Dr. David Gattie
David Gattie is an Associate Professor of Engineering in the University of Georgia’s College of Engineering, and a Senior Fellow in the University of Georgia’s (UGA) Center for International Trade and Security and School of Public & International Affairs. He earned his B.S. and Ph.D. from UGA and has 14 years of private industry experience as an energy services engineer and environmental engineer. His research is in the area of energy policy and integrated energy resource planning for the power sector and he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in energy systems, energy policy and energy security. David has led the development of UGA’s Energy Security Studies Program in collaboration with his colleagues in UGA’s Center for International Trade and Security. It is focused on the geopolitical and U.S. national security implications of energy and energy technologies within the challenges of 21st century great power competition. He also has provided testimony before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on energy, climate and nuclear power policy, various U.S. state legislative committees and the Georgia Public Service Commission. David has been married to his high school sweetheart, Zoe, for over 43 years. Together, they have three happily-married children and six grandchildren.
Commissioner Tim Echols
Tim Echols is a big supporter of cities across our state. His “Community Focus” weekly livestream focuses on a different city each week. Echols created the Clean Energy Roadshow, now in its 15 year, traveling the state each summer. He has three degrees from UGA and hosts a weekly radio show called Energy Matters.Tim Echols is on his 7th EV, having been an early adopter. He created the clean energy roadshow, as well as the EV Braintrust in Georgia. He serves on the Georgia Public Service Commission and regulates energy for Georgia.
Chandra Farley
Chandra Farley serves as Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Atlanta. In this role, Chandra sets direction for the City’s sustainability and resilience goals and leads the interdepartmental, and community-wide, engagement necessary to address the inequitable effects of climate change. Chandra’s charge is the development of a comprehensive climate resilience strategy that will address energy insecurity, healthy housing, food systems, waste diversion, building decarbonization, workforce training, and fleet electrification while advancing the City’s goal to achieve 100% clean energy for 100% of Atlantans by 2035. Chandra is also developing the strategy to leverage the historic federal investment in clean energy and the Justice40 Initiative to advance these goals through a lens of environmental justice. Prior to joining the City, Chandra founded ReSolve Consulting, an energy justice consulting firm and the “Good Energy Project,” a social space connecting the transformational power of Black Women and their community leadership to the movement for an equitable clean energy economy. In 2022, Chandra completed a historic run for the Georgia Public Service Commission.
Scott Moskowitz
Scott Moskowitz is the Vice President of Market Strategy and Industry Relations for Qcells where he works in support of the company’s policy and business development goals. Scott is widely regarded as a leading expert on the global renewable energy industry with a specific emphasis on supply chains, competitiveness, and technology. His work for Qcells has focused on building consensus to grow the U.S. solar manufacturing sector, which culminated in passage of the landmark Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act in August 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Scott also sits on the board of directors for the Solar Energy Industries Association and Georgia Solar Energy Association, and he has been regularly cited in national publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Prior to Qcells, Scott spent five years at GTM Research (acquired by Wood Mackenzie), the leading market intelligence firm in the U.S. clean energy industry. There, he led a five-person team researching technology trends and market competitiveness in the solar, battery storage, and wind industries. He earned his master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of California, Davis and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and mathematics from Vanderbilt University. Scott lives in Decatur, Georgia with his wife and two daughters.
Jason Peace
Jason Peace is the Senior Vice President of Business Development at Freyr Battery. Since spearheading the site selection process that brought Freyr Battery’s cutting-edge plant to Coweta County, Georgia in late 2022, Jason has been at the forefront of a new era in sustainable energy. Freyr Battery, a publicly traded company on the NYSE, is on a mission to revolutionize the mobility and energy storage markets with cost-effective lithium-ion batteries. With initial operations in Norway, the company is now channeling its focus on securing the necessary financing to bring their vision to life right here in Georgia. Before joining FREYR, Jason had a distinguished 22-year career at Koch Industries. Most of his time was spent with Georgia-Pacific, where he held a variety of roles across different locations and business units. In his final role, Jason was part of Koch’s venture investment team, focusing on innovative energy growth companies spanning solar, hydrogen, nuclear, carbon capture and various battery technologies and materials. He holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Emory University.
