Leadership & Governance

Leadership

Paula Gant Headshot 801x600

Paula A. Gant, PhD

President and CEO

Read my bio

Quinton Ford Headshot Indoor 600x800px

Quinton Ford

Senior Vice President, Technology Development, General Counsel and Secretary

Read my bio

Ron Snedic 600x800px

Ronald Snedic

Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and President, GTI International

Read my bio

GTI Energy Sarah Boburka 400px

Sarah Boburka

Senior Vice President, Finance and Accounting

Read my bio

Paula A. Gant PhD

Dr. Paula Gant is President and CEO of GTI Energy, a leading technology development organization focused on designing and scaling low-carbon, low-cost energy transition solutions. She has a passion for building collaborative teams, aligning innovation with impact, and convening diverse stakeholders to pursue solutions to consequential energy system challenges. As Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil & Natural Gas and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, she oversaw technology research, national security and clean energy deployment programs for the U.S. Department of Energy. She has also held leadership roles for the American Gas Association and Duke Energy Corporation. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Energy Leadership Institute and is a graduate of McNeese State University in Louisiana and Auburn University in Alabama.

Quinton Ford

As Senior Vice President, Technology Development, General Counsel and Secretary, Quinton Ford leads a team providing legal guidance to GTI Energy and its subsidiaries regarding corporate governance, ethics and compliance, transactions and dispute resolution, employment relationships, and intellectual property. Quinton has held various technology commercialization and legal roles, including as an officer and director of numerous subsidiaries and equity holdings.

Prior to joining GTI Energy, Quinton held leadership positions in the manufacturing sector. He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a law degree from Loyola University Chicago and is admitted to the Illinois bar.

Ronald Snedic

As Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, Ron Snedic leads the effort to expand GTI Energy’s customer base and increase revenues from technology-based product and service offerings designed to solve for some of the world’s greatest energy challenges. Ron leads GTI Energy’s M&A activities and serves as President of GTI International which has three operating subsidiaries. He also oversees several business lines and shared service teams at the parent company including communications, business development, human resources and information technology. Ron is also the President of Operations Technology Development, NFP.

Ron earned a B.S. and an M.B.A. from NIU and has completed the Stanford Executive Program.

Sarah Boburka

As the Senior Vice President of Finance & Accounting, Sarah Boburka is responsible for optimizing financial performance and health across GTI Energy – managing its equity interests, investments, and capital structure, assessing and managing risk, and informing, developing, and implementing business plans and strategies. Sarah is passionate about employing culture and key business drivers to optimize performance and foster long-term organizational excellence, performance, and growth. Prior to joining GTI Energy, Sarah held leadership positions in the health and human services and financial services sectors. She earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Alaska.

GTI Energy Veronica Bernie 182 600x600px

Veronica Bernie

Senior Manager, Strategy & Business Planning

Read my bio

GTI

Erin Blanton

Vice President, Zero Emissions Systems

Read my bio

GTI Amber Carter 3663 400x400px

Amber Carter

Director, Human Resources

Read my bio

GTI Energy Kristin Cone 5402 600x600px2

Kristin Cone

Executive Director, Communications

Read my bio

Veronica Bernie

Veronica Bernie is Senior Manager for Strategy & Business Planning at GTI Energy, where she oversees the strategic planning process, spearheads the development and execution of forward-looking business planning activities, and enhances collaboration and operations across the organization including the Leadership Team.

Previously, she served as Chief of Staff to the President and CEO of GTI Energy, Paula Gant; Chief of Staff to the Executive Director at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy; and Associate Director of Outreach at the Council on Foreign Relations. Veronica earned her MSc in international migration and public policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Erin Blanton

As the Vice President of Zero Emissions Systems, Erin Blanton leads GTI Energy’s methane emissions mitigation solutions strategy and focuses on the role of natural gas infrastructure in facilitating energy transitions towards a net-zero future.

Erin joined GTI Energy from Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, where she led the Natural Gas Research Initiative and the Center's ESG research. She has extensive experience advising financial professionals on energy markets and investments. Erin holds a Master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a B.A. in economics from Cornell University.

Amber Carter

Amber Carter is the Director, Human Resources at GTI Energy. She takes the lead in understanding and identifying resource gaps and availability across the organization to align activities that require cross-business and cross-functional collaboration.

Prior to GTI Energy, she held various human resource and operation positions at Target Corporation, Hubbell Lighting, and Komatsu. Amber holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications from Western Illinois University and MBA from University of Phoenix.

