Share the Mic: Diversity in the Energy Field

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Share the Mic: Diversity in the Energy Field

South East Chapter

August 28, 2020 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Join the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) National Capital Chapter (NCC) and the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE) Baltimore Chapter in their first ever crossover event. AEE is passing the mic to AABE to lift up the voices of our Black colleagues, raise awareness around racial equity issues, and help our fellow industry professionals recognize and stop inequity in the energy field. And now you can bring up to 2 guests for free!

 

The discussion will be kicked off by key energy influencers – former Secretary of the U.S. Navy, Governor of Mississippi, and U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ray Mabus; former AEE president, author of the Energy Management Handbook, and Oklahoma State University Industrial Engineering and Management Regents Professor Dr. Wayne C. Turner; and Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Senior Advisor and former City Attorney for Pensacola, Florida and San Angelo, Texas Lysia Bowling, Esq. – and led by leaders in the energy field, panelists Tarik Nasir, Serena A. Rwejuna, Phil Croskey, and Cheryl Walker Davis. The event will be moderated by Brooke Smallwood. Don’t miss this opportunity to be a part of an important dialogue in our industry and the country at large.
ENERGY INFLUENCERS

 

Ray Mabus has been Secretary of the US Navy, Governor, Ambassador and CEO. Ray Mabus served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017, the longest tenure as leader of the Navy and Marine Corps since World War I. As Secretary during President Obama’s Administration, he revolutionized the Navy and Marine Corps, opening all jobs to women, aggressively moving to alternative energy as a warfighting measure, building more than twice as many ships during his term than in the preceding eight years and developing the Gulf Coast Restoration Plan after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It was during his watch that Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden. Among many awards, he was chosen as one of the top fifty CEOs in America by GlassDoor, the only government person picked. From 1988 to 1992, Mabus served as Governor of Mississippi, during which time Mississippi experienced record growth in jobs, education, tourism and exports. Mabus was United States Ambassador to the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 1994-1996 and was CEO of a public company from 2006-2007. Today, Mabus is Chairman of InStride, a public benefit education company, a director of two public companies, Hilton and Dana, the founder of Mabus Group, a consulting organization, an executive fellow at Harvard Business School and an advisor to several other companies. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Explorers Club, and the Screen Actors Guild. He serves on the boards of the Environmental Defense Fund and Jose Andreas’ World Central Kitchen. Secretary Mabus is a native of Ackerman, Mississippi, and received a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Mississippi, a Master’s Degree from Johns Hopkins University, and a Law Degree from Harvard Law School. Mabus served in the Navy as an officer aboard the cruiser USS Little Rock.

 

Dr. Wayne Turner, PhD, PE, CEM, is a Regents Professor in the School of Industrial Engineering and Management at Oklahoma State University. As founder/director of OSU’s Industrial Assessment Center (IAC), he has conducted or supervised well over 800 energy audits for industrial and commercial facilities. Dr. Turner has broad experience in energy management, and has authored five textbooks, the first 11 editions of the Energy Management Handbook, and numerous articles in professional magazines and journals. He has won many teaching and professional awards and is listed in several Who’s Who publications. He has served as past president of the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) and is in AEE’s Hall of Fame. He is Editor of ENERGY ENGINEERING, a professional Journal of AEE. Dr. Turner received a Bachelor’s of Science, Master’s of Science, and Doctorate of Philosophy in Industrial Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
 
 

Lysia Bowling, Esq. is a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) where she advises the Assistant Secretary and senior executive leadership on a wide range of energy policy and regulatory matters. Ms. Bowling leads EERE international affairs, facilitating and promoting collaborative efforts among international government and industry leaders and the seventeen National Laboratories on strategic engagements to support global energy efficiency and security. Ms. Bowling has extensive experience as a seasoned advocate, counselor, and chief legal advisor in diverse state and local governmental arenas, including as assistant state attorney general, assistant state attorney, and city attorney in multiple jurisdictions. Ms. Bowling has expertise in providing strategic counsel on high profile regulatory and enforcement matters, worked on clean energy initiatives, economic development initiatives with international partners, and served as chief legal advisor for natural gas, electric and water utilities. Ms. Bowling is a frequently sought speaker on diversity and public service, violence prevention, and diplomacy, and has been featured in Black Women in Criminal Justice by Jet Magazine and in Minority Women in the Law by the Texas Bar Journal. She served as President of the International Optimist Club and President of Temple, Texas March of Dimes. Fluent in three languages, Ms. Bowling has a baccalaureate degree from Yale University and a juris doctorate from the University of Virginia, School of Law. Ms. Bowling is licensed to practice law in the states of Texas, Florida and New York.

 

PANELISTS
Tarik Nasir has 27 years of experience working with both US Federal government and corporate clients in the areas of IT Security and IT Auditing. Mr. Nasir has been trained in information system auditing and information system security practices. Mr. Nasir’s experience as an IT security professional has allowed him to work with all levels of management and client staff to educate and deploy complex IT security solutions. His expertise in IT security principles has made him a highly sought-after security professional, due to his unique ability to explain complex/abstract IT concepts into easy to understand frameworks. Mr. Nasir is currently President of Iron Flame Technologies and Program Manager for the US Air Force Global Force Management – Data Initiative. Mr. Nasir received his Masters’ degree from the University of Phoenix in International Business and also received dual Bachelor’s of Science degrees in Healthcare Administration and Business Administration from Towson State University, Towson, Maryland. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). Mr. Nasir is a member of the Washington DC Chapter of the Information System Audit and Control Association and sits on various, executive boards for local companies and colleges.
 

