Meet our Speakers – Illinois Renewable Energy Conference

Dr. David G. Loomis is also Emeritus Professor of Economics at Illinois State University, Former Executive Director of the Institute for Regulatory Policy Studies and Co-Founder of the Center for Renewable Energy. He has over 20 years of experience in energy analysis and has performed economic development analyses at the county, region, state and national levels for many different energy projects and associated supply chains.

In particular, he has performed economic impact analyses for renewable energy projects in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota. He has served as a consultant for Apex, Clean Line Energy Partners, EDF Renewables, EO.N, Geronimo Energy, Invenergy, J-Power, the National Renewable Energy Laboratories, Ranger Power, State of Illinois, Tradewind, and others. He has testified before the Illinois Senate Energy and Environment Committee, the Illinois Commerce Commission, the Missouri Public Service Commission, New Mexico Public Regulation Commission and numerous County Boards. Dr. Loomis is a widely recognized expert and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, Associated Press, and Chicago Tribune as well as appearing on CNN.

Dr. Loomis has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles in leading energy policy and economics journals. He has raised and managed over $8 million in grant and contracts from government, corporate and foundation sources. Dr. Loomis received his Ph.D. in economics from Temple University in 1995.

Bio coming soon!

Micaela Preskill is E2’s Director of State Advocacy. Since 2010, Micaela has run issue and electoral campaigns in Illinois, Colorado, Washington state and Massachusetts for the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). Micaela joined E2 from the Public Interest Network in Chicago, where she was the organization’s national recruitment director, responsible for recruiting, training and building staff and volunteer networks across the country. A California native, she is a graduate of Brandeis University.

Brian Granahan is the Director of the Illinois Power Agency (IPA), an independent state agency tasked with developing energy procurement plans; conducting energy, capacity, and renewables procurement events; developing solar energy incentive programs; and providing financial incentives for the continued operation of at-risk nuclear plants. As the Director, Brian oversees the development and implementation of plans to procure electricity and clean energy resources for customers of Illinois electric utilities. This work includes development of the IPA’s Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan, which outlines the state’s approach to supporting new distributed generation and community solar projects, as well as overseeing programs providing incentives to support those projects. 
 
Previously, Brian served as IPA’s Chief Legal Counsel, beginning with the Agency in April 2014. In this role, he oversaw a variety of legal, policy, and strategic responsibilities for the IPA, including serving as the Agency’s legislative liaison and representative in negotiations around the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (2021) and the Future Energy Jobs Act (2016).  Brian began his career as an associate with Sidley Austin LLP and worked as clean energy advocate and staff attorney with Environment Illinois before shifting to the public sector and serving as a policy advisor to two Chairmen at the Illinois Commerce Commission.  Prior to joining the IPA, Brian was a Vice President with the strategic consulting firm of Tur Partners LLC working to incubate a startup low-profit, limited liability company (L3C) focused on cleantech adoption by municipal governments. 

Brian is a former board member of the Illinois Environmental Council and Green Economy Chicago, and most recently served as the Vice Chairman of the Clean Energy States Alliance Board of Directors.   Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with Honors from the University of Iowa and a juris doctor degree from New York University School of Law. 

Mark Pruitt is the Principal of the Power Bureau, a consulting practice focused on reducing energy costs and price risks for small and mid-sized consumers through optimized wholesale and retail energy markets and transactions. Additionally, Mark teaches courses on energy policy, market, and regulation at Northwestern University and supports the US DOE “Net Zero World” program at Argonne National Lab.

Mark served as first Director of the Illinois Power Agency, the state agency responsible for stabilizing consumer energy costs and managing state’s renewable portfolio standard. Mark received his undergraduate degree from Bradley University and his MBA from the University of Illinois.

Fun fact: Mark grew up in Schaumburg Illinois and believed for some time that the name was a German translation for “near the mall”.

Andrea Wagner is a statewide sustainable energy specialist with University of Illinois Extension. She develops programming about renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, and community planning for renewable energy projects. Andrea is passionate about helping community members understand how they can benefit from these types of projects and providing accessible information for farmers or landowners, homeowners and renters, and government officials. Part of her work involves staying up to date on legislation related to wind and solar energy, as well as battery energy storage, and how it affects municipalities and counties.

Andrea holds a Master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning and a Master’s degree in Sustainable Agriculture, both from Iowa State University. A native of Illinois, Andrea came to Extension after working as a county planner in Iowa for nearly four years, focusing on rural planning, natural resource protection, and floodplain management. She is accustomed to discussing concerns about development with landowners and well-versed in writing land use ordinances and seeing development plans through the permitting process. Andrea is especially interested in innovations with agrivoltaics and biofuels and their potential for revitalizing rural economies.

Linda Larsen is the Associate Director of Research at the Climate Jobs Institute. She conducts applied research to support the state of Illinois’ clean energy transition, with a focus on creating quality jobs and ensuring equitable access to workforce opportunities.

