Speakers
The Honorable Bud Albright
President & CEO
U.S. Nuclear Industry Council
The Honorable Clarence "Bud" Albright is the current President and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council (USNIC). Albright is also the former Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy where he provided leadership for energy and environmental programs, including: energy research and development; demonstration and deployment; environmental cleanup; and legacy management and radioactive waste management. He was appointed by President Bush and was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Prior to joining the Department, Albright served as Staff Director for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. Additionally, he worked as the Deputy Associate Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice. He earned his juris doctorate from George Mason University.
Dr. Carly Anderson
Partner & Principal Engineer
Prime Movers Lab
Carly Anderson is a Partner and Principal Chemical Engineer for Prime Movers Lab. As a chemical engineer, she performs in-depth due diligence into potential investments across areas including nuclear, solar, energy storage, water, agriculture, synthetic biology, and materials. She also supports portfolio companies in evaluating and overcoming key process design, scalability and implementation challenges.
Carly has supported new technologies through fundamental research, prototyping, and techno-economic assessments for applications across the energy, materials, industrial chemicals, bioproducts, and water treatment spaces. Carly brings 10+ years of experience in startups, technology development, and technical consulting to Prime Movers Lab.
As Senior Engineer at Mosaic Materials, Carly designed gas separation processes for bioenergy, oil & gas, petrochemical and carbontech applications using a new class of porous materials. Carly has also led fundamental research on creating electrical plasma devices for biomedicine and wastewater remediation, and on new characterization techniques for thermoelectric and battery materials. She began her career with Dominion Engineering, Inc., where she developed and deployed water chemistry and corrosion mitigation technologies for commercial nuclear plants.
Carly holds a PhD in chemical & biomolecular engineering from UC Berkeley and a BS in chemical engineering from Cornell University.
Dr. Sama Bilbao y León
Director General
World Nuclear Association
Sama Bilbao y León became the Director General of World Nuclear Association in October 2020. Previously, and since June 2018, she was Head of the Division of Nuclear Technology Development and Economics at the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency. In her role at the NEA, she led a team of analysts responsible for providing Member Countries with authoritative studies in the intersection of technology, innovation and economics in support of their energy policy decision-making. Since January 2020, she was also Head of the Technical Secretariat for the Generation IV International Forum (GIF).
From 2011, she was the Director of Nuclear Engineering Programs and Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). She was one of the key individuals involved in the creation and development of this thriving new Nuclear Engineering program. Sama was responsible for the academic and research aspects of the new VCU nuclear engineering program, including student and faculty recruitment, curriculum development, accreditation, funding, research collaborations, industrial partnerships, marketing, outreach, etc. She also taught undergraduate and graduate courses in areas such as thermal-hydraulics, heat transfer, multi-phase flow, nuclear reactor design, energy and environmental policy, economics of electricity production, etc. At VCU, she led an active research group including post-doctoral research associates, PhD, MS and undergraduate students, and was the principal investigator in several research and development, as well as educational grants, totalling about $4M.
At her departure from VCU in May 2018, Sama was also a member of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) National Accreditation Board, and the Chairman of the Board of the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium (VNEC). From 2008, Sama was the Technical Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Water Cooled Reactors Technology Development Unit and she was responsible for IAEA activities in support of the development and near term deployment of advanced water cooled reactors and their associated fuels.
From February 2001 until March 2008, Sama was a Nuclear Safety Analysis Engineer at Dominion Energy, where she worked on the development and licensing of new methodologies in core thermal-hydraulics and nuclear safety analysis in support of Dominion’s nuclear power stations. Sama is one of the seven founders of the North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NA-YGN), and served as Public Information Chair since its creation in 1999 until May 2005.
Sama is also an active member of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) since 1995, both nationally and locally (VCU student section and Virginia local section). Her dedication to spreading the good news about nuclear earned her the ANS 2002 Public Communications Award. In 2007 she received the NA-YGN Founder Award, the highest award given to an NA-YGN member, which rewards leadership, vision and dedication. In 2007, and again in 2010, Sama was elected to the national Board of Directors of the American Nuclear Society. In 2011, she received the ANS Mary Jane Oestmann Women’s Achievement Award. In 2014 she received an ANS Presidential Citation for her continuous dedication to ANS. In 2018 she was presented with the W. Reed Johnson Award for Extraordinary Contributions to the Virginia Section of the ANS. Sama is also a member of SNE, ASME, ASEE, SWE and WiN.