Kristin Cone

Kristin Cone is the Executive Director of Communications at GTI Energy. She leads efforts to advance corporate communications and branding priorities for the enterprise.

Kristin is well-versed in developing strategic messaging, branding, and stakeholder engagement strategies for low-carbon initiatives and programs. Prior to GTI Energy, she spent more than a decade at the U.S. Department of Energy designing and implementing communications strategies and leading public relations teams. Kristin holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications, with a concentration in Journalism, from California State University Fullerton.

Anthony Eastland 400x400px

Tony Eastland

Senior Director, Research & Engineering

Read my bio

Lisa Foster photo

Lisa Foster

Director, Financial & Treasury Services

Read my bio

GTI Energy Dr Mohammed Hussain 6481 400x400px

Mohammed Hussain

Senior Director, Engineering Operations

Read my bio

Rebecca Jaffe 400x400px

Rebecca Jaffe

Chief of Staff

Read my bio

Tony Eastland

As Senior Director of Research & Engineering at GTI Energy, Tony ensures the quality and availability of engineering resources and infrastructure that support GTI Energy’s technology development projects. For more than 30 years, Tony has worked in the aerospace industry serving in a wide range of engineering roles, including applying aerospace technology for process intensification in the energy industry, a focus he has continued since joining GTI Energy.

Tony earned a BA in Engineering Science from Oxford University, and an MS in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Lisa Foster

As Director of Financial & Treasury Services at GTI Energy, Lisa Foster is responsible for oversight of enterprise-wide treasury and risk management, tax compliance, financial reporting and audit. Lisa is the Treasurer of GTI subsidiaries GTI International, Projeo Corporation, SunGas Renewables, and Rev Innovations as well as affiliates Operations Technology Development, NFP and Utilization Technology Development, NFP.

Lisa has held accounting and finance roles within the energy industry for over two decades. She holds a B.S. degree in Accountancy from Roosevelt University and an M.B.A from Northern Illinois University.

Mohammed Hussain

Mohammed Hussain is Senior Director of Engineering Operations at GTI Energy, where he leads pilot, lab, and field operations. Previously, he held engineering and managerial roles in the petroleum refining industry focused on pilot plant development and operations, process scale-up, laboratory management, research program management, process safety management, and refinery operations.

Mohammed earned a Bachelor of Technology degree in chemical and electrochemical engineering from the Central Electrochemical Research Institute in India, a MS in chemical engineering from the University of North Dakota, and a PhD in chemical engineering from Kansas State University.

Rebecca Jaffe

Rebecca Jaffe is Chief of Staff to the President and CEO of GTI Energy.

Previously, she served as Principal at Rev Innovations; Director of Strategy & Innovation at GTI Energy; Manager at Tesla Energy Products; and Project Development Engineer at First Solar.

Rebecca received her BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering and a minor in Energy & Water Sustainability from Rice University.

GTI Energy Rich Kaelin 168 600x600px

Rich Kaelin

Vice President, Government Relations & Business Development

Read my bio

Shannon Katcher Headshot 801x600

Shannon Katcher

Vice President, Digital Innovation

Read my bio

GTI Energy Tim Kingston 5890 400x400px

Tim Kingston

Senior Director, Research & Engineering

Read my bio

GTI Energy Jung Lee 400px

Jung Lee

Deputy General Counsel

Read my bio

Richard Kaelin

Rich Kaelin is Vice President of Government Relations and Business Development at GTI Energy, leading the organization’s government R&D activities and working to secure public and private funding of strategic R&D projects and programs.

Rich started his career in 1998 working for Congressman Peter Visclosky (IN -1). He held senior positions as the Appropriations and Legislative Director, and culminated as Chief of Staff, where he remained until 2003. Prior to joining GTI Energy, he was President of Rich Kaelin Consulting, a business development and legislative affairs. Rich has a Bachelor of Arts, Political Science degree from Gettysburg College, PA.

Shannon Katcher

Shannon Katcher is GTI Energy’s Vice President of Digital Innovation. Shannon develops a strategic approach to digital transformation and directs research efforts, product and service developments, and investment initiatives in the data services and analytics space related to energy systems. She holds deep knowledge of connecting the industry’s operational experiences and needs with research programs.

Shannon graduated from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign with a B.S. in Atmospheric Science and an M.S. in GIS & Remote Sensing. She is a licensed as a GIS Professional (GISP) and a Project Management Professional (PMP).

