketing, strategy, and operational roles at Motorola/Next Level Communications, The McKenna Group, KPMG Consulting, and Oracle Corporation. Mr. Burke holds an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA.
Robert Butts
Utilities Market Director
L3 Harris
Rob Butts is the Professional Communications Market Manager for L3Harris. Rob works with customers in the Utility and Transportation sectors to provide mission critical products and services to meet the evolving demands for their ever changing world. He leads the effort to develop partnerships with vendors offering innovative solutions to sector clients through the Mission Critical Alliance. Rob joined L3Harris in March, 2020 following a 37 year career with Southern Company working in the telecommunications group at Southern Linc where he lead the Product Engineering organization responsible for developing, testing and launching voice and data products on both the iDEN and LTE networks. Rob holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Virginia Tech.
Larry Butts Jr.
Telecom Engineering Manager
Southern Company
Larry is an experienced telecommunications professional with a history of working in the utilities industry for over 30 years. Larry is responsible for managing the Telecom Engineering Organization, which is responsible for the overall design, strategic planning, life cycle management, operations, financials & cost structure for telecom services at Southern Company. Larry manages 3 distinct groups within Telecom Services: The Telecom RF and Backhaul Engineering team, which is responsible for the engineering, design and installation of ~6000 miles of fiber optics cable, ~1800 microwave paths, as well as all ancillary type telecom equipment for service channeling or network access capabilities The Telecom Request team, which is responsible for the engineering, design and turn-up of all last mile connectivity needs across Southern Company’s footprint and the supporting documentation. This would include all circuits from internal systems, as well as the ~6000 leased circuits from external carriers The Telecom Support team, which is responsible for telecom equipment provisioning & configuration, implementation and operations of the telecom infrastructure.
Chrissy Carr
Network, Integration and Automation Sales & Marketing Director
Burns & McDonnell
Ms. Carr is an electrical engineer specializing in the design of telecommunications systems, data analytics and utility automation. She presently serves as Network, Integration and Automation Sales & Marketing Director at Burns & McDonnell. She has 30 years of engineering and project management. Ms. Carr’s experience in telecommunications includes fiber optic systems, microwave radio (analog and digital – 900 MHz through 18 GHz), land mobile radio (UHF/VHF), Hybrid Fiber/Coax (HFC), LTE networks, local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). She has responsibilities in planning and design of wired and wireless infrastructure for a wide variety of clients in the municipal utilities, investor-owned utilities, rural electric cooperatives, industrial companies, and state and federal governments. Ms. Carr has experience in SONET systems as while as Multiprotocol Labeling Switching (MPLS). Ms. Carr has understanding of Smart Cities applications for electric utilities.
John Casler
Product Line Management
L3 Harris
John Casler is a Lead Product Manager for L3Harris Public Safety and Profession Communications. Mr. Casler currently has product management responsibility for the L3Harris VIDA Core product offerings and Cybersecurity. He has over 25 years of experience in the Land Mobile Radio industry as a Customer Project Manager, Product Manager and Engineering Program Manager. Mr. Casler is a retired US Naval Officer with a Surface Warfare Officer qualification and as a designated US Naval Aviator. He is a certified PMP and Agile Product Owner/Product Manager. Mr. Casler is a graduate of James Madison University.
David Chaddock
Senior Manager
West Monroe Partners
Hansen Chan
Senior Marketing Manager
Nokia
Hansen Chan is a senior marketing manager at Nokia with a special focus on utilities and other critical industry segments. He has more than 25 years of network consulting and product management experience in the telecommunications industry. He is also an innovator with multiple patents in networking technology.
Brian Ciccariello
Senior Telecommunications Specialist
Burns & McDonnell
Brian serves Burns & McDonnell as a senior telecommunications specialist. He has over 10 years of experience in the telecommunications and networking industry working for a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier prior to joining Burns & McDonnell. Brian has experience in Transport and Access network design utilizing SONET, Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM), Carrier Ethernet, Passive Optical Networking (PON), Pseudo-wire, and xDSL. He also has extensive experience with Class 4/5 switch translations, VoIP network design, and HPBX switch design using a variety of platforms and protocols. Since joining Burns & McDonnell, Brian has demonstrated knowledge and experience focused on Grid Automation with an emphasis on security and reliability, including: Next Generation Firewall and Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) Virtual Private Network (VPN) Enterprise Network, North America Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Hardening of Cyber Assets, Development of NERC CIP Patch Management program, and Deployment of redundant rugged protection and control substation switching Local Area Network (LAN).
Andy Ciccone
Vice President of Sales
Graybar
Andy Ciccone is the Vice President of Sales for Commercial, Institutional and Government. In his 28 year career with Graybar, Andy has held various positions. He joined Graybar in the Phoenix warehouse. Soon after, he transferred to Las Vegas where he started as a Customer Service Representative and ultimately became the Las Vegas Branch Manager. Andy and his branch were recognized for outstanding performance and service during his tenure. Andy then moved to Maryland, in 2007 to become director, electrical sales. In 2011, Andy moved to the Tampa District as District Vice President. Andy has been in his current role since January 2019.
William Coleman
Principal
Community Technology Advisors
Community broadband coach with successful career in economic development and technology initiatives.
Kevin Cookler
Attorney
Lerman Senter PLLC
Kevin represents private and commercial wireless licensees, utilities, equipment manufacturers and vendors before the FCC, FAA, state commissions, and other agencies on spectrum policy and acquisition, enforcement and compliance, pole attachments, and tower infrastructure issues.
Kenneth Cooper
Network and Transport Specialist III
FirstEnergy Corporation
Ken Cooper is a Network and Transport Specialist on FirstEnergy's Substation and Field Area Network Team based in Akron, OH. Ken has a background in Computer information Systems of routing and switching primarily with Cisco equipment, and has transitioned into the Radio, RF, and FAN technology space since starting with FirstEnergy 5 years ago.
Bryan Corley
Principal Staff Engineer
dbSpectra
Bryan has over 40 years of RF systems Engineering experience. His understanding of the Physics of hardware and field experience allow him to apply that knowledge to perform interference mitigation on extremely difficult situations. His unique combinatin of theoretical and practical experience allows him to understand the risks associated with frequency planning and design.
Doug Davies P. Eng.
Microwave Engineer, Mobile Networks
Nokia
Doug Davies, P.Eng. Doug Davies is a professional electrical engineer specializing in Microwave Communications Business Development in the Mobile Networks division of Nokia. In his more than 20 years at Nokia (and associated companies Alcatel and Alcatel-Lucent), he has worked on microwave systems in various capacities in installation, field trouble-shooting, network design, and network management. He has designed microwave hops in the US and Canada for telephone companies, cellular carriers, school boards, utilities, public safety, railways and others. In the US, Doug is a member of the Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition (FWCC) where he is a contributor to radio standards for the FCC and is a board member of the National Spectrum Managers Association (NSMA). In Canada, Doug is a member of the Radio Advisory Board of Canada (RABC) where he is a contributor to radio standards for ISED and is a board member and current chair of the Canadian Electronics and Communications Association (CECA). Doug holds a US patent for his design of a “Wireless Transmission Evaluation System and Methodâ€.
Dewey Day
Senior Telecom Engineer
Pacific Gas & Electric Company
Mike Dee
Field Engineer
VIAVI Solutions
Mike Dee of VIAVI Solutions is a Field Engineer specializing in Fiber Optic Testing. He has 22 years of experience in testing telecommunication and fiber optic networks. He supports all markets so has experience with contractors, utilities, providers, and more. Mike is based out of North Carolina, but travels the country.
Joe Dempsey
Journeyman Lineman
SRP
Journeyman Lineman
Andy Dickson
Vice President, IT and CIO
ComEd
Ed Diggs
Supervisor - Electric Distribution Design
Dominion Energy
Edward H. Diggs graduated from Old Dominion University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. He joined Dominion Energy in 1995 and has held numerous positions in the areas of Electric Distribution Design, Financial Management, Accounting, Right of Way and Design for Six Sigma. Mr. Diggs was most recently Supervisor – Electric Distribution Design for Dominion Energy Virginia, and assumed his current position as Program Manager – Rural Broadband for Dominion Energy Virginia in August 2019. In this position, Mr. Diggs is responsible for developing and delivering the Rural Broadband program for the Company.
