TN Green Summit | Applications in Stewardship

Dan Beckley

Energy Technology Program Specialist
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Mr. Beckley has over ten years of experience on energy issues, domestically and internationally. His experience includes both the private and public sector.

Mr. Beckley joined the Federal government as a Presidential Management Fellow in 2002 lead market transformation activities. During his tenure in the fellowship program, he was detailed to the Global Environment Facility Secretariat to research performance contracting and the Export-Import Bank of the United States to analyze export crediting for renewable energy technologies. Upon completion of the program, Mr. Beckley served as senior advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Currently, he is the technical assistance lead for the Office of Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program’s implementation of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Prior to joining DOE, Mr. Beckley was a small business volunteer in the U.S. Peace Corps and consultant to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

Mr. Beckley has a B.A in Business Administration, with a finance concentration, from Westminster College and a M.A. in International Environmental Policy from the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

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Kenneth R. Breeden

Executive Vice President of Customer Resources

Kenneth R. Breeden, TVA’s Executive Vice President of Customer Resources, has over 30 years of leadership experience with Fortune Global 500 electric power and telecommunications companies. He is responsible for maintaining and enhancing customer relationships with the 158 local power distributors of TVA power and 58 directly served customers. Breeden directs a staff that manages customer accounts totaling nearly $10 billion in annual revenue. His organization also has responsibility for TVA’s product development, customer service, economic development, and energy efficiency efforts.

Breeden’s extensive experience directing major electric utility distribution operations includes serving as the chief marketing officer for two of the top 10 electric utilities in the United States.

Throughout the opening of competitive retail power markets in Texas, Breeden served as President of TXU Energy Services, Enterprise Division, one of the largest purchasers of wholesale electricity in Texas. His responsibilities included sales, marketing, delivery and operations, finance, strategic planning, regulatory affairs, supply, and all administrative functions. Under his leadership, the newly created company developed into a multibillion-dollar business in five years. He joined TXU Corporation in 1995 as Senior Vice President of TXU Electric & Gas, where he was responsible for establishing a marketing and sales presence at the company, as well as preparing it for eventual competition.

Prior to his tenure with TXU, Breeden held executive positions with Entergy Corporation, a top 10 integrated energy company serving the electricity needs of 2.6 million customers in the Mid-South. As Entergy’s Senior Vice President of Marketing, he was responsible for all consumer, commercial, and industrial marketing activities in the corporation’s three-state service territory. He previously served as Senior Vice President of Customer Service and Marketing for Entergy Arkansas, where he directed the activities of the electric utility’s distribution business in the state.

Breeden began his career in the telecommunications industry with positions at South Central Bell and at AT&T, where he managed district operations for five years before moving into AT&T Information Systems.

Breeden holds a B.S. in business administration and an MBA from Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas.

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Jeromy Cotten

Product Manager

Jeromy W. Cotten is a graduate of Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has worked for Amoco, Shaw Industries and Michelin as a project engineer, responsible for projects in excess of 12 million dollars. He has also worked for a large design build firm opening a southern branch office responsible for designing and installing HVAC systems for the textile industry. Jeromy is a certified energy manager through the association of energy engineers and has performed energy audits for commercial and industrial facilities saving companies thousands of dollars on their energy bills. Currently, he is a Product Manager with TVA responsible for designing energy efficiency programs for the Commercial and Industrial sectors.

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Sandy Cunningham

EESI Administrator

Her thirty years in Tennessee’s hospitality industry at Fall Creek Falls State Park gives her a perspective of the state energy efficient initiatives that save money, the financial challenges faced by rural school districts (where her children attended), and the value of extraordinary customer service to the continued success of your operations.

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Mayor Karl Dean

Karl Dean is the sixth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. He was elected on Sept. 11, 2007. Dean’s priorities as mayor are education, public safety and economic development. He also works diligently on efforts to sustain and improve Nashville’s high quality of life.

Education

During his two years in office, Dean has acted as a strong advocate for education reform in Metro Nashville Public Schools. In both years, he fully funded the budget for Metro schools despite cuts in most other departments. He formed the Project for Student Success task force to find innovative ways to increase student engagement and reduce high school dropouts. And he has focused on initiatives related to teacher recruitment and school choice

As part of the Project for Student Success recommendations, Dean allocated funding in the Metro budget for an Attendance Center run by Juvenile Court, which provides case management for students chronically truant from school. He also began work on developing a system of quality after school programs for middle school students in Nashville. In May 2009, Dean announced the Nashville After School Alliance, a partnership with Metro Nashville Public Schools to create after school zones throughout Davidson County.