Tim Kingston

As Senior Director for the Research and Engineering team at GTI Energy, Tim leads a diverse group of engineers and scientists that deliver a broad range of early-stage research and innovation in technology development and deployment, commercialization support services, and technical market analyses for energy systems. Tim has a long legacy managing programs in the residential and commercial sectors, including building energy efficiency, carbon management, space conditioning, water heating, combined heat and power systems, building envelope, and integrated energy systems.

Jung Lee

Jung Lee is a Deputy General Counsel at GTI Energy. In this role, he leads a team providing legal guidance to GTI Energy and its subsidiaries. Jung is also the General Counsel and Secretary at a number of GTI Energy’s subsidiaries (Projeo Corporation and Frontier Energy, Inc.) and leads GTI Energy’s Proposal Center.

He started his legal career in the Corporate and Finance group of an AM100 law firm in Chicago and held several in-house legal positions prior to joining GTI Energy. Jung holds graduate degrees from the University of Illinois (J.D. and M.B.A.) and the University of Chicago (A.M.).

GTI Energy Jorge Pacheco 400px

Jorge Pacheco

Senior Director, Technology Operations

Read my bio

Lisa Rephlo

Senior Director, Project Management

Read my bio

Duncan Robinson 600x800px

Duncan Robinson

Vice President, Commercialization

Read my bio

Don Stevenson 600x800px

Don Stevenson

Vice President, Carbon Management & Conversion

Read my bio

Jorge Pacheco

Jorge is Senior Director of Technology Operations at GTI Energy, where he oversees Information Technology (IT) and Digital Product Development. His primary focus is on driving technological innovation and developing a digital strategy that ensures the infrastructure and services effectively support GTI Energy's growth and impact.

Previously, Jorge held various positions in engineering, research and development (R&D), and management within the turbomachinery industry at John Crane and Dresser-Rand. He was responsible for leading strategic technology development, managing R&D operations, building partnerships, and spearheading innovation in advanced materials, energy transition, and product development across multiple divisions and global teams.

Jorge earned his B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas, Venezuela, as well as his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.

Lisa Rephlo

As Senior Director of Project Management at GTI Energy, Lisa Rephlo leads efforts to develop and steward policies, protocols, best practices, and tools to support sound, efficient, timely, and cost-effective management of projects. She collaborates with business areas leaders and other managers to determine appropriate personnel competencies and staffing, utilization, and expense levels.

Previously, she served as the Director of Program Management at Woodward, a manufacturer of fuel systems and control products for natural gas, hydrogen, and ammonia. Her experience spans project and program management, consulting, construction, operations, IT, and engineering roles in energy and sustainability. Lisa is a certified PMP and earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Kansas State University, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Duncan Robinson

As Vice President of Commercialization at GTI Energy, Duncan Robinson drives efforts to commercialize and accelerate the deployment of technologies, processes, and scientific innovations needed for economy-wide, deep decarbonization post-2030. Duncan loves to delve into customer challenges and solve them through innovation, technology, and commercial ingenuity, with a philosophy of ‘serving with purpose.’

Duncan serves on the Board of Directors for Projeo, a GTI International subsidiary that advances safe, affordable subsurface solutions for the energy transition.

Duncan has almost 25 years of global experience with Schlumberger. His diversified business and energy industry experience help him guide teams through complex dealings, scaling growth, cultivating strategic partnerships, and fusing disparate interests to create win-win outcomes. Duncan earned an B.Eng degree in Electrical & Mechanical Engineering from The University of Edinburgh in the UK.

Don Stevenson

As Vice President of Carbon Management & Conversion, Don Stevenson leads GTI Energy's research, development and demonstration projects focused on increasing the affordability and improving the environmental performance of our energy resources through environmentally responsible energy production, application of energy conversion processes such as gasification, partial oxidation, reforming and advanced power cycles, and development of bioenergy and CO2 capture and utilization processes.

He has served in leadership roles at Rockwell International, The Boeing Company, and United Technologies Corporation. Don earned a B.S. degree in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering from the University of Washington and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Kristine Wiley 400x400px

Kristine Wiley

Vice President, Low Carbon Energy Solutions

Read my bio

GTI Energy James Zirkle 400px

James Zirkle

Deputy General Counsel

Read my bio

Kristine Wiley

Kristine Wiley leads the Low Carbon Energy business at GTI Energy. She is focused on mobilizing a collaborative team of technical experts that are developing strategies around integrated technology solutions that leverage existing energy infrastructure and transform how we use low carbon energy in residential, commercial, industrial, power and mobility applications to enable deep decarbonization. She also leads GTI Energy’s Hydrogen Technology Center which brings together diverse partnerships to deploy clean hydrogen generation, transport, storage, and utilization at scale to enable a hydrogen economy.

