Elin Swanson Katz serves as the inaugural Director of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s newly formed Office of Public Participation (OPP), which was established in 2021 to assist the public with Commission proceedings. As Director, Elin leads a growing OPP team that provides direct outreach and education to the public to facilitate greater understanding of Commission processes and support broader participation in matters before the Commission. OPP serves as a liaison for environmental justice communities, Tribal members, landowners, consumer advocates, and other historically underrepresented stakeholders, and responds to inquiries and requests for administrative and technical assistance from members of the public.

Elin previously served as Consumer Counsel for the State of Connecticut, as well as President of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates. She was also the VP of Utilities for Tilson, a technology company that builds telecommunications infrastructure, including broadband and 5G technology. Elin is also a longtime member of NEWIEE.

Rachel Kyte is the 14th dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University. Kyte is the first woman to lead the United States’ oldest graduate-only school of international affairs, which attracts students from all corners of the world and at all stages of their careers.

Prior to joining Fletcher, Kyte served as special representative of the UN secretary-general and chief executive officer of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL). She previously was the World Bank Group vice president and special envoy for climate change, leading the run-up to the Paris Agreement. She was also vice president at the International Finance Corporation responsible for ESG risk and business advisory services.

In her UN role and as CEO of SEforAll, a public-private platform created by the UN and World Bank, Kyte led efforts to promote and finance clean, reliable and affordable energy as part of the U.N .Sustainable Development Goals. She served as co-chair of UN Energy.

In the 2020 UK New Year Honours, Rachel was appointed as CMG for her services to sustainable energy and combating climate change.

Kyte is a member of the U.N. secretary-general’s high-level advisory group on climate action and an advisor to the UK presidency of the UN climate talks. Kyte is co-chair of the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI), and chair of the FONERWA, the Rwanda Green Fund. She serves on the boards of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), the Climate Policy Institute and CDP. She advises investors, governments, and not-for-profits on climate, energy, and finance for sustainable development.

A British citizen, Kyte earned degrees from University of London and the Fletcher School. She is a regular contributor on global media. Kyte has received numerous awards for leadership in climate and sustainable development and was named by Time magazine as one of the 15 women that were leading climate action.

Meg Lusardi is Executive Vice President of PowerOptions, a nonprofit energy consortium dedicated to providing solutions to the energy needs of nonprofits and the public sector. She is responsible for overseeing all general operations including the electricity and natural gas programs, human resources, finance, and administration, as well as leading the new product area of sustainability advisory. Meg is entrusted with the relationships of PowerOptions’ largest non-profit, municipality, and state agency Members who depend on her for their overall energy planning and procurement. She is also responsible for PowerOptions significant expansion into Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Prior to joining PowerOptions, Meg served as Acting Commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER), overseeing the development and implementation of state energy policies and programs related to energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy markets. During her tenure as Commissioner, she served as the Administration’s lead on a study addressing the natural gas pipeline capacity serving Massachusetts. Prior to becoming the Commissioner, Meg was the initial architect, implementer, and eventual leader of DOER’s Green Communities Division, a first-in-the-nation program serving Massachusetts municipalities on all their energy issues, helping them to save energy and reduce costs. Her efforts included developing and launching the landmark Green Communities Designation and Grant program. In addition, as Division Director, she oversaw the deployment of more than $60M in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to more than 300 clean energy projects across Massachusetts.

Meg’s 30-plus-year career has been built on a vision of what is possible and an understanding of how to make it happen. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame, she worked for nearly a decade as a project manager at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and at the consulting firm Booz-Allen and Hamilton. Meg also served as Chief Operating Officer of Project Hope in Dorchester, Massachusetts, a nonprofit serving homeless and low-income families.

Meg lives in Jamaica Plain with her rescue dog, Chickee. When she is not apologizing to neighbors for the barking, she likes to tackle home improvement projects (sometimes successfully), connect with her six godchildren, and avoid cooking by eating out with friends as much as possible, but often challenging in the COVID environment.

Marissa Paslick Gillett is Chairman of Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA). Governor Ned Lamont nominated Gillett to begin serving on the three member regulatory authority on April 26, 2019, and her appointment was confirmed by both the House of Representatives and State Senate in the 2019 session of the Connecticut General Assembly.

Gillett serves as one of Connecticut’s representatives on the Board of Directors of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc. (RGGI).

Prior to her appointment, Gillett was the Vice President of External Relations for the Energy Storage Association – the national trade association representing the energy storage industry. In that role, Gillett served on the association’s executive team, contributing to the organization’s overall strategic vision and direction, as well as providing leadership of the research, educational programming and events, marketing, and communications teams.

From 2011 to 2018, Gillett worked at the Maryland Public Service Commission, an independent agency within the Maryland state government that regulates public utilities, where she most recently served as the senior advisor to the chairman. Her duties included a number of matters on energy issues in the state, such as advising the agency’s chairman and other commissioners on technical, legal and policy matters related to offshore wind procurement, statewide energy efficiency programs, advanced metering infrastructure, grid reliability issues and electric vehicles. Additionally, she represented the commission on these topics by testifying before the Maryland General Assembly and by leading stakeholder engagement initiatives as part of the state’s grid modernization proceeding.
Gillett received a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering from Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law in Baltimore, Maryland.

Keirstan Field is a Project Manager, Team Leader, and mechanical engineer at Petersen Engineering, a rapidly-growing MEP/FP firm that focuses on the smart, sustainable design of high-performance buildings. In her current role, she serves as a project manager and manages the eight mechanical and electrical engineers within her team. Keirstan worked as an engineer and project manager for a utility company before coming to Petersen. Since joining Petersen, she has worked on a wide variety of projects, including assisted living, multifamily, mixed-use commercial/residential (including commercial kitchen work), institutional projects, and tenant fit-outs. She has also worked with senior management to standardize business processes associated with onboarding and professional development, among other things, to position Petersen for additional growth. She has a BS in mechanical engineering and an MS in management from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She is an Engineer-in-Training, working toward becoming a licensed Professional Engineer. Keirstan is a proud member of the Portsmouth Rotary, Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), and NEWIEE.

Shalanda H. Baker was mostly recently a professor of law, public policy, and urban affairs at Northeastern University. She was the co-founder and co-director of the Initiative for Energy Justice, which provides technical law and policy support to communities on the front lines of climate change. Baker served as an Air Force officer prior to her honorable discharge pursuant to the then existing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and became a vocal advocate for repeal of the policy. She earned a B.S. in Political Science from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a J.D. from Northeastern University, and L.L.M. from the University of Wisconsin.