Douglas Dowling
Director Sales & Business Development
CommScope
Doug Dowling is a Professional Engineer with CommScope. He has been directly involved with Fiber-To-The-Home networks since 2000 in a variety of roles including R&D, Product Management, Business Development and Sales. CommScope has provided fiber optic cable and connectivity products to over 100 EMC’s and PUD’s.
Daniel Draughn
Director Market Development - Critical Industries
Tait Communications
Over 35 years of executive leadership, Dan Draughn offers Tait clients and partners a client-focused approach to critical communications solutions. With experience in helping organizations implement solutions in complex and emerging markets. He believes it has never been more important to leverage converged technologies to manage utility critical infrastructure solutions.
Matt Duncan
Director of Intelligence
Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center
Matthew Duncan serves as the Senior Manager for Resilience and Policy Coordination at the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC), focusing on North American electricity industry resilience policy and cross-sector coordination. Prior to the E-ISAC, Duncan was a Program Manager at the U.S. Department of Energy, managing sector specific agency and state government outreach. Other previous roles include: Deputy U.S. Political Officer at the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan; a strategic Policy Analyst at the Pentagon; and a Research Assistant for a U.S. Attorney. Duncan holds a GIAC Global Critical Infrastructure Protection Certificate, a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, and a Bachelor’s degree from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
Emmanuel Manny Duvelson
Product Manager
RFL/Hubbell Power Systems
Emmanuel Duvelson is currently the Product Manager for the RFL Communications Product Line at Hubbell Power Systems. Emmanuel is a graduate of Boston University where he earned his BSEE degree. Emmanuel has authored numerous white papers and has had several articles published in the UTC Journal. Manny is a current member of IEEE and a MEF Carrier Ethernet Certified Professional (MEF-CECP).
Russ Ehrlich
Sr. Manager
Exelon
Russ has worked for Exelon and legacy Utility companies for 29 years. His roles and responsibilities have ranged from Marketing, Meter Services, Power Consulting, Smart Grid, Asset Management and most recently Telecommunications, Networks and Security Engineering supporting the six (6) Exelon Operating Companies. As a graduate from the University of Delaware, Electrical Engineering, he served on numerous Industry Application, Power Electronic and Communication Societies in IEEE, along with EEI, EPRI and UTC involvement.
Jeremy Elder
Product Line Management
L3 Harris
Jeremy Elder is the Director of Product Management for Systems Infrastructure for L3Harris Corporation. He possesses a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with a specialization in Computer Science from Liberty University. Jeremy has over 15 years of Telecommunications industry experience in designing, developing, and deploying mission-critical communications systems.
Stacy Evans
Chief Broadband and Technology Officer
BrightRidge
Mr. Evans has thirty years of experience working in telecommunication networking and management. The past 16 years, he served in the telecommunications division at Bristol Virginia Utilities in the capacities of Lead Network Engineer and Manager of Network and Fiber Engineering. Beginning in 2002 he was involve with BVU OptiNet’s startup operations and continued support of the first municipal broadband network to provide triple-play services over an 100% fiber-optic network. Stacy has years of experience working as a leader in the business expansion and automation efforts at various operations not only BVU, but also at Aerus Electrolux, United States Gypsum, and Fingerhut. In June 2018, Stacy joined BrightRidge (an electric provider in Johnson City, TN) as their Chief Broadband Officer to lead a new Broadband initiative that will provide services to a customer base of 79,000 homes and businesses in East Tennessee. BrightRidge is deploying a combination of Fiber-optic and Fixed Wireless network technologies over an eight-year build-out. Stacy holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Information Technology from King University. Stacy currently resides in Abingdon, VA with his wife and four daughters.
Austin Farmer
Application Engineer - Energy Market
AFL
Austin Farmer is an Application Engineer with AFL. He has worked in the electric utility industry since late 2013 and has been with AFL for 4 years. In his role, Austin works with electric utilities to select and design outside plant (OSP) fiber optic cable such as optical ground wire (OPGW), all-dielectric self-supporting cable (ADSS), and loose tube cables for duct and underground applications. He also supports installation, splicing, connectivity, and accessories for those cables. Austin is an ETA Certified Fiber Optics Installer & Technician and holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Darren Farnan
Chief Development Officer
United Electric Cooperative (MO)
Darren was appointed as Chief Development officer of United Electric Cooperative in 2013, where he had served as Subsidiary Services Manager since 2004. Starting with the Cooperative in 1994, Darren has also served in the roles of Energy Services Manager and Telecommunications Coordinator. Darren led the development and operations of the United Fiber network which has grown to over 1800 miles of fiber, 30 employees, and $20 million in annual revenue since turning up our first fiber customer in 2013. Currently, United Fiber is approaching 13,000 combined residential and commercial fiber customers. Darren is the Chair for the UTC Utilities Broadband Committee and has done national presentations for the FTTH Council, Calix, and UTC on the United Fiber business. He is involved in numerous local organizations including economic development and civic organizations throughout the United service area. Darren received his Bachelor of Science in Business Management (1991), and Masters of Business Administration (1992) from Northwest Missouri State University. He and his wife Shantel live in Maryville, Missouri. They have two children; Brady and Maggie.
Luke Ferguson
Applications Engineering Manager
Valmont Site Pro 1
Luke graduated with his Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2010. He works as the Applications Engineering Manager for Site Pro 1, a division of Valmont that manufactures antenna mounts for all structure types. Luke regularly makes recommendations to engineering firms, utility companies and carriers on pole attachment and wireless collocation products.
Mike Fuela
Experienced Consultant
West Monroe Partners LLC
Robert Finch
President
Select Spectrum
Robert Finch is the president and founder of Select Spectrum which markets spectrum rights on behalf of FCC license holders. The company is currently offering over 1500 licenses from a total of 19 different FCC radio service types including Upper 700 MHz A Block and 220 MHz licenses. Bob holds engineering degrees from U.C. Davis and Stanford.
Alex Fiorani
Utility Standards Manager
Crown Castle
Jon Fitz
Prysmian
Jon Fitz holds a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering and has been in the telecom industry for 29 years. Jon has held a wide range of commercial and technical positions, and is currently responsible for Prysmian Group's Telecom Field and Customer Technical Support in North America.
Jennifer Flandermeyer
Director, Federal Regulatory Affairs
Evergy, Inc.
Ms. Flandermeyer joined Evergy in 1999 bringing with her several years of finance and accounting experience coupled with knowledge of the energy industry. During that time, she held positions in Internal Audit and Strategic Business Planning and Financial Operations in Delivery (T&D) Operations. In 2009, she accepted the opportunity to lead the company’s FERC and NERC compliance team responsible for the company-wide regulatory compliance function establishing a new program for the company. The program was eventually expanded to include additional regulatory bodies and functions. In 2015, she was promoted to focus on strategy and policy advocacy for federal affairs. While her primary focus is on FERC and NERC, because the advocacy role is dedicated to reliability, security and resilience her role continues to broaden as she engages other departments and agencies of the federal government tasked with critical infrastructure protection. Ms. Flandermeyer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy from William Jewell College, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Rockhurst University and certifications in Risk Management as well as Compliance and Ethics. Ms. Flandermeyer is on the Board of Directors for Midwest Reliability Organization. She serves in several roles on NERC Committees, including the Chair of the NERC Compliance and Certification Committee and a member of the NERC Member Representatives Committee. Ms. Flandermeyer is active in and serves in leadership roles for several organizations such as EEI’s Reliability Executive Advisory Committee, Southwest Power Pool’s Reliability Compliance Working Group, and Core Team member of the North American Transmission Forum Compliance Practices Group. She also serves as the President Emeritus for Rose Brooks Center’s Board of Directors, an organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of domestic violence, in addition to many other community activities.