Sama, who is originally from Spain, holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s degree in Energy Technologies from the Polytechnic University of Madrid; a master's degree and a PhD in Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison; and an MBA from Averett University.
Mr. Salen Churi
Founder & General Partner
Trust Ventures
A Founder and General Partner at Trust Ventures, Salen is a leading expert on navigating the collision points of innovation and regulation. A former law professor at the University of Chicago and founder of its Innovation Clinic, he has advised startups on regulatory strategy across industries. Previously, Salen practiced law at the international law firms of Kirkland & Ellis and Sidley Austin, and advised low-income entrepreneurs in overcoming barriers at the Institute for Justice.
Mr. Chris Colbert
Chief Strategy Officer
NuScale Power
Chris Colbert is the chief strategy officer of NuScale Power, LLC, a position he has held since 2014. From 2011 to 2014 Colbert held the position of chief operating officer of NuScale Power, LLC.
Colbert joined NuScale from UniStar Nuclear Energy, LLC, where he was senior vice president for Projects and Services during 2007-2011. While at UniStar, Colbert was responsible for the deployment of the U.S. EPR at UniStar’s existing nuclear power plant sites and the provision of licensing and other project development services to other U.S. EPR projects.
Prior to joining UniStar, Colbert worked for a number of companies over nearly 15 years developing and financing over 6500 MW of fossil-fueled power projects.
Colbert began his career at GE Aircraft Engines as an engineer and later transferred to the General Electric Company Corporate Audit Staff.
A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a B.S. in electrical engineering and a minor in computer science, Colbert received an M.B.A. from the Walter A. Haas School of Business in Berkeley, CA. He is also a chartered financial analyst.
Mr. Greg Cullen
General Manager, Energy Services & Development
Energy Northwest
Greg Cullen joined Energy Northwest in 1993 and currently holds the position of General Manager of Energy Services and Development. In this capacity, Greg is responsible for the operation and maintenance of Energy Northwest’s non-nuclear generating plants and the calibration and environmental labs. In addition, Greg oversees the development of projects in a broad range of areas, including clean energy generation and storage, electrification, demand response, and support services.
Prior to joining Energy Services and Development, Greg held a variety of individual and management roles, including regulatory affairs, performance improvement, and several positions in support of the engineering, maintenance, and operation of Columbia Generating Station, the Northwest’s only operating nuclear energy facility.
Greg holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Physics from Northwest Nazarene University and a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington.
Energy Northwest is a joint operating agency serving the needs of public power by providing reliable, low-cost electricity while promoting public power activities in the region.
The Honorable Paul M. Dabbar
Under Secretary for Science
U.S. Department of Energy
The Honorable Paul M. Dabbar, the Department’s fourth Under Secretary for Science, serves as the Department’s principal advisor on fundamental energy research, energy technologies, and science, driving this mission through programs including nuclear and high energy particle physics, basic energy, advanced computing, fusion, and biological and environmental research, and direct management over a majority of the Department’s national labs and their world-leading user facilities. In addition, Mr. Dabbar manages the environmental and legacy management missions of the Department, addressing the U.S. legacy of nuclear weapons production and government-sponsored nuclear energy research. In addition, Mr. Dabbar is the lead for technology commercialization activities for the Department and its 17 national labs. During his time in government service, Mr. Dabbar has traveled to both the North and South Poles. He traveled to the North Pole by submarine to conduct environmental research while in the Navy, and to the South Pole in support of high energy physics astronomy missions by the Department at South Pole Station.
Prior to confirmation as Under Secretary for Science, Mr. Dabbar worked in operations, finance, and strategy roles in the energy sector. As a Managing Director at J.P. Morgan, leading various energy business areas, he has over $400 billion in investment experience across all energy sectors including solar, wind, geothermal, distributed-generation, utility, LNG, pipeline, oil & gas, trading, and energy technologies, and has also led the majority of all nuclear transactions. In addition, he had a senior leadership role for the company’s commodity trading business, including power, oil and gas.
