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Empowering America’s Energy Communities:
IWG Stakeholder Retreat

July 23, 2024 – July 24, 2024

The Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization (Energy Communities IWG) will host a stakeholder retreat in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, July 23, and Wednesday, July 24.

Join energy community leaders from across the nation to take part in this event, which will feature:

  • A Platform for Your Voice: Share your insights to influence the future direction of the Energy Communities IWG and America’s clean energy transition.
  • Invaluable Learning Opportunities: Discover best practices for driving economic growth through private and public investment in energy communities.
  • Strategic Workforce Development: Gain knowledge about building a robust workforce and creating good-paying jobs for transitioning energy workers.
  • Direct Access to Decision-Makers: Engage with key policymakers and provide suggestions and feedback on federal resources and programming.
  • Collaborative Problem-Solving: Participate in a dynamic dialogue aimed at overcoming challenges through innovative, community-based partnerships.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to contribute to the future of the Energy Communities IWG and connect with fellow leaders. We look forward to your participation!

Venue

Convene Hamilton Square
600 14th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20005

Convene is located near the Metro Center, Federal Triangle and McPherson Square metro stations and offers nearby paid parking.

Agenda

Tuesday, July 23
1:00 p.m.– 5:00 p.m. ET
5:00–7:00 p.m. ET:  Optional evening activities

Wednesday, July 24
8:00 a.m.– 4:30 p.m. ET

View Agenda (7/24/24)

This event is at capacity. Please contact us at [email protected].

Speakers

Clemmy Allen

Executive Director
United Mine Workers of America

Brian J. Anderson

Executive Director
Energy Communities IWG

Grace Blanchard

Program Manager
Resilient Economies and Communities National Association of Counties

Heather Boushey

Chief Economist
Invest in America Cabinet at the White House

Lael Brainard

National Economic Advisor
Co-Chair Energy Communities IWG

Noah Brown

Senior Advisor
U.S. Department of Education

Carolyn Bryan

Regional Planner
EPA Region 8

Sharon Buccino

Principal Deputy Director
U.S. Department of Interior OSMRE

Ruthie Caldwell

Owner
Vision Granted Consulting

Tom Cormons

Executive Director
Appalachian Voices

Terri Dean

Chief of Staff
EPA Region 3

Karen Fabiano

Program Manager
Appalachian Regional Commission

Ashlee Fitch

Director
Steelworkers Charitable and Educational Organization

Donna Gambrell

President and CEO
Appalachian Community Capital

Jon Grosshans

Senior Advisor
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Colby Hall

Executive Director
Shaping Our Appalachian Region

Jacob Israel Hannah

CEO
Coalfield Development

Kaila Hood

Senior Policy Advisor
Office of Rep. Melanie Stansbury

Kevin John

Four Corners RRT Lead
Los Alamos National Laboratory

Leasha Johnson

Executive Director
Mingo County Redevelopment Authority

Betony Jones

Director of Energy Jobs
U.S. Department of Energy

Doug Lynott

Director of Economic Development Integration and Disaster Recovery
U.S. Economic Development Administration

Gayle Manchin

Federal Co-Chair
Appalachian Regional Commission

Rachel McCleery

Senior Advisor
U.S. Department of the Treasury

Luke McGowan

Head of Federal Initiatives
Bloomberg Philanthropies

Thomas Minney

Executive Director
The Nature Conservancy in West Virginia

Jack Morgan

Senior Program Manager
NADO Research Foundation

Dru Palmer

Grants Integration Manager
Office of Gov. Mark Gordon

John Podesta

Senior Advisor to the President
International Climate Policy

Deborah Pontzer

President
Grow Rural PA

Daniel Raimi

Director and Fellow
Equity in the Energy Transition Initiative at Resources for the Future

Kate Ringness

Sr. Advisor to the Secretary
U.S. Department of Energy

Samantha Silverberg

Deputy Assistant to the President for Infrastructure Implementation
The White House

Jigar Shah

Director
Loan Programs Office

Michael D. Smith

CEO
AmeriCorps

Carla Vita

Director
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development

Matthew Warren

International Representative
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

Briggs White

Deputy Executive Director
Energy Communities IWG

Rachael Young

Deputy Director of Partnerships
Just Transition Fund

Ali Zaidi

Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor
Co-Chair Energy Communities IWG

Additional speakers to be announced.

Accomodations

Convene Hamilton Square is conveniently located in downtown Washington, D.C, near the White House, Capitol Building and National Mall.

