Emeka Anyanwu, CEO, Lincoln Electric System

Anyanwu became CEO of Lincoln Electric System (LES) – the municipal public utility serving Lincoln, Nebraska and surrounding communities – in January 2024. Prior to LES, he served as Energy Innovation & Resources officer at Seattle City Light, one of the nation’s largest community-owned, not-for-profit utilities. In that role, he was responsible for leading strategic functions that included utility technology (IT/OT), information security, electrification, grid modernization, and current and future power resource strategy. Earlier in his career, Emeka spent 16 years at Kansas City Power & Light (now Evergy) in various roles, starting as a Distribution Engineer and moving into progressive leadership roles in T&D operations.

Emeka has been an active participant and contributor in industry discussions throughout his career. He has spoken at a variety of industry events and engaged with several technical and trade organizations. He has served on industry Boards including the Public Power Council, the Public Generating Pool, and Energy Northwest, as well as non-profit Boards for Genesis School and The Family Conservancy. He has also served on the External Advisory Committee for the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department at Iowa State University. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for GridForward and the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce. His recent awards include the Smart Electric Power Alliance’s Individual 2021 Power Player of the Year and the Energy Thought Summit’s 2023 Thought Leader of the Year.

Emeka has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University and a Master of Business Administration from Rockhurst University. He and his wife Brandy have been married since 2015 and have three energetic kids.

Jon Blumenthal, Chair, Mcgrath North

Jon Blumenthal chairs the Real Estate Practice Group at McGrath North in Omaha, Nebraska.  Jon has 30 years of experience in providing a wide range of real estate legal services including the purchase and sale of real estate, construction planning, financing, foreclosures, leasing, finance, and renewable energy matters.  Between 2008-2012, Jon helped his client launch the first utility-scale wind energy projects located in the State of Nebraska. Jon is a distinguished fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America, Great Plains Super Lawyers, and Chambers USA.  McGrath North is a full-service law firm of 74 attorneys located in the First National Tower in Omaha, Nebraska.

Christopher Cook, Director of Operational Efficiency, ISI

Chris joined ISI Solar in 2023, bringing extensive expertise in solar operations, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and EV charging from his leadership roles at a leading residential solar company in Hawaii. In addition to overseeing operational efficiency, Chris leverages his unique background to drive ISI Solar’s business development and consulting services. Holding an MS and PhD in Statistics, Chris delivers data-driven, techno-economic modeling for large-scale solar projects. His insights empower clients to meet their sustainability goals while advancing ISI Solar's mission to transform energy solutions with quality and ingenuity.

Dr. Jonny Rogers, Ceo, Persimia

Dr. Jonathan Rogers is the CEO of Persimia and also the Lockheed Martin Professor in the School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech. He holds MS and PhD degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech, and a BS degree in Physics from Georgetown University. Dr. Rogers is a leading aerospace researcher with nearly 20 years of experience in modeling and simulation of air vehicles, control design, and ballistics analysis. He has led research projects on projectile and ballistics modeling for NASA, the US Air Force, US Army, US Navy, and other aerospace organizations. Dr. Rogers is a leading expert on modeling and simulation of blade and ice throw fragments from wind turbines, and has been retained as a subject matter expert (SME) on this topic by local zoning boards and wind farm developers. He has also studied aviation flight safety in the vicinity of wind farms, leading flight studies to document the effects of wake turbulence on aircraft. Dr. Rogers has served as an SME in permitting processes and judicial hearings in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Montana, Michigan, New York, and other locations across the US and Canada. He has authored several archival peer-reviewed publications on the topic of blade throw modeling and aircraft turbulence in wind turbine wakes in top wind energy journals. He also authored sections of IEC 61400-31, an international standard on wind farm siting risk assessment processes.

In addition to serving as an SME to the wind energy industry, Dr. Rogers's company Persimia designs and builds custom drones used by wind farm operators for wildlife impact studies and blade inspections. These drones have completed over 2,000 flights at wind farms in Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois.

cASEY cATHEY, vICE pRESIDENT OF eNGINEERING, sOUTHWEST pOWER pOOL

Casey is a 21-year veteran of the power industry and a subject matter expert for energy markets, grid operations, and transmission planning. He was a leader in two energy market starts, the SPP Energy Imbalance Services market and the Integrated Marketplace. He has also operated and supported the Balancing Authority, Reliability Coordination, Tariff and Scheduling, and Transmission Operations functions. Casey and his team handle Transmission Planning, Generation Interconnection, Transmission Service, Modeling, Planning Compliance, Research & Development, and Resource Adequacy. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Louisiana State University, has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and has held a Professional Engineering license for sixteen years. 

Javier Fernandez, President & CEO, OPPD

Javier Fernandez has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of OPPD since 2021.  He joined the utility in 2017 as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. 

Fernandez came to OPPD from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), U.S. Department of Energy, in Portland, Oregon.  He had been with the federal power marketing organization since 2012, most recently serving as executive vice president and chief financial officer.  He previously served as senior vice president of Fixed Income Capital Markets for D.A. Davidson & Company and vice president of Public France for Seattle Northwest Securities Corporation.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City, a master’s degree in business administration from Yale University, and a Utility Management Certificate from the University of Idaho.

He currently serves as Board Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Omaha Branch, vice-chair of the Large Public Power Council, Board Chair of Habitat for Humanity Omaha, and is a board member for Ameritas, Bellevue University, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, and the Aksarben Foundation.

Thomas J. Kent, President & CEO, nppd

THOMAS J. KENT, President & Chief Executive Officer of Nebraska Public Power District. Mr. Kent was appointed President & Chief Executive Officer in May 2020. Tom holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has also completed the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (“INPO”) reactor technology course for utility executives at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined the District in May 1990 as an engineer at Cooper Nuclear Station and has served in many positions at the District through his career. He was appointed Vice President & Chief Operating Officer in May 2011. Mr. Kent is a veteran of the United States Navy and is very active in the electric utility industry and his community. He served on the Southwest Power Pool Members Committee and is currently serving as a Board member of the Nebraska Power Association, Nuclear Energy Institute, Electric Power Research Institute, The Energy Authority, American Public Power Association, Large Public Power Council, and the MidAmerica Council Boy Scouts of America. He and his wife, Dacia, live in rural Lancaster County, Nebraska, and they have two adult children.

JC Sandberg, Chief Advocacy Officer, American Clean Power Association

JC Sandberg is the Chief Advocacy Officer at the American Clean Power Association (ACP). He leads ACP’s state and federal advocacy, legal, and transmission teams. JC led the clean energy industry’s advocacy around the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), as well as industry efforts to shape IRA implementing rules and regulations.

Prior to joining ACP, Sandberg led global government affairs and policy at GE Renewable Energy. In this role, JC was instrumental in the global growth of the company’s onshore and offshore wind, grid, hydro, and storage businesses. Sandberg played an active role in the establishment of policy and regulatory frameworks enabling the accelerated deployment of renewable energy in domestic and foreign markets.

Sandberg began his policy career in 2001 as Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works where his portfolio included surface transportation, federal government response to the 9/11 attacks and a range of environmental issues. During his Senate tenure, Sandberg was a lead Senate negotiator on the $300 billion reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. Following his work on the Hill, he served as Counsel to the law firm of Baker Donelson where he advised clients on energy and infrastructure issues.

Sandberg earned his B.S. in Accounting from Brigham Young University and his J.D. from the University of Arizona.