Serena Rwejuna helps energy companies achieve their business goals by addressing regulatory considerations in the litigation and transactional contexts. She has experience representing energy companies and individual traders before agencies including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In addition, she counsels utilities, generators, pipelines, natural gas distribution companies, and other energy industry participants on compliance with FERC regulations and advises them on regulatory issues in connection with project development, mergers and acquisitions, and state regulatory compliance. Serena was an associate in the energy practice in the Washington, D.C. office of an international law firm prior to joining Jones Day. While in law school she worked as a law clerk for the Goodrich Corporation, which became UTC Aerospace Systems in 2012 after merging with Hamilton Sundstrand, becoming one of the world’s largest suppliers of technologically advanced aerospace and defense products. Serena serves as president for the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the American Association of Blacks in Energy. She is a member of the Energy Bar Association’s Professional Education Council and serves on the EBA Compliance and Enforcement Committee. Serena serves as president of the Calvary Women’s Services Board of Directors, is on the DukeDC Regional Board of Directors, and serves as an inaugural member of the Duke Law Alumnae Leadership Council. Serena has a juris doctorate from Duke University, Graduate Certificate in Women in Politics and Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts Boston, and Master’s of Administration in Management and Bachelor’s of Arts from Wake Forest University.
 

Phil Croskey is the CEO and Co-Founder of MD Energy Advisors and has over 20 years of executive and managerial experience in the areas of energy, business development, finance, and economic development. Phil is responsible for strategic direction and revenue growth of MD Energy Advisors by developing and implementing high-level strategies, making company decisions, and acting as the chief communicator. Phil also oversees the technology arm of the company energy shopping website PointClickSwitch.com. Prior to Co-Founding MD Energy Advisors Phil was Director of Real Estate Development at the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) where he was responsible for over $3 billion of development projects for the City of Baltimore. Prior to joining BDC, Mr. Croskey was part of the management team at credit card giant – MBNA America (now Bank of America) in Wilmington Delaware, with management roles in marketing, sales, finance, and risk mitigation.
Deeply committed to service, Phil serves on numerous area boards including American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE) Baltimore Chapter, Clean Air Partners, and Urban Teachers. In 2013, Phil was selected Top 40 Under 40 by the Baltimore Business Journal. In 2018, Phil was selected to participate in The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) African American Emerging Leader delegation to Israel and was awarded one of Maryland Daily Record “Most Admired CEOs.” Phil is deeply passionate about entrepreneurship and mentors many on how to pursue starting a business. A native of Cleveland, OH, Mr. Croskey earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Morgan State University.
 

Now retired, Cheryl Walker Davis is an internationally recognized legal and regulatory policy expert on electric, natural gas, telephone, water and transportation companies, serving the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for more than 35 years. She started as an attorney with the South Carolina Public Service Commission, then transitioned to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) where, as Director, Office of Special Assistants, she was responsible for leading a legal and technical advisory team in evaluating administrative law judge recommendations, advising the Commission on the resolution of litigated cases and policy initiatives, and drafting Commission Orders. Additionally, she facilitated the agency’s public meetings at which cases were decided. She has lectured on regulatory and legal policy in the U.S., Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. She is a past President of the National Conference of Regulatory Attorneys; past Chairman of the NARUC Staff Subcommittee on Law; and past member of the National Regulatory Research Institute’s Research Advisory Committee. In 2019, the Pennsylvania Bar awarded her the Christianson Award – its highest honor for outstanding contributions to the development, improvement and furtherance of the profession of public utility law. For more than 25 years, she served voluntarily as the coordinator of an Annual Multi-Agency Black History Month tribute for more than 20 Commonwealth agencies. A graduate of Gettysburg College and the University of South Carolina School of Law, she was a member of Gettysburg College’s former Board of Fellows, the Commission on the Future, the Task Force to Establish Black Fraternities and Sororities, and numerous Gettysburg College Commissions and task forces. She received the College’s highest honor for volunteer service – the Meritorious Service Award; she was named a Woman of Distinction by the women of Gettysburg College, she received a Resolution of Commendation from the College Board of Trustees; and received the students’ NAACP Recognition Award. She is a former Vice-President and board member of the St. Stephens School Board of Directors, and a current member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Epsilon Sigma Omega Chapter, where she has held several positions and received Chapter awards. She is the Co-Founder and current President of the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE) Harrisburg PA Chapter.

 

Brooke Smallwood is Senior Business Development Manager for Southeast Energy Services at AECOM. Ms. Smallwood has spent much of her career in program management and business development in: Engineering, Resiliency, Distributed Generation, Asset Management and Energy Efficiency. One of Brooke’ professional passions is helping her clients become financially secure and grid independent. Her professional credits include authoring white papers, panel discussions and speaking engagements with national and regional organizations like: AEE, AESP and ACEEE just to name a few.

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