Karen Flewharty
Joint Use Manager
Oncor Electric Delivery Company
Karen has worked for Oncor Electric Delivery 21 years, 16 of those as the Joint Use Manager, supporting 2.3M poles, 14 ILEC pole owners and 223 Licensees. With a Degree in Electrical Engineering from Texas Tech University, she has worked at the Distribution Operations Dispatch Center, in Distribution Design, then to Project Management supporting feeder maintenance and other special projects. In 2004, she became the Manager for the newly created Joint Use Management organization. Karen is currently responsible for the Joint Use program, regulatory and legal matters, as well as Oncor's outsourced pole attachment permitting process. She has three team members who manage agreements and rental processes, power space design and construction processes, as well as the Small Cell and NJUNS programs.
Brett Heather Freedson
Carla Frieh
Director of Engineering
ComEd
Carla has a long history of organizing large organizations and creating engineering framework to support programs.
Patrick Glunz
CIP Operations & Business Continuity Program Manager
Nebraska Public Power District
Patrick Glunz has worked for Nebraska Public Power District for over 24 years, including 11 years in Telecommunication at Cooper Nuclear Station and 10 years as a Coordinator for the Telecommunications Operation and Maintenance Department. Currently he is the CIP Operations and Business Continuity Manager in the Corporate Security department.
Paula Gold-Williams
President and CEO
CPS Energy
In addition to her role at CPS Energy, Paula presently serves as a Board Member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas – San Antonio Branch; Board Member and Chair of the Audit Committee of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI); Board of Trustees Member of St. Mary’s University and serves on the Advisory Committee of Executives (ACE) for the Greehey School of Business; Board Member and Treasurer of EPIcenter; Immediate Past Chair of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce; CEO Member of the Mayor’s Airport Evaluation Committee; Board Member of the Large Public Power Council (LPPC); Board Member of the Texas Public Power Association (TPPA); Trustee of the San Antonio Medical Foundation (SAMF); Advisory Committee Member of FM Global (an international mutual insurance company); Member of the San Antonio Business Journal (SABJ) Leadership Trust; Advisory Trustee Member of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI); Advisory Committee Member of the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) School of Engineering; Advisory Board Member of The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts; Advisory Board Member for iEmpower; Leadership Advisory Council Member of Haven for Hope; and Immediate Past-Chair & Executive Board Member of San Antonio Public Television Station, KLRN. This year, Paula was awarded the inaugural Chief Trailblazer of the Year award by S&P Global Platts for her innovation and commitment to customers and her community. She was named a San Antonian who has advanced Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream; she was awarded the Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment (WCEE) 2019 Champion; was the United Negro College Fund’s (UNCF) Excellence in Education honoree; has been selected for the American Public Power Association (APPA) James D. Donovan Individual Achievement Award; has been selected La Prensa Texas’ San Antonio Community Leadership honoree; has been named Alamo Wings Honorary Commander and was named one of Public Utilities Fortnightly Top Innovators.
Kristie Goodson
Senior Dark Fiber Specialist
TVA
Kristie Goodson is a Sr. Dark Fiber Specialist for the Tennessee Valley Authority. She has spent 20+ years in the telecommunications industry. Prior to joining TVA in 2016, Kristie was in the commercial carrier space, primarily in the planning and sales engineering arenas. Her specialties include fiber network design, interconnection, and collocation in both the carrier and local exchange space.
Andre Gouin
Energy Business Technology Consultant
Xcel Energy
Eric Gupta
Delivery Director, Advanced Grid
Xcel Energy
Eric Gupta has 12 years of experience in the electric utility industry, spending significant time with SCADA, distribution planning and automation. He has spent the past 10 years with Xcel Energy, beginning his career with them as a Distribution Planning engineer before joining the Advanced Grid team as an IVVO engineer and then as a Program Manager. He is now a Delivery Director within the Advanced Grid team, accountable for Xcel Energy’s successful ADMS, FLISR, IVVO and associated data collection work across their service territory.
Trey Hall
VP/Technology, CTO
Walker and Associates
Trey Hall is the CTO for Walker and Associates. Prior to joining Walker in July 2013, Trey spent 15 years at Fujitsu Network Communications in various roles including Engineering, Business Management, and Sales. Trey holds an Industrial Engineering degree from Texas A&M University and an MBA from University of Texas at Dallas. Trey resides in the metro Dallas area.
Brad Hall
VP External Affairs
American Electric Power Company, Inc.
Brad Hall is vice president of external affairs for Appalachian Power, with responsibility for customer services, corporate communications, government affairs, economic development, community affairs and environmental issues covering the company’s territories in Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Previously, Hall served as the director of revenue assurance and director of operations for SouthEast Telephone in Pikeville. He also was the controller and office manager of Mountain Water District. He started his career as an accountant at Eastern Telephone Company and the University of Kentucky. Hall holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Pikeville in Pikeville, Ky., and a Master of Business Administration from Morehead State University in Morehead, Ky.
Bob Hance
President and CEO
Midwest Energy
Bob Hance is a rural electric cooperative veteran, spending his entire 45-year career in the industry. He started in 1974 as the facilities mapping coordinator and later the assistant general manager at the O&A Electric Cooperative in Newaygo, Michigan. Through a series of Michigan cooperative mergers, he was ultimately named president/COO of Great Lakes Energy. He began his role as President and CEO at Midwest Energy & Communications in 2002. Within the electric cooperative industry, Hance earned a reputation as a leader and a trailblazer. He helped secure more than $4 million in economic development grants, and positioned co-ops as regional leaders on energy and economic development issues. In 2004 the industry recognized him for his “invaluable contributions and dedication to fostering a spirit of cooperation and service among the electric cooperatives and communities they serve” with a Regional Award for Outstanding Service from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). In 2019 he was awarded NRECA’s prestigious President’s Award for his efforts to bridge the digital divide as a tireless advocate for rural broadband. He frequently is tapped as a subject matter expert on rural fiber internet deployment based on MEC’s project, and is a known face and voice among federal, regional and state policymakers related to funding and other barriers to rural broadband. His efforts resulted in an award of more than $5 million in the 2018 Connect America Fund auction to support additional construction in unserved and underserved areas in and around MEC’s electric service territory.
Justin Harrison
Engineering Supervisor
Alabama Power Company
Justin Harrison has worked in the electric utility industry for over twenty years. He began his career at Southern Company in the generating plant performance group, before moving to power delivery at Alabama Power, where he has supervised engineering, construction, and technical support groups. Beginning in 2016, Justin was responsible for coordinating engineering and construction of the first Fiber to Distribution (FTD) project on the utility’s system. He is now part of Power Delivery Connectivity and Innovation, a newly formed group which coordinates statewide T&D fiber installation projects.
David Hattey
Lockard & White, Inc.
David Hattey is a seasoned strategic leader with thirty plus years of successful executive assignments across IT, telecom, wireless, cloud services, and networking companies serving the Utility, Public Service, and Enterprise spaces. He is currently a consultant providing technology and strategy support through Lockard & White. David has held contributing and leadership positions in every area of business while working for companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100. He was awarded BS Electrical Engineering and BS Computer Engineering degrees from University of Michigan, both Magna Cum Laude, as well as an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business where he was named a Fuqua Scholar. David is a named inventor on 11 US patents.
Tisha Hayes
Senior Engineer, North America
4RF USA, Inc.
Tisha Hayes is a Senior Engineer with 4RF USA. Her responsibilities include pre-sales engineering support, proof of concept testing, testing competing products in head-to-head bench and field conditions and as a liaison to engineering and consulting firms. Tisha has more than 35 years of experience with wireless radio technologies, SCADA RTU’s, instrumentation, process control and cyber-security for the electric, water, wastewater and gas utilities. Previously, Tisha has worked in the petrochemical industry with oil and gas production and pipelines, carrier-grade telephony implementing SONET and packet based networks. . Most recently Tisha was a Principal at a midwestern consulting company in their Energy and Utilities practice. For several years she maintained a special wastewater treatment operator’s license while employed in the petrochemical industry. One of Tisha’s strengths is in the analytical approach of evaluating different wireless technologies and competing products in a lab setting that closely approximates field conditions under a variety of interference and propagation conditions while validating serial and Ethernet SCADA performance. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois, has collected a large number of industry and vendor specific certifications and is an extra class amateur radio operator.