A list of recommended nearby hotels is below:

Nearby Hotels

Hotel Washington
515 15th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20004
.1 mile to venue

Hilton Garden Inn
815 14th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
.2 mile to venue

 Sofitel Lafayette Square Park
806 15th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
.3 mile to venue

Washington Marriott at Metro Center
775 12th St. NW
Washington, D.C., 20005
.3 mile to venue

Hamilton Hotel
1001 14th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
.4 mile to venue

 Club Quarters Hotel
839 17th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
.6 mile to venue 

 

Convene Hamilton Square

600 14th St NW
Washington, DC 20005 United States

+ Google Map

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Clemmy Allen

Executive Director, United Mine Workers of America

Clemmy Allen is the executive director of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Career Centers Inc. UMWACC focuses on providing workforce training for adults in rural coal mining communities of Appalachia, catering to both incumbent workers and new entrants to the workforce. They provide training programs in mechatronics, cybersecurity, commercial trucking, and applied data at campuses in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Brian J. Anderson

Executive Director
Energy Communities IWG

Brian J. Anderson, Ph.D., was named executive director of the Biden Administration’s Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization in April 2021. In this role, Anderson strategically leverages national laboratory resources and expertise to help ensure the shift to a clean energy economy creates good-paying union jobs, spurs economic revitalization, remediates environmental degradation and supports energy workers in coal, oil and gas, and power plant communities. Anderson led development of the IWG’s initial report that included recommendations to catalyze robust economic activity and support workers in America’s energy sector; these recommendations are now driving revitalization efforts in Appalachia and across the nation.

A longtime resident of West Virginia and a descendant of coal miners, Anderson brings extensive expertise in regional innovation and technology development for the energy sector. He served as director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) from 2018-2023. Anderson then joined DOE’s Office of the Under Secretary for Infrastructure, serving as senior advisor on energy communities. In this role, his work spans the program portfolio and includes institutionalizing the place-based work of the IWG and providing technical advice and guidance to the under secretary, deputy under secretary, and program offices within the Office’s portfolio.

Anderson earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at West Virginia University and his master’s and doctorate in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Grace Blanchard

Program Manager for Resilient Economies and Communities
National Association of Counties (NACo.)

At the National Association of Counties, Grace Blanchard is Senior Program Manager for Resilient Economies and Communities and works on a portfolio aimed at assisting county officials across America to build stronger local economies. Grace oversees NACo’s Building Resilient Economies in Coal Communities (BRECC) initiative, a community of practice for coal-impacted communities supported by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Before joining NACo, Grace worked as regional planner with the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission and led economic development projects for outdoor recreation, entrepreneurial ecosystems, and downtown revitalization. Prior to that, she was a Virginia Governor’s Fellow serving the Secretary of Commerce and Trade. Grace holds a bachelor’s degree in from the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Grace has a deep appreciation for coal communities.

Heather Boushey

Member of Council of Economic Advisers & Chief Economist, Invest in America Cabinet
The White House

Heather Boushey is chief economist to the Invest in America Cabinet at the White House and a member of the Council of Economic Advisers. Boushey is also co-founder of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, where she was president and CEO from 2013 to 2020. Previously, Boushey was chief economist for former Secretary of State Clinton’s 2016 transition team and an economist for the Center for American Progress, Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, Center for Economic and Policy Research, and Economic Policy Institute. She is the author of “Unbound: How Economic Inequality Constricts Our Economy” and “Finding Time: The Economics of Work-Life Conflict.” Boushey contributes to The New York Times, The Atlantic and Democracy Journal and appears on MSNBC, CNBC and PBS.

Lael Brainard

National Economic Advisor
Co-Chair, The Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization

Lael Brainard, Ph.D., serves as the Director of the National Economic Council (NEC), advising President Biden on domestic and international economic policy. Prior to her appointment to the NEC, she served as Vice-Chair of the Federal Reserve. Dr. Brainard took office as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in June 2014 to fill an unexpired term ending January 31, 2026. Prior to her appointment to the Board, Dr. Brainard served as undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury from 2010 to 2013 and counselor to the secretary of the Treasury in 2009.

From 2001 to 2008, she was vice president and the founding director of the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution. Dr. Brainard also previously served as deputy national economic adviser for President Clinton. From 1990 to 1996, she was assistant and associate professor of applied economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management.

Dr. Brainard received a BA with university honors from Wesleyan University in 1983. She received an MS and a Ph.D. in economics in 1989 from Harvard University, where she was awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship. She is also the recipient of a White House Fellowship.

Noah Brown

Senior Advisor with the Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education

Noah Brown is a Senior Advisor with the Department of Education in the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education. He is a widely recognized and award-winning higher education policy and governance expert, author, and educator whose experience spans four decades in the nation’s capital. Brown previously served 16 years as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT).

His inaugural book, First in the World: Community Colleges and America’s Future, won the 2013 Bellwether Book Award. Noah is a former faculty member for Doctorate in Community College Leadership Program at Ferris State University. In addition to leading ACCT, Noah has served in many affiliated leadership capacities. He served as a Founding Member of the College Promise Advisory Board and Chair of the Executive Committee. Brown is a past member of the Level Up Advisory Board, Seal of Excelencia Advisory Board, Single Stop USA Advisory Board, and National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship Board of Directors.

