With over 30 years of experience in engineering, consulting, and leadership, Sam is the President & CEO of Middough Inc. Middough provides major project solutions and consulting by combining the experience, expertise and reach of a large EPCM firm with the flexibility and customer focus of a local service provider. Sam leads the executive team and oversees the functional and financial performance of the company, ensuring alignment with the vision, mission, and values. Middough provides project solutions across several industries including: Chemical, Oil & Gas, Power, Refining, Metals, Agribusiness, Food, and Advanced Manufacturing.

Hannah Bascom leads SPAN’s regulated business, establishing partnerships and programs that enable electrification for all. Previously, Hannah led Energy Partnerships at Google Nest, where she helped grow the company’s regulated energy business, developed partnerships with over 100 utilities and energy service providers, and launched Nest Renew, delivering carbon reduction, bill savings and grid support. Hannah also led Customer Strategy and Planning at PG&E and worked as a consultant at Ernst & Young, where she focused on innovation, product optimization and customer experience strategy in the Energy and Utilities Practice. She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a BA with Honors from Brown University.

Kate has spent the last 20 plus years working for Tennessee Valley Authority honing her skills and knowledge in the policy procedures and power production and core business of the industry. She currently serves as site management in rotational development capacity for several power plants in the TVA network.

Dennis Buchanan, PE, is a Plant Director for Southwestern Public Service Company (SPS). SPS is one of 4 operating companies of Xcel Energy. Dennis has worked in the Electric Utility, Power Generation field for over 40 years. His background includes performance and plant engineering, project management, and senior management. A large portion of his career was dedicated to power plant process controls where he designed and implemented DCS retrofits throughout the SPS fleet. Currently, Dennis is the Plant Director of the Harrington/Nichols complex that consists of 3 coal fired units and 3 gas fired units. Dennis has a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech University and is a Professional Engineer in the State of Texas.

Michael Burroughs is an an almost 34-year veteran of the electric utility industry with experience in coal, gas, fuels, solar, wind, operations strategy, environmental rules impact, Plant closures, and leadership development. Michael began his career in 1991 as a Plant Engineer with Alabama Power Company’s Barry Generating Plant which is part of the Southern Company. During the next 15 years, Michael held positions at Alabama Power Company and Gulf Power Company (former subsidiary of Southern Company) in front line supervision and management in Engineering, Planning, Maintenance, Operations, and Compliance in Power Plants. Michael was afterwards selected to be the Assistant To Executive Vice President of Alabama Power and Chief Production Officer for the Southern Company. Since 2007, Michael has been in the Plant Manager roles at Alabama Power Company’s Barry Steam Plant and Georgia Power Company’s Plant Yates and Plant Scherer. He was also elected to be the Vice President of Generation and Senior Production Officer for Gulf Power Company before retiring at the end of 2024 after a long impactful and accomplished year. Michael also served on the Plant Scherer Managing Board, Florida Solar Energy Center Policy Advisory Board, Board member of Southeast Labor and Management Public Affairs Committee, Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Florida, and Pensacola Sports Association. Michael earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alabama in Birmingham in December 1990. Michael is a native of Birmingham, Alabama and one daughter Genesis Nicole, who is a school teacher in Pensacola, Florida.

Ben Carmichael is part of the Advanced Energy Systems team at Southern Company Research and Development, where he works as a Business Development Manager to establish the national and international collaborations that support Southern Company’s advanced energy systems development programs. Ben joined Southern Company in 2006 and has had a variety of opportunities across Southern Company affiliates, including engineering roles in both Southern Company Fleet Operations and Generation Planning and Development, managing the nuclear fuel procurement program for Southern Nuclear Operating Company, and managing new nuclear development opportunities for Southern Nuclear Development, LLC. Ben holds a Bachelor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Master of Science of Civil Engineering from Auburn University, a Masters of Engineering in sustainability from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and a Professional Engineer license in the State of Alabama.