Prior to joining the Climate Jobs Institute, she worked as the Communications and Education Program Director at the University of Illinois Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC) where she conducted research, developed educational materials, and managed programs to grow the clean energy workforce. At SEDAC, she also assisted the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in launching the CEJA workforce programs.

Linda has a particular interest in expanding opportunities for returning residents in the clean energy workforce. An advocate for people who have been incarcerated, she is one of the lead authors of the Education Justice Project reentry guide, Mapping Your Future, which is distributed to tens of thousands of returning residents annually.

Dana Wynn-Stockert is the Director for Clean Energy Programs at the Illinois Community College Board, ICCB, where she oversees the Rev Up EV community college initiative aimed to develop, revise, and expand training programs for electric vehicles (EV) and the EV occupational continuum. Dana has worked with Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs since December 2021, moving into her new role overseeing the Rev Up EV initiative in March 2024. Dana attended Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, studying Environmental Science and Sustainability.
Dana is a sustainability and environmental justice champion and advocate in her #hometown and at the East St. Louis Higher Education Center campus. Sustainability initiatives and community advocacy are motivation to actions that Dana is deeply committed to with her work with community colleges around the state. Prior to joining ICCB, Dana was a Business Engagement Manager with the Illinois Green Economy Network (IGEN) for a solar workforce development, a lab technician at an international Genetic Quality Assurance lab, and a clerk for a private corporation in Convenience & Gas (C&G) for 16 years. Dana like spending time walking, hiking, gardening, and listening to live music in her spare time.

John Albers oversees Advanced Energy United’s regulatory engagement in the central region of the United States with a focus on advancing and defending renewable energy and energy efficiency policies at public utility commissions. Prior to joining United, John oversaw SunPower’s policy and strategy efforts in the Midwest. He developed his policy and regulatory experience as an Administrative Law Judge at the Illinois Commerce Commission and as an attorney in private practice assisting local and national organizations and businesses achieve their regulatory goals.

Andy Byars is the Vice President of the Midwest and West regions for Recall Strategies. He has been supporting the renewable sector in the public affairs space for over six years, specializing in the permitting of utility-scale renewable energy projects. Recall Strategies has supported wind, solar, and storage projects in over thirty states. In addition to Recall Strategies public affairs, Andy helped found Recall Land Services which is providing land agent services to developers across several states. Having supported projects from greenfield to contested permitting, Andy deeply understands the importance of community engagement throughout the development process.

In addition to his work at Recall, Andy serves the Town of Normal as an at-large Councilmember and is proud to call Normal and McLean County his home.

Will Kenworthy is the Regulatory Director, Midwest for Vote Solar, where he has been shaping policies to transition to equitable clean energy since 2018. Will’s responsibilities include guiding regulatory interventions and offering expert witness testimony in electric utility regulatory proceedings, including integrated resource planning, distribution system planning, distributed generation compensation and valuation, as well as rate cases. Previously, Will worked in private sector startups in renewable energy development and industrial energy efficiency. Prior to his experience in solar energy, Will worked extensively in federal environmental and energy policy as a consultant and as a Congressional staffer. He holds a BSFS from Georgetown University and a Master of Public and Private Management (MPPM/MBA) from Yale University. Will is married and has three grown sons. Depending on the season and location, he enjoys sailing, golf, mountain sports, scuba, wine, gadgets and energy data.

Lisa Barrett leads Advanced Energy United’s work on removing barriers and expanding opportunities for advanced energy technologies to participate in wholesale energy markets, focusing on the Midcontinent ISO and Southwest Power Pool. She has over 15 years of experience in the energy industry, including representing distributed generation projects in renewable energy certificate, forward capacity, and real-time energy markets in New England. Prior to joining Advanced Energy United, Lisa was a Program Manager for the Clean Energy Markets team at CLEAResult, where she worked with solar, combined heat & power, energy efficiency, and anaerobic digester projects.

Jay Rowell is the Executive Director of Chicago-based HIRE360, a unique partnership between developers, general contractors, the hospitality industry, and trade unions to connect underrepresented populations to opportunities. Rowell previously served as the Deputy Treasurer for Illinois, where he oversaw the state’s $31 billion portfolio. In that role, he helped to dramatically increase the number of minority- and women-owned firms that manage the State’s investments and re-envisioned the Illinois 529 College Savings programs, earning Morningstar’s highest ratings. Before joining the Illinois State Treasurer’s office, Rowell was the Director of the Illinois Department of Employment Security, where he helped to improve the process of connecting people with available jobs, created a no-cost HR recruiting program and launched a new job board to better match job seekers’ skill sets with the needs of potential employers. Rowell earned his law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Communication at American University.

Heather Osborn was a natural heritage resident from February of 2018-2019. She is from Hartsburg, IL (near Lincoln!) and graduated with her Ph.D. in Plant Biology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2019. Before attending Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Heather received an M.S. in Biology from Western Illinois University. Heather’s residency provided her with many opportunities for personal growth related to independence and confidence. She also values the land management experiences that she obtained learned from her residency that land management is not “one size fits all”. Currently, Heather is working for IDNR Heritage Division as the Incidental Take Authorization Coordinator. This means that she is responsible for permitting projects that are under construction in places where there are known endangered and/or threatened animal species populations and working with developers to find a compromise between the project and the protection of the population. A fun fact about Heather is that she visited the State Fair every summer as a child with Logan County 4-H to show, or to support her brother’s show, and each year would convince her family to walk through conservation world!