Trey Hayes
Connectivity Team Leader
Southern Company
Trey Hayes joined Alabama Power’s Connectivity and Innovation Team in 2019 and currently leads connectivity efforts across the state. Having previously worked as a project manager on APC’s Economic Development team, Trey knows how important connectivity is to the new economy and its ever-increasing role in how we work, learn, and maintain our health. He and his team are passionate about closing the digital divide in Alabama.
Bill Hetherington
CEO
Bandera Electric Cooperative
Bill Hetherington is currently the CEO at Bandera Electric Cooperative in Bandera Texas. He has over 30 years of experience in the electric utility industry and oversees several non-traditional utility programs including BEC Solar, which provides solar/storage energy solutions, BEC Fiber, which supports BEC intelligent grid initiatives and provides high speed Internet access and Apolloware, a cloud based software solution for utilities to aggregate Distributed Energy Resources. He has a degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and a Master degree in Business Administration from Central Michigan University and completed postgraduate studies at the Wharton Business School on executive leadership.
Ken Hill
Program Manager - Safety
Crown Castle
Over 30 years experience in the telecom, electric and gas utility business. Currently with Crown Castle as a Program Manager in the Safety Department working on industry initiatives such as NWSA, TIRAP, SEMC, NATE, various ANSI and TIA Standards working groups. Currently Program Manager of Small Cell and Fiber Safety. Mechanical Engineering degree from The Pennsylvania State University.
Walker Hinshaw
Chief Operating Officer
Lumiere Fiber
Neil Horden
Chief Consultant
Federal Engineering
Mr. Horden has over 35 years of experience in wireless communications, from the Land Mobile Radio to cellular and broadband. He has been a member of Federal Engineering for the past 15 years and speaks often at National and Regional conferences. He holds a BSEE from the U of Del, and an MBA from the U of California. He a Board Member of the P25 Technology Interest Group, and the NG9-1-1 Institute
Joann Howell
Frequency Coordination Manager
UTC Spectrum Services
John Hughes
Director IT Network Engineering & Operations
Ameren
John Hughes has worked for Ameren for his entire professional career in the Engineering, Information Technology arena for over 30 years. John has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri Columbia and his MBA from Webster University in St. Louis. He currently serves as an advisor for EPRI's PDU Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Program Advisory Board, as well as an advisor for ATT Energy Council. John is also a founding member of the Utility Broadband Alliance.
Kevin Hursey P.E.
Engineering Manager
Duke Energy Corporation
I will submit later
Becky Hussey
Utility Relations Counsel
Crown Castle
Rebecca Hussey serves as Managing Counsel, Utility Relations, for Crown Castle. Prior to joining Crown Castle, Rebecca represented telecommunications and utility clients in matters before state public utility commissions and the FCC. She served as an administrative law judge/attorney examiner for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, presiding predominantly over matters relating to electric utilities. She also represented the State of Ohio as an Assistant Attorney General and later as an Assistant Chief in public utility, power siting, and environmental matters in courts of law and before regulatory agencies. Rebecca enjoys collaborating with utilities, municipalities, and other entities to ensure the safe and timely deployment of communications equipment and services throughout the country.
Scott Jackson
National Market Manager – Broadband
Graybar
As National Market Manager Broadband Markets & Applications for Graybar, Scott has been actively involved with the Fiber Broadband Association and Utilities Technology Council for several years. Scott has more than 20 years of technology and business modeling experience in Broadband, IT and telecommunications applications in the industry. In his current role at Graybar, Scott focuses on Broadband networking and applications for utilities, broadband providers and smart city systems. His past roles include Service Provider, Smart Grid and Smart City as a market and business development manager. He is currently his companies’ representative for the Utilities Technology Council, Fiber Broadband Association and Wireless Industry Association. Scott has served as various industry technology committee chair and board of director and officer positions. He also serves, or has served on various industry tasks forces from time-to-time; currently on the Wireless Industry Association’s Smart City Task Force and as a former active participant on the Smart Grid Task Force submittal of Electri International and Michigan State University School of Planning, Design, and Construction.
Sean Jiang
Director of Utilities and Distributed Automation solutions
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Sean Song Jiang is the director of Utilities and Distributed Automation solutions within Cisco IoT Solutions Group. Over the last five years he led Cisco validated designs (CVD) development for Substation Automation, Grid Security, Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), and Distribution Automation (DA). Sean holds a Ph.D. on Automatic Control Theory and Application from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Elin Katz
Managing Director, Utilities & Associate General Counsel
Tilson Tech
Chris Kiergan
Senior Manager
West Monroe Partners LLC
Brett Kilbourne
VP, Policy and General Counsel
Utilities Technology Council
Brett Kilbourne is the Utilities Technology Council’s General Counsel and Vice President of Policy, the Washington-based association representing vital energy and water utilities on their mission-critical technologies by driving innovation, fostering collaboration and influencing public policy. In this role, Mr. Kilbourne provides legal guidance to utilities on telecommunications issues both pending before federal and state agencies and being considered in Congress. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Catholic University and his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the South. Mr. Kilbourne is licensed to practice law in the state of Maryland, and is a member of the American Bar Association and the Federal Communications Bar Association.
Randy Klindt
Partner
Conexon
Randy Klindt is the founder and a partner of Conexon where he has worked with nearly 100 cooperatives to evaluate, design or build FTTH networks. Randy formerly served as General Manager of OzarksGo and before that Co-Mo Connect, the two largest cooperative-owned FTTH subsidiaries in the country. Randy’s experience began in software development in the agriculture industry where lack of rural broadband quickly became very evident. In 1999, he began his first broadband project at a rural electric cooperative culminating in a 3,000 square mile fixed wireless network. In 2008, he joined Co-Mo Electric Cooperative as their information technology manager with the thought of launching fiber to the home service. Co-Mo’s service territory was one of the most underserved areas in the State of Missouri with only 15% of the population having broadband access. In 2010, Randy developed a plan for a pilot FTTH project that was promptly approved by Co-Mo’s board of directors. Randy developed an innovative architecture that lowered initial capital requirements but allowed success-based growth for capacity. In less than 12 months the pilot project was completed on time, 20% under budget, and today has over a 55% penetration rate. After leading Co-Mo Connect, Randy was hired as General Manager of OzarksGo, a subsidiary of Ozarks Electric Cooperative. Randy developed the 6 phase plan and led the project through the second phase of 1,100 miles of construction and connections of thousands of subscribers. In 2015, Randy formed Conexon, LLC to assist rural electric cooperatives with fiber to the home project decisions and implementations.
Michael Kuberski
Director IT, UComm
Exelon Corporation
Jeremy Kwitschau
IT Analyst
Exelon Corporation
Jeremy is an experienced professional in the telecom and energy industry specializing in fiber optics with more than 20 years; Kwitschau is currently a project manager in ComEd’s Distribution Standards department. Starting his career as a fiber splicer he has working knowledge of how things work out in the field and how they relate to planning, documentation and management.
John Lampe
Director, Business Development
Itron, Inc.
John Lampe's over 30 years in technology include being a thought leader in IoT since 2001. He is Business Development Director, DA at Itron, and held the same role at Silver Spring Networks. His utility experience also includes helping Southern California Edison lead smart grid design, and as VP Strategic Engagements at Trilliant Networks. He holds a B.A. degree in Mathematics from UC Berkeley.
Chris Leleux
Manager, Infrastructure Services
Great River Energy
Sam Lisle
Business Development Director – North America
ECI Telecom
Sam Lisle is the Business Development Director for North America at ECI Telecom where he focuses on packet-optical networking technologies and applications. Sam holds several U.S. patents in packet-optical networking and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Iowa and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech.
Sonny Loreto
President
Utility Telecom Consulting Group, Inc.