In addition, Noah has held a number of other appointed positions in and out of government. Noah holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an Honorary Associate of Arts from Atlantic Cape Community College in New Jersey.

Carolyn Bryan

Regional Planner, EPA Region 8

Carolyn Bryan (she/her) is a Regional Planner for EPA Region 8 in the Office of the Regional Administrator. She currently serves as federal lead for the Wyoming Rapid Response Team. As part of her role, she collaborates with Wyoming stakeholders and federal partners to coordinate efforts to support economic development in the state. Carolyn previously served as Regional Minority Health Analyst in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services in Region 8.  She received her B.A. in Public Health from the University of South Carolina in 2013 and her Master of Public Health in 2015 from Montclair State University in New Jersey.

Sharon Buccino

Principal Deputy Director
U.S. Department of Interior Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

On January 2, 2024, Sharon Buccino joined the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement as the Principal Deputy Director. While leading the agency, Sharon will focus on advancing OSMRE’s mission of ensuring that coal mines are operated in a manner that protects citizens and the environment, land is restored to beneficial use following mining, and that the impacts of historic coal mining are addressed in order to improve the health, environment, and economic opportunities of communities in coal country.

Sharon comes to OSMRE from Laramie, Wyoming, where she has been teaching as an adjunct at the University of Wyoming’s College of Law and served on the City of Laramie’s Planning Commission. On the commission, Sharon focused on housing, growth management, and local economic development, and was selected as the Wyoming Planning Commissioner of the Year for 2023.

Sharon has over 30 years of experience practicing administrative, environmental, and energy law. She has been an active member of the Foundation for Natural Resource and Energy Law.

Sharon is originally from Lakeland, Florida, where she grew up surrounded by cattle, orange groves, and phosphate mines. She has two adult daughters and currently lives with her husband in Laramie.

Ruthie Caldwell

Owner, Vision Granted Consulting

Ruthie Caldwell is a project manager, grant writer, facilitator, and owner of Vision Granted Consulting. She has led dozens of diverse teams in planning, managing, and funding community and economic development projects across Central Appalachia. As a “Bureaucracy Navigator,” Ruthie specializes in helping organizations that are new to grants, plan impactful projects and find ways to pay for them. She is an Accelerate Kentucky Fellow, serves on the Steering Committee for What’s Next EKY?!, and was the Project Manager and Co-Author for Thriving Downtowns: an investment playbook for rural Appalachia. 

Tom Cormons

Executive Director, Appalachian Voices

Tom has served as executive director at Appalachian Voices since 2013. The organization has expanded under his leadership to include a major emphasis on solutions — advancing clean energy and sustainable economies by working successfully to transform federal, state, and local policy while simultaneously driving on-the-ground project implementation — plus winning campaigns to oppose new gas infrastructure and address the legacy impacts of coal.

Appointed by President Biden in 2021, Tom is an inaugural White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council member.

Tom received his J.D. from U.C.L.A. and a B.A. in political and social thought from the University of Virginia. His previous experience includes serving as Virginia Director and Deputy Director of Programs for Appalachian Voices, clerkships with the Southern Environmental Law Center and the U.S. Department of Justice, and researching endangered terns in South America.

Terri Dean

Chief of Staff
EPA Region 3

Terri Dean joined the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in January 2023 as the Chief of Staff. In her role, Terri provides strategic counsel and hands-on support to ensure that the goals and priorities of the Region are met. Terri also leads the Interagency Working Group’s Pennsylvania Rapid Response Team that focuses on delivering assistance and federal resources to energy communities who have experienced a recent or approaching fossil fuel facility closure.   

Prior to joining the EPA, Terri served as the Chief Membership Officer of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania (GSEP) from 2012-2015 during which time she successfully reversed the decline in girl membership leading to GSEP’s admission into the Top Ten Councils in the country for membership. Terri’s experience also includes a 31-year corporate career at Verizon from which she retired as the Senior Vice President of global communications for Verizon Business in 2008. Her accomplishments as a leader and mentor at Verizon earned her the distinction of having a business case written about her by the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia.

Terri is a past member of the Executive Leadership Council, an invitation-only organization of the most senior African American executives in corporate America. She served as the Chair of the Presidential Search Committee and Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Lincoln University, is a former member of the Board of Trustees of Chatham University, and previously chaired the Board of Visitors of the Divinity School at Duke University. Terri also served as the inaugural Chair of the School of Business Advisory Council at Norfolk State University where she conceived the need for and oversaw the development of a business ethics curriculum. She presently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Ron Brown Scholar Program and is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and The Links, Incorporated.

Terri, a graduate of Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, credits Rachel Carson, its most notable alumna, with sparking her interest in protecting human health and the environment.

Karen Fabiano

Program Manager, Local Development District Grant Program
Appalachian Regional Commission

Karen Fabiano has worked at the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) since 2016. Ms. Fabiano currently serves as the Program Manager for the Local Development District (LDD) Grant Program.  Responsibilities include grant management, training, capacity building and project development. Early in her career at ARC, Ms. Fabiano managed the POWER Program which included the development of RFPs, training, and coordinating the program review team.

Prior to ARC, Ms. Fabiano worked for over 32 years at the Ohio Department of Development. During her tenure at the department, she worked with the Small Cities Community Development Program, ARC Program, Community Services Block Grant Program, Weatherization Program and other federal and state programs.

Ms. Fabiano has over 40 years assisting rural communities, non-profits and local businesses with their economic development and infrastructure needs.

Ashlee Fitch

Director of the Steelworkers Charitable and Educational Organization

Ashlee Fitch currently serves as the Director of the Steelworkers Charitable and Educational Organization (SCEO), a non-profit arm of the United Steelworkers International Union. In her role, she supports various training programs that focus on workforce development, skill enhancement for incumbent workers, and safety and health initiatives. Before joining the USW in 2014, Ms. Fitch was a member of USW Local 5668 and worked at a rolled aluminum facility in Ravenswood, W. Va. She is a Certified Safety Professional through the Board of Certified Safety Professionals and holds an MBA and master’s degree in Safety, both from West Virginia University.

Donna Gambrell

President and CEO
Appalachian Community Capital

As President & CEO of Appalachian Community Capital, Donna J. Gambrell is responsible for attracting and directing investments to Community Development Financial Institutions (or CDFIs) and other mission-driven lenders in Appalachia. These lenders, in turn, use the investments to make loans to small business owners, including to minority- and women-owned businesses in underserved communities throughout the region.

Since 2015, when it first began lending, ACC has leveraged $41.5 million and deployed $32.6 million in loans to ACC members. ACC has also provided training and technical assistance designed to strengthen its members’ organizational and lending capacity and ensure their creditworthiness and sustainability. In addition, ACC has obtained over $20 million in grants, which ACC has used for operations or that it passed through to members to help build their capacity, enhance their technical assistance and training programs, or to disburse grants to the members’ small business customers.

Ms. Gambrell is a member of several CDFI boards: Opportunity Finance Network, Raza Development Fund, Fahe, and Southern Bancorp. She also serves as board chair for the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs, a nonprofit organization with over 80 members committed to closing the racial wealth gap in the United States.

She received a Bachelor of Science degree from Towson State University (Maryland) and a Master of Science degree from New York University (New York).

Jon Grosshans

Senior Advisor
US Environmental Protection Agency

Jon Grosshans is a senior advisor with the US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Policy in Washington, DC. He works to align policies and resources that support environmental protection and community revitalization alongside City, County, State, and Federal partners. Much of this coordination focuses on recent Executive Orders and strategic initiatives such as coal and power plant community revitalization, supply chains, energy, critical minerals, and infrastructure.

Colby Hall

Executive Director
Shaping Our Appalachian Region

Colby Hall is the executive director of the Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR), a non-partisan, non-profit organization that advocates for the 54 ARC-mandated counties in eastern Kentucky through local projects and programs following the decline of the coal industry.

The organization’s priorities are centered around broadband and connectivity, remote work, healthy communities, entrepreneurship and regional prosperity.

Before joining SOAR, Hall served as an experienced sales professional and has history working in computer software and transportation.

Hall is a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a bachelor’s degree in biology and biological sciences with experience in health care and business.

Born in Somerset, Hall currently resides in Pikeville and continues to make a difference in the Appalachia region.

Jacob Israel Hannah

CEO for Coalfield Development

Jacob Israel Hannah is Coalfield Development’s CEO. Previously, Jacob held the role of Chief Conservation Officer at Coalfield Development since 2018. With 3 generations of coal mining in his family, and a 5th generation West Virginian, Jacob integrates an empathetic and grounded approach to the strategy of triple-bottom line sustainability; balancing People, Planet, and Prosperity in harmony with each other with a lens towards a fair and just transition.

Jacob’s background intersects the throughline of environmental considerations with social wellbeing and economic development.

Jacob has consulted on Just Transition principles at The White House, The World Bank, and the Clean Energy Ministerial. He holds a bachelor’s degree as a first-generation graduate in the study of Sustainability Management from Bucknell University, and an associate’s degree in Business Administration from Garrett College.

Kaila Hood

Senior Policy Advisor for Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury

Kaila Hood is Senior Policy Advisor for Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury, covering her climate, energy, and environment portfolio, as well as Tribal affairs, and her House Natural Resources Committee work. Kaila has six years of experience working for Members of the House, in both legislative and field outreach roles, with a focus on climate and environmental justice issues. She has also worked for environmental non-profits including League of Conservation Voters and Environment America. Originally from Colorado, Kaila has seen the impacts of the energy transition firsthand and cares deeply about improving and expanding federal support for energy communities.

Kevin John

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Kevin John received his B.S. in chemistry (polymer science concentration) and Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1992 and 1998 respectively. He came to Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1998 as a postdoctoral fellow to work in the field of catalysis with an eye toward energy applications. Dr. John has since developed extensive experience in the management of large teams including the coordination of high-risk R&D activities, the establishment and execution of complex technical projects as well as the implementation of communication strategies aimed at optimizing project success. He currently leads a Rapid Response Team in the Four Corners region that reports to a White House Interagency Working Group focusing on coal-impacted energy communities.

Leasha Johnson

Executive Director
Mingo County Redevelopment Authority

Johnson was appointed to the position of Executive Director on January 1, 2015. She has been employed by the Authority since 2004.  Johnson is a 1988 graduate of West Virginia University where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration.  She is a member of the Southern Economic Development Council and a member of the WV Economic Development Council board of directors.  She is a member of the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority board of directors, and the Vice Chair of the Williamson Health and Wellness Center board of directors.  She also serves as a board member for the Coalfield Community Action Partnership, Williamson Memorial Hospital, and Turnrow Farm Collective.  She is a member of the Tug Valley Chamber of Commerce, and she was an ex-officio member of the Corridor G Regional Development Authority board of directors.

Betony Jones

Director of Energy Jobs
U.S. Department of Energy

Betony Jones is the Director of the Office of Energy Jobs, where she oversees jobs and workforce development strategies across the department as well as engagement with organized labor and other stakeholders to ensure that DOE’s policies and program implementation result in high-quality jobs and economic equity. Prior to joining the Office of Energy Jobs, Jones was a Senior Advisor on Workforce for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Jones began her career working on climate science in the White House Office of Science and Technology policy in the Clinton Administration, where she saw the complex economy-wide nature of climate change as both a challenge and an opportunity. From there, she spent 20 years directing implementation and conducting policy research to demonstrate the employment and economic impacts and opportunities associated with climate action, including as Associate Director of the Green Economy program at the University of California Labor Center and as Founder and CEO of Inclusive Economics, a national strategy firm working at the intersection of labor, workforce, and clean energy. She has published dozens of papers and reports on these topics, and is a nationally-recognized expert in labor-climate issues. Jones earned her Masters from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a B.S. degree from the University of Michigan.

Doug Lynott

Director of Economic Development Integration and Disaster Recovery
U.S. Economic Development Administration

Doug Lynott serves as the inaugural Director of Economic Development Integration (EDI) at the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA). In this role, he leads efforts to streamline and enhance access to federal economic development resources, aiming to foster regional growth and prosperity through innovation and competitiveness. A native of Marquette, Michigan, Doug was inspired by his parents’ dedication to social work and developed a commitment to public service. He pursued a BA in English from St. Norbert College and an MPA from Michigan State University, subsequently joining the federal workforce through the Presidential Management Intern Program. Doug’s career has spanned various positions focused on affordable housing and community development, with his current role at EDA enabling him to significantly impact local and regional economies by promoting interagency collaboration and co-investment.

Gayle Manchin

Federal Co-Chair
Appalachian Regional Commission

Gayle Conelly Manchin was sworn in as the Appalachian Regional Commission’s thirteenth federal co-chair on May 6, 2021, becoming the first ARC Federal Co-Chair from West Virginia. Nominated by President Biden, Manchin works directly with ARC’s 13-member governors– one of whom is appointed annually as States’ Co-Chair– their state alternates and program managers, and a network of local development districts. Together they collaborate to build greater community capacity and strengthen economic growth throughout Appalachia, which increases the region’s ability to compete nationally and globally.

An alumna of West Virginia University, Manchin worked as an educator in Marion County Schools, served on the faculty of Fairmont State University, and was the director of the university’s first Community Service Learning Program. She later directed the AmeriCorps Promise Fellows in West Virginia. Manchin previously served as West Virginia’s First Lady and was appointed to serve as a member of the State Board of Education, serving her last two years as president at both the state and national level. She was the chair of the Board for Reconnecting McDowell, Inc., an AFT initiative serving rural West Virginia, is a past president of the Vandalia Rotary Club of Charleston, and is an emeritus member of The Education Alliance. In addition, she served as cabinet secretary for the West Virginia Office of Education and the Arts, and as co-founder of the WV Public Education Collaborative, Manchin served as the Board Chair until her appointment to the ARC.

Manchin believes in the power of partnerships and advocates for collaboration across Appalachia’s 13 states. As ARC Federal Co-Chair, her top priorities are to support the creation of greater economic opportunities in the Appalachian Region, increase broadband access and critical infrastructure in all Appalachian communities, and work to restore hope and purpose to lives upended by the opioid crisis, all through a cross-regional, multi-state approach.

Rachel McCleery

Senior Advisor
U.S. Department of the Treasury

Rachel is a Senior Advisor in the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Inflation Reduction Act Program Office where she focuses on informing and educating stakeholders about the IRA’s clean energy tax provisions. Previously Rachel was the Director of U.S. Manufacturing Policy at Ford Motor Company where she managed the manufacturing, labor, critical mineral, and supply chain policy portfolios.

Prior to Ford, Rachel served as the Chief Communications Advisor and Deputy Policy Director for Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. In this role Rachel led tax, oversight and illicit finance communications and strategy.

In 2016, Rachel was appointed to Treasury’s Office of Public Affairs as the tax and economic spokeswoman under Secretary Jack Lew. She began her career working for the offices of Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and former Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI) in a variety of communications and policy roles. Hailing from Ida, Michigan, Rachel lives in Washington D.C. and serves on the board of Girls on the Run DC. She is a recurring guest lecturer at George Washington University and Michigan State University.

Luke McGowan

Head of Federal Initiatives for Bloomberg Philanthropies

Luke McGowan is the Head of Federal Initiatives for Bloomberg Philanthropies. Luke works on the Government Innovation team helping city leaders solve their most difficult challenges, especially as they seek to leverage federal funding and partnerships. Before joining Bloomberg Philanthropies, Luke was the Senior Advisor for Economic Recovery at the White House, working on intergovernmental affairs and implementation of the American Rescue Plan, CHIPS & Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, Luke served as the Director of the Community and Economic Development Office of Burlington, Vermont, where he also ran the City’s Resource and Recovery Center in response to COVID-19. Previously, he launched Dirt Road Consulting in Vermont, working in part with the Center on Rural Innovation, and was a US-based venture partner for Mustard Seed, a social and environmental impact fund. His private sector experience began at Thumbtack, a San Francisco-based startup, where he was an early employee and later became Head of Public Policy. During the first term of the Obama-Biden Administration, he served then Vice President Biden as a speechwriter and in his Office of Correspondence, assisting in communication with mayors and governors during the implementation of the Recovery Act. He later joined the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. He has an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Thomas Minney

Executive Director
The Nature Conservancy in West Virginia

Thomas Minney serves as the Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy in West Virginia. In this position, he is responsible for working with the West Virginia Business Unit to set and deliver on conservation that benefits nature and the people of West Virginia. Thomas and his team work with various Nature Conservancy business units and partners across the region to set landscape-scale programming and build cross-boundary approaches to ensure effective conservation in the face of large-scale threats like climate change and opportunities such as forest carbon and renewable energy. He is also responsible for linking West Virginia Business Unit work to the Central Appalachians Whole System Program and to the TNC global community.

Jack Morgan

Associate Director
NADO Research Foundation

Jack Morgan came to the NADO team in 2022 after seven years with the National Association of Counties (NACo) as a Program and Senior Program Manager. Prior to NACo, Jack was a Policy Analyst for Friends of Southwest Virginia. Jack holds a bachelor’s in geography from Emory & Henry College and a master’s in geography from Appalachian State University.

As a NADO Senior Program Manager, Jack leads capacity-building and peer-learning work supporting energy communities in economic transition, regional resilience, and recreation economies. He also helps with the EDA-Austin training program Emerging Leaders.

Jack is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and is a member of the American Planning Association (APA) in the Regional & Intergovernmental Planning division. He also serves on the Emory & Henry College Alumni Board.

Dru Palmer

Grants Integration Manager, Office of Gov. Mark Gordon

Dru grew up on a family farm/ranch in Worland, Wyoming and graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication. Shortly thereafter, she went on to Washington D.C. and became the assistant chief-of-staff for Senator Malcolm Wallop (R-Wyo).

From 1994 to 2005, Dru focused her career on opportunities that promoted access, multiple use and economic growth on public lands. She represented People for the USA (formerly People for the West) and served the multiple use organization as the Mountain States field director and national director of development. From there Dru went to work for a gilsonite mining company in northeastern Utah (Lexco, Inc.), where she managed daily operations and oversaw production for all domestic and export markets. Dru then became the vice president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming.

In 2006, Dru accepted a job with Devon Energy where she eventually became the manager for regulatory affairs, permitting and compliance for Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. She departed Devon in April of 2016. She established DRU Consulting, LLC in 2005.

Most recently and in addition to natural resource policy consulting, Dru has joined Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon’s team as the Grants Integration Manager assisting in standing up the Grants Management Office for the State of Wyoming. This project has never been done in Wyoming and it is an exciting effort that will benefit the State and communities for generations to come.

John Podesta

Senior Advisor to the President
International Climate Policy

John Podesta is the Senior Advisor to President Biden for International Climate Policy at the White House. He initially joined the White House in September 2022 as the Senior Advisor to President Biden for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation (OCEII) to lead the rollout of clean energy provisions under the Inflation Reduction Act. John manages both an international and domestic portfolio through his new role from the White House. He works in coordination with the strong team in the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate office at State Department and the National Security Council to represent the U.S. as a fierce champion of bold climate action, as well as continuing to oversee the team implementing the Inflation Reduction Act. In this role, John engages with international, domestic, and private sector partners to harness the clean energy transition to create more prosperous, equitable, and resilient communities across the world.

Podesta served as counselor to President Barack Obama, where he was responsible for coordinating the administration’s climate policy and initiatives. In 2008, he served as co-chair of President Obama’s transition team. He was a member of the U.N. Secretary General’s HighLevel Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Podesta notably served as White House chief of staff to President William J. Clinton during the second administration. He chaired Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president in 2016.

Outside of his roles in several White House administrations, he is the Founder and former Chair for the Washington, D.C- based think tank Center for American Progress and a Founder and former Chair of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.

A Chicago native, Podesta is a graduate of Knox College and the Georgetown University Law Center, where he is currently a visiting professor of law.

Deborah Pontzer

President
Grow Rural PA

Deborah Pontzer is the President of Grow Rural PA, a community-based nonprofit dedicated to growing economies and improving lives in rural Pennsylvania. Deborah began her career working as a forensic accountant for one of the big six accounting firms before moving on to management positions in higher education, first as the Executive Director of the Community Education Council of Elk and Cameron Counties and then as Director of Outreach and Business Services at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, serving on the President’s Cabinet.

Deborah recently retired after 16 years as a workforce and economic development specialist for U.S. Representatives John E. Peterson and Glenn “GT” Thompson. The 15th Congressional District is one of the largest and most rural Districts east of the Mississippi River and includes many energy communities. Deborah worked on rural economic and community development projects matching constituents’ needs to federal resources.

Since 2003, she has served as a director of CNB Bank/CCNE Fin Corp., a $5.5B commercial/community bank headquartered in Clearfield, PA with divisions in four states and with a long tradition of serving rural communities. Deborah began serving as a director when the bank had assets of $723M and served only Pennsylvania. She has served on various committees during her tenure including, Audit, Corporate Governance, and is currently the chair of the Asset and Liability committee.

Deborah graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Latin American Studies and then earned her MBA at Thunderbird School of Global Management, a division of Arizona State University.

Daniel Raimi

Fellow; Director
Equity in the Energy Transition Initiative, Resources for the Future

Daniel Raimi is a fellow at RFF and a lecturer at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He works on a range of energy policy issues with a focus on tools to enable an equitable energy transition. He has published in academic journals including Science, Science Advances, Environmental Science and Technology, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Energy Research and Social Science, and Energy Policy, in popular outlets including The New Republic, Newsweek, Slate, and Fortune, and quoted extensively in national media outlets such as CNN, NPR’s All Things Considered, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and many more. He has presented his research for policymakers, industry, and other stakeholders around the United States and internationally, including before the US Senate Budget Committee and the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee of the US House’s Natural Resources Committee. In 2017, he published The Fracking Debate (Columbia University Press), a book that combines stories from his travels to dozens of oil- and gas-producing regions with a detailed examination of key policy issues.

He also cohosts Resources Radio, a weekly podcast from RFF, in which he interviews leading researchers on energy and environmental topics.

Kate Ringness

Sr. Advisor to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy

Kate Ringness, Senior Advisor to the Secretary at the Department of Energy, works on Secretarial priorities and other Department-wide issues, including the implementation of community benefit plans through the Department’s financial awards, place-based and just transition efforts, and private-sector engagement. She joined the Secretary’s Office from the Office of Energy Jobs where she focused on industrial strategy, global labor issues, and a clean energy, and quality jobs in clean energy.

Prior to joining the Department of Energy, Kate’s experience in policy, law, and finance informed her work designing multifaceted energy efficiency and clean energy solutions for communities of all sizes and demographics. She also has worked extensively developing state-based roadmaps for economic development in clean energy industries. Kate earned J.D. and LL.M. degrees from Duke University and a Master of Public Policy degree from UC Berkeley.

Samantha Silverberg

Deputy Assistant to the President for Infrastructure Implementation
The White House

Samantha Silverberg serves as Deputy Assistant to the President for Infrastructure Implementation at The White House, where she collaborates with more than a dozen federal departments and agencies to drive implementation of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). She previously served as Special Assistant to the President for Transportation and Infrastructure on the National Economic Council. Before joining the Administration, Silverberg served on the Biden-Harris transition team on the domestic and economic policy team and on two Agency Review Teams. She previously served in multiple capacities at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, leading the development of the authority’s $8 billion Capital Investment Plan. Silverberg began her public service as a Presidential Management Fellow at the Office of Management and Budget and U.S. Department of Transportation. Silverberg is a graduate of the University of Virginia and holds a Master in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Originally from Queens, NY, she currently resides in Maryland with her husband and two sons.

Jigar Shah

Director
Loan Programs Office

Jigar Shah was most recently co-founder and President at Generate Capital, where he focused on helping entrepreneurs accelerate decarbonization solutions through the use of low-cost infrastructure-as-a service financing. Prior to Generate Capital, Shah founded SunEdison, a company that pioneered “pay as you save” solar financing. After SunEdison, Shah served as the founding CEO of the Carbon War Room, a global non-profit founded by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite to help entrepreneurs address climate change.

Shah was also featured in TIME’s list of the “100 Most Influential People” in 2024.

Originally from Illinois, Shah holds a B.S. from the University of Illinois-UC and an MBA from the University of Maryland College Park.

Michael D. Smith

CEO
AmeriCorps

Michael D. Smith is the Chief Executive Officer of AmeriCorps—the federal agency for service and volunteering. CEO Smith has dedicated his career to social justice by reducing barriers and expanding opportunity for children and families in underserved communities, like those where he grew up.

During his tenure at AmeriCorps, CEO Smith has sharpened the agency’s focus on equity, investing in what works and uniting communities through the power of service.

Previously, he served in President Barack Obama’s White House as special assistant to the president and senior director of cabinet affairs, overseeing the My Brother’s Keeper initiative and interagency task force. My Brother’s Keeper led to new federal policy initiatives and grant programs; tens of thousands of new mentors; more than 250 MBK communities; and more than $1 billion in private sector and philanthropic investments.

Before taking the helm of AmeriCorps, CEO Smith served as executive director of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance and director of Youth Opportunity Programs at the Obama Foundation.

Additionally, in a previous role at AmeriCorps, CEO Smith served as director of the Social Innovation Fund. He also spent many years as a philanthropic leader, most recently serving as senior vice president of Social Innovation at the Case Foundation.

Carla Vita

Director Energy Transition Office
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development

Carla Vita is the Director of Energy Transition for the Department of Employment and Economic Development with the State of MN.  Carla started in 2022 creating the department.  This is a relatively new department created by the MN State Legislature and Governor to assist the communities, counties and workers impacted by electric generating power plant closures.   Prior to joining the State of MN, Carla worked in local government.  Carla has won a MN Planning award, MN Economic Development Association Award, among others for past projects.  She also sits as Chair on a nonprofit board, vice-chair on a community advisory board, and volunteers in a variety of ways.  Carla has her Bachelor’s from the U of North Dakota and Master’s from MN State Mankato.   

Matthew Warren

International Representative, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in the Utility Department

Matt Warren is a Michigan native. He works as an International Representative of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in the Utility Department. Prior to coming on-staff in 2022, Matt worked as a Chemistry Technician at a Nuclear Power plant in Michigan for 15 years. His responsibilities for the IBEW include representational matters within the utility power generation industry.

Briggs White

Deputy Executive Director
Energy Communities IWG

Briggs White, Ph.D., serves as deputy executive director of the Biden Administration’s Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization. In this role, he works hand in hand with the 11 federal agency members of the IWG to advance its mission. The IWG is identifying and coordinating opportunities to connect energy communities for federal investments to help ensure the shift to a clean energy economy creates good-paying union jobs, spurs economic revitalization, remediates environmental degradation and supports energy workers in coal, oil and gas, and power plant communities. Prior to being appointed deputy executive director, White was central to a multi-agency effort to prepare the IWG’s initial report, which described existing mechanisms and provided recommendations for future actions that could support and revitalize the economies of energy communities.

White joined the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in 2007 and most recently served as a technology manager for three research and development programs, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management: High Performance Materials, Water Management, and Energy Storage. He is currently based out of NETL’s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, site and worked at NETL’s Morgantown, West Virginia, site from 2007 to 2015. White holds degrees in materials science and engineering from Alfred University (B.S.), the University of Florida (M.S., Ph.D.) and the University of Rome (Ph.D.) with an emphasis on solid-state high-temperature electrochemical devices.

Rachael Young

Deputy Director of Partnerships
Just Transition Fund

Rachael develops and oversees grantmaking and fundraising strategies at the Just Transition Fund. She previously worked for over a decade at the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, where she led place-based and national grantmaking initiatives at the nexus of climate, energy, and economic and racial justice. This work included long-standing engagement with coal transition efforts, and Rachael was an early JTF funding partner. Her philanthropic experience also includes leadership roles with many funder networks and collaborative initiatives, including a pooled fund dedicated to inclusive and accountable community development, an affinity group of rural and urban community engagement funders in New York State, and a funder collaborative focused on capacity building. Rachael has a B.A. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and an M.P.A. from New York University. She is native of Asheville, NC, where she lives with her family.

Ali Zaidi

Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor
Co-Chair, Energy Communities IWG

Ali Zaidi is currently the Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor. Zaidi is a longtime advisor to President Biden, having provided counsel and leadership on climate policy development, legislation, and executive action from day one of the Administration and on the Biden presidential transition and campaign. Zaidi served in leadership roles for climate change and energy during the Obama-Biden Administration and as New York’s Chairman of Climate Policy and Finance and Deputy Secretary for Energy and Environment, where he led the state’s efforts on climate change and clean energy.