Kristine holds a BA in Biological Sciences from the University of Chicago as well as an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

James Zirkle

As Deputy General Counsel at GTI Energy, James Zirkle is responsible for providing guidance regarding a wide range of legal and contract matters, including areas relating to government contracts and intellectual property. He is also the General Counsel of GTI subsidiary Rev Innovations.

Prior to law school, James was an engineer in the telecommunications field. He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Northwestern University and a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.

GTI Energy Board of Directors, July 2024

GTI Energy is guided by a Board of Directors with members representing the natural gas industry and consumer interests. The CEO of GTI Energy is also a member of the Board.

Kelcey Brown

Ms. Kelcey Brown

President and CEO, MidAmerican Energy Company

Read my bio

ArthurC Corbin

Mr. Arthur Corbin

President and CEO, Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia

Read my bio

Tina Faraca

Ms. Tina Faraca

President, U.S. Natural Gas Pipelines

Read my bio

Dr Paula A Gant

Dr. Paula A. Gant

President and CEO, GTI Energy

Read my bio

(Ex Officio Director)

Kelcey Brown

Kelcey Brown serves as MidAmerican Energy Company’s president and CEO.

MidAmerican Energy provides electric and natural gas service to nearly 1.6 million customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The company owns and operates a diverse and growing portfolio of power generating assets, as well as an expanding transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Before joining MidAmerican, Kelcey was previously vice president of energy supply management for PacifiCorp, and she held several regulatory, commercial and operational roles for PacifiCorp since joining the company in 2011. She has experience in energy market trading, scheduling and real-time operations, as well as market policy research, contract administration and load forecasting.

Kelcey served on several state and regional technical committees in her prior role. Her educational background is in regulatory economics from the University of Wyoming, and she served in the U.S. Navy for five years, with most of her enlistment on board the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier.

Arthur Corbin

Arthur Corbin is President and CEO of the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia. He joined the Gas Authority in 1988 as Director, Gas Operations, was promoted to Vice President in 1989 and was named President in 1994. In 2003, the title CEO was added. The Gas Authority is a non-profit natural gas joint action agency serving 82 Member cities in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

The Gas Authority was formed in 1987 by an Act of the Georgia General Assembly to assist municipals that own and operate natural gas distribution systems. The primary function of the Gas Authority is to supply the entire natural gas requirements of its Members. The Gas Authority’s Members meet the gas needs of approximately 260,000 customers.

Before joining the Gas Authority, Arthur compiled 10 years experience with El Paso Natural Gas Company in the areas of Marketing, Planning and Gas Accounting. Arthur is active in various industry organizations and currently serves on the Boards of the, Gas Technology Institute and Southern Gas Association. Arthur received a BBA in Accounting and MBA from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Tina Faraca

Tina Faraca is President, U.S. Natural Gas Pipelines. Faraca is responsible for leading all commercial and operational matters across TC Energy’s regulated natural gas transmission and storage business.

Prior to her current appointment, Faraca was Senior Vice-President, U.S. Natural Gas Operations, Projects and Technical Operational Services with responsibility for the safe, reliable and sustainable delivery and operations of TC Energy’s 32,000 miles of natural gas pipelines in the U.S. In addition, her responsibilities included the project execution of new facilities associated with those assets.

Faraca first joined TC Energy in April 2020, as Senior Vice-President, Commercial, U.S. Natural Gas leading Commercial Operations, Business Development, Marketing, Rates & Regulatory, Strategy and Joint Ventures.

Faraca arrived at TC Energy from Enable Midstream Partners where she served as Chief Commercial Officer for the company’s natural gas transportation & storage, natural gas gathering & processing and crude oil businesses.

Prior to Enable, Faraca worked with Enbridge, and its predecessor Spectra Energy, in multiple leadership positions over the course of 18 years including Vice-President of Engineering and Construction, Vice-President of Corporate Strategy and President of Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline.