President and Principal, Utility Telecom Consulting Group, Inc., a consulting firm providing telecommunications planning, engineering/design, project management, FCC licensing, and implementation oversight services to the utility and energy industries. Sonny has more than 34 years of experience in the telecommunications and utility industry. He has a strong background in planning and designing telecommunications systems with emphasis in microwave and fiber optic transport systems and additional background in telemetry, SCADA, system protection and telephony in the electric and gas utility environment. He has helped clients develop TDM to Packet technology migration and technology selection strategies and recommendations. He has implemented major telecom construction projects in the utility environment in the Project Manager or key contributing team member roles. Sonny’s management and supervision experience enables him to translate complex and oftentimes detailed technical networking requirements into executive, corporate, and organizational terms for the client to use to facilitate the approval process. His ‘hands-on’ approach and open-minded attitude enables him to interact effectively with management, technical, as well as field personnel. His solid background and experience is coupled with strong verbal and written communications and organizational skills – key success factors towards providing his clients with sound, quality, and effective advice as a Consultant.
Steve Lowe
Sales Practice Lead
AT&T
Steve Lowe is the Sales Practice Lead for AT&T’s IoT Utility Grid Modernization. He is responsible for leading the consultative sales team focused on Energy and Utility applications including connected devices, Partner Ecosystem, Advanced Metering Infrastructure, Distribution Automation, Distributed Generation and FirstNet IoT. Steve has over twenty-five years of working experience in the Utility and Telecommunication industries which he draws on for strategy engagements with Utilities of all sizes. Steve was instrumental in the development of AT&T’s Private LTE Solution for Utilities and works closely to further expand it and other new solutions related to the Intelligent Grid and Field Area Network Use Cases.
Sandra Loy
Manager, Telecom Processes & Reporting
American Electric Power Company, Inc.
Sandy Loy, PMP, has more than 32 years of experience in the information technology field and joined American Electric Power in 1998. Before joining the Telecom organization, she was responsible for managing Agile teams in the Information Technology customer facing area, including the implementation of the AEP Mobile Application, Interactive Outage Maps, Mobile Alerts and all of the operating company AEP websites, as well as the AEP billing system. Since joining Telecom in 2017, she managed the team for project processes and executive reporting. During her tenure there, she facilitated a planned outage improvements initiative and a drawings improvement initiative and various project process improvement initiatives.
Thomas Magee
Partner
Keller and Heckman LLP
Mr. Magee is a Partner with Keller and Heckman who provides regulatory, transactional and litigation assistance to investor-owned electric utilities, electric cooperatives and municipalities rgarding pole attachments and the joint use of utility pole distribution systems. He has resolved hundreds of disputes across the country regarding make-ready, safety violations, and other attachment issues.
Noel Marrero
IT Network Engineering & Operations – Enterprise Architect V, OT Networks
FirstEnergy Corporation
Noel Marrero is an Enterprise Architect with FirstEnergy Corporation. Noel has spent the past 20 years involved in the engineering and design of FirstEnergy’s Enterprise data center, LAN, and WAN transport networks. Recently Noel has moved into the strategic design and architecture role for FirstEnergy’s OT field area, RF and substation communications networks. Prior to FirstEnergy, Noel worked at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center in MD as a Network Engineer in the Center Network Environment department. Noel has earned a BSEE from Penn State University.
Corry Marshall
American Public Power Association
Bruce Maurhoff
Sr. Vice President & COO
CVEC & CVSI
Bruce Maurhoff is the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for CVEC. He earned his engineering degree as an undergraduate at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. He has 30 years of experience in building electric distribution infrastructure in Georgia and Virginia electric cooperatives. He is known for consistently overseeing projects that are built safely and with long term reliability in mind. He is familiar with all construction requirements of the National Electric Safety Code as well as the unique requirements of the local organizations such as the Virginia Department of Highways. He serves on the board of the Blue Ridge Power Agency, an affiliate of CVEC. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of Virginia. Mr. Maurhoff serves as COO for both CVEC and CVSI and leads the internal team involved with the construction of the fiber network.
Jim McClanahan
Senior Principal -- Telecom, Energy & Utilities
West Monroe Partners
Jim McClanahan is a senior principal in West Monroe Partners’ Energy & Utilities practice. He has more than 25 years of experience planning and delivering innovative strategies and solutions for utilities that apply leading technologies to drive business goals.
Kenny Mcdonagh
Crown Castle
Emily McGavisk
Manager, Energy & Utilities
West Monroe Partners LLC
Sean McGrath
Ace Power
Sean McGrath is the Chief Financial Officer at Alcorn County Electric Power Association (ACE) in Corinth, Mississippi. Sean also serves in the same capacity for ACE’s subsidiary, ACE Fiber. ACE Fiber is one of the first cooperatives in the nation to offer a 10gig PON architecture, with the intent to offer multi-gigabit services to 100% of its membership. With over twenty years’ experience with ACE, Sean has overseen many technological improvements within the utility; such as software conversions, mobile app deployments, and network upgrades, to name a few. Sean’s role within ACE Fiber extends beyond just financial analysis and record keeping. He has been intimately involved in nearly all aspects of the business, including marketing, home installation processes, and network architecture. Sean earned his Bachelor of Accountancy at Mississippi State University and an MBA from the University of North Alabama.
Bill McShane
Signify
Bill McShane was part of the founding development team of Signify’ s Icity Venture which is grown into a global initiative. The team developed this offering over multi year period through an international consortium of companies. Bill now serves as the Director of Americas of this business unit’s North American operations. Signify’s I city Venture enhances wireless technology infrastructure deployments, including 4G LTE densification and 5G and 5G millimeter wave along with wi-fi deployments for delivery to municipalities, commercial entities throughout the Americas Bill has over 15 years’ experience in the lighting industry with Signify including authoring the strategy in use by Signify globally for the public segment. In addition, Bill has developed numerous new business offerings for Signify. In addition, Bill served as Signify’ s liaison to the US Conference of Mayors. Bill has received numerous awards for his innovative approach to large-scale infrastructure projects. Bill was appointed as an expert technical reviewer for The Ben Franklin Institute of Technology, located in Philadelphia. Prior to joining Signify, Bill worked for Trammel Crow Construction in project management role before starting his career in the lighting industry with Holophane Lighting.
Carl Meyerhoefer
Senior Director Solutions Marketing
Calix
Carl Meyerhoefer works for Calix and has global responsibility for the marketing and positioning of Calix solutions into the Fiber Innovators segment. This segment includes Municipalities, Electric Cooperatives and Fiber Overbuilders. Carl has been working in the telecommunications industry for over 25 years with a focus on developing emerging/growth markets.
Robert Millar
Associate General Counsel
Crown Castle
In his current role Robert has responsibility for developing and executing federal, state and local advocacy to support the expansion and operation of Crown Castle's fiber and small cell networks. Robert manages a national team of lawyers responsible for interpreting local jurisdiction and utility regulations and advocating for Crown Castle’s authorizations to construct and operate its growing portfolio of telecommunications infrastructure. Prior to joining Crown Castle, Robert worked in the telecommunications practice groups of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, and as a Director of Government Relations for Verizon Communications. For more than eight years Robert has served as the co-chair of the Wireless Infrastructure Association’s Small Cell Advocacy Committee; he also has previously served as co-chair of the NorCal Chapter of the Federal Communications Bar Association. Robert is a U.S. Army veteran; he received his J.D. from Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America where he was a member of the telecommunications law program and Editor-in-Chief of CommLaw Conspectus: Journal of Communications Law and Technology Policy.
Frederick Moorefield Jr.
Deputy Chief Information Officer for Command, Control, and Communications, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Chief Information Officer
US Government
Mr. Moorefield is the Deputy Chief Information Officer for Command, Control, and Communications (C3), Office of the Secretary of Defense, Chief Information Officer. As DCIO, Mr. Moorefield provides technical expertise, oversight and broad guidance on policy, programmatic and technical issues relating to C3 to integrate and synchronize defense-wide communications programs. He also advises on efforts to achieve and maintain information dominance for the Department of Defense. He manages efforts defining DoD policies and strategies for design, architecture, interoperability standards, capability development and sustainment of critical command and control and communications for non-nuclear strategic strike, integrated missile defense, Defense and National Leadership Command Capabilities, and spectrum. Mr. Moorefield joined Federal service in 1989 in the Air Force as a civil servant, where he served for 19 years doing Research and Development and Acquisition at Wright Patterson Air Force Base Air Force Research Labs. He also served in the Defense Information Systems Agency at the Joint Spectrum Center for four years. He served as Technical Director and Director of Strategic Planning at the Air Force Spectrum Management Office and has been a member of the Senior Executive Corps since 2012. His education includes a Bachelor degree in mathematics from Wilberforce University, located in Wilberforce Ohio and a Bachelor and Master of Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Dayton in Dayton Ohio.