Scott Conway has over 35 years of experience working for Caterpillar’s Large Electric Power Solutions Division. He currently serves as the Gas Electric Power Strategy Manager. He has a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin and currently resides in Lafayette IN, USA. He has lived and worked in many locations, including the US, Australia, Switzerland and the Middle East with responsibilities covering Engineering, Product Support, Sales and Strategy. Most of his experience has been focused on gaseous fueled power generation projects. These include projects operating on coal mine methane, landfill, biogas and pipeline natural gas for prime power, Combined Heat and Power, peak shaving, demand response and standby applications.

Dr. Leslie Dewan is a Founding Principal at Nucleation Capital, focusing on investing in new nuclear technology and other forms of carbon-free energy production. From 2011 to 2018, she was the CEO of Transatomic Power, a company that designed safer nuclear reactors that leave behind less waste than conventional designs. Leslie received her Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from MIT, with a research focus on computational nuclear materials. She also holds S.B. degrees from MIT in mechanical engineering and nuclear engineering. Before starting her Ph.D., she worked for a robotics company in Cambridge, MA, where she designed search-and-rescue robots and equipment for in-field identification of chemical and nuclear weapons. Leslie has been awarded an MIT Presidential Fellowship and a Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship. She is a member of the MIT Corporation, MIT’s board of trustees. She was named a TIME Magazine "30 People Under 30 Changing the World," an MIT Technology Review "Innovator Under 35," a Forbes "30 Under 30,” a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.

Mr. Fassett is President and founder of IEM Energy Consultants LLC, (now part of CEIS), and has more than 39 years of broad-based experience in the power and related industries. He founded IEM in 1998 as a boutique consulting practice to provide consulting services in all aspects of power plant operations, maintenance, and management to clients worldwide. Mr. Fassett has provided services in outage planning, management and oversite, long range O&M budgeting, reliability assessments, plant staffing analysis and long-term service agreement negotiations. Prior to forming IEM, Mr. Fassett held roles of increasing responsibility with various utilities, both regulated and IPP’s, as well as petrochemical process facilities. These roles included Plant Engineer, Maintenance Engineer, Start Up Manager, Maintenance Manager and Plant Superintendent. His experience includes coal, simple and combined cycle CT’s, coal gasification and specialty chemical manufacturing. Mr. Fassett sits on the Board of Directors of the Plant Managers Institute, the Advisory Board of the Electric Power Conference, is a member of the ASME Power Committee. He has taught college classes in Energy & the Environment, Ethics in the Energy Industry, Electronics and Power Plant Operations. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from North Dakota State University with an emphasis in Power Plant System Design

Delivering asset development, operational improvements and performance enhancement services, Diane Fischer, the Director of Generation Services at Kiewit, leverages her 30+ years of experience in the power industry to provide detailed engineering and design solutions. Throughout the project lifecycle, she partners with clients to address environmental issues, engineer components and systems and conduct facility evaluations and feasibility analyses. A recognized subject matter expert in the power market, Diane has shared her insights on combustion turbine issues, fuel flexibility, hydrogen combustion and energy storage at 12 conferences over the last three years. Holding a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University, she is also a licensed Professional Engineer in Missouri.

James currently serves as the Southern Company Executive in Residence at Auburn University’s McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security. In this role he works closely with industry, academia, and federal partners, including national laboratories on electric grid cyber security strategies. James also served as a senior fellow at the McCrary Institute, a prestigious group of nationally renowned cyber and critical-infrastructure security experts. With more than 28 years of service at Southern Company, James co-led an initiative to implement an enhanced Operations cyber and NERC-CIP program support model and has held various operational and engineering support leadership positions. Prior to joining Southern Company, James served in the U.S. Marines. He holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from Auburn University.

Hari is a Lead Consultant in the Market Intelligence & Strategy group at Mitsubishi Power Americas. He provides analytics-driven insights on business opportunities for achieving decarbonization in power generation. He strategizes decarbonization pathways using Hydrogen-capable Gas Turbine and Combined Cycle plants, Onshore and Offshore Wind, Solar, Battery Storage, Nuclear, Power-to-X, CCUS and other technologies. Previously, Hari was a Senior Modeler in the Commodity Analytics group at Wood Mackenzie. He developed their proprietary Global Coal Model for forecasting tradeflows of thermal and metallurgical coal in the international seaborne markets. Hari has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts and a Master’s in Computational Finance from the University of Washington. His PhD dissertation advanced the state-of-art in optimal scheduling of Combined Heat and Power systems.

