(Keynote)

W. Nim Kidd is the chief of the Texas Division of Emergengy Management, chairman of the Texas Emergency Management Council, the presiding officer of the Texas Grid Security Commission, and vice chancellor for disaster and emergency services of the Texas A&M University system. He is responsible for the state’s emergency and disaster preparedness, prevention, response, recovery, and mitigation programs that oversee over $25 billion in federal aid and disaster grants to Texas communities. Under Chief Kidd’s leadership, Texas has navigated through more than 80 gubernatorially-declared and 110 federally-declared disasters, including fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and more.

Chief Kidd holds a master of legal studies in cybersecurity law and policy from the Texas A&M University School of Law, a master of public administration from Texas State University, a bachelor’s degree from East Texas A&M University, and two associate’s degrees. He is a Texas Master Firefighter, Hazardous Materials Technician, and Emergency Medical Technician.

(Moderator)

Laura Hankins is an O&P compliance analyst at Texas RE with over 24 years of experience in the electric power industry. Prior to joining Texas RE, Laura worked at LCRA, Texas Municipal Power Agency, and Bryan Texas Utilities, with a focus on compliance. She earned a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University and a master of business administration from Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi. She is also an ASQ Certified Quality Auditor.

Amir Najafzadeh is an electrical engineer at the Office of Electric Reliability at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). He provides regulatory guidance that is based on technical assessments and is also informed by transparent engagement with industry stakeholders. He started as a planning engineer at an electric utility, followed by roles in engineering consulting and regulatory oversight at both SERC and NERC.

(Moderator)

Shana Horton is the manager of enforcement at Texas RE. In this role she oversees a team dedicated to analyzing potential noncompliances and presenting dispositions of those issues for submission to NERC and ultimately, FERC. Her work promotes accountability among registered entities, thereby enhancing the reliability of the Bulk Electric System.

Prior to coming to Texas RE she worked for the ERCOT Reliability Monitor, performing a similar function analyzing compliance with ERCOT and state-level regulations. She has been a practicing attorney since graduating from The University of Texas School of Law in 2003, working primarily in the state and federal regulatory sphere, including environmental and utility law.

Anthony Killoran serves as manager of transmission grid operations engineering support for Oncor Electric Delivery, leading a team that provides engineering and operational support for the company's transmission control room. He and his team play a key role in preparing the transmission system for planned outages, emergency events and other operational challenges to maintain reliable grid performance.

With more than 17 years of utility industry experience, Anthony has held engineering roles across transmission planning, system protection, distribution Standards and transmission grid operations. He holds a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from The University of Texas at Arlington and an MBA from Texas Christian University and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Texas.

Lori Stutz is a senior asset manager at Plus Power, where she works across operations, engineering, and regulatory teams to support the reliability, compliance, performance, and operational readiness of utility-scale battery energy storage assets, while helping optimize asset value, manage operational risks, and support long-term asset performance. Prior to joining Plus Power, Lori held asset-management roles in the renewable-energy industry. Lori has a bachelor of science and a master of accounting from the University of Utah.

Jordan Bynum is an operations manager with Invenergy's Stanton Wind Energy Center and has more than a decade of experience in renewable energy operations. He specializes in asset optimization, operational excellence, major component replacement planning, and team development. Throughout his career, Jordan has consistently exceeded performance targets, increasing production-based availability to industry-leading levels and helping deliver millions of dollars in additional annual revenue. He has been selected for numerous cross-functional initiatives that influenced fleet-wide operational improvements and has mentored leaders across Invenergy's renewable energy portfolio. Jordan holds an associate of applied science degree in wind energy technology from Midland College and maintains multiple industry certifications in safety, rescue, electrical systems, and major component repair and leadership.

Dave Lemmons has been in the electric industry for more than 35 years. During this time, he has held positions related to rate design, return on equity determination, state and federal regulatory administration, day-ahead and real-time generation planning and scheduling, developing energy pricing for day ahead trading, load forecasting, centralized market design and development, development of reliability rules and creating and implementing reliability compliance programs in every region. He has been a member of eight Standard Drafting Teams, chairing five of these efforts as well as participating as an observer on multiple teams. He has also participated on committees where development and implementation of reliable operations practices were addressed. Mr. Lemmons holds a master of science in finance and economics from West Texas A&M University.

(Moderator)

Mark Henry is the chief engineer and director of reliability outreach at Texas RE. He has experience in the electric power industry including generation, transmission, and control center assignments as an electrical engineer and engineering supervisor from the Lower Colorado River Authority where he worked for nearly 15 years. He has worked with the bulk power system compliance program since joining the ERCOT ISO in December 1999. Mark is a licensed professional engineer in Texas and holds a BSEE from the University of Texas at Austin.

Gilbert Herrera is the director of field operations for the critical infrastructure division (CID) of the Railroad Commission of Texas, where he is focused on ensuring the reliable and sustained operation of natural gas to prevent energy emergencies by ensuring adequate weatherization among gas companies. Before joining CID, Gilbert lead the field operations for plugging and abandonment of orpan wells for the Houstin district of the oil and gas division. Prior to joining the RRC, Gilbert was a field engineer with SLB for their well integrity and construction division. Gilbert holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Oklahoma. 

Tulsi Oberbeck is vice president of government & regulatory Affairs for the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA), where she brings valuable and broad legislative and agency experience to TXOGA. Ms. Oberbeck’s legislative experience began in the Texas senate, working on various issues including natural resources, transportation, and Articles IV, V, and VI in the budget. Prior to joining TXOGA, Ms. Oberbeck directed the legislative needs of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). During her time at TWDB, Ms. Oberbeck advised on various water policy matters, including the implementation of the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas, regional water planning, flood protection planning, and groundwater management. She is a graduate of the University of Texas.

Shawn Hazard is the emergency management coordinator for the Public Utility Commission of Texas, where he focuses on state operations, response, and recovery during disasters and other emergency events affecting the state of Texas. Since joining the Commission in 1999 in information technology, Shawn’s duties have grown and evolved to include IT support, program & project management, records management, continuity planning, and most recently, emergency management.  Shawn has participated in state emergency response activities going back to the 2015 October flooding event in Texas though Winter Storm Uri and 2025’s Hurricane Beryl.  Prior to joining the Commission, Shawn served as a combat engineer in the 3^rd Brigade/3^rd Infantry Division of the US Army. Shawn has a bachelor of science degree in marketing management from Western Governor’s University, and is both a FEMA Master Continuity Practitioner and a graduate of the National Emergency Management Advanced Academy in MD.

Kent Mottice is an energy industry analyst with the Office of Energy Market Regulation at FERC. In this role he focuses on interstate natural gas pipeline rate and tariff issues, and has worked as a natural gas team leader for joint FERC/NERC winter storm reports. Prior to joining FERC, Kent worked on energy policy pertaining to retail gas, electric, and market issues for the state of Maryland. Kent has a degree in economics from Virginia Tech.