Before joining J.P. Morgan, Mr. Dabbar served as a nuclear submarine officer in Mare Island, California, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He also served on the Department of Energy Environmental Management Advisory Board. He has been a lecturer at the U.S. Naval Academy, and conducted research at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Mr. Dabbar received a B.S. degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, and a master’s degree from Columbia University. Mr. Dabbar and his wife, Andrea, are the parents of two children.
Dr. Jake DeWitte
CEO and Co-Founder
Oklo
Jacob DeWitte is the Founder and the CEO of Oklo Inc., a Sunnyvale, CA based company developing and building small nuclear reactors. Jacob has been working with nuclear technology for nearly 15 years and has experience with nuclear reactor design and analysis, spanning a variety of reactors including sodium fast reactors, molten salt reactors, and next generation PWRs.
Jacob has worked at GE, Sandia National Labs, Urenco US, and the naval reactor research laboratories. At Sandia, Jacob worked on the Lab’s irradiation facilities, including a fast test reactor. He led core design on the PRISM sodium fast reactor while at GE. Jacob is originally from Albuquerque, NM.
He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Florida and his SM and PhD at MIT in nuclear engineering where he developed strategies to introduce high performance light water reactor fuels as part of long term capital asset management planning for nuclear power plants.
Ms. Aleshia Duncan
Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Nuclear Energy Policy & Cooperation
U.S. Department of Energy
Aleshia Duncan serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Nuclear Energy Policy and Cooperation in the Office of Nuclear Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. She has worked in various capacities in the international nuclear energy policy arena both domestically and abroad. Domestically, she has served a Foreign Affairs Specialist at the U.S. Department of Energy, supporting the Office of Nuclear Energy, managing bilateral and multilateral relationships on several continents.
Ms. Duncan has also completed two overseas posts. In 2016, she joined the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) in France, as the Policy Adviser to the International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation (IFNEC), where she coordinated the policies and programmes of its 65 member countries and four international organizations with the common goal of the safe, reliable use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. She continued in that role in 2017, in addition to serving as the Director General’s Senior Advisor for Multilateral Coordination and Secretary of the NEA Steering Committee until her departure at the end of 2018. From October 2010 to December 2013, Ms. Duncan was posted at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan as the Director for Nuclear Operations and served as a Diplomat in the capacity of Energy Attaché. Ms. Duncan had the opportunity to liaise with the Government of Japan regularly before, during and after its change in nuclear policies and was awarded the Secretary’s Honor Award for her efforts in supporting the coordination of the United States crisis response.
Ms. Duncan also has an extensive background in human resources in the areas of employee and labor relations, performance management, employee discipline and contract negotiation and administration.
Ms. Duncan holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Arts in Community Counseling from Trinity University in Washington, DC.
Ms. Heather Ferguson
Senior Vice President – Commercial Operations
Ontario Power Generation
As OPG’s Senior Vice President – Corporate Affairs, Heather Ferguson is responsible for all stakeholder outreach, government relations, Indigenous relations, and corporate communications activities in support of OPG business goals. Heather has more than twenty years’ experience in the resource development, energy and electricity sectors, which includes OPG’s VP of New Business Ventures & Electrification, VP of Environment, and Director of the Hydro Business Development Group. In these roles, she was instrumental in creating OPG’s electrification development group as well as assembling the company’s new nuclear team working to advance small modular nuclear reactors. As the hydro business development lead, Heather and her team successfully built northern power projects in partnership with Indigenous communities.
She also worked previously in the Calgary office of Golder Associates supporting clients from the mining and oil & gas sectors. Heather currently serves as a Director on the Boards of Atura Power, the Canadian Nuclear Association and the Council of Great Lakes Region.
She holds an undergraduate and Master's degree in Science from Queen's University, as well as an MBA from the Rotman School of Management.
Mr. William Fork
Partner
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Will Fork represents electric utilities and companies on international energy transaction, export control, nuclear liability and domestic regulatory issues. Will assists clients regarding the regulation of international nuclear power plants, nuclear vendor procurement, and agreements for the construction, operation and fueling of nuclear power units. He has served as the General Counsel of a civil nuclear power program and attended the International School of Nuclear Law in Montpellier, France.
Mr. Jeremy B. Harrell
Managing Director - Policy
ClearPath
Jeremy is a Managing Director at ClearPath, where he leads public policy development and promotion efforts. He has nearly a decade of experience advising congressional leaders on energy, environmental, national security, tax, technology, and transportation policy.