Miguel Granier
Miguel has nearly two decades of experience financing businesses from start-up to growth stage. As the Founder/Managing Director of Invested Development (ID) and the Impact Factoring Fund (IFF), and Investment Manager for First Light Ventures, he led investments in dozens of start-ups across nine countries and three continents. Miguel began his career in finance as a loan officer for the global microfinance organization ACCION and has worked for the insurance giant Fidelity National Financial in New York and the Delter Business Institute in Beijing, China. Miguel holds or has held Board positions at more than a dozen start-ups, including Growing Energy Labs, Inc (acquired by Hanwha/Q-Cells), Simpa Networks (acquired by Engie), OnFarm (acquired by SWIIM Systems), and iHub (acquired by ccHub). He has also served on the Boards of several non-profit organizations, including Greentown Labs, Village Capital, and Global Growers Network. Miguel has earned two Master’s degrees from Georgia Tech, one in City and Regional Planning and the other in Sustainable Energy and Environmental Management. In addition, he is a Distinguished External Fellow at Georgia Tech’s Strategic Energy Institute and has been an adjunct faculty at the Monterrey Institute of International Studies, Northeastern University, and Georgia Tech.
Carrie Barnes
Carrie Barnes serves as a Senior Strategist in Community & Leadership Development with Georgia Electric Membership Corporation (Georgia EMC), which is the statewide trade association representing Georgia’s 41 electric membership cooperatives (Co-ops), Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Georgia Transmission Corporation and Georgia System Operations Corporation. Co-ops are member-owned, not-for-profit utilities that serve 4.4 million Georgians, nearly half the state’s population, across 73 percent of Georgia’s land area with the largest distribution network in the state. Carrie is an experienced facilitator, Gallup Certified CliftonStrengths® coach, Community Heart and Soul Coach, and StrategicDoing Practitioner. She has worked with Georgia EMC since 2014 and specializes in community and organizational planning. Carrie began her career in Community and Economic Development with the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission. She then went on to work with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) in the Office of Downtown Development and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). A native of Tampa, Florida, Carrie attended Mercer University and completed her Masters in City and Regional Planning (MCRP) with a focus on Economic Development at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Carrie lives in Cartersville, Georgia with her husband and two daughters.
Mike Robinson
Mike Robinson serves as the Vice President of Grid Transformation, Power Delivery for Georgia Power. In this role, Mike leads an organization responsible for distribution and transmission planning, administration of the Georgia Integrated Transmission System, data analytics and fiber strategy, and Power Delivery compliance. Mike works with multiple organizations to identify our long-term transmission and distribution strategies to address our future needs. He actively engages with system and industry partners to appropriately identify industry-wide solutions, alternatives, and emerging technologies. Mike has comprehensive experience across Power Delivery and the Georgia Integrated Transmission System. Since joining in 1989, Mike has served in various roles across the system, starting off at Georgia Power as a co-op student. After leaving the company to serve in the United States Navy, he worked for a progressive municipality in south central Texas for six years focusing on distribution engineering and substation maintenance. In 1999, he returned to Southern Company as a Power Quality engineer with Alabama Power. Since then, he has held numerous positions in Power Delivery, including multiple leadership positions in Planning, Transmission Maintenance, Operations and Distribution. In 2018, Mike served as the lead for our Super Bowl preparedness efforts working with the NFL and Department of Homeland Security and has testified at the Georgia Public Service Commission during our 2019, 2022, and 2023 IRP and rate case proceedings. Mike earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University and is a registered professional engineer in the state of Texas. Mike and his wife, Johnna, live in Roswell, GA and have four adult boys, Zach, Christian, Jake, and Seth and have most recently added their lovely daughter-in-law, Anne Katherine.
Steve Jackson
Steve Jackson serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for MEAG Power, responsible for the generation and bulk power areas of operation. He has over 40 years of utility experience, specializing in power generation construction and utility operations. Steve worked for Big Rivers Electric Corporation and Tennessee Valley Authority in various engineering positions prior to joining MEAG Power in 1995. He is a representative on the Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM) Board and also serves on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Energy and Industrial Construction Consortium (GEICC). Steve holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky, a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from the University of Evansville and has been registered as a Professional Engineer in Kentucky and Tennessee.
Heather Teilhet
Heather H. Teilhet is Sr. Vice President of External Affairs at Oglethorpe Power Corporation, one of the nation’s largest power supply cooperatives in assets, annual sales and customers served. Oglethorpe Power supplies generation to 38 Electric Membership Corporations (EMC’s) in Georgia, which serve more than four million citizens across approximately two-thirds of the state’s land area. Oglethorpe Power has more than $16 billion in assets and annual revenue of approximately $2 billion. Heather is responsible for Corporate Communications, federal and state level Governmental Affairs and Community Relations for Oglethorpe Power. Heather’s team represents Oglethorpe before U.S. Congress, federal and state regulatory agencies, the Georgia General Assembly, Governor’s Office, Constitutional Offices and other governmental entities. In Community Relations, Heather’s team manages the company’s critical relationships in the thirteen rural Georgia communities where Oglethorpe Power owns generation assets. Heather is also a member of the senior leadership team leading Oglethorpe Power’s strategy on federal grant applications and management. Before joining the Oglethorpe Power in January 2017, she worked for the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation as Vice President of Government Relations, representing the state’s 41 electric cooperatives. Before her role at Georgia EMC, she served as a member of the senior staff to Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. Heather has approximately 25 years of experience as a professional communicator, advocate, government relations professional and media spokesperson. Heather graduated with honors from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and earned a Master of Public Administration at Georgia State University. Heather and her husband, Rob, live in Marietta, Georgia with their three daughters.
Jeff Pratt
Jeff Pratt serves as the President of Green Power EMC, based in Tucker, Ga., where he is responsible for the day to day management of the renewable energy portfolio that provides energy to 38 Georgia electric cooperatives. In addition, he leads the effort to source, evaluate and contract for new renewable energy projects. Green Power EMC provides renewable energy education materials and programs that Georgia’s cooperatives employ for the benefit of their end-use members. In addition, Jeff serves as Vice President of Emerging Technologies for Oglethorpe Power Corporation headquartered in Tucker, Ga. In this role, he leads collaborative efforts to explore, engage and implement emerging technologies such as electric vehicles and other new technologies changing the energy landscape. Jeff has 30 years of experience working with Georgia’s electric cooperatives, including managing commercial and industrial marketing for Jackson EMC in Jefferson, Ga. Jeff also previously led Oglethorpe Power’s power supply planning and financial forecasting efforts. In this role, he helped lay the groundwork for future power supply opportunities for Georgia’s electric cooperatives, including construction and purchase of new generation facilities. Jeff is also experienced in natural gas marketing efforts in Georgia’s deregulated environment and utility rate design. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Auburn University and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Georgia State University. He resides in Jefferson, Ga. with his wife Tracy and their three children.
H. Grant Cagle Sr.
H. Grant Cagle Sr. is the President and CEO of the Georgia Economic Developers Association, leading the association in its three core functions of professional development, networking, and public policy. Having been involved in economic development for almost 10 years in Georgia, Grant has extensive knowledge and relationships throughout the state and beyond. Prior to leading GEDA, Grant worked as the manager of statewide industrial project management for Electric Cities of Georgia Inc. and in marketing and communications for the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. Grant has been involved in various statewide and local initiatives and nonprofits throughout his career, and has a deep passion for seeing Georgia prosper through economic development. He was a scholarship student-athlete at Georgia State University where he received a B.A. in religious studies.