Rich Gottwald joined the Compressed Gas Association as President and CEO in July 2018. Before joining CGA, Rich served as President and CEO of the Association of Pool and Spa Professionals. He joined APSP in 2013 and realigned the organization to be a unified voice to protect existing markets and to grow new business for its members. Prior to APSP, Rich served as Executive Vice President for the International Sign Association, where he was responsible for providing oversight and leadership on the regulatory, legislative, and technological challenges and opportunities facing the sign industry across North America. Before ISA, Rich held senior management positions in several trade associations, including Executive Vice President for the Association of the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, President of the Plastics Pipe Institute, and Executive Director of the Society of the Plastics Industry. Rich holds a BS in Plastics Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and is a Certified Association Executive (CAE). He lives in Washington, DC.

Mr. Michael Harbison is the Founder and Owner of M E H & Associates, LLC. In this capacity, he performs unit walk-downs and assessments, modifies combustion systems, reduces emissions through advanced computational modeling, assesses and tunes boilers / boiler operations. Mr. Harbison covers the full US for the power generation sector. Mr. Harbison specialized in process optimization for over twenty-five years.

Brian Heinbaugh is the Vice President of Operations and Asset Management at ODEC, where he oversees the safe, reliable operation and maintenance of the cooperative’s generation portfolio or if you want to use most of it and leave out some of the personal info. I also attached a updated headshot. Since joining ODEC in 2015, Brian served as Plant General Manager of the Wildcat Point Generation Facility, where he played a key role in its construction, startup, and ongoing operations. With over 25 years of experience in the power generation industry, Brian has held various leadership roles across a wide range of technologies, including simple cycle, combined cycle, and coal-fired plants. He previously served as Director of Operations with GDF Suez and NAES and began his career as a nuclear plant electrician in the U.S. Navy Submarine Force. Brian holds both an M.B.A. and a Master of Science in Energy Resources Management & Policy from the University of Maryland Global Campus. A Maryland native, he is married with three children. Outside of work, he is an active volunteer in his community, coaching cross country and track & field, and supporting organizations such as the Scouts, Boys & Girls Club, and Habitat for Humanity.

Rizwan James, Director-Power Generation System Operation Joined Dominion Energy in 2004 as a combustion turbine technician at the Fairless Energy Power Plant. Through series of career advancements his new role is Director Power Generation System Operations. Rizwan James is responsible for providing fleetwide operational support to Power Generation assets which include regulated fleet asset management and budgetary oversight, regulatory reporting, and oversight of the PG Operational Excellence team. He is also responsible for leading Power Generation operations teams, leading Power Generation’s hydrogen strategy for combustion turbines, and providing support for Project Construction

As Vice President of Canopy Design Engineering at Distributed Solar Development (DSD), Ben oversees the structural and civil engineering on all projects, and leads DSD’s in-house canopy team, which specializes in designing and optimizing architecturally stunning and highly functional solar canopies for high-end commercial environments, like Bishop Ranch. With over 10 years of experience, Ben Jones is considered an industry leader in C&I solar canopy design. He was an NABCEP instructor for 4 years and has spoken at industry events including the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (COSEIA) conference.

Peter L. Kelley is Managing Partner of RenewComm LLC, a leading PR and marketing consulting practice for cleantech companies and climate solutions, founded in 2004. RenewComm provides a wide variety of custom B2B marketing services and training to both startups and industry leaders to help them stay in the news, tell their story on social media, and generate marketing-qualified leads for their sales funnel. Peter went in-house with the American Wind Energy Association as their VP of Public Affairs from 2010-2018. He worked as the top communications staffer for three national environmental groups: the League of Conservation Voters, National Environmental Trust (now part of Pew Charitable Trusts), and American Rivers. He began his career as a newspaper reporter, covering the state capital of Pennsylvania and then the U.S. Congress for Newhouse Newspapers. He helped create the category of non-profit news services as the original Director of the National Security News Service and the Natural Resources News Service. He was communications coach for the University of Maryland's winning team in the International Solar Decathlon, and earned a B.A. in Government and Economics from Harvard University.