Clients look to David Streicker for counsel on complex energy and infrastructure development matters throughout the country. David advises clients on issues ranging from project siting, permitting and regulatory approvals, to project acquisition and related due diligence, public/private partnerships, tax and project finance incentives, power purchase and off-take agreements, gas supply agreements, project operating agreements, environmental and natural resources regulation and related legislative drafting matters, as well as litigation support.

David’s energy sector clients include entities developing electric generation assets (waste- to-energy, gas, wind, solar, and CHP), multi-state transmission lines, battery storage, coal conversion projects (CTL and SNG), electric transmission/smart-grid, bio-refining campuses, chemical plants, and mining projects. His transportation related matters center around the development of intermodal and airport related projects. Prior to joining Polsinelli, David served as general counsel and ethics officer for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), which is the State of Illinois’ primary economic development agency. In this capacity, he was the state’s lead attorney for all major development projects, including energy related assets, transportation, brownfields/military base reuse, manufacturing expansion, and headquarters relocation. Among the many matters that David actively participated in while at DCEO was the opportunity to lead the state’s legal efforts to successfully land the FutureGen Project – the world’s first near zero emission coal fired power plant. This assignment included extensive legislative and project development work, as well as close interaction with various levels of federal, state, and local government. In addition to his project development experience, David is an experienced litigator, having tried many matters in both state and federal courts, along with administrative hearings, binding arbitrations, mediations, and significant matters before the Illinois Commerce Commission.

As a first-generation Nigerian/English-American, Ky has lived on the African, European and American continents. Ky’s previous work experience includes academia and technology consulting. Since 2019, Ky has worked at StraightUp Solar as a Project Developer. At StraightUp Solar, Ky oversees the company’s submissions to the ILSFA program where he has been able to, as he says, “work to save the world, one solar panel at a time.” Ky has served his local church as a Trustee and as a Steward and is also a member of the Bloomington Human Relations Commission, having been appointed to the role by the Mayor of Bloomington, IL.

Philip Dick, AICP has been the Director of the McLean County Department of Building and Zoning in Bloomington, IL since August 2001; he was the County Planner for McLean County from 1993 – 2001. Prior to that, he had been a planner for Palm Beach County, Florida for 3½ years. Mr. Dick holds a B.S. in Economics from Illinois State University and completed graduate course work in Geography, Economic Development and Planning at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. Mr. Dick has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) since 1994, was the Director of the Illinois State Section of the American Planning Association from 2010 – 2014, received the 2014 Distinguished Service Award from the Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association, was President of the Heartland of Illinois Resource Conservation and Development Council from 2018 – 2019 and was President of the Illinois Association of County Zoning Officials from 2018 – 2022. The McLean County Department of Building and Zoning has supervised the construction of 555 wind turbines in the county; the last 64 of which were activated on February 2, 2023.

Matt Aldeman is the Associate Dean of the newly-founded College of Engineering at Illinois State University. Prior to joining the College of Engineering, Matt was a faculty member in the Department of Technology at ISU, where he taught in the Sustainable & Renewable Energy and Engineering Technology programs. Previously, he worked at the ISU Center for Renewable Energy, and at General Electric as a wind site manager. Matt’s experience also includes service in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear propulsion officer and leader of the Reactor Electrical division on the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis. Matt is an honors graduate of the U.S. Naval Nuclear Power School and holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University, a Master of Engineering Management from Old Dominion University, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Anthony Star served as Director of the Illinois Power Agency from March 2013 through September 2022 and has moved into a new role as Senior Advisor and Interim Chief of the Planning and Procurement Bureau. Anthony’s work at the IPA has included overseeing the development and implementation of plans to procure electricity and clean energy resources for customers of Ameren Illinois, ComEd, and MidAmerican. This includes the Agency’s annual electricity plans for energy and capacity for default service customers, plans for Zero Emissions Credits and Carbon Mitigation Credits, and the Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan which guides the Agency’s renewable resources activities including procurements for utility-scale wind and solar, the Adjustable Block Program to support photovoltaic distributed generation and community solar, and the Illinois Solar for All Program to support low-income photovoltaic projects. These efforts have saved default service customers hundreds of millions of dollars and are supporting the development of thousands of megawatts of new wind and solar resources.

Anthony previously served as a Policy Advisor to two Chairmen of the Illinois Commerce Commission, and before entering government service spent thirteen years at the Center for Neighborhood Technology in a variety of roles working on energy policy and environmental sustainability, culminating in the position of Director of Policy and Evaluation for CNT Energy. He helped start the nation’s first residential real-time pricing program as well as community-based energy efficiency and demand response programs. Anthony holds a BA in History and an MA in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago.