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.

stephen bruckner, attorney, fraser stryker pc llo

With over 40 years of experience at Fraser Stryker PC LLO, Stephen (Steve) Bruckner focuses his legal practice on energy, environmental, and natural resources law. He serves as lead counsel for a major Midwestern electric utility. His practice has included complex environmental cleanup, enforcement, and citizen suit litigation. Steve has extensive experience representing natural gas pipeline and distribution companies, including litigating rate cases before commissions, trial courts, and appellate courts.

Beyond litigation, he advises clients on major construction and development projects in the energy sector, such as power plant construction and renewable energy facilities. His practice also includes negotiating and managing purchased power contracts to support the evolving energy landscape.

Steve is a fellow at The American College of Environmental Lawyers and International Society of Barristers. He is rated AV® Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell® and has been recognized by Great Plains Super Lawyers® and Best Lawyers®, including being named Best Lawyers® Environmental Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Omaha (2014, 2018, 2024) and Litigation – Environmental “Lawyer of the Year” in Omaha (2024, 2026).

Barry DeKay, State Senator, Legislative District 40

Senator Barry DeKay is a fourth-generation farmer/rancher from Verdel, Nebraska. Prior to his service in the Legislature, Senator DeKay served on the board of the Niobrara Valley Electric Membership Corporation from 1999-2014; Nebraska Rural Electric Association from 2001-12; and Nebraska Public Power District from 2015-21. During his tenure with NPPD, he chaired the NPPD Nuclear Committee of the Whole from 2017-19 and chaired the NPPD Board of Directors from 2020-21. Senator DeKay was first elected to the Legislature in 2022 and will enter his second term in 2027. Senator DeKay is presently chair of the Agriculture Committee and vice-chair of the Natural Resources Committee. He is married to Brenda, and they have two children. 

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 Finance 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 Vice-Chair of the Large Public Power Council, and is a board member for Ameritas, Bellevue University, Children’s Hospital, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, and the Aksarben Foundation. Fernandez also previously served as Board Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Omaha Branch. 

JOHN HANSEN, PRESIDENT, NEBRASKA FARMERS UNION

John Hansen has served as the elected President of the Nebraska Farmers Union since 1990. In his 18th two-year elected term, Hansen also serves as Secretary for the NeFU Foundation and the NeFU PAC.

At the national level, Hansen serves on the NFU (National Farmers Union) Executive Committee, Budget and Audit Committee; Vice Chair of the Legislative Committee; and Chairs the Meritorious Service Committee. He also serves on the NFU Service Association Board, the NFU Political Action Committee Board, and the NFU Foundation Board.

He is the longest ever serving president of Nebraska Farmers Union and the NFU Board of Directors.

Hansen currently serves on USDA’s Nebraska State Technical Committee; Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Nebraska Farm Crisis Council; and on the Board of Directors for the Coalition for a Prosperous America.   

Hansen has served as Chair or Co-Chair of the Wind and Solar Conference since 2007. 

For his service, John has received awards from the Center for Rural Affairs, Nebraska Sierra Club, Nebraska Grange, Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society, Nebraska Wind & Solar Conference, U.S. Department of Energy, Nebraskans for Peace, American Corn Growers Association, Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District, Nebraska Rural Radio Association’s distinguished “Service to Agriculture” award in 2018, and the “American Energy Champion” award from the Advanced Power Alliance in 2024.

Thomas J. Kent, President & CEO, nppd

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.

Nelson falkenburg, director, siting solutions project, clean tomorrow

As the Director of the Siting Solutions Project, Nelson Falkenburg believes in finding fair and fast ways to build clean energy. A leader in state-level siting and permitting reform, he previously worked as a Senior Associate at Clean Air Task Force (CATF), where he helped shape practical solutions to speed up clean energy deployment. Before that, Nelson served as the Legislative Coordinator at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and as staff to the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee. Nelson’s experience in state government grounds his work in the practical realities and challenges of policy design and delivery—and he knows exactly how decisions made by policymakers ripple out to the people they affect.

molly Brown, Managing partner, genpro energy development

Molly Brown is Managing Partner at GenPro Energy Development in Piedmont, South Dakota. She leads distributed generation and community-focused energy development, bringing a quantitative economics background and 20+ years of renewable energy experience. Molly often operates as a one-woman development team—taking projects from early concept and system design through technical diligence and financial modeling—before coordinating delivery and construction with specialist partners. She has led municipal, community solar, and solar-plus-storage projects across the Midwest and Mountain West and is active in regional community leadership.

josie schafer, director, center for public affairs research, university of nebraska at omaha

Schafer joined the University of Nebraska at Omaha as the Director of the Center for Public Affairs Research (CPAR) in 2018, drawn to its strong history and reputation as Nebraska’s go-to source for expert data and analysis, particularly in their role as the State Data Center for the United States Census Bureau. Since then, she has focused on advancing the organization including growing the budget, fueled by cultivating community-engaged research projects, expanding community and professional development events, and committing to a communications strategy that aligns with CPAR’s action-oriented approach.