Before joining ClearPath in April 2017, Jeremy was a Senior Policy Advisor to Sen. Dean Heller. In that role, he spearheaded the Nevada Republican’s efforts on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; and the Finance Committee’s energy subcommittee. He was also the Legislative Director for Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and a Legislative Assistant and Communications Assistant for Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio).
He earned his B.A. in Political Science and History from Miami University, and he is an M.B.A. Candidate from New York University Stern School of Business.
Dr. Lauren Hartle
Associate
PRIME Impact Fund
Lauren Hartle is an Associate at Prime Impact Fund, with responsibility to source investment opportunities broadly, manage the Fund’s investment pipeline, and support investment diligence. Lauren joined Prime Impact Fund from a postdoctoral scholar role at Tufts University where she focused on novel inorganic absorber layers for photovoltaic cells. Prior to her doctoral studies, she worked in R&D at AlphaVax, a vaccine development start-up. Lauren holds a B.S. in Physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as well as a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard, where she developed the Energy 101 short course and led the Energy Journal Club.
Ms. Laura Hermann
Executive Officer
Potentiary
Laura Hermann is a writer, trainer and strategist. After seven years at PCG, she became a partner at the firm in 2013. She focuses on communication challenges that are unique to large-scale, long-term infrastructure projects. Laura works with clients across the fuel cycle, including nuclear operators, suppliers, national laboratories and international utilities in newly liberalized markets. She builds capacity within diverse organizations to prepare strategic communication plans that respond to controversial issues while strengthening public acceptance, stakeholder confidence and investor support. Laura holds a master’s degree from Northwestern University in Illinois and a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University Chicago. She chairs the communication committee of the American Nuclear Society and serves as a designee to the American Association of Engineering Societies.
Dr. Gary Hoogeveen
President and CEO
Rocky Mountain Power
Gary Hoogeveen, 52, is president and CEO of Rocky Mountain Power. He is responsible for the company's transmission and distribution operations, customer service, regulatory and legislative affairs in Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. Hoogeveen is additionally responsible for PacifiCorp’s coal fueling and mining operations as well as thermal generation operations.
Prior to his current position Hoogeveen served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Rocky Mountain Power and President and Chief Executive Officer of Kern River Gas Transmission company for four years. He joined Kern River after serving as Vice President of Customer Service and Business Development for Berkshire Hathaway Energy subsidiary Northern Natural Gas Company. Prior to joining Northern Natural Gas, he held various management positions at Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
Hoogeveen currently serves on the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors, the EDCUtah Board of Advisors the Envision Utah Board of Directors and the Utah Sports Commission Board of Trustees. While in Omaha, he served as a member of the Executive Board of Directors of the Omaha Metropolitan YMCA, and was a Charter Board member of the non-profit CREATE Foundation based in Omaha. He dedicates his time to others within the company through both formal and informal mentoring.
Hoogeveen earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the University of Northern Iowa, and a Ph.D. in space physics from Rice University.
Mr. Douglas Hunter
CEO and General Manager
Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (“UAMPS”)
Mr. Douglas Hunter is the Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (“UAMPS”). Mr. Hunter joined UAMPS in December of 1983 and is a 36-year veteran of the electric utility industry. Prior to his appointment as General Manager in 1995, he served as Assistant General Manager and Manager of Municipal Resources of UAMPS.
Mr. Hunter holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Utah State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of California, Davis. He has served as past Chair of the American Public Power Associations (APPA) Executive Committee and has served on the APPA Board of Directors.
Mr. Simon Irish
Chief Executive Officer
Terrestrial Energy
Simon Irish is Chief Executive Officer of Terrestrial Energy Inc. He has 20 years of global investment banking and investment management experience in New York and London. He has a formal education in the quantitative sciences and quantitative finance and has established and managed multi-billion-dollar alternative investment businesses in North America.
Mr. Irish is the former Head of Man Global Strategies (MGS) in North America, the strategic investment division of Man Group Plc, a leading global investment management business. During his tenure at Man, Mr. Irish was responsible for building and managing the largest and most active strategic investment and managed account business in North America. Mr. Irish was a member of the Investment Committee and responsible for corporate acquisition opportunities in North America for Man Group Plc.