Faraca currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the United Way of Greater Houston. She is involved with numerous industry organizations and has served on the boards of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), the Texas Pipeline Association, the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma, the Northeast Gas Association and the Engineering Leadership Board for the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering.

Faraca received a Bachelor of Science in petroleum engineering from the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado.

Dr. Paula A. Gant

Dr. Paula A. Gant is President and CEO of GTI Energy, a leading research and training organization focused on developing and scaling low-carbon, low-cost energy transition solutions. She leads a diverse, agile, and mission-driven team that is working to embed impact in our environment, economy, and communities. With two decades of experience in leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), American Gas Association, and Duke Energy Corporation, Dr. Gant has a passion for building collaborative teams, aligning innovation with impact, and convening diverse stakeholders to pursue solutions to consequential energy system challenges. She is an established and respected thought leader in energy systems, markets, and security spaces.

Previously she served as GTI Energy’s Vice President of Strategy & Innovation, where she accelerated the development of technology-based solutions that enable safe, efficient, clean, reliable, and affordable energy systems. In previous private and public sector roles, Dr. Gant focused on the intersection of global trends in technology, markets, and policy, and the solutions needed to transition energy systems.

As a leader in the DOE, she led regulatory and R&D programs to deploy science, analysis, and technologies that leveraged the prudent production, environmental stewardship, and efficient use of America’s natural gas resources. Dr. Gant also led DOE’s efforts to enhance U.S. energy security and accelerate global adoption of clean energy technologies with key international governments.

She has a BA in economics from McNeese State University in Louisiana and a PhD in economics from Auburn University in Alabama. Dr. Gant has also served on the economics faculties of the University of Louisville and Louisiana State University.

Sumeet Singh

Mr. Sumeet Singh

Executive Vice President, Operations and Chief Operating Officer, Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Read my bio

John W Somerhalder

Mr. John W. Somerhalder II

Chair of the Board, FirstEnergy

Read my bio

(Vice Chair)
Jesus Soto

Mr. Jesus Soto

Executive Vice President, Quanta Services, Inc.

Read my bio

Nick Stavropoulos

Mr. Nick Stavropoulos

Safety Champion and Energy Industry Senior Executive

Read my bio

(Chair)

Sumeet Singh

Sumeet Singh serves as Executive Vice President, Operations and Chief Operating Officer | PG&E Corporation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

Sumeet Singh is Executive Vice President, Operations and Chief Operating Officer of Pacific Gas and Electric Company. He is responsible for all of the utility’s operations, including Gas, Electric and Generation, as well as the Safety and Wildfire & Emergency Operations teams. In this new role, he is seeking to further increase connectivity between risk and safety and the operation's landscape to enable operational execution excellence across the board.

Singh previously served as Executive Vice President, Chief Risk Officer and Chief Safety Officer, overseeing the company's integrated workforce health and safety strategy, its safety culture, and management of both operational risks such as wildfires, nuclear, dams, natural gas, natural disasters and non-operational risks such as cybersecurity, pandemic and others.

Singh has held a number of other leadership roles within PG&E, including serving as the Senior Vice President, Chief Risk Officer, and Vice President, Asset Management and Community Wildfire Safety Program. This program consists of measures intended to further reduce risk on PG&E's electric system and includes partnering with communities on wildfire safety and prevention efforts. Key facets include real-time monitoring and intelligence, new and enhanced safety measures, and system hardening and resiliency efforts.

Singh also served as Vice President of Portfolio Management & Engineering in PG&E's Gas Operations, responsible for planning, prioritizing and providing oversight of Gas Operations' portfolio of work. Additionally, Singh served as Vice President, Asset & Risk Management in PG&E's Gas Operations, responsible for overseeing all aspects of records management, developing a clear understanding amongst the workforce of codes and standards, identifying and managing risk based on a rigorous approach to understanding PG&E's natural gas system, and leveraging technology to enhance and streamline operations.

Joining PG&E in 2000 as an engineer, Singh also worked in various natural gas distribution and transmission engineering roles, as well as in the Finance and Energy Procurement functions.

Singh has also served as the Gas Safety and Integrity Officer at Picarro Inc., leading a global organization focused on the growth of an innovative technology based on hardware-enabled analytics informing asset management solutions to drive a safer and cleaner natural gas system by improving the overall risk spend efficiency.

Singh holds a bachelor's degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Business Administration degree from UCLA Anderson School of Management. He is a registered professional Civil Engineer in the State of California. Singh serves on the board of GTI Energy, a leading research and training organization focused on developing, scaling and deploying energy transition solutions.

John W. Somerhalder II

John W. Somerhalder II is non-executive chair of the Board of Directors of FirstEnergy Corp. He joined FirstEnergy in 2021 vice chair and executive director of the company, and served as interim president and chief executive officer from October 2022 to June 2023.

Prior to joining FirstEnergy, he served as interim president and chief executive officer of CenterPoint Energy, Inc., an electric and natural gas utility serving several U.S. markets, from February 2020 to July 2020, and served as a member of the CenterPoint Energy board of directors from 2016 through July 2020. Somerhalder also served as interim president and chief executive officer of Colonial Pipeline Company, a U.S. refined products pipeline company, from February 2017 to October 2017.

Prior to that, he served as president and chief executive officer of AGL Resources Inc., an energy services holding company in the southeastern United States, from March 2006 through his retirement in December 2015, and served as chairman of the company’s board from November 2007 until December 2015.

Prior to joining AGL Resources, Somerhalder served in a number of roles with El Paso Corporation, a publicly traded natural gas and related energy products provider, where he spent almost 30 years, starting his career as an engineer and progressing through leadership roles before being named president of El Paso Pipeline Group and executive vice president of El Paso Corporation.

He also previously held directorships with Gulfport Energy Corp., Crestwood Equity Partners LP, Enable Midstream Partners, LP, and SunCoke Energy Partners GP LLC.

Jesus Soto

Jesus Soto, Jr is the Executive Vice President of Quanta Services- Utility Performance Solutions which serves as the nexus for delivering construction led engineering, procurement and construction solutions to Quanta’s diverse electric power and pipeline customer base.

Soto was formerly the Chief Operating Officer for Mears Group, Inc. offering engineering & construction services to the oil & gas pipeline, gas distribution, telecom and pipeline integrity markets.

Before joining Quanta Services in September 2019, Soto was Senior Vice President of Gas Operations for Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) in San Ramon, California. He led the day-to-day operations of the second largest natural gas system in the United States providing gas service to 16 million people in Northern and Central California. Soto was also responsible for overseeing PG&E’s Aviation Services, Supply Chain and Cyber and Physical Security.

Before joining PG&E in May 2012, Soto served as Vice President of Operations Services and Vice President of Engineering & Construction for El Paso Corporation’s Pipeline Group in Houston, Texas. He led the technical services functions for pipeline operations and the engineering and construction programs for ANR Pipeline, El Paso Natural Gas, Colorado Interstate Gas, Southern Natural Gas and Tennessee Gas Pipeline for onshore and offshore facilities.

Soto holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso, a master’s degree in civil engineering from Texas A&M University, and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix.

Nick Stavropoulos

Nick Stavropoulos, Safety Champion and Energy Industry Senior Executive career in the U.S. and international energy industry spans four decades. Prior to retiring from California-based Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) in 2018, he served as president and chief operating officer (COO). He and more than 23,000 employees — across gas, electric, generation, and nuclear operations and other corporate support functions — were responsible for the end-to-end delivery of safe, reliable, affordable, and clean gas and electric service to 16 million customers across PG&E's 70,000 square mile service area. More notably, he was chosen to strengthen the company’s safety culture and lead the multi-billion-dollar recovery and restoration effort to enhance PG&E’s natural gas system after the tragic 2010 San Bruno explosion.

He is a passionate advocate for helping keep communities, customers, and employees safe, which Stavropoulos maintains must start with having a strong safety culture and clearly defined measurements and standards. While at PG&E, he championed independent, third-party verification of the company’s gas system from a number of different global organizations. Under his leadership, PG&E’s gas business earned or qualified for international certifications including ISO 55000, PAS 55001, API RP 1173, and RC 14001.

Stavropoulos is an internationally sought-after speaker on the topics of leadership, workplace safety, and safety culture. In recent years, he delivered keynote addresses at the International Atomic Energy Agency, Global Safety Culture Conference, and the World Gas Conference.

Before joining PG&E, Stavropoulos served as executive vice president and COO for National Grid, an electricity and natural gas delivery company serving nearly 7 million customers in the Northeastern U.S. As COO, he was responsible for all aspects of its U.S. gas distribution business. Prior to that role, Stavropoulos was president of KeySpan Energy Delivery.

A native New Englander, Stavropoulos holds a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Bentley College. He earned his MBA from Babson College and completed executive education certificates from Harvard and MIT.