In the areas of teacher recruitment and school choice, Dean raised private funds to bring two national teacher recruitment organizations, Teach for America and The New Teacher Project, to Nashville starting in the 2009-10 school year. And Dean was a vocal proponent of charter school legislation passed during the 2009 session of Tennessee’s 106th General Assembly. The legislation greatly expands charter school enrollment eligibility in Nashville.

To further draw community support for education reform initiatives, Dean helped create the Education First Fund through the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Contributors to date include individuals, foundations, and faith-based organizations.

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Joe Edgens

Joe A. Edgens was born in Nashville and graduated from the Nashville Public Schools. He graduated from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville with a Bachelor of Architecture degree as a member of the first graduating class from the School of Architecture at the University of Tennessee. Mr. Edgens has been licensed to practice architecture since 1974. He spent fourteen years in private architectural practice, the last three of which he had his own practice. In 1983 Mr. Edgens sold out of his private practice. He then worked for a contractor/developer for six years as Director of Planning and Construction. Mr. Edgens accepted the position of Director of Planning and Construction with the Metro Board of Public Education in March of 1989. In 1995 Joe was appointed to the position of Executive Director of Facilities and Operations. The Departments under his supervision are Planning and Construction, Maintenance, Operations (custodians and grounds), Transportation, and ADA Compliance. These Departments have approximately 1800 employees and operating budgets exceeding $80,000,000. Since he was employed, in 1989, MNPS has invested over $833,000,000 in capital facility improvements, which have been under his direction. Metro Nashville Public Schools operates 137 schools in more than 13,000,000 square feet in over 180 permanent buildings and approximately 380 portable classrooms.

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Donald Gilligan

Donald Gilligan is the President of the National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO), and organization of about 75 companies that deliver about $5 billion of energy efficiency and renewable projects annually. He coordinates NAESCO’s state advocacy activities, promoting energy efficiency and distributed generation in state legislative, regulatory and policy forums. He has worked in the energy efficiency industry for 30 years, as a consultant, entrepreneur, and state government official. He is a graduate of Harvard University.

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Ryan Gooch

Director of Energy Policy, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development

As Director of Energy Policy, Ryan Gooch oversees all energy-related initiatives at the Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD). In addition to managing the state energy office and its programs, his responsibilities include working closely with the Governor’s Office and other cabinet-level state agencies on a variety of energy related issues including the Governor’s Task Force on Energy Policy and the Governor’s Task Force on Alternative Fuels. The Energy Policy Office is charged with developing state policy to improve energy efficiency and conservation, expand the availability and use of alternative fuels and renewable energy sources, and promote the development of Tennessee’s clean-energy technology sector.

Gooch serves as the department’s Emergency Services Coordinator to Tennessee Emergency Management Agency where he coordinates all energy-related planning, mitigation and response activities and sits on the Tennessee Emergency Management Advisory Committee. In addition to his department responsibilities, Gooch is a member of the Executive Committee of the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and serves as Governor Bredesen’s Alternate to the Southern States Energy Board. In July of 2008, Gooch was appointed to a 3-year term on the State Energy Advisory Board by the Secretary of the US Department of Energy.

Prior to joining ECD in July of 2007, Gooch was a member of the senior leadership team at the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DLWD). He received Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and Spanish from Furman University in Greenville, SC.

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Mayor Brent Greer

Brent Greer was educated in the public school systems of Tennessee. He received his Bachelor’s Degree with Honors in Business Management from the University of Tennessee at Martin. He is also a graduate of the Tennessee Young Bankers School at Vanderbilt University.

After a 23 year banking career, Greer was elected to his present office of County Mayor in 1998. During his terms as Mayor, Greer has served as a Director and Chairman of the Northwest Tennessee Development District and Human Resources Agency, Chairman and Director of the Northwest Tennessee Economic Council, President of the Tennessee County Services Association, President of the Tennessee County Mayor’s Association, Vice President of the Tennessee Development District Association, Vice Chairman of the West Tennessee River Basin Authority, and Director of the Paris-Henry County Alliance.

Greer completed the Local Government Leadership program through the University of Tennessee and attained the designation as a Certified Public Administrator. He is also a graduate of the WestStar Leadership program as well as a member of the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.