Sherri Morgan
Joint Use Team Leader
Alabama Power
Sherri Morgan is the Joint Use Team Leader at Alabama Power Company. She serves as the Southeastern Electric Exchange Joint Use Committee Chair and the Southern Company Joint Use Committee Chair. Sherri’s responsibilities include development and management of Attachment Agreements and Joint Use Contracts, contract administration, maintaining compliance with regulatory changes and industry standards, and implementing technology for attachment requests. She works with various cross-functional teams within Alabama Power and Southern Company to meet these goals. Sherri’s experience at Alabama Power Company includes working in Distribution Engineering, Distribution Engineering Services, Business Processes and Joint Use.
Christopher Moyer
Senior Director of Content and Research
Zpryme Research
Chris is the Sr. Director of Research and Content at Zpryme Research, a market research, media, and events company based in Austin, Texas. Chris and Zpryme focus their work on the changes occurring in energy, municipalities, water, and mobility. He works with utilities, cities, businesses, and technologists to better understand how digital transformation, renewable energy, and sustainability initiatives will impact people. Chris oversees the research, marketing, and business development teams for Zpryme and leads multiple efforts, including the Energy Thought Summit and the Cities of the Future Institute. Before joining Zpryme, Chris has led marketing, research, and business analytics projects around energy efficiency programs, electric vehicles, and renewable energy. The common thread with all of these endeavors is a focus on customer engagement and digital innovation. As a writer and analyst, he brings industry experience from the U.K., EU, and North America. Early in his career, Chris worked in public affairs and campaign politics for several candidates in Colorado, Virginia, and the U.K as a speechwriter and policy advisor. Chris serves on the board for The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW) in Detroit, which is an organization dedicated to providing energy assistance to Michigan families, and empowering them to help keep them healthy, safe and warm. Chris is passionate about his family, travel, his dog, Detroit sports, soccer, running, triathlons, clean energy, digital innovation, energy equity and public service.
Josh Murray
Technology Strategy
Alliant Energy
Josh Murray is the Senior Manager of Technology Strategy at Alliant Energy. He focuses on the company’s digital transformation to champion changes in business processes through the application of new technologies. Josh also leads efforts within Alliant Energy’s business development group, focusing on venture capital. He started at Alliant Energy 15 years ago as an intern in the Telecommunications Engineering department. Since then, he has held leadership roles in IT, Electric and Gas Operations, Wind Operations, System Protection, Project Management and IT.
Kathy Nelson
Principal
West Monroe Partners
Kathy Nelson recently joined West Monroe Partners as a Principal in the Energy and Utility Practice. Ms. Nelson spent 25 years as a Principal Telecommunications Engineer at Great River Energy, nearly two years at Ondas Networks as the Director of Technical Product Marketing and Industry Relations. She served on UTC’s board of directors for nearly 10 years and as UTC’s Chairwoman from 2017 – 2018. She is a strong advocate for utilities access to RF spectrum and is passionate about ensuring utilities have access to technology to grow and sustain their business. Ms. Nelson has a BSEE from North Dakota State University and is a licensed, professional engineer in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Eric O'Brien
Manager, Utilities Relations
Crown Castle
Mr. Eric L. O’Brien is the Regional Manger,Utility Relations for Crown Castle where he is responsible for negotiating utility agreements as needed in accordance with Crown Castle standards and parameters, the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 Section 224, and state regulations covering pole and conduit attachments. Mr. O’Brien works with utilities to develop code compliant construction standards. Mr. O’Brien serves as a liaison between Crown Castle’s Implementation group and utilities to obtain administer and ensure compliance with utility procedures at permit and construction stages of the project. Prior to joining Crown Castle, Mr. O’Brien spent over twelve years in the electric utility industry. He spent over seven years in Joint Use and worked closely with UTC, EEI and other IOUs on pole attachment rules.
Val Pearson
Lineman
SRP
SRP journeyman lineman - foreman
Karl Perman
ICS Security and NERC Compliance Expert
Hubbell Power Systems/RFL
Craig Preuss
Black & Veatch
For three decades, Craig Preuss has been working at or with utilities developing experience in distribution engineering, distribution planning, and utility automation. His projects range from the installation of intelligent grid devices on the grid edge, to end-to-end implementation and integration services involving substation automation, volt/VAR optimization, fault location isolation and service restoration, and cybersecurity that include technologies based on IEC 61850 and DNP3 (IEEE 1815). He is presently an officer of the Power System Communications and Cybersecurity Committee and active in many working groups and subcommittees of the Power System Relaying and Control Committee, both committees are in the IEEE Power and Energy Society.
Joe Reeser
Business Development Manager, Customer Engagement & Solutions
Adran
Joe has over 25 years of experience in advanced broadband access technologies and packet optical transport systems. As well as experience building and deploying large data centers and designing complex networks. Joe’s current focus at ADTRAN is Consulting Engineering Firms and the RSP market throughout the United States.
Loyd Rice
Manager of Fiber Services
SEMO
Loyd is a 15-year veteran of electric cooperatives, which includes journeyman lineman, staking/engineering dept, line superintendent duties at 2 co-ops, and now Manager of Fiber Services for the fiber subsidiary, GoSEMO. Loyd is a 2019 graduate of NRECA’s MIP course. Loyd also has a 15-year background in sporting goods sales and sales manager. A 27-year veteran high school basketball official in Missouri, and was an NCAA Men’s basketball official during his time as a sporting goods salesman. Loyd is happily married to Heather for 26 years, has 3 sons; Jake a Junior at the University of Missouri, Joe a Sophomore at Southeast Missouri State and serves his great country in the Missouri Air National Guard, and James who is in the 3rd grade. They live on their little farm in Bloomfield, MO and enjoy world class fiber-fast internet at 1-Gig speed through GoSEMO Fiber!!
Don Richardson
Information Technology Manager
City of Wilson
Donald Richardson is the Information Technology Manager for the City of Wilson and the Headend Manager for Greenlight which is a municipal owed Internet Service Provider for the City of Wilson. Donald is responsible for the management and oversight of the Greenlight engineering and information technology operations. He has worked for the City of Wilson since 2007 and has worked in the telecommunication industry since the year 2000. Donald previously severed as the Headend Engineer, Engineering Team Lead, and the Greenlight Engineering Supervisor. He is a graduate of Nash Community College and holds a Government Chief Information Officer certificate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Donald also has maintained his part 107 remote pilot license since 2017.
David Rines
Member
Lerman Senter PLLC
David Rines focuses on regulatory, policy, and transactional issues for commercial and private wireless services, with a particular focus on electric utilities and other critical infrastructure entities. In 2018, UTC presented David and his firm, Lerman Senter, with the 2018 IMPACT Award for his contributions to and impact on the utility industry.
Brett Roberts
Applications Engineer
Clearfield, Inc.
Two decades of telecommunications industry experience, ranging from his work in the U.S. military to positions with Tyco, Cablevision Industries and, now, Clearfield, have solidified Brett Roberts’ reputation as an expert applications engineer and problem solver.
Paul Robertson
Senior Program Manager
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
Paul Robertson is a senior product manager for the wired networking communications product line at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL). Paul has worked in various technical roles for Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, and Agilent Technologies before joining SEL. He has a BEng in electrical and electronic engineering from Strathclyde University and an MBA from Edinburgh Business School.
Brian Rutherford
Senior Electrical Engineer
Burns & McDonnell
Mr. Rutherford is a Senior LTE Device Engineer at Burns & McDonnell specializing in radio frequency (RF) systems, and device design, analysis, security, and verification. Additionally, Brian provides private LTE and 5G deployment strategies with an emphasis on Radio Access Network (RAN) assessment, design, and interference mitigation techniques. In his career Brian spent 14 years working with Government Agencies designing, manufacturing, testing, and integrating advanced RF and digital communication technologies. He is a registered Professional Engineer, holds four patents, has four peer reviewed publications, a BSEE from the University of Kansas and a MSEE from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Souheil Sabbagh
Director Strategy & Consulting Services Intelligent Networks & Cybersecurity Technology Ventures
SNC-Lavalin
Souheil Sabbagh is currently working as a Director Strategy & Consulting Services for SNC-Lavalin’s Intelligent Networks & Cybersecurity group. This group consolidates all of SNC-Lavalin’s expertise on digital utility evolution and critical infrastructure protection and is part of SNC-Lavalin’s Power which regroup over 5000 experts in the power industry such as hydroelectricity, renewables, nuclear, transmission and distribution of electricity, and energy storage around the world. Mr. Sabbagh has been working in different positions within the last ten years in the power industry sector. His knowledge covers power projects in renewables, hydroelectricity, nuclear, and transmission and distribution, both in North America and internationally. Throughout his career, Mr. Sabbagh has led the full life-cycle of large capital project and his strong experience has contributed to delivering high performing projects from obtaining financing to delivering construction. Currently, his focus is helping utilities to make strategic and tactical decisions that address the complexity of the Power Grid 4.0 digitalization. Mr. Sabbagh holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from McGill University and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University. SNC-Lavalin is a fully integrated professional services and project management firm with over 6,500 employees and 86 offices in the United States and over 50,000 employees around the world.
Edgard Sammour
Sr. Regional Sales Manager
GE Renewable Energy
Edgard is a veteran of the networking industry with 18 years of experience in the field. He worked as a network engineer at Cisco Systems supporting Tier 1 enterprise customers. He then moved to work for GE Energy as a smart grid network architect before going into product management. Edgard is currently a sales manager with GE Renewable Energy focusing on Industrial Communications.
Jimmy Sandlin
General Manager
Holston Electric Cooperative
James B. “Jimmy” Sandlin P.E. as the new general manager for Holston Electric Cooperative. Sandlin is a 32-year veteran of the electric utility industry, having spent his entire career at the Scottsboro Electric Power Board in Scottsboro, Ala. Sandlin has a bachelor of science degree from the University of Alabama and is a licensed professional engineer and a licensed instrument-rated private pilot. Sandlin was hired by the Scottsboro EPB in 1988 as an electrical engineer and has been the general manager since 1996. He has a proven track record. Under Sandlin’s leadership, Scottsboro EPB has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success in the expansion and modernization of its electric system, the construction of a $8.5 million cable system and the acquisition of a $2.1 million power generation plant, which is under contract with TVA.
Dave Schmitt
Solutions Architect
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Dave Schmitt, Lead IoT Solutions Architect is a 19-year veteran at Cisco focused on the Utility market and Utility customers globally. His role as a solutions architect in the IoT Utility team is to define and deliver validated end to end solutions for utility customers. Dave has a focus on integrating security and delivering customer relevant solutions to the market.
Matt Schnell
ITT Telecommunications Manager
Nebraska Public Power District
Maynard “Matt†Schnell, ITT Telecom Manager at Nebraska Public Power District. He has worked in the Telecom industry for 40 years in management, engineering, and field operations/maintenance. Matt is the past Chairman of UTC and has received the Connie Durcsak Visionary Award, the Meehan Award, and the Dondanville Award from UTC.
Colin Scott
Vice President of Sales, Wholesale
Momentum Telecom
Colin Scott works with operators, broadband providers, electric cooperatives and municipalities to help them maximize their footprint with the best possible choices for voice, broadband management and support services. In the ever-changing world of white label technology, Colin has emerged as trusted voice with a focus on the development of revenue-driving solutions that deliver quality service.
Mitch Simcoe
Director of Industry Marketing
Ciena
Mitch Simcoe is Director of Industry Marketing for Ciena, where he is responsible for supporting Utilities to modernize and automate their networks. Mitch has over 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, starting with Bell Canada and later with Nortel in numerous roles in Marketing and Product Management.
Shaun Skidmore
Communications Principal Engineer
Idaho Power Company
Shaun Skidmore has worked for Idaho Power Company in Boise, Idaho, USA since 1995 as an engineer in the Communications Engineering group. Since 2003, he has served as Principal Engineer concentrating on planning and architecture. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from a joint engineering program of Boise State University and the University of Idaho. His areas of emphasis are network and transport engineering and cyber security. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Idaho, USA.
Marty Skolnick
Director of Connected Real Estate Innovation
Siemens Smart Infrastructure
David Standley
Managing Director of Telecommunications
American Electric Power
Enlisted in the Ohio Air National Guard in 1978 and served for 10 years as an Avionic Systems Specialist on the A-7D Fighter Bomber. I began my IT career in 1980 as a COBOL CICS programmer for a small shoe manufacturer and retailer in Columbus Ohio. I spent the next 6 years working as a programmer in the Oil Industry, Manufacturing, and eventually took a job with Columbia Gas to being my Utility career. For the next 15 years I worked in many different IT roles, eventually finding my niche in Management. During the Columbia Gas / NiSource merger in 2000 I was offered a job with American Electric Power managing application development for their robust Energy Trading Organization. I spent the next 10 years navigating through AEP’s IT department until 2010, when I was given the job of Managing Director of Telecommunications. Since 2010 we’ve gone from a 15 million dollar a year Capital project budget to 400 million dollars of annual spend. We’ve rebuilt our 800 MHz Radio system across all 11 states, replacing EDACS with Harris P25. Rebuilt and added several new MW paths. We’ve built an additional 16,000 miles of fiber optics. And continue to replace our older Transport system with Ciena equipment and migrate to Carrier Ethernet. Our next venture is building fiber into our remote service territories for both communications to our Distribution systems, and middle mile transport for Rural Broadband opportunities. Personal Life: I’m currently the President of the Susan G. Komen (Columbus) foundation, providing funding for breast cancer research and health care opportunities for women in Central and Southeast Ohio. My wife and I also own a farm outside of Frankfort Kentucky that we recently incorporated. Our farm’s mission is to raise nutrient dense food for local food shelters in Central Kentucky.
Mac Stecko
Outside Sales Engineer
LightRiver Technologies, Inc.
Jon Stitzel
Senior Digital Policy & Risk Analysis
Ameren
Jon Stitzel serves as a Senior Policy & Risk Analyst at Ameren. In this role, he is responsible for influencing cybersecurity and risk management strategy for business and industrial control system environments. Jon has earned professional certifications in Information Systems Security and Information Systems Audit.
George Stoll
Vice President
Utility Telecom Consulting Group, Inc.
George is Vice President and one of the original founders of Utility Telecom Consulting Group, a firm providing telecommunications planning, engineering, project management, and spectrum acquisition services to the utility and energy industries. George has years of experience in the utility and telecommunications sector and holds electrical engineering and telecommunications degrees enhanced with a variety of business, management and field experience. Prior to entering the consulting business, he held IT and Telecom Management positions with a large electric and gas utility. George and his team have worked with more than 90 gas, electric and water utilities over the past 25 years. He has been either a Member or Associate Member of UTC since 1976 and has received national recognition for his articles, seminars and contributions to the utility telecommunications and communications industry.
Brendan Sullivan
RigNet
Brendan supports RigNet’s strategic initiatives as Chief Technology/Information Officer, aligning the company's product architecture with business priorities and is General Manger of RigNet’s cybersecurity business unit including Cyphre. Brendan brings over 20 years of technology leadership, driving transformational business process change and developing network services solutions. Brendan’s broad industry experience spans the media, telecom, entertainment and emerging technology industries.
Tony Suppa
Project Manager
Public Service Enterprise Group
Anthony works as a Project Manager with Public Service Electric and Gas in Newark, New Jersey. Anthony is responsible for the management of wireless co-location on all electric transmission towers and distribution poles for PSEG. Anthony is a 1981 graduate of Newark College of Engineering ( NJIT ) and is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the state of New Jersey.
Chris Trifiletti
Ameren
Senior Cybersecurity Analyst Christopher D. Trifiletti joined Ameren in September 2019 in an expansion of the Ameren Cybersecurity Engagement and Outreach team. Chris served twenty years with the FBI and had direct involvement in the investigation of a wide variety of cases from all across the United States and many foreign countries, especially with his early work with the FBI in Baltimore and at FBI HQ in the field of Internet crimes against children. In his last ten years with the FBI, he worked computer fraud and intrusion matters and was also responsible for the FBI's outreach and infrastructure protection program, InfraGard, in Central and Southern Illinois. Chris holds a CISSP certification and is a SANS GSEC, GCIH, and GPEN certified computer security professional. He holds an MBA and BA from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri and a degree in Criminal Justice from the St. Louis Community College. Chris has provided training to numerous FBI field divisions, FBI Headquarters, and the FBI Academy at Quantico; the Interpol General Secretariat in Lyon, France; annual Europol training conferences in the Netherlands and Germany; State, county, and local police; other law enforcement agencies; prosecutors and child advocates; and law enforcement entities in and from Central and South America and Europe.
Mike Unser
OSP Engineer
Salt River Project
Mike Unser, BSEET, MBA – Mr. Unser has over 20 years’ experience in fiber optics including, engineering, permitting, construction, inspection, testing, acceptance and troubleshooting. Mr. Unser is responsible for the engineering of fiber optic networks for SRP’s electrical and water networks as well as providing fiber optic engineering and construction for SRP’s commercial fiber.
Marko Veil
Marketing Manager
Hubbell Power Systems
Marko Veil is the marketing manager of Hubbell Power Systems’ OSP communications products division. He has nearly 25 years of experience with broadband infrastructure from previous engineering and commercial roles at Corning, AFL, and OFS. Marko’s application engineering experience was centered on supporting North American electric utilities with design and applications of OPGW and ADSS cables and associated hardware. In his current position, Marko is working to further develop Hubbell’s OSP infrastructure business with focus on the broadband market. Marko earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering from NCSU.
John Vislosky
Senior Vice President
Access Spectrum LLC
To be updated at a later time.
Gary Vondrasek
Manager, Telecom Sales and Services
JEA
Gary Vondrasek – BIO Gary Vondrasek, Manager Telecom Sales & Services In his role as Manager of Telecom Sales & Services, Gary Vondrasek leads JEA’s Pole Attachment, Wireless Collocation, and Dark Fiber enterprises that includes a 550-mile fiber optic network and numerous communication towers and other vertical infrastructure for collocation. Gary is highly skilled in both business development and operational management with the responsibility of developing and implementing strategies across all communications verticals. Gary joined JEA in August of 2000 as a Product Development Coordinator and ascended through the ranks to become the Manager of Telecom Sales & Services. Throughout his tenure at JEA, he has held the responsibility for managing multiple types of products and services, new product development, achieving operational and project metrics, budget and vendor management, business case development, and new product integrations. Gary has over twenty-five years’ experience in the energy, gas, and telecommunications sectors with 15 years specifically with Pole Attachment, Wireless Collocation, and Fiber optic sales and operations. Gary is a certified Six Sigma Greenbelt and is pursuing his Blackbelt certification. Gary attended Valparaiso University and received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Business Economics. Gary has been active with Utilities Technology Council (UTC) for over 10 years and is one of the original founding members of UtiliSite. Gary is presently Vice-Chair for UTC UtiliSite.
Emmanuel Waegebaert
Senior Application Engineer
OTN Systems
Emmanuel Waegebaert is an international recognized expert in the field of Telecommunication Engineering with more than 25 years of experience. Graduated from the University of Leuven in 1993 and is since 2008 key in the development of new product line based on a packet transport technology named MPLS-TP. He has been designing multiple mission critical networks for global rail companies and Power Utilities, taking the lead in migrating SDH/SONET to transport networks whilst improving the performance of legacy applications and enabling new packet based applications. Emmanuel is instrumental in the worldwide introduction of MPLS as a Packet Transport network and has excellent knowledge in strategizing new technologies in key vertical markets.
Teresa Waugh
WAPA
Sheila Wells
Senior Engineer
Nashville Electric Service
Sheila Wells is a Senior Engineer with Nashville Electric Service located in Nashville, TN. Nashville Electric Service is one of the 12 largest public electric utilities in the nation, distributing energy to over 400,000 customers in Middle Tennessee. At NES, Sheila is responsible for Substation Communications and Wireless Attachments. She has been in the utility industry for over 28 years and has managed wireless collocations since 2003.
David Wells
Department of Energy
Bryan Wiens
Senior Product Manager, Cloud Serviecs
InterTalk Critical Information Systems
Bryan provides leadership and direction to InterTalk's Enlite dispatch-as-a-service product that bridges LMR to LTE/5G. Coming from a background in mobile telecommunications and software as a service (SaaS) products, Bryan brings insight into how technology can enable a new world of utilities communication.
Keith Williams
Telecom Coloaction Manager
Georgia Power
C. Keith Williams – Telecom Colocation Manager at Georgia Power Company. Keith joined Georgia Power in 2005 and has served in various areas of Project Management and as the Operational Performance for Southern Company. Before joining GPC, Keith held various Project Management/Project Controls positions at Parsons Corporation, Georgia Transmission, Enron Energy Services, Chemical and Industrial Engineering, City of Louisville and Earth Science Technologies. Keith earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of Louisville and a Master of Public/Business Administration from Jacksonville State University. In addition, Keith is a member of the AACE for Cost Engineering, AEIC Project Management Subcommittee and acting liaison for Southern Company for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Chapters at the University of Florida. Keith also serves on the Board of a non-profit group called Minorities in Technologies (aka BDPA).
Michael Wood
Product Marketing Manager
Clearfield, Inc.
Product Marketing Manager for Clearfield’s Fiber Active Cabinet line, Michael Wood also manages the industry certification training program and advanced marketing work related to federal broadband funding programs. Prior to joining Clearfield, Michael held various Engineering, Marketing and Product Management positions in the information and communications technology sector. Michael holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Notre Dame and is a Certified Fiber Optic Technician (CFOT).
Gary Wood
President & CEO
CVEC & CVSI
Gary Wood is the President and Chief Executive Officer at CVEC & CVSI. He earned a BSEE from the University of Virginia as an electrical engineering undergraduate and an MBA from Auburn University. He has 29 years of experience at CVEC, with the last 11 as CEO. He has previous experience designing campus and institutional electric, communications, and alarm systems as a consulting engineer. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of Virginia. Mr. Wood worked on projects for CVSI and later served as a board member for the organization when they offered ISP service to members from 1997 through 2010. He has been chosen to serve on the audit and finance committees of the statewide electric cooperative organization and the Blue Ridge Power Agency, both of whom are affiliates of CVEC. He has broad and deep experience in building infrastructure, operating an ISP business, and managing projects and businesses. As CEO of CVEC and CVSI, he leads the efforts to build and operate the physical plant and manage the overall construction of the fiber network. Mr. Wood and his wife, Debbie Harvey, live in Nelson County. They have a son and a daughter.
John Yaldwyn
Chief Technology Officer
4RF USA, Inc.
John Yaldwyn is CTO and founder of 4RF. John focuses on the security and technical considerations of radio technology for critical infrastructure applications. A graduate of Victoria University of Wellington, he has a science degree and has done post graduate study in France at École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications. He is a member of the Victoria’s Engineering Faculty Advisory Board.
James Yang
Sr. Network Architect & Security Manager, Telecommunications
Black & Veatch
Sr. Network Architect and Security Manager for B&V, responsible for network planning, configuration and implementation for Smart Grid clients, including creating configuration templates, test plans, implementation and preliminary support of IP private networks. Served as CSO for Singapore Govt. SOE program developing the overall security solution architecture for this billion-dollar program.
Paul Zawada P.E.
Staff Engineer
American Electric Power Company, Inc.
Paul Zawada is a Staff Engineer in AEP Transmission Operations, serving as a subject matter expert for Telecommunications, SCADA, and other Operational Technology systems used to support real-time monitoring and assessment functions across American Electric Power’s 11-state footprint.
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