Hala N. Ballouz is the CEO of Electric Power Engineers (EPE), a premier power systems advisory firm dedicated to transforming the electric grid for a resilient, reliable, affordable, and flexible future. She has driven the development of pioneering consulting, analysis and software solutions to position EPE as a key partner for utilities, developers and regulators. A national and international advisor on renewable integration and grid modernization, she is a trailblazer and advocate for women in energy.

Julieta Giraldez is a nationally and internationally recognized subject matter expert in distributed energy resource (DER) grid integration with extensive expertise in grid modeling and planning processes. She currently works at Electric Power Engineers (EPE) as a Director of Integrated Grid Planning where she implements holistic approaches to meet customers’ needs through the optimized planning and operation of generation, transmission, distribution, and DERs. Prior to joining EPE, she served as a Director of Grid Planning at Kevala Inc., where she focused on implementing proactive capacity planning and electrification impact studies for utilities and regulators. Julieta also worked for a decade at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as a Senior Engineer where she led Smart Grid and Grid Integration related projects to manage emerging technologies such as PV, energy storage and microgrids in distribution systems. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the Polytechnic University of Madrid (Spain) in Technical Mining Engineering, a master’s in electrical engineering from Colorado School of Mines, and a Ph.D. program in systems engineering from Colorado State University.

With almost 3 decades in the electric utility industry, Adam Dillon holds the position of Vice President of Operations at United Power Electric Cooperative, Brighton CO. He actively contributes to the development and implementation of strategies to enhance grid resilience and integrate clean energy sources.

Venkat Banunarayanan is the Vice President of Integrated Grid at Business & Technology Strategies at the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association. He has twenty-six years’ experience in leading and executing energy-related projects involving power system analysis, data analytics, grid optimization, renewables integration, techno-economic feasibility and benefit-cost studies. At NRECA, his role is to lead the development of tools, resources and partnerships for member cooperatives to successfully evaluate opportunities for power grid optimization and value realization, enabling integrated grid planning and operations for reliable, resilient and affordable supply of electricity, and assist cooperatives to function as the trusted energy advisor for their communities. Venkat holds a doctorate in Electrical Engineering and an M.B.A in Finance, is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP®), has worked previously at the United States Department of Energy, ICF International, and General Electric in their Energy division.

Dave Mino is a licensed Professional Engineer with more than 12 years of experience in the utility industry. With more than a decade spent in Distribution Planning, he has had a heavy focus on DER interconnections, technical design standards for distribution planning, evolving planning practices for high distribution growth and major infrastructure build outs, and has been a company witness for several regulatory filings. He has performed interconnection studies for over 500 MW of DER interconnections, developed the Xcel energy distribution planning design philosophy and has helped to evolve the planning process at Xcel to enable proactive planning to prepare for rapid growth of load and generation. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.

Chris Broadhurst is the CCO at Electron, a software company helping grid operators orchestrate the full value of DERs using energy flexibility markets. With over a decade of experience in energy, Chris has a passion for driving the adoption of disruptive technologies that can accelerate the transition to Net Zero. His past experiences have spanned across supply, consultancy, and technology, as well as advisory roles for the UK Government's Net Zero Energy Council.