He and his wife Sarah have two children; daughter, Amy (and son-in-law, Jamie Kilpatrick); and son, Eric (and daughter-in-law, Stephanie). They have six grandchildren; triplets Houston, Elizabeth, and Madeline Kilpatrick; and twins Ethan and Ella Greer and Matthew Greer.

He is a member of the Paris Lions Club and Paris-Henry County Chamber of Commerce. He and Sarah are members of the First Baptist Church.

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Ron Graham

Executive Director Energy Efficient Schools Initiative

Education

BS Civil Engineering, Tennessee Technological University. MS Environmental Enineering University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Work Experience

US Geological Survey, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, TVA, 26 years with State of TN, Chief of Safe Dams Program, Director of Division of Community Assistance with Dept of Environment and Conservation, TN Regulatory Authority.

Programs

State Revolving Fund Loan Program (water and waterwater loans for local government), Solid Waste Grant Program, Tennessee Pollution Prevention Partnership, Green Schools Program, Household Hazardous Waste Program, State Employee Recycling Program.

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Dale Hahs

Dale L. Hahs presently serves as a co-chair of the Energy Services Coalition Market Transformation Committee. This committee manages the partnership effort of the coalition with the U.S. Department of Energy to provide the technical assistance and resources to advance the benefits of Energy Saving Performance Contracting. The Energy Services Coalition (ESC) is a national nonprofit organization composed of a network of experts from a wide range of organizations working together at the state and local level to increase energy efficiency and building upgrades through energy savings performance contracting.

Dale has been instrumental in leading the Energy Services Coalition toward developing alliances with other organizations in order to leverage resources to achieve common goals around energy efficiency and sustainability and served as President of the Energy Services Coalition for three terms.

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Matthew H. Kisber

Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD)

Appointed January 18, 2003, Commissioner Kisber has led Tennessee’s efforts that resulted in Volkswagen’s 2008 decision to locate their $1 billion assembly operation in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Under Commissioner Kisber’s leadership, 40 corporate headquarters have located in Tennessee, including Nissan North America, International Paper, Louisiana Pacific, Clarcor, Service Master, Asurion and others. Since his appointment as commissioner, Tennessee has seen more than $22 billion in new capital investment and more than 140,000 new jobs created. In May 2008, Site Selection magazine recognized the state’s accomplishments by naming Tennessee the most competitive state in the country for economic development

Prior to his appointment as commissioner, Kisber served 10 consecutive terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives and as vice president of Business Development for First Tennessee Bank. In the Tennessee General Assembly, Kisber served as chairman of the powerful Finance, Ways and Means Committee, which is responsible for the state’s budget.

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John Noel

John Noel, a businessman and a preservationist, was past President of the Nashville Board of Realtors and recipient of the Realtor of the Year Award. He was founding member of the Tennessee Housing Development Agency now a billion dollar agency. John was also founding chairman of the Downtown Franklin Association revitalizing Franklin, TN’s downtown area: renovating numerous buildings and placing five on the National Register for Historic Places. For his efforts, he was awarded the annual Heritage Foundation Award.

Currently, John serves on many local, state, and national boards, including, the Climate Institute in Washington D.C., Tennessee Conservation Voters, Tennessee Parks and Greenways and is the current President of the eight state regional, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE).

John has organized coalitions of organizations and people to clean up polluted Rivers including a Tennessee stream degeneration case, which was featured in National Geographic Magazine resultantly halting the destruction of the world class Rumbling Falls Cave and water systems.

He is an active advocate for the preservation of our planet, often bridging the narrowing gap between business and environment.

He has been active in the preservation of thousands of acres of land through conservation easements. Recently the Governor of Tennessee and State Legislature signed into law the designation of the John Noel State Natural Area at Bon Aqua preserving the Historic trees he saved including some that are still living since the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by our founding fathers and mothers. In 2007 the National Society of DAR awarded him the DAR Conservation Award at the 116th Continental Congress in Washington D.C. He was recently awarded the 2008 Governors Lifetime Achievement award for the state of Tennessee.

John is a known speaker on Global Climate Change. His international conservation work has taken him to the far reaches of both the north and south poles and the special places in between.