Recent projects lead by Schafer include the Entrepreneurship in Nebraska, Environment and Energy Workforce, Economic Impact of Nonprofits and policy analyses for the Planning Committee of the Nebraska State Legislature. Schafer gives over 40 invited presentations a year and responds to even more media and professional requests for Census data.

Steve Purdy, Technical director, engineering policy, southwest power pool

Purdy is the Technical Director of Engineering Policy at Southwest Power Pool, where he provides technical guidance on tariff and regulatory policy. A Registered Professional Engineer in Arkansas (#8399) and a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), he holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arkansas.

With over 35 years of utility experience, Purdy specializes in transmission and distribution planning, system protection, transmission service, and generation interconnection studies. He began his career as a Planning Engineer at Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation before joining SPP as a Lead Engineer for the Independent Coordinator of Transmission. Over his tenure at SPP, he has served as Manager of Transmission Service Studies, Manager of Generator Interconnections, and Principal Engineer of Grid Asset Utilization. Throughout his career, he has facilitated the development of SPP’s cluster study process for transmission service requests along with numerous enhancements to its generator study processes.

Mary Vaggalis, Managing Partner, nebraska strategies

A North Platte native, Mary Vaggalis is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the George Washington Law School. During her time in Washington D.C., she clerked for Senator Ben Nelson and the Senate Homeland Security Committee, before working for the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade after graduation. She also served as the United States-Canada Inter-Parliamentary Group Secretary. Since returning to Nebraska in 2015, Mary has practiced at Bruning Law Group, largely focused on government and administrative practice representing municipalities, natural resource districts, and private parties before various state agencies and local governments. She is also Managing Partner of Nebraska Strategies, a government affairs consulting firm, working on a variety of issues including economic development, technology, transportation, and energy policy.

Randi scott, government affairs specialist, oppd

Randi Scott serves as Government Affairs Specialist at Omaha Public Power District (OPPD), where she supports the district’s engagement with policy makers and stakeholders on legislative, regulatory, and public policy issues impacting public power and the energy industry at both the state and federal levels.

Randi brings extensive experience in Nebraska government to her role. Prior to joining OPPD, she worked at O’Hara Lindsay Government Relations, now Lindsay Harr MacDonald, representing clients in the energy industry before the Nebraska Legislature. She previously served as a legislative aide to Nebraska State Senator Brett Lindstrom, gaining firsthand experience with the legislative process and public policy development.

Randi earned a B.S. from Peru State College, an M.S. from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a J.D. from The John Marshall Law School, now The University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. She and her husband have three children, Sophia, Donovan and Aaron.

andrew howard, supervisor of resource & transmission planning, lincoln electric system

Andrew Howard is currently the Supervisor of Resource & Transmission Planning at Lincoln Electric System (LES), a publicly owned electric utility serving Lincoln and the surrounding communities. He presently leads efforts focused on the planning and coordination of reliable, efficient and forward-looking energy infrastructure. Since joining LES in 2021, he has obtained experience spanning both resource & transmission planning and project engineering which brings strategic perspective to addressing the evolving needs of the electric power grid. During his tenure he has overseen, led, and contributed to various initiatives related to transmission and resource evaluations that support transmission resiliency, ensure resource adequacy and meet LES’s environmental goals.

Prior to joining LES, Andrew earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He also has a decade worth of military experience serving in the United States Navy as an Electronics Technician and the Nebraska Air National Guard as an Electrical and Environmental Technician.

Raphael Martinez, director of Business relations, Sandhills energy

Raphael is passionate about cultivating genuine and sincere relationships, and as soon as you meet him, you’ll know he’s the ideal person to develop and maintain strong relationships with community stakeholders on your project.

From facilitating project development and operations to bringing a new perspective, his unique outlook allows him to connect with individuals from different backgrounds and walks of life. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Leadership and draws on his professional experience across multiple leadership positions to develop lasting partnerships.

Raphael’s collegiate soccer background at Purdue University Fort Wayne, coupled with his nine years of coaching experience at the collegiate level, demonstrates his commitment to teamwork.

nicole sedlacek, economic development manager, nppd

Nicole Sedlacek is the Economic Development Manager at Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), where she leads a team that is focused on efforts to prepare communities across Nebraska for growth and opportunity.

A Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), Nicole brings over two decades of experience in advancing rural and regional development.

Nicole is actively engaged in statewide leadership, elected to serve on the Northeast Community College Board of Governors, current President of the Nebraska Community College Association and a board member of the Nebraska Community Foundation Board of Directors. She is also a past president of the Nebraska Economic Developers Association.

She holds degrees from Northeast Community College and Bellevue University.

john cavanaugh, State Senator, Legislative District 9

Prior to his service in the Legislature, Senator Cavanaugh worked as an assistant public defender in Douglas County. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the Catholic University of America and both a Juris Doctor and Master of Arts in environmental policy from Vermont Law School. Senator Cavanaugh was first elected to the Legislature in 2020 and won re-election to his second term in 2024. He currently serves on the Urban Affairs; General Affairs; and Government, Military & Veterans' Affairs committees, having previously served on the Agriculture and Natural Resources committees. He is married to Kathleen, and they have four children.

candace meredith, deputy director, naco

Candace has served in county government since 1997.  After moving to Lincoln in 2000, she worked at Lancaster County Corrections and later transferred to the Lancaster County Treasurer’s Office where she was appointed as the Chief Deputy Treasurer in 2016. 

In January 2019, Candace joined the team at NACO as the Operations Manager.  To assist with the administration of the lines of business at NACO, Candace has earned a SHRM-CP certification; retains a Health Insurance Producer license; and is actively involved with the National Association of County Officials.

Candace now serves as the Deputy Director and provides support for county official continuing education, operational efficiency and strategic planning. 

Claire Burch, Scientist, Olsson

Claire Burch is a Scientist within the Utility Environmental Sciences team at Olsson. In her role, Claire works with clients on the planning and permitting of utility-scale wind and solar projects across the Great Plains region, working on projects from initial site due diligence through construction compliance and monitoring. She has also assisted municipalities, tribal nations, private organizations, and universities with evaluating solar feasibility at a commercial or community scale as well as assisting with grant applications to pursue funding for those projects. Claire is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Oklahoma in Geography and Environmental Sustainability, where her research focuses on the environmental permitting of utility-scale wind and solar development. She is actively engaged in outreach and education opportunities in the renewable energy sector, including her role as President-Elect of the Oklahoma Renewable Energy Council and her previous work managing a research experience for teachers on the University of Oklahoma’s campus. Claire is a new member of the Nebraska Wind and Solar Conference planning committee, joining this year.

JOSH MOENNING, Director, New Power Nebraska

Josh Moenning is director of New Power Nebraska, a state affiliate of the American Clean Power Association, and owns and operates a small business in the fields of renewable energy development and public affairs.  He served as Mayor of the city of Norfolk, Nebraska, from 2016 to 2024 and as a Norfolk City Councilman from 2012-2016.  He also assists his family's beef business and has two children. He's worked in the Nebraska Legislature, for the U.S. House of Representatives, and as executive director of the infrastructure development group 4 Lanes 4 Nebraska.  

paul brune, senior project manager, nppd

Paul Brune - Senior Project Manager at NPPD where he oversees the development of new transmission lines and leads major infrastructure projects from initial planning through design, permitting, construction, and energization.

Paul’s career began with NPPD in 1980 as a journey line technician in the Transmission Department. Since that time, Paul has advanced through various supervisory and management level roles across Transmission Operations, the Doniphan Control Center, Operations Support and Construction Services.

Paul holds an Electrical Technology Degree from Northeast Community College, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Master of Arts in Management from Doane College. Paul also maintains his Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

ron rose, renewable energy consultant, nppd

Ron Rose is a Renewable Energy Consultant for the Nebraska Public Power District. since 2005. Ron has supported pilot projects for Battery Energy Storage, Electric Vehicle Charging Stations, and PV Solar for NPPD. 

Mr. Rose graduated from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.

David d. rich, sustainable energy manager, nebraska public power district

Mr. Rich has been employed with Nebraska Public Power District for the past 39 years, currently serving as NPPD’s Sustainable Energy Manager. In this position, Dave is responsible for the development and implementation of NPPD's sustainable energy (renewable energy sources and energy efficiency) strategies. These strategies support NPPD's vision and mission by providing safe, cost-effective, and efficient sustainable energy in a manner that provides renewable energy to NPPD’s resource mix and promotes economic development in an environmentally sound manner.  

Dustin Marvel, Government & community Relations Manager, Omaha Public Power district

Dustin Marvel serves as the Government & Community Relations Manager at Omaha Public Power District (OPPD), where he is committed to delivering reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy to the district's 13 counties in southeastern Nebraska. With about 85% of this area being rural, Dustin strongly emphasizes the importance of Nebraska's agricultural resources by working to preserve the state’s heritage while addressing the increasing electricity demand.

With over 25 years of fostering community engagement and driving impactful initiatives nationally, Dustin’s robust background in public service and organizational training plays a crucial role in advocating for renewable energy projects from a public power standpoint throughout Nebraska. By working with local elected officials, the agricultural sector, and key community figures, Dustin has successfully empowered individuals and organizations to take an active role in their communities, emphasizing transparency and collaboration. His efforts have cultivated a culture of inclusivity and innovation within public power initiatives.

David L. Bracht, Of Counsel, Kutak Rock , Past Director, nebraska energy office

David has more than 30 years' experience in business, government and law, including private legal practice and senior executive experience in private industry and federal and state government agencies. He advises clients involved in renewable energy development including biofuels, biomass and wind energy, as well as agribusinesses and businesses involved in production and processing of agriculture products.

Previously David was appointed Director of the Nebraska Energy Office by Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts in January 2015. He was a member of the Governor's Cabinet and principal advisor on energy policy, managing agency operations including administration of annual grants of $5 million, a revolving loan energy loan program with $48 million in assets, and State Energy Program activities and various energy efficiency and renewable energy grant programs. He served as Director until August 1, 2018, and then re-joined Kutak Rock after having practiced with the firm from 1997 to 2000.