Bios and Abstracts – 2026

Resilience, Innovation, and Growth: Leading PSE Through Industry Transformation

Michelle Vargo

Senior Vice President Energy Operations at Puget Sound Energy

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The Grid Center for Reliable Electricity Delivery (GridCRED™)

Jacob Reidt

Pacific Northwest National Lab, Advisor

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Understanding AI Adoption in the Power Industry: NEETRAC’s Industry Analysis and Key Insights

Geon Seok Lee

NEETRAC

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Cybersecurity Threats and Policy Implications for Battery Energy Storage Systems

Jonathan Tacke

PhD. Power & Controls Researcher, Idaho National Laboratory

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Panel: Data Centers: The Opportunity, The Risk, and The Reality

Panel: Data Centers

Travis Metcalf – Amazon Web Services, Senior Energy Strategy Manager
Mike Miller – Sr VP of Transmission Svs at BPA
Kevin Ludwig, Black & Veatch, Grid Solutions Leader
Eleanor Ewry, Puget Sound Energy, Manager – Transmission Strategy & Markets

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Utility-Focused Adaptive Risk Mitigation under a Changing Wildfire Regime in the PNW

Andre Coleman

Pacific Northwest National Labs, Senior Research Scientist

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Defining Delivery System Planning challenges of meeting load increases, affordability, and renewable energy mandates

Dr. Mani Vadari

Modern Grid Solutions, President

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Regional Perspectives on Transformer Supply Chain Challenges and Solutions

XFMRSupplyChain

Brett Hanson, SCL, Standards Supervisor
Kevin Murray, PSE, Standards Manager
Erica Pierce, TPWR, Business and Finance Manager
Tyler Reinitz, SnoPUD, Mgr of Standards & Asset Mgmt

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Preparing for Middle Housing and EPRI Tool for Secondary Design

Tanya Panomvana

Seattle City Light, Senior Manager

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How AI is Redefining Energy Delivery

Shawntia McNeil

NVIDIA – Global Energy Partner Ecosystem Mgr

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Snohomish Transmission Line Routing

Andra Flaherty

Snohomish County PUD

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EPRI E-Roadmap Tool / NEVI

Jamie Dunkley

EPRI, Program Manager

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DERMS (Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems)

Ismael Mendoza

National Laboratory of the Rockies, Research Engineer

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Journey Towards a Just Transition: Engineering Equitable Outcomes

Grecia Elenes and Reagan Price

Grecia Elenes, Seattle City Light, Environmental Equity Advisor

Reagan Price, Seattle City Light, Race and Social Justice Initiative Program Manager

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Seismic Transformer Research

Aisha McKee & Jon Bender

Aisha McKee, R&D Program Manager and Jon Bender, Research Engineer, W.E. Gundy & Associates, Inc.

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Impacts of FERC Order 881 on utilities

Travis Filleau

Tacoma Power, System Planning Engineer

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