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Greg Palko

Mr. Greg Palko is a Certified Energy Manager, Certified Facilities Manager and Project Management Professional. He has more than 25 years experience with facility operations and management at the Department of Energy’s East Tennessee Technology Park and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, TN. He is currently the Energy Efficiency Program Manager in ORNL’s Facilities Management Division. In this position he is implementing process improvements and energy efficiency projects to achieve cost savings and stream line facility operations. Mr. Palko has a B.S. in Engineering Science & Mechanics from Tennessee Technological University and a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Tennessee. He is ABD for a Ph.D. in Engineering Management from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

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Dianna Stephens

Assistant Director
Department of General Services
Building Operations Support Services

Dianna is responsible for managing the Building Operations Support Services Division of the Department of General Services. Since 2004, this division has been focused in the assessment, development and implementation of an integrated facilities management services program. The General Services portfolio consists of 72 facilities totaling 3.5 million square feet include facilities requiring highly technical requirements and mission critical functions. As of July 1, 2008, this program has been expanded to include the design and construction management responsibilities for Metro Government

Dianna has a history of working with government agencies and their facilities. In 2000, she was appointed the ADA Title II coordinator for the city and has managed the agency responsible for the implementation of the terms of the agreement between Metro Government and the Department of Justice. This agency has been recognized as a model for the design and development of accessible government programs. She is a member of the Federal Access Board PROWAAC Committee that recently published the new technical assistance manual for the public rights of way.

Her interest and experience includes facility management process improvement, developing high performance building standards, and maximizing staffing performance through process ownership.

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Alex Tapia

Program Manager

Alex Tapia is the Program Manager for the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) with responsibilities of developing, creating, and managing programs within the Southeast focused on improving energy efficiency across all sectors. Currently, Tapia is: developing a regional industrial energy efficiency coalition along with utilities, state energy offices, Oak Ridge National Lab and the Department of Energy; working with policy makers in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee on model efficiency legislation; guiding cities and counties in the creation of local energy alliances; and, managing SEEA’s earned media activities. For over fifteen years, Tapia has been a nationally recognized expert on energy and environmental policy, and corporate social responsibility. He began his career by traveling to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which became the subject of a documentary film, Arctic Quest: Our Search for Truth, which aired nationally on PBS stations. Previously, Tapia was the Assistant Project Director for the non-profit, Kilowatt Ours, focusing on communications, utility demand side management programs and policy, as well as serving as script advisor for the documentary film Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America.

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Ben Taube

Executive Director

Ben Taube currently serves as the Executive Director of the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance. Prior to becoming the Executive Director of the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance, Ben served as the Public Affairs Manager for the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute where he was responsible for planning, coordinating, and communicating GREENGUARD's activities, capabilities, goals, and priorities to a variety of audiences. Ben also worked as the Director of Government Affairs for EcoSMART Technologies. Ben served as the Environmental Manager for the City of Atlanta with the responsibilities of developing and enhancing environmental initiatives and policy. He is Chair of the Atlanta Chapter of the USGBC; Board member of the USGBC Greenbuild Program Committee; 2008 Recipient of the Atlanta Business Chronicle 40 under 40 leaders; task force member for the city of Chamblee, GA green building ordinance; member of the Atlanta Regional Commission 50 Forward Initiative; and on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Conservation Voters. Mr. Taube has a Bachelors Degree from the University of Memphis and a Masters in Environmental Policy and Management from the University of Denver.

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David S. Terry

National Association of State Energy Officials

David Terry is the Executive Director of the National Association of State Energy Officials and has worked with NASEO in a variety of capacities since 1996. Mr. Terry leads NASEO’s programs in support of the nation’s 56 State and Territory Energy Offices. The organization communicates the states’ views on virtually all national energy issues, including electricity policy, energy efficiency market transformation, renewable energy development, energy assurance and reliability, building codes and efficiency, and climate oriented energy programs.

Mr. Terry is also the President of Stateline Energy LLC, which provides government affairs and strategic guidance assistance for state focused energy and environmental organizations and companies. He has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate on biofuel and other energy issues, and serves on the State Energy Advisory Board to the U.S. Department of Energy. He has 20 years of experience working on a range of energy issues for such organizations as the Energy Services Coalition, Association of State Energy Research Institutions, Governors’ Biofuels Coalition, Governors' Wind Energy Coalition, Embassy of Finland, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Prior to founding Stateline Energy, LLC, he was the Managing Director of the National Association of State Energy Officials from 1995-2004, where he led the organization’s clean energy and energy efficiency programs. Prior to working in the energy area, Mr. Terry was a statistical analyst for a market research firm, an analyst with the National Academy of Sciences, and a researcher for The Washington Post. He received a BA degree from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, and he has completed graduate coursework in statistics and marketing at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia.