Annual Meeting (Sep 16-19)

Alison Levine has made a career out of breaking boundaries and inspiring others to achieve more than they ever thought possible. A history-making polar explorer and mountaineer, she served as team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition, climbed the highest peak on each continent and skied to both the North and South Poles—a feat known as the Adventure Grand Slam— which only twenty people in the world have achieved. In January 2008, she made history as the first American to complete a 600-mile traverse across west Antarctica to the South Pole following the route of legendary explorer Reinhold Messner. Levine completed this arduous journey on skis while hauling 150 pounds of her gear and supplies in a sled harnessed to her waist. She made history again in 2016 when she completed two first ascents: Hall Peak in Antarctica and Khang Karpo in Nepal. Her success in extreme environments is noteworthy given she has had three heart surgeries and suffers from Raynaud’s disease, which causes the arteries that feed her fingers and toes to collapse in cold weather—leaving her at extreme risk for frostbite.

In addition to climbing mountains, Levine has also spent time climbing the corporate ladder. She has worked for several Fortune 500 companies in both sales and marketing roles and spent three years at Goldman Sachs. She left Wall Street in 2003 to serve as Deputy Finance Director for Arnold Schwarzenegger in his successful bid to become governor of California.

When not challenging herself in the outdoors, Levine focuses on training others to become strong leaders. She spent four years as an adjunct professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point in the Department of Behavioral Sciences & Leadership. In 2013 she transitioned from training cadets to working with corporate leaders and currently serves on the board and faculty of the Thayer Leader Development Group at West Point—one of the nation’s premiere executive leader development programs. She was a contributing author to the book Leadership in Dangerous Situations: A Handbook for the Armed Forces, Emergency Services and First Responders (Naval Institute Press). She also served as a board member and Senior Fellow at the Coach K Center on Leadership & Ethics at Duke University.

Levine is the founder of the Climb High Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of jobless women in western Uganda by training them to be trekking guides and porters in their local mountains, thus allowing them to earn a sustainable living wage through climbing-related tourism. Prior to her work in Uganda, women’s only avenue to earn money in this area of the country was through prostitution. Her efforts enabled the very first group of local women to climb Uganda’s highest peak—Mt Stanley. Her work to change the lives of women in Africa is the subject of the PBS documentary Living Courageously.

Levine’s newest role is that of executive producer of the upcoming documentary film The Glass Ceiling (www.theglassceilingmovie.com), which chronicles the life of Pasang Lhamu Sherpa (1961-1993), the first female Sherpa to summit Mt. Everest.

Levine was inducted into the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame in 2018. She holds a BA from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Duke University, where she currently serves on the Board of Visitors. She is the recipient of the 2019 Ellis Island Medal of Honor which recognizes individuals whose accomplishments in their field and inspired service to our nation are cause for celebration. The Medal has been officially recognized by both Houses of Congress as one of our nation’s most prestigious awards and is annually memorialized in the Congressional Record.

A sought-after consultant and keynote speaker on the subject of leadership development, Levine has addressed audiences ranging from Fortune 500 companies to professional sports teams to the prestigious World Economic Forum at Davos. She is the author of the New York Times best-seller On the Edge: Leadership Lessons from Mount Everest and other Extreme Environments. Having spent prolonged periods of time in some of the world’s most dangerous and inhospitable places, she tackles the topics of creating cohesive teams, taking responsible risks, and developing no-nonsense leaders that can succeed in times of uncertainty.

Linda Nazareth is an economist, a futurist and a respected authority on the future of work.

As a newspaper columnist and an author, she knows how to frame things in ways that both educate and entertain, and as the Senior Fellow for Economics and Population Change think-tank at the Macdonald Laurier Institute, she knows what she is talking about.

In 2023 she released her new book ” Working it Out: How to Be Ready for the Redefined Future of Work”

She is also the host of Work and the Future, a new podcast that explores trends around the labour force and the workplace.

Linda’s career has taken some non-traditional turns for someone in her field. Her first jobs was as a government economist where she specialized in labour market planning, which was followed by a stint at a major financial institution where she spent years as a Senior Economist. Wanting to change things up while she could, she lobbied to have a job created for her on Business News Network BNN, and during her time at BNN, Linda started writing books and giving keynote presentations, and eventually left daily broadcasting to give those passions her full-time attention.

Lauren Briggs has been an employee with Tucson Electric Power Co (TEP) for eighteen years and recently accepted the position of Director, Resource Procurement and Planning. In her previous role as Manager of the Balancing Authority Function in System Control & Reliability, she had responsibility for development of approaches to system operations with Balancing Authority (BA)/Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) Operators and coordinating with TEP Wholesale Power Marketing on EIM strategies to ensure reliable and efficient BA/EIM operations. Prior to BA Manager, she was a Reliability Specialist in System Control and a Distribution Engineer in Distribution Planning & Engineering. She received a bachelor’s degree in both Electrical Engineering and English from Bucknell University, her Professional Engineering license in Arizona, and NERC Reliability Coordinator certification. She enjoys video games, podcasts, and spending time with her husband, daughter, and pack of small dogs.

Rosanah (Rose) Santos has over 20 years of experience in multiple industries, with the majority being various facets of the electrical utility sector. She has been with SaskPower since 2015 and recently accepted the position of Director, Northern Natural Gas Generation. Previous to this she held roles with SaskPower as Manager of the Distribution Portfolio Delivery Office and Distribution Engineering Manager.

Rose believes in giving back to her profession. This is demonstrated through her participation in SaskPower’s Mentorship program, Mentoring Circles, and Women’s Resource Group. She been a part of the CEATI Women in Power Mentorship Program since 2018 and is currently on their Steering Committee. She recently was on the Program Development Team for the Western Energy Institute’s Women in Energy Symposium. Joining PMI in 2006, Ms. Santos has previously served as a board member for the PMI-North Saskatchewan Chapter. She also has an active interest in developing young professionals through coaching and mentoring for positive impact.

I have worked in the Regulatory Affairs department of Intermountain Gas Company since 2015. In 2019, I was promoted to manager and then in 2021 our department merged with our sister utility Cascade Natural Gas. My main responsibilities include Purchased Gas Adjustment filings, the revenue requirement portion of general rate case filings, and debt filings in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. I graduated from Boise State University with a degree in Accounting-Finance and I am a Certified Public Accountant.

A graduate of the British Columbia Institute of Technology Matt joined BC Hydro 19 years ago. He began his management career in Kamloops, British Columbia managing transmission overhead line crews responsible for maintenance, construction and emergency repairs for the region’s 69 to 500kV circuits. In 2013, he accepted the position of Cable Manager and moved to Victoria, B.C. where he was responsible for managing crews who maintain both transmission and distribution underground and submarine cable systems for Vancouver Island. In 2017, Matt made the move to distribution overhead when he accepted the Senior Manager’s position for Distribution Line – South Vancouver Island. In 2021, Matt returned to BC Hydro’s Transmission and Cable Departments as Area Manager. He has served as the Chair of BC Hydro’s Cable Technical Working Group, a member of the Powerline Technician Training Advisory Council and most recently has joined BC Hydro’s Apprentice and Trades Training Committee. Outside of work Matt enjoys playing golf, squash and travelling.

Tasha Christensen is a seasoned professional in the engineering and construction industry, currently leading development, execution, and management of natural gas infrastructure projects for a large portion of Dominion Energy Western Distribution’s customer base. She possesses an extensive background in the field, joining Dominion Energy in 2016, following a successful tenure as a Project Manager at Williams Companies, where she played a key role in the development, execution and implementation of pipeline construction standards.
In addition to her technical expertise, Tasha also prioritizes creating an inclusive and supportive work environment for her colleagues. As the Chair of Dominion Energy’s Women’s Resource Group, she is dedicated to promoting professional development and educational opportunities for employees, and acts as a mentor to new engineers, helping the company attract and retain top talent. Tasha holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Engineering with a minor in Petroleum Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Brigham Young University. She is also a proud mother of two young daughters.

I am a passionate Project Portfolio Manager with over 15 years of technical and business experience in the energy industry. I am obsessed with linking execution to strategy, and I believe that every project should have a clear and measurable impact on the organization’s goals.

In my current role at Portland General Electric, I lead the Capital Portfolio Delivery team, which is responsible for evaluating and authorizing all capital projects. I work closely with stakeholders across the organization to ensure that our projects are aligned with our strategic objectives and deliver maximum value.

I’ve been privileged to be a part of many different teams in my career. I started in project management for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and worked on modernizing facilities with new efficiency equipment and communication systems. Then I transitioned to technical marketing engineer for Mentor Graphics where I worked directly with customers and application development teams to improve the customer experience. Next, I moved to consulting engineering where I worked on energy efficient building designs and wind farm development.

I am excited about the future of the electric industry, and I am committed to making a difference. I believe that transportation electrification and distributed energy resources are the keys to a more sustainable future, and I am eager to help my organization lead the way.

Jennifer has dedicated 18 years to SaskPower, spending more than a decade focused on providing financial expertise for capital and supply decisions. In 2018, she assumed the role of Manager of Power Contracts, leading a team of account managers responsible for administering Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and cultivating relationships with Independent Power Producers (IPPs). Her team oversees the entire lifecycle of PPAs, managing contract execution, IPP and interconnection project development, commissioning, operations and decommissioning. Jennifer actively participates in negotiations for new projects, collaborating with legal teams to draft tailored PPAs and other project specific contracts. Jennifer is a CFA charterholder, holds a degree in Finance from the University of Saskatchewan, and recently completed WEI’s BAEL program. She is a proud mother of a 14-year-old girl and finds joy in exploring new destinations whenever possible.

Ashley began her career with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) in 2015 as an Associate Engineer where she held various positions of increasing responsibility in Grid Operations, Substation Construction and Operations (C&O), and Distribution Planning. In 2017, she joined Electric Regional Operations (ERO) as a District Engineer and in 2020, she was promoted to Operations & Engineering Manager to oversee reliability targets, optimize the distribution system and support wildfire prevention efforts. Ashley transitioned to the Wildfire Mitigation Strategy Manager where she led efforts for wildfire risk modeling and deployment of long-term mitigations. In 2023 Ashley began in her current role as the Transmission Grid Control Manager. Ashley received her Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering with a certificate in Power Systems. She holds a professional engineering license (PE) in the state of California.