Arturo Bretas
Co-Chair, Innovation Showcase Committee, Researcher – SNL/G2Elab Grenoble INP CNRS University Grenoble Alpes
Dr. Arturo Bretas is a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff with Sandia National Laboratories. He is a Research Professor with the Université Grenoble Alpes and a Courtesy Full Professor with the University of Florida. Dr. Bretas supports a variety of projects related to the development of Models and Algorithms for Energy Decarbonization. Dr. Bretas has published many papers on peer-reviewed conferences and journals, as well as a textbook on Cyber-Physical Power Systems State Estimation.
Ray Byrne
Co-Chair, Innovation Showcase Committee, Manager, Energy Storage – Sandia National Laboratories
Ray Byrne is manager of the Energy Storage Technology & Systems department at Sandia National Laboratories where he has been employed since 1989. Prior serving as manager, he was a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff. He completed a B.S. in electrical engineering at the University of Virginia, an M.S. in electrical engineering at the University of Colorado, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the University of New Mexico. He also completed an M.S. in financial mathematics (financial engineering) at the University of Chicago. Awards include the IEEE Third Millennium Medal, Time Magazine invention of the year in robotics in 2001, as well as the Prize paper award at the 2016 IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting for a paper on maximizing revenue from energy storage in grid applications. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, and Sigma Xi. He was elevated to IEEE Fellow in 2017 for contributions to miniature robotics and grid integration of energy storage. He serves as an ABET program evaluator for IEEE and is a member of the IEEE Committee on Engineering Accreditation Activities (CEAA). He is a board member of Sigma Xi, the scientific research honor society.
Lincoln Davies
Tutorials Chair, Executive Director for Energy, Resource, and Environment Programs – The University of Utah
An internationally recognized expert in energy law and policy, Professor Davies has written extensively on renewables, utility regulation, carbon capture and sequestration, nuclear power, regulatory and technology innovation, and the intersection of energy law and environmental law, as well as water law. He has completed policy and research work for the U.S. Department of Energy, the Korean government, and the Brookings Institution, among others. His most recent work focuses on regional transmission organization (RTO) governance, including the development of organized electricity markets in the western United States.
Regarded as one of the foremost experts in the world on renewable energy policy, Davies received the McCloy Fellowship in Environmental Policy from the American Council on Germany in 2012 and the Elizabeth Evatt Distinguished Fellowship from the University of Sydney Law School in 2024. He has won multiple awards for his teaching and has taught at four universities, including Seoul National University and Kyungpook National University in South Korea.
Previously, Davies served as the Dean & Frank R. Strong Chair in Law at The Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law. He also served for over a decade on the Utah Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure.
Prior to joining the academy, Davies practiced in the Washington, D.C. office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP and served as a clerk to the Honorable Leonard H. Russon, Associate Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court.
Summer Ferreira
Chair, Technical Committee, Manager, Renewable and Distributed Systems Integration – Sandia National Laboratories
Dr. Summer Ferreira is Manager of the Renewable and Distributed Systems Integration department and of the Distributed Energy Technologies Laboratory at Sandia National Laboratories. Her department conducts R&D that supports grid modernization and resiliency through distributed energy planning, standards development, technical assistance, protection, cybersecurity and controls in support of Department of Energy offices in EERE, OE, CESER and GDO. Dr. Ferreira received her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Kimberly Johnston
Leadership Team Member, Committee Member, CEO – NextGen Energy Partners
Kimberly Johnston is CEO of NextGen Energy Partners. She has 30 years of strategy, finance, policy, and regulatory experience in the energy sector serving in executive roles with Fortune 500 energy companies and global consulting firms.
Masood Parvania
Chair, Roger P. Webb Endowed Professor – University of Utah
Masood Parvania is the Roger P. Webb Endowed Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Director of Utah Smart Energy Laboratory at the University of Utah, and the PI and Co-Director of the U.S.-Canada Center on Climate-Resilient Western Interconnected Grid (NSF WIRED Global Center) that is co-funded by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). His research interests include the operation, economics and resilience of power and energy systems, and modeling and operation of interdependent critical infrastructures. Dr. Parvania serves as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Power Systems.
Michael Pesin
Co-chair, Deputy Assistant Secretary – U.S. Department of Energy
Michael Pesin is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Grid Systems and Components Division at DOE’s Office of Electricity. His organization is responsible for the development and management of projects for next-generation electricity delivery technologies and supporting activities to accelerate their introduction to the marketplace. Mr. Pesin has over 35 years of experience in the electric utility industry directing development and execution of advanced technology programs at the electric utilities. Prior to joining DOE, Mr. Pesin was also the founder and president of a consulting company working with electric utilities, technology companies, and investors and served as a board member at a number of technology organizations.
Mariana Resener
Secretary, Assistant Professor – Simon Fraser University
Dr. Mariana Resener is an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University’s School of Sustainable Energy Engineering. She leads the Power and Energy Systems research group, which focuses on developing efficient, resilient, and progressive electric power systems that support decarbonization efforts. Dr. Resener has over 12 years of experience, including more than 8 years as an electrical engineer for a major power utility. She is also a Senior Member of IEEE, a member of the IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES), and a member of IEEE Women in Engineering.
Lisa Schwartz
Technical Committee, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Senior Energy Policy Researcher – Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lisa Schwartz is a Senior Energy Policy Researcher and Strategic Advisor for Berkeley Lab’s Energy Markets and Policy Department. She leads training, technical assistance, and research for states on integrated grid planning, distributed energy resources and utility regulation. Lisa previously served as Director of the Oregon Department of Energy, Senior Associate at the Regulatory Assistance Project, and Oregon Public Utility Commission staff lead on resource planning and procurement, distributed energy resources, and renewable energy.
Ritesh Kumar Singh
Treasurer, Utility Management Director – Tetra Tech
As Utility Management Director for Global Markets at Tetra Tech, Mr. Singh leads the utility management and sector reform practice across clients and geographies. He specializes in energy sector reform and restructuring, utility commercialization, regulatory and policy advocacy, due diligence and transactions, renewable project development and smart grid initiatives. He has worked in more than fifteen countries across North America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Yonael Teklu
Volunteer and Local PES Chapter Chair, Electrical Engineer and Research Associate – Virginia Tech
Yonael Teklu is a research assistant at the Advanced Research Institute of Virginia Tech, Arlington Virginia. His research interests include energy efficiency and building energy management and renewable energy. He is chair of the local PES chapter at Northern Virginia/Washington as well as PES chapter representative for IEEE Region 2.
Nathalie Voisin
Technical Committee, Chief Scientist – Regional Climate-Energy Dynamics – Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Dr. Nathalie Voisin is Chief Scientist for regional climate-energy dynamics at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Her research focuses on advancements in hydrometeorological forecasting and coupling of human-Earth system models to characterize complex climate threats, and expose climate-informed planning and operational opportunities. She holds a dual appointment as Professor at University of Washington. She contributed to the Fifth National Climate Assessment – Energy chapter, and the Third Assessment of the Effects of Climate Change on Federal Hydropower.
Rob Wolf, PE PMP
Chair – Sponsorship Committee, Grid Automation Solution Architect – Hubbell
Rob Wolf is the Grid Automation Solution Architect for Aclara Technologies, a subsidiary of Hubbell. During Rob’s tenure at Aclara, he has focused on working as a Utility Partner to bring advanced Grid Modernization applications to their electric and water distribution systems. As part of Aclara’s Enhanced Utilities Services group, his role is to work with Utilities to develop strategies around grid modernization applications and deployments, assist in building business cases, help Utilities navigate the Regulatory hurdles and available Funding opportunities, and to assist Utilities seeking to develop a more in-depth understanding of advanced grid modernization Use Cases. Prior to joining Aclara in early 2022, Rob spent 11 years in both Electric Transmission and Distribution roles for Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities. Rob is a licensed Professional Engineer, a Senior IEEE Member, a certified Project Management Professional and is active with the Louisville, KY IEEE Executive Committee and PES.
Cat wong
Power System and Energy Lead – Tapestry, X – The Moonshot Factory
Dr. Cat Wong has industry experience in power system simulations, emerging technology implementation, integration of DERs, T&D planning and protection analysis. She is an active contributor in the IEEE Power and Energy Society, Smart Grid committee, and women in STEM effort. Cat completed her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and MBA at Tulane University. She received her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in electrical engineering from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Louisiana.