Katharine Bond, Vice President for Public Policy & State Affairs, Dominion Energy
- Katharine Bond is in her 24th year with Dominion Energy and is currently serving as Vice President for Public Policy & State Affairs. In this role she is responsible for state and local government relations, community engagement, public policy, and infrastructure project support throughout the company’s thirteen state footprint. She held various roles in corporate finance, governance, and regulatory compliance. Katharine is a founding member of the Washington D.C. branch of CHIEF, a network for women leaders. She serves and as vice rector of the Longwood University Board of Visitors and was appointed to the Solar and Energy Storage Development Authority of Virginia and the Clean Energy Advisory Council. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the Virginia Council on Economic Education, and LEAD Virginia. Katharine served on the Dominion Energy’s Diversity Council for seven years, including as its chairperson and on the board of Voices for Virginia’s Children.
Mary Lou Fry, Managing Attorney, Equinor
- Mary Lou Fry is a Managing Attorney with Equinor where she represents the Equinor U.S. Offshore Wind and Renewable Energy business in Stamford, CT. Prior to this position, she served as the lead attorney for the Equinor U.S. and Global unconventional upstream oil and gas business and was a member of the US Onshore Management Team. Before joining Equinor in May 2011, she served as the General Counsel for Torch Energy Advisors and began her career at Mayer Brown and then in the legal department at Shell. She has served on the board of the Houston Bar Association Oil and Gas Section, various committees and roles with Women's Energy Network and is a Trustee at Large for the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law.
Venu Ghanta, Vice President of NC Regulatory Affairs and Policy, Duke Energy
- Ghanta manages Duke Energy’s presence in all North Carolina regulatory matters before the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC). He provides leadership and direction in the development and implementation of public policy that is in the best interest of the customers and communities served by Duke Energy. Previously, Ghanta served as vice president of federal regulatory affairs for Duke Energy, leading and directing the company’s development and advocacy of federal regulatory policy and serving as the company’s lead for communicating impacts of regulations to federal agency and administration officials. In this role, he also led the establishment of the company’s first-ever environmental justice principles.
Holly Goyert, Senior Wildlife Biologist, Offshore Wind, AECOM
- Holly Goyert has dedicated the last couple decades of her career to quantifying the exposure of marine communities of birds, mammals, fish, and invertebrates to offshore energy development. As a quantitative community ecologist, Dr. Goyert has conducted population viability analyses of protected seabirds, and has assessed the collision and displacement risk of seabirds to offshore wind energy projects in the Atlantic. She spent years at sea as a marine bird, fish, and mammal observer collecting shipboard data, and has analyzed and mapped large datasets from aerial surveys and wildlife tracking networks. She leads the Atlantic Marine Bird Cooperative working group for Marine Spatial Planning, a multi-sector group of subject matter experts currently focused on developing guidance for compensatory mitigation of birds impacted by offshore wind energy development.
Brian Hooker, Biology Team Lead, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
- Brian Hooker is the Biology Team Lead within the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s Office of Renewable Energy Programs (BOEM). BOEM is the lead Federal permitting agency for offshore wind energy projects in the U.S. Hooker began working with BOEM’s Office of Renewable Energy Programs in 2010 to aid in the assessment and study of environmental impacts from offshore renewable energy along the U.S. Atlantic seaboard. Hooker is a native of Newport News, Virginia. He graduated from Lynchburg College in Virginia with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science in 1996 and earned a degree of Master of Environmental Management from Duke University in 2002.
Suedeen Kelly, Partner, Jenner & Block LLP
- Suedeen Kelly is a highly recognized energy practitioner and former commissioner with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). As Co-Chair of Jenner & Block’s Energy Practice, Kelly represents various clients in the electric and natural gas industries on business, regulatory, litigation, enforcement and policy matters such as electricity and gas markets, renewable energy, electricity transmission, natural gas and oil infrastructure, LNG, electricity reliability standards, hydro licensing, carbon emissions, smart grid, and energy efficiency. Nominated by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama to three terms as a FERC Commissioner, Kelly resolved 7,000 disputes, authored 100 separate statements, and spearheaded change in regulatory policies. Kelly also served as regulatory counsel for the California Independent System Operator, worked as a legislative aide to Senator Jeff Bingaman, and served as chairwoman and commissioner for the New Mexico Public Service Commission.
Francine Kershaw, Senior Scientist, Natural Resources Defense Council
- Dr. Francine Kershaw uses the best available scientific information to advocate for improved protections for marine mammals related to a variety of issues, including ocean noise, vessel strikes, and bycatch. She leads NRDC's work to end large whale entanglements and dedicates a large part of her portfolio to advancing responsible offshore wind development. Kershaw is an active member of the NOAA Atlantic Scientific Review Group, the NYSERDA Environmental Technical Working Group for offshore wind, the IUCN Joint WCPA/SSC Marine Mammal Protected Area Task Force, and the GEO BON Genetic Composition Working Group. She holds a bachelor's degree in zoology from the University of Leeds, a master's degree in biodiversity, conservation, and management from the University of Oxford, and a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology from Columbia University, and is currently based in Charleston, South Carolina.
Katharine Kollins, President, Southeastern Wind Coalition
- Since 2015 Katharine has managed SEWC’s programming across 11 states working with a wide variety of stakeholders to promote land-based, offshore, and imported wind power. Prior to SEWC, Kollins worked in various capacities at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, First Wind, The Wind Alliance, and Research Triangle Institute. Kollins is a 2009 graduate of the Nicholas School of the Environment and the Fuqua School of Business. Kollins currently resides in Chapel Hill with her family and looks forward to returning to Durham when her kids graduate from high school!
Katie Kross, Managing Director of the Center for Energy, Development, and the Global Environment (EDGE) at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business
- Katie Kross helps lead the Center’s education, thought leadership, and industry engagement efforts. With 15 years of education experience, Katie manages many of EDGE’s extracurricular and experiential learning programs for students and helps convene cross-campus annual events like “Women in Energy,” one the highlights of the year for many students. With EDGE executive director Dan Vermeer, she provides editorial oversight for the Center’s “MBA EDGE” knowledge platform (www.mba-edge.com), which houses free original white papers for business audiences on topics like “Markets to Watch: Offshore Wind” and “ESG Investing: What Every MBA Needs to Know,” among many other topics.
Allan Marks, Partner, Milbank LLP
- Allan Marks is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Milbank LLP and a member of the firm’s Global Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance Group, as well as the firm’s Private Equity, Renewable Energy, Latin America, and Global Risk & National Security practices. Mr. Marks is one of the world's leading project finance lawyers, with deep expertise for over 30 years across many sectors: power and renewable energy, transportation, airports, rail, port terminals, water, fuels, social infrastructure, and telecommunications and digital infrastructure. Many of his matters for clients focus on the energy transition, clean and renewable power, alternative fuels, ESG and sustainability. He currently represents the sponsors of over 3.3 GW of offshore wind energy projects under development on the U.S. Atlantic Coast. His practice encompasses private equity, mergers & acquisitions, acquisition finance, capital markets and private placements, international and cross-border business transactions, public-private partnerships, joint ventures, restructurings, construction, banking and regulatory matters. Mr. Marks advises sponsors, investors, lenders, underwriters, governments, and other sophisticated institutional clients on innovative financing structures, contractual risk allocation, and legal and commercial strategies to enhance the value and resilience of complex infrastructure projects worldwide. He is also the host of the Law, Policy & Markets podcast and a contributor to Forbes and other publications.
Laura Morton, Partner, Perkins Coie, LLP
- Laura Morton advises at all stages of major offshore wind projects, including environmental review and permitting required for generation, transmission, and related infrastructure. Morton also helps clients navigate government regulatory review and permitting of other infrastructure, including onshore wind, solar, and electric transmission resource projects. Morton previously served as the senior director of policy and regulatory affairs for offshore wind at American Clean Power, where she led the association’s work on a wide range of issues surrounding the leasing and permitting process and multiple-use compatibility in the ocean environment, including commercial fishing, maritime traffic, wildlife and other marine resources, and transmission. Before ACP, Morton served for seven years in leadership positions at the Department of Energy, the White House, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, practiced energy and environmental law for ten years in the private sector.
Brian Murray, Interim Director, Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability at Duke University
- Dr. Brian Murray is widely recognized for his work on the economics of energy policy, particularly as it relates to efforts to mitigate climate change risk. This includes the design and assessment of market-based instruments such as carbon tax, cap-and-trade, and tradable performance standards, as well as policies affecting the markets for bioenergy and other renewables. Murray is among the original designers of the allowance price reserve approach for containing prices in carbon markets that was adopted by California and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) cap-and-trade programs and served on a National Academy of Science panel to examine the effects of the U.S. federal tax code on energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. He was a convening lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report on greenhouse gas mitigation from land use change. Throughout his more than 30-year research career, Murray has produced many peer-reviewed publications on topics ranging from the design of market-based environmental policies and the effectiveness of renewable energy subsidies to the evaluation of programs to protect natural habitats such as forests, coastal and marine ecosystems.
Doug Nowacek, University Professor in the Nicholas School of the Environment and the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University
- Nowacek earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1991 and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1999. Nowacek has focused on the bioacoustics and behavioral ecology of marine mammals, primarily cetaceans, for over 30 years, and his work also includes technology development for marine conservation research. In his joint appointments in the Schools of Environment and Engineering, Nowacek works to bring new technologies to compelling marine science and conservation research questions. One of the current marine conservation issues that is an emphasis of his work is ocean noise and its impacts on marine animals, particularly mammals but also fish and turtles. Nowacek has authored or co-authored more than 100 papers in the peer reviewed literature, publishing in top journals such as Science, Nature, Proceedings of the Royal Society, and the Journal of Experimental Biology.
Hakan Ozmen, Executive Vice President Projects Business & CEO, Prysmian Powerlink
- Hakan Ozmen has been Executive Vice President Projects Business and Chief Executive Officer at Prysmian Powerlink S.r.l. since June 2018. After graduating as Industrial Engineer, he began his career in 1993 as Internal Audit Manager and Corporate Secretary at Siemens AS in Istanbul. In August 1999, Ozmen achieved an MBA at Yeditepe University in Istanbul. He joined Pirelli SpA in September 1999, whose activities were Internal Audit Management for the region EMEA and completed audits in Germany, Italy, Finland, UK, Turkey, Romania and Check Republic. In January 2001, Ozmen became Chief Financial Officer & Board Member at Turk Pirelli in Istanbul and later becoming President. After holding the position of Global Director of Prysmian Telecom at Prysmian Cavi & Sistemi for two years, he was President & Chief Executive Officer of North America at Prysmian Group from 2011 to May 2018.
Charlie Papavizas, Partner, Winston & Strawn LLP
- Constantine (Charlie) Papavizas is a partner in the international law firm of Winston & Strawn LLP resident in Washington, D.C. and is the chair of its maritime practice group. Papavizas is listed in a number of legal guides as a leading shipping lawyer including Chambers USA. Papavizas represents ship owners, operators and managers, shipyards, energy companies, marine construction companies, financial institutions and a variety of other interests in the world-wide maritime and energy industries. Papavizas has authored a number of articles on a variety of topics including offshore wind development and the Jones Act. Papavizas is also the co-author of the Practising Law Institute’s Maritime Law Answer Book and has been quoted in a number of publications on a variety of shipping topics.
Manisha Patel, Deputy Executive Director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council)
- Ms. Patel has over two decades of experience developing and implementing regulations, policies, and guidance for public agencies and the private sector to deliver infrastructure projects effectively and efficiently, while protecting our natural resources and producing positive outcomes for our communities. Prior to joining the executive staff at the Permitting Council, Ms. Patel was a Vice President at WSP, a global engineering services firm. Her former federal service includes serving as the Deputy General Counsel for the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and as a senior leader in EPA's Office of General Counsel. She was one of the early architects of FAST-41.
Josh Robichaud, Associate, Bracewell LLP
- Josh Robichaud represents clients in matters related to federal and state regulatory policies, regulations and rules applicable to the electric power industry. He has experience with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, including enforcement and compliance, centralized energy and capacity markets, and transmission and interconnection matters. He also has experience with state and federal policy issues relevant to the development of offshore wind, including various state solicitation processes and wholesale power market developments relevant to the industry. Prior to joining Bracewell, Robichaud worked as a legal intern for the Environmental Protection Agency, a legal fellow for the American Wind Association, and the operations manager of a renewable energy certificate broker.
Emily Shumchenia, Director, Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind
- Emily Shumchenia is the Director of the Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind (RWSC; rwsc.org) and Manager of the Northeast Ocean Data Portal (northeastoceandata.org). RWSC was collaboratively established in 2021 and is led and funded by federal agencies, states, offshore wind companies, and non-governmental organizations with the common priorities of sharing information, standardizing data collection and monitoring protocols, defining key scientific research needs, and amplifying the results of existing and ongoing research related to offshore wind and wildlife along the U.S. Atlantic coast. As Northeast Ocean Data Portal Manager, Shumchenia is responsible for engagement around ocean data development and use in decision-making with agencies, industry, the research community, and other stakeholders, including around offshore wind. Shumchenia holds a Ph.D. in oceanography from the University of Rhode Island.
Kristoffer Svendsen, Senior Research Fellow, Tulane Center for Energy Law, and Associate Professor of Law, University of Stavanger
- Dr. Kristoffer Svendsen, Esq. joined the University of Stavanger in 2020 and the Tulane Center for Energy Law in 2021. His scholarship centres around the interaction between international and domestic energy issues. He has written extensively about liability and compensation for oil spill pollution. His recent book relates to applying mutual indemnity and hold-harmless clauses in various jurisdictions globally. He is currently the editor and author of the handbook on offshore wind law.
Mary Yang, Special Advisor, Office of FERC Commissioner Allison Clements
- Qingliu (Mary) Yang advises FERC Commissioner Allison Clements on a range of legal and policy matters, including transmission planning and cost management. Prior to her current role, Yang practiced as an energy and environmental litigator at a private firm and at FERC. Yang is a graduate of Brown University and Columbia Law School.