Lori S Traweek

Ms. Lori S. Traweek

Energy Services Board Director, Chief Operating Officer, American Gas Association (retired)

Read my bio

Dr Michael E Webber

Dr. Michael E. Webber

Josey Centennial Professor in Energy Resources, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

Read my bio

Bill Yardley

Mr. William "Bill" Yardley

President and CEO, Portland Natural Gas Transmission System

Read my bio

Lori S. Traweek

Lori S. Traweek, Energy Services Board Director is engaged in the energy industry for over 38 years and most recently retired as the American Gas Association (AGA) Chief Operating Officer, Lori Traweek is a respected industry leader and spokesperson with an extensive understanding of the energy business and experience in organizational management and operations. Lori has been devoted to enhancing safety, security and the environment, working with the Department of Transportation (DOT) on groundbreaking pipeline safety regulations, helping to develop reasonable and effective approaches to cyber and physical security, and initiating a voluntary Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program to reduce methane emissions. Throughout her career she has continuously advocated for technology advancement. Lori represented the industry before Congress, regulatory bodies and policymakers. Working collaboratively with utility executives across the country, she has been integrally involved in the identification of business strategies and helping companies achieve operational excellence in the safe, environmentally responsible, reliable and affordable delivery of natural gas. Lori currently serves on the GTI Energy, TRC Companies, Inc. and Picarro, Inc. Board of Directors and is a member of The Economic Club of Washington D.C. and Stevens Institute of Technology President’s Leadership Council. Lori previously served on the National Energy Foundation and Center for Energy Workforce Development Board of Directions and early in her career worked as an offshore and onshore engineer for Arco Oil and Gas Co. She holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and a B.S. degree in communications from Ithaca College.

Dr. Michael E. Webber

Dr. Michael E. Webber is the Josey Centennial Professor in Energy Resources in the department of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and CTO of Energy Impact Partners, a $3 billion cleantech venture fund. From September 2018 to August 2021, Webber was based in Paris, France where he served as the Chief Science and Technology Officer at ENGIE, a global energy & infrastructure services company with 170,000 employees worldwide. Webber’s expertise spans research and education at the convergence of engineering, policy, and commercialization on topics related to innovation, energy, and the environment. His book Power Trip: the Story of Energy was published in 2019 by Basic Books with an award-winning 6-part companion series that aired on PBS, Amazon Prime and AppleTV starting Earth Day 2020. The series had more than 7000 broadcasts in the United States and has been distributed in dozens of countries, ultimately reaching millions of viewers. He was selected as a Fellow of ASME (the American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and as a member of the 4th class of the Presidential Leadership Scholars, which is a leadership training program organized by Presidents George W. Bush and William J. Clinton. Webber has authored four full-length general interest books, created two interactive textbooks, written more than 500 publications, and been awarded 6 patents. He serves on the advisory board for Scientific American and GTI Energy (an industry consortium formerly known as the Gas Technology Institute). A successful entrepreneur, Webber was one of three founders in 2015 for an educational technology startup, DISCO Learning Media, which was acquired in 2018. Webber holds a B.S. and B.A. from UT Austin, and M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. He was honored as an American Fellow of the German Marshall Fund and an AT&T Industrial Ecology Fellow on four separate occasions by the University of Texas for exceptional teaching.

Mr. Bill Yardley

Bill Yardley is President and CEO, Portland Natural Gas Transmission System. He served as Enbridge’s Executive Vice President and President, Gas Transmission and Midstream where he spent time with the company leading the natural gas pipeline and midstream business across North America.

Bill held a role as the president and chairman of the Board of Spectra Energy Partners from February 2017 through December 2018. In 2017 Enbridge acquired Spectra Energy, the company Yardley was working for, where he began as group vice president, northeast transmission and later went on to become the president of Spectra Energy’s U.S. transmission and storage business. He held previous roles at Duke Energy as a general manager of marketing and later vice president of marketing and business development, gas transmission.

Since his retirement in January 2023, Bill has served as a board member at Enbridge Gas.

Bill earned his bachelor's degree in economics from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and his master's degree in business administration from Northeastern University in Boston. He also completed the Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program.

In addition, member companies and other partners provide technical guidance to GTI Energy on program content and priorities. GTI Energy also formally surveys its research customers regularly. This satisfaction survey helps to ensure that GTI Energy's products and services meet customer needs and identifies areas for performance improvement.

Learn More

Contact the energy experts today
CONTACT US