Elizabeth McLean
Elizabeth McLean is the Assistant Director of Statewide Projects at the Georgia Department of Economic Development. In this role, she focuses on fostering economic growth across Georgia through the recruitment of both domestic and international companies to the state. Prior to joining the Department, she served as the City Manager of McRae-Helena where she oversaw municipal operations, budgeting, and community relations.
Lonnie Smallwood
Lonnie Smallwood is a Business Recruitment Director for Georgia Power, guiding prospects through every phase of the location process, including market evaluation, site selection, utility assessment, and workforce analysis. Previously, Lonnie served as Community Development Manager, for the Metro West Region, after working for ten years as a statewide industrial project manager for both Electric Cities of Georgia and Georgia EMC. In these roles, Lonnie was directly involved in project locations for companies such as Beretta, GE, Georgia Pacific, Owens Corning, UPS, Wayfair, and Amazon. In addition, Lonnie worked for seven years in politics, serving as a Middle Georgia Field Director for Governor Sonny Perdue, Legislative Liaison for Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, and as a public affairs consultant for Fortune 500 companies including Merck, Ford, Boeing, and FedEx. A Georgia native, Lonnie lives in Atlanta, and is a graduate of The University of Georgia with a degree in Political Science and International Affairs. He is a 2023 graduate of the Leadership Georgia, and in his free time nurtures a love/hate relationship with golf, and enjoys playing guitar – sans Wonderwall.
Serra Hall
Serra Hall is the Executive Director of the Newton County Industrial Development Authority. In her years with the Authority, she has recruited multiple multi-billion-dollar investments, supported the creation of thousands of jobs such as Facebook’s Newton Data Center, Lidl Inc., McKinley Paper (formerly US Corrugated), and Cinelease Studios; and numerous legacy expansions by General Mills, FiberVisions and Nisshinbo Automotive all by way of strong partnership and collaboration with local, regional and state partners. Hall is a member of the Georgia Economic Developers Association and serves as Existing Industry and Workforce Development chair. She is also a member of the Southern Economic Development Council, International Economic Development Council and International Council of Shopping Centers. She also is a member of the Piedmont Newton Hospital board of directors. A Newton County native, Hall attended the University of Georgia and is an avid Georgia Bulldogs fan. She is married to Stephen Hall, and they are the parents of Samuel.
Andrew Capezzuto
Andrew Capezzuto is the Director of Corporate Affairs for Rivian. Serving on Rivian’s Legal and Public Policy Team, Andrew leads a team that is responsible for pursuing financial and tax incentive programs, overseeing licensing for Rivian’s service centers and spaces, and driving community engagement and thought leadership activities. Andrew previously served as both the Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel at the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) where he oversaw strategic planning and legal matters, including negotiating incentive contracts with companies locating or expanding in Georgia. Prior to his work at GDEcD, he was an attorney in the commercial litigation division of Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Andrew received law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law, with honors, and his undergraduate degree in business from the University of Georgia.
Amir Farokhi
Amir Farokhi is a member of the Atlanta City Council and Chair of the Board of GeorgiaForward. Born and raised in Marietta, Amir now lives in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward with his family. Professionally, he has led US programming for CARE USA, worked with a global consulting firm, founded and managed state and national non-profit organizations, and practiced law. From 2011-2013 and in 2018, Councilmember Farokhi was named among the Most Influential Georgians by Georgia Trend Magazine. He is a 2011 Marshall Memorial Fellow, graduate of LEAD Atlanta (2006) and Leadership Atlanta (2013), and a Civil Society Fellow with the Aspen Institute (2021-2024). Councilmember Farokhi is a graduate of Duke University and Duke University School of Law and was the first Iranian-American elected official in the American South