Mr. Irish began his banking career at Credit Suisse in London and in 2001 moved to New York as Director of FRM, the London-based investment firm, to establish its U.S. business.
In 2010, he focused on opportunities in breakthrough energy technologies and in particular nuclear energy given its unparalleled energy density and the commercial potential of advanced reactor technologies.
Mr. Irish holds an MA in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University and an MSc in Finance from the London Business School.
Mr. Ramzi Jammal
Executive Vice-President and Chief Regulatory Operations Officer
Regulatory Operations Branch
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Ramzi Jammal is the Executive Vice-President and Chief Regulatory Operations Officer of the
Regulatory Operations Branch of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. He has worked for the CNSC since 1998, holding progressively senior positions. He has accumulated over 20 years of experience in the nuclear industry, combining management skills with scientific expertise, and representing the CNSC in various international activities. These include the development and establishment of the IAEA Code of Conduct for the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources, and the international categorization of radioactive sources. He also played a key role in ensuring that the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiation Protection complemented the CNSC's regulatory needs.
Prior to joining the CNSC, Mr. Jammal was the Technical Manager of the Department of Radiological Sciences Nuclear Medicine Division at the Ottawa Hospital's Civic Campus. Under his leadership, the department became the first filmless nuclear medicine department in Canada. He has received several academic awards, including the North American Society of Nuclear Medicine’s First Place Award for new scientific advancements in nuclear medicine.
General Jack Keane
(U.S. Army, Retired)
President, GSI Consulting;
Executive Chairman, AM General;
Director, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments;
Former Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army
General Jack Keane is president the president of GSI Consulting. He serves as chairman of the Institute for the Study of War and the Knollwood Foundation, executive chairman of AM General, a director of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and the Smith Richardson Foundation, a member of the Commission on National Defense Strategy selected by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman, the late Senator John McCain, and a former and recent member, for 9 years, of the Secretary of Defense Policy Board. General Keane is also a Trustee Fellow of Fordham University, and an advisor to the George C. Marshall Foundation.
General Keane, a four-star general, completed over 37 years of public service in December 2003, culminating in his appointment as acting Chief of Staff and Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army. As the chief operating officer of the Army for over 4 years, he directed 1.5 million soldiers and civilians in 120 countries, with an annual operating budget of 110 billion dollars. General Keane was in the Pentagon on 9/11 and provided oversight and support for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Since 2004, General Keane spent a decade conducting frequent trips to Iraq and Afghanistan for senior defense officials with multiple visits during the surge period in both countries directly assisting General David Petraeus. General Keane appears before Congress regularly, offering testimony on matters of foreign policy and national security, with his most recent testimony in May on ISIS: Post Caliphate. He serves as the senior strategic analyst for Fox News and speaks throughout the country on leadership and national security.
General Keane is a career infantry paratrooper, a combat veteran of Vietnam, decorated for valor, who spent much of his military life in operational commands where he commanded the famed 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and the legendary 18th Airborne Corps, the Army’s largest war fighting organization.
General Keane graduated from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Science degree and received a Master of Arts degree from Western Kentucky University. He is a graduate of the Army War College and the Command and General Staff College.
Mr. Cary Krosinsky
Lecturer
Yale University
Cary Krosinsky is Lecturer in the Practice of Management at the Yale School of Management and Lecturer and Faculty Adviser, Yale College on Energy Studies, Climate and Investing. He previously taught Yale College Seminars on Business, Innovation and Sustainability.
He also teaches the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Investing at Brown University, helping support the Sustainable Investment Fund within the Brown Endowment, and has been an MBA Lecturer at Concordia and Maryland and helped lead and design the RFK Sustainable Investing program at Columbia's Earth Institute.
Dr. Corey McDaniel
Chief Commercial Officer
Idaho National Laboratory
Corey McDaniel is the Chief Commercial Officer for the Idaho National Laboratory. Prior to this, he served as the VP for Business Development at the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories. Before this, he managed international and commercial cooperation for the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Nuclear Science and Technology Directorate. Corey also served as the lead laboratory coordinator for India to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the lead lab advisor to the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy International Cooperation.
Prior to INL, he served as VP for Asia in Hong Kong, China for a nuclear electrical supplier and in Mumbai, India as the international director of NuScale Power, a small modular reactor (SMR) company. Corey secured and managed the delivery of replacement safety class (1E) cables to KHNP’s Shin Kori 3 & 4. He also facilitated 1E cable deliveries to China and the UAE and opened the Japanese market to U.S.-supplied cables for the first time. Corey facilitated MOUs with China’s largest nuclear utility and India’s largest nuclear EPC during visits to more than a dozen Asian and European countries.
Dr. McDaniel spent 5 years in the U.S. Senate as a legislative director and energy policy advisor to three Senators from Idaho and Arizona. Corey began his career as a nuclear safety analyst performing PRA and thermal-hydraulic research at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
He received his doctorate in environmental science and public policy from George Mason University and his bachelors and master’s degrees in nuclear engineering from the University of New Mexico and Purdue University respectively.
The Honorable Jeffrey Merrifield
Partner
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman;
Chairman, USNIC Advanced Nuclear Task Force;
Commissioner
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (1998 - 2007)
Jeffrey Merrifield is a partner in the Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP’s energy practice. Mr. Merrifield was appointed by President Clinton and reappointed by President Bush to serve on the five-member, Senate-confirmed, independent United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. During his tenure, which was from October 1998 to June 2002 and from August 2002 to June 2007, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission had a staff of 3,250 employees with a budget of $900 million and set all policies and rules that govern the safe and secure use of nuclear materials at the 104 U.S. nuclear power plants operating at that time.
Prior to joining Pillsbury, Mr. Merrifield served as President of The Merrifield Group, LLC where he provided energy and environmental consulting, advocacy and strategic advice for companies, organizations and individuals. Specific areas of focus included management, energy market analysis, nuclear, fossil and alternative energy policy and deployment, radioactive and hazardous waste disposal strategies, safety and regulatory assessment and analysis, as well as public and government engagement.
Before working with the Merrifield Group, Mr. Merrifield was the Senior Vice President of Global Business Development with CB&I’s Power Business Unit. While there, he led a team of twenty-five sales and proposal staff to develop and win over $1.5 billion in annual sales, including the first competitive, EPC combined cycle gas unit in over six years.
Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President for The Shaw Group, Inc.’s Power Group. As a member of the Power Group's executive team, he was responsible for overseeing the group's external relationships including nuclear business development, customer relations, strategic planning, marketing and communications, as well as government and regulatory affairs.
Mr. Merrifield also served on the Board of Directors for the U.S. Ecology Corporation, which is one of the largest U.S. operators of both hazardous and low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities. He served as the Lead Director and Chairman of the Governance Committee and was a member of the Compensation and Audit Committees.
Currently, Mr. Merrifield serves as the Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council’s Advanced Reactors Task Force. Composed of more than 70 companies, the Council is the leading business consortium advocate for new nuclear energy and the promotion of the American supply chain globally.
Mr. Andrew Paterson
Principal – Energy
Environmental Business International
An experienced Board Member and Project Manager with three decades demonstrated history of working in Energy, Finance, and Clean Tech industries. Andrew Worked nearly ten years at US Dept. of Energy (1997-2007) on a wide variety of Policy & Industry Analysis Projects. HeServed from 2009-2015 on the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (Finance Task Force).
Andrew has strong business development professional, accustomed to working in diverse teams under deadline. He is a Stanford Graduate (B.A., Human Biology & Economics), with MBA course work at the Cornell Graduate School of Business under a special program with Price Waterhouse.
Andrew Recently earned a Masters in Public Policy from George Mason University (2015), and was awarded Scholar of the Year tribute at GMU in that MPP Program (2013). He is Studying part time toward a PhD focused in Nuclear Energy Policy & Finance also at GMU - Schar School of Policy and Government.
Make presentation annually at Nuclear Industry Council on the "Global Arena".
Work on the board and contribute to the Environmental Business Journal, and Climate Change Business Journal for EBI (since 1990).
Mr. Joshua Posamentier
Managing Partner
Congruent Ventures
Joshua Posamentier is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Congruent Ventures. Joshua oversees Congruent’s investments in PolySpectra, Sense Photonics, Energetic Insurance, TeleSense, Bellwether Coffee, Xtelligent, ArcByt, Fox Robotics, and Emergy Labs. He has rich experience in venture (Prelude Ventures, Intel Capital) and operating roles (Intel, National Semi, TI), and entrepreneurship (CEO of Blipstream). He was an integral member of Intel’s first wireless chip team, started and ran National Semiconductor’s EV, Energy Storage and Smart Grid business units and initiated investment in several new business lines.
Joshua has over 50 patents issued or pending, holds a BA in physics from the University California at Berkeley, and holds MBAs from the Columbia Business School and the Haas School of Business. Josh is an avid cyclist, skier, sailor, surfer, and photographer and lives with his family in the SF Bay Area.
The Honorable Kimberly Reed
President and Chairman
Export-Import Bank of the United States
Kimberly A. Reed was sworn in as President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) on May 9, 2019. She is the first woman and first West Virginian to lead EXIM, an independent federal agency that supports American jobs – nearly 1.5 million jobs in all 50 states over the past decade – by facilitating the export of U.S. goods and services.
Reed has spent her 25-year career working in the public and private sectors and has led efforts focused on American job creation, trade, economic development, food and agriculture, and government reform. Reed most recently served as President of the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation where she collaborated with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and State to increase acceptance of U.S. exports in emerging market countries. At the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Reed headed the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, where she oversaw the award of $4 billion in tax credits, loans, and grants to financial institutions and economic development groups investing in distressed communities across the nation. She also served as Senior Advisor to U.S. Treasury Secretaries John Snow and Henry Paulson.
As counsel to three committees in the U.S. House of Representatives – Ways and Means, Government Reform and Oversight, and Education and the Workforce Committees – she focused on oversight and reform of federal agencies. Reed was also Vice President for Financial Markets Policy Relations at Lehman Brothers in New York.
Recognized as one of the "100 Women Leaders in STEM” and Washingtonian’s “Most Powerful Women in Washington,” Reed previously served as a Member of the Boards of the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Impact Movement, American Swiss Foundation, National Coalition for Food and Agriculture Research, Tax Coalition, and West Virginia Wesleyan College. She was the first woman elected as Chair of the Republican National Lawyers Association and is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Originally from Buckhannon, West Virginia, Reed earned her J.D. from West Virginia University College of Law and B.S. from West Virginia Wesleyan College. She is a Certified Association Executive (CAE), earned a Professional Certificate in Finance from the New York Institute of Finance, and has spent time in more than one hundred countries.
Mr. James Schaefer
Senior Managing Director
Guggenheim Partners
James Schaefer is a Senior Managing Director within Guggenheim’s Power, Energy and Renewables team and covers a number of electric and gas utility and renewable energy accounts for Guggenheim Securities. Mr. Schaefer brings to Guggenheim extensive expertise in energy‐related mergers, acquisitions and financing, developed over his more than 20 years in the financial services industry.
Prior to joining Guggenheim, Mr. Schaefer lead the Global Energy, Power and Renewables Practice at Blackstone. Prior to Blackstone, Mr. Schaefer was a Managing Director, Global Head of Power & Renewable Energy at UBS Investment Bank. Prior to UBS, Mr. Schaefer worked in the power groups at Lehman Brothers, Salomon Brothers and Chase. Mr. Schaefer has completed approximately $60 billion of strategic advisory assignments and over $30 billion of lead managed financings.
Mr. Schaefer graduated with honors in Finance and Accounting from the University of Michigan's MBA program and cum laude in Finance from the University of Vermont.
Mr. Douglas Schultz
Director of Origination, Loan Programs Office
U.S. Department of Energy
Mr. Douglas Schultz is the Director of Loan Guarantee Origination for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO). He leads LPO’s lending activities focused on innovative alternative energy projects in the U.S. including solar, wind, geothermal, biofuels, clean fossil, nuclear, and the related transmission and extraction infrastructure. An accomplished executive and proven innovator, Mr. Schultz has been active as a consultant, developer and lender in the energy and infrastructure sectors for over 20 years in the U.S. and abroad.
Prior to joining LPO, Mr. Schultz was a Senior Investment Officer at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). In the private sector, he was the Manager of Project Development and Finance at KMR Power Corporation, a global independent power company, directing the company’s development and financing of green field power projects and acquisitions throughout the Middle East, Asia and Africa. He was also a Principal Consultant at K&M Engineering and Consulting, an emerging market leader in public/private partnerships where he successfully advised governments and multilateral agencies around the world on privatization and Build-Own-Operate (BOO)/ Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project implementation. Earlier in his career Mr. Schultz was an expert consultant with the international management and economic consulting firm of Nathan Associates focusing primarily on the evaluation and structuring of large public and private infrastructure projects.