Alex Krowka is the Deputy Program Director of USEA's Consensus Program. In this position, Alex helps manage this U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-funded Program to build global and domestic understanding, consensus, and cooperative action on Carbon Management Technologies. Additionally, Alex has worked with USEA’s Promoting International And Domestic Consensus On Oil And Natural Gas Program and USEA’s U.S. – East Africa Geothermal Partnership (EAGP). Alex has 11 years of experience in Energy and International Development having worked at Energetics and the International Tax and Investment Center. His past clients consisted of multiple programs and offices within DOE including: Appliance Standards, Emerging Technologies, Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), International Affairs, Residential Buildings Integration, and Zero Energy Ready Homes. Alex graduated magna cum laude from American University’s School of International Service with a B.A. in International Studies.

Larry Lesh is a Steam Plant Operating Supervisor for the City of Los Angeles, Department of Water and Power (LADWP). In this capacity, he oversees operations for LADWP’s 1738 MW Haynes Generating Station. Prior to this current assignment Larry served at all levels of equipment and control room operations, as well as serving in the role of operations scheduler. He began his career in 1999 as a steam plant assistant, supporting the recommissioning of the 512 MW Valley Generating Station. This experience shaped the trajectory of his career, often gravitating toward assignments in support of system repair, upgrade, and recommissioning. His experience includes leadership assignments at the plant and system level, as well as roles in outage leadership for fuel recommissioning, major SIRs, WECC certification, and system upgrades such as control systems and SCADA. Larry has operating experience on conventional circulation boilers, combustion turbines, Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSG), super critical boilers, and methane fired micro-turbines. Larry is a proud member of IBEW Local 18, and a strong advocate for workers’ rights and elevating the contribution of the blue-collar workforce, and has represented labor on joint labor-management committees throughout the LADWP/IBEW Local 18 ecosystem. Serving as a shop steward for 13 years, Larry is known for his subject matter expertise of organization and regulatory policy, as well as the IBEW Code of Excellence. Larry prides himself on his strong knowledge of the power system and is a champion for technological and workforce innovations. He considers it a great honor to mentor the rising generation of electrical worker and to support their professional and personal growth.

Angie Lucas is the Member Engagement Manager for the Energy Providers Coalition for Education (EPCE), a non-profit national membership of energy employers, energy-related associations, labor and education providers partnering together to educate and train the energy workforce. She facilitates the partnership and manages the development and implementation of EPCE’s online education and training strategies. EPCE is a signature initiative of the Council for Adult Experiential Learning (CAEL), whose mission is to link learning and work to help working adult learners succeed. In her prior role, she gained experience in facilitating meaningful consultation between tribal leaders, federal offices and industry partners to address concerns and collect advice around the issues impacting energy and infrastructure development across Indian Country. Angie earned a bachelor’s degree and MS in Leadership Development at Saint Mary of the Woods College.

Clint Medlock is a project manager for Southern Company Services – Research and Development, a subsidiary of Southern Company, the organization leading the company’s innovation in advanced nuclear technology efforts. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Tennessee Technological University. Clint joined Southern Company in 2005 and has over 30 years of nuclear energy experience with various utilities as well as architectural/engineering and consulting firms. At Southern Company, he has held several engineering, design, maintenance and construction oversight positions at the corporate office, Plant Farley and Plant Vogtle 3&4. In his current role, he serves as the Molten Chloride Fast Reactor (MCFR) Program Chief Engineer. Southern Company Services – Research and Development is working closely with TerraPower, an advanced reactor developer, and the DOE via multiple awards to work toward commercialization of this non-light water nuclear energy technology. Clint’s engagement and leadership in programs like these are helping ensure Southern Company will continue to have energy options while meeting its long-term net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goal.

William H. Mock III is plant manager for coastal generation at Georgia Power. In this role, he is responsible for four generating facilities along the Georgia coast and Warner Robins. Together, these plants encompass 21 generating units of various size, technology, and fuel diversity representing over 2,600 megawatts of capacity. Mock was named to his current position in March 2014. Prior, he served as assistant to the senior vice president of fossil & hydro generation for Georgia Power and senior production officer for Southern Company Generation. Mock began his career with Southern Company in 1990 as a junior engineer at Southern Nuclear’s Plant Hatch. In 2005, he was named plant manager of the newly constructed Georgia Power McIntosh Combined Cycle Plant. In addition, Mock has served as maintenance manager at Georgia Power’s Plant Bowen (Cartersville) and plant manager at Plant Yates (Newnan). A native of Savannah, Mock earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Bobby Noble is the Program Manager for the gas turbine programs at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). He has more than 18 years of experience in the gas turbine and power industries. His primary gas turbine expertise is in experimental gas turbine combustion research, with focus on combustion dynamics, instrumentation and diagnostics, high-hydrogen and alternative fuels, and next-generation, low-NOx combustor architectures. He holds three patents and has authored/co-authored 14 journal publications and 47+ conference publications. Bobby is an ASME Fellow and received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Clemson University in 2003. He received his master of science degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2006.

Tom Poteet is the Sr. VP of Corporate Development for Mesa Natural Gas Solutions. Tom’s purview in this role includes characterizing and casting the vision for the optimal use of natural gas-powered generation, monitoring the innovation stream for future sources of site power, and developing customized rate plans and progressive field applications to meet customers' needs and financial preferences. With over 40 years in engineering, Tom’s career has given him experience in electric power, telecommunications, and oil field production. Tom graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.

Mr. Rob Schueffner is the EaaS Growth Manager for the Caterpillar Electric Power Division. His responsibilities include the evaluation and partnership or integration of energy-as-a-service related organizations. In his more than 25 years with Caterpillar, he has held a wide variety of responsibilities within Energy & Transportation including engineering, marketing, application & installation, sales, management, 6 Sigma Black Belt, facility management, and strategy.

Allan Schurr brings go-to-market expertise from over 30 years of experience in commercial and industrial energy services and innovative utility solutions. As Chief Commercial Officer at Enchanted Rock, Schurr is responsible for corporate and product marketing, direct sales, and channel sales functions. Schurr holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Davis and a Master's in Business Administration from St. Mary's College in California. He is also a registered Professional Engineer in the State of California, and he is a co-inventor on seven patents related to distributed energy.

Dr Siari Sosa is the Technology Development Manager for the Clean Energy and Renewable Resources Team of Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas). Her team is part of the Research, Development and Demonstration group (RD&D), focusing on innovative technologies in the areas of carbon capture, sequestration and utilization, as well as renewable gas production and hydrogen production applications. In her 20-year career with SoCalGas, Dr. Sosa acted as subject matter expert in multiple areas including materials engineering, welding, steel metallurgy and failure analysis, and studied biogas impacts in materials and equipment part of the natural gas infrastructure. Dr. Sosa received a PhD and MSc in Materials Science from the University of Southern California.

Jonathan "JT" Thompson is Vice President, Enterprise Sales, for Enbala. He is a sales and marketing leader within the energy industry with a wide range of experience, from buying/selling energy products to market research and fundamental analysis. Prior to joining Enbala, he was the Sales Director for Noble Americas Energy Solutions, where he generated sales of complex electricity and risk management products to commercial and industrial customers. Before going to Noble, JT spent almost seven years with GE. During his time there, he led the commercial efforts for some of GE’s largest accounts in the oil and gas space, led the global utility sales and marketing efforts for GE Appliances’ Home Energy Solutions team, and served as the director of Global Operations for GE Corporate’s Energy Sourcing Organization. He has worked with some of the world’s largest utilities, industrial, and oil and gas companies. Prior to joining GE in 2007, JT spent nine years in trading, pricing/risk management, account management, and financial services all within the energy industry, including an entrepreneurial venture focused on strategic risk management. JT holds a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Joe VonDerHaar has over 35 years of experience in the utility and manufacturing industries. On the utility side he has held positions in System Operations, Transmission & Distribution and Power Generation. On the manufacturing front he was a Plant Manager for a Power Transmission OEM. A common thread in both industries is the tremendous change in process and mission because of competition, new technology and evolving regulations. Being able to adapt and even welcome change is critical to success. Joe is currently the Plant Director at the Spurlock Power Station, a 4-unit, coal fired, 1500MW facility in Maysville Kentucky. He holds an engineering degree from the University of Dayton.