Mr. Sean Sexstone
Senior Vice President, Nuclear
Aecon Group Inc.
Sean Sexstone is Senior Vice President, Nuclear, responsible for strengthening project performance and building strong client-focused relationships for Aecon's nuclear group. Mr. Sexstone brings a diverse range of global energy industry experience in both domestic and international sales, as well as operations and management, with expertise in project management, supply chain, product line management and commercial development. He is recognized in the industry for fostering effective client relationships and leveraging innovation.
Prior to joining Aecon, Mr. Sexstone served as Global Vice President, Power, at Chicago Bridge and Iron, where he was responsible for the company’s Power Product Line, and previously served as Director, Strategic Alliances, at Entergy Inc., where he was responsible for vendor performance and supply chain across the second largest U.S. commercial nuclear fleet. Mr. Sexstone has also held leadership roles at General Electric in transmission and distribution, power generation and nuclear power.
He holds a Masters of Business Administration from Duke University and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from West Virginia University.
Mr. Dan Stout
Director, Nuclear Technology Innovation
Tennessee Valley Authority
Dan Stout is the Senior Manager, Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Technology for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). He is responsible for nuclear project development including managing the scope, schedule, budget and business planning associated with licensing and potential deploying up to four SMRs at TVA’s Clinch River Site in Oak Ridge, TN.
Mr. Stout has over 28 years of experience in the nuclear energy sector. He joined the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in April 2009 and assumed responsibility for TVA’s SMR program in 2012. Prior to TVA, Mr. Stout served as Director, Nuclear Fuel Recycling at the Department of Energy where he was responsible for planning and policy development regarding nuclear fuel recycling.
Prior to that, from 1991 to 2006, Mr. Stout worked in the uranium enrichment industry, predominantly at USEC Inc., with responsibility for R&D, engineering, and licensing of advanced uranium enrichment technologies and facilities. From 1985-1991 Mr. Stout served in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear submarine officer. He also served in the Naval Reserves in the Naval Special Warfare community from 1991-2007, retiring as a Commander.
Mr. Stout graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1985. He received his Masters Degree in Engineering Management from the National Technological University in 1997.
Ms. Elina Teplinsky
Partner
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Elina Teplinsky, a leading member of Pillsbury’s International Nuclear Projects team and Energy Industry Group deputy leader, focuses on international nuclear energy matters, including advice to U.S. and global clients on transactional and regulatory issues. Elina is a trusted advisor to nuclear owner-operators, reactor and equipment suppliers, investors, architect-engineering companies and technical consulting firms on complex nuclear transactional and regulatory matters. She frequently serves as lead outside counsel on new build projects, equipment and fuel procurements, M&A transactions and joint ventures in the nuclear sector. She has worked on transactions for more than 30 countries in North and South America, Europe, Turkey and the Middle East, Russia and the former CIS, Asia and Africa.
Elina advises clients on all aspects of the transactions, including: project strategy, structuring and risk allocation; drafting and negotiation of EPC, equipment and fuel supply agreements; mitigation of nuclear liability risk; adherence to multilateral and bilateral treaty requirements; and addressing nuclear trade and investments restrictions. She has advised several governments and government-owned organizations on the drafting and implementation of nuclear legislation and regulations.
Elina has vast experience in nuclear export control matters and is currently advising dozens of U.S. and global companies on all aspects of compliance with U.S. DOE regulations at 10 CFR Part 810, U.S. NRC regulations at 10 CFR Part 110 and the Department of Commerce Export Administration Regulations, including structuring and implementation of export compliance programs and addressing potential violations and securing licenses and advisory opinions.
Elina also advises a number of small modular reactor and advance reactor companies on commercialization of their designs, including securing investment and entry into strategic partnerships. Elina is a co-chair of the World Nuclear Association’s Law Working Group and is a frequent lecturer at the World Nuclear University. She has been recognized as an expert nuclear advisor by the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA), International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation (IFNEC) and Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). She serves on the policy committee of the Nuclear Innovation Alliance.