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Mary O'Toole is senior consultant for Shaw Environmental. Mary has over 25 years of experience in the field of regulatory and environmental strategy development as they relate to the electric utility industry. Previously Mary was employed at Exelon/ComEd where she was responsible for negotiations and processes regarding environmental strategies, energy efficiency and renewable energy education.
She has chaired the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, the Solar Electric Power Association and is recognized as an expert on renewable development. Mary holds a Master’s in business administration from Loyola University and a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Marquette. Ms. O’Toole is a Board member of the Girl Scouts of Chicago, the Leadership Greater Chicago Fellows Association and the Marquette University National Advisory Committee, Endowment and Alumni Engineering Boards.
Kimberly Smith, is a mechanical engineer in Charlotte, NC. Her responsibilities include the O&M & construction manuals, distribution integrity management, leak management and operations compliance at Piedmont
Natural Gas. Her previous job responsibilities have included maintenance
programs, supply chain, strategic sourcing, and manufacturing.
She has worked in the energy industry since 2003, in addition to 2 years of telecommunications and 2 years of aircraft experience. She received her BS in Mechanical Engineering from Alabama A&M University with a double in Mechanical Drafting and Design.
Sarah Vyvoda, is a chemical engineer from Evansville, IN. She received her BS in Chemical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, IN in 2004. Sarah’s career started in the medical device industry in San Jose, CA as an oncology device consultant. She left the engineering field for 2 years to earn her Pastry Chef degree from Le Cordon Bleu, San Francisco, and worked as a master decorator at Icing on the Cake Bakery in Los Gatos, CA. Upon relocating back to Evansville, IN in 2008, Sarah entered the energy industry. Currently, she is working as an integrity management engineer for the Gas Transmission Integrity Management Department at Vectren. Sarah is affiliated with other social and community organizations such as the Chi Omega Fraternity – Gamma Lambda Chapter, and Habitat for Humanity.
Cindy Norlin is the director renewable energy construction at DTE Energy. Her responsibilities include engineering, design, construction and in-commissioning of Wind Farms, utility owned solar installations and the execution of the enterprise’s DOE grant for Smart Grid installation.
Her previous job responsibilities have included extensive experience in field engineering, construction and contract administration.
She has a BS in Construction Engineering from Lawrence Technological University in Southfield Michigan. She has worked for DTE Energy for over 30 years.
Amy Dlugokecki, CPA is EAM Program enterprise director for Duke Energy. Her role is to establish, implement, own, lead and direct the Enterprise Asset Management function for Duke Energy. This includes providing leadership for establishing the procedures and processes needed to support the asset and work management tool across the all business units, excluding nuclear.
She received her BSBA from Ohio State University and her MBA from University of Dayton. She currently serves on: the Kentucky Gas Association board of directors and the Lakota Schools Finance Committee.
When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with family, friends, her dog Pongo, cheering for Ohio State and gardening.
Vicki Ebner is Sr. VP- Customer and Government Relations for UGI Utilities, Inc., a natural gas distribution company in south central Pennsylvania. Vicki began her career with UGI in 1988 in Federal Regulatory Affairs. In 1996 she moved to UGI’s Harrisburg operating area as Customer Relations Manager responsible for the local marketing activities in the residential, industrial and commercial markets. In 1998 she returned to UGI’s headquarters as Vice President - Gas Supply responsible for the management of UGI’s gas supply portfolio, gas control and dispatching, and federal regulatory activities. In 1999, she was given the additional responsibilities for Marketing, Rates and Communications. In 2008 she was named Vice President – Operations. This position has responsibility for field operations, engineering, customer accounting including the call center and credit, fleet and procurement for UGI’s three natural gas distribution companies and one electric company.
She has a Bachelor’s Degree from Lafayette College and a Juris Doctorate from Dickinson School of Law.
Lori Fobes, P.E., graduated from Michigan Technological University with a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering in 1981. Lori is currently Manager of Laboratory Services at Consumers Energy. For the previous two years Lori was the Director of Natural Gas Pipeline Integrity at Consumers Energy, responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable gas safety codes. Lori also co-founded and co-leads the Women Engineer Network at Consumers Energy, which provides a mechanism for women engineers at the company to connect and share experiences, with the purpose of increasing engagement and retention. Lori joined Consumers Energy as an engineer in Laboratory Services in 1986 and spent 23 years at the Laboratory in positions of increasing responsibility, including Department Head of Non-Destructive Testing and Materials Testing Services, specializing in conducting metallurgical failure analysis for Consumers Energy and a variety of manufacturing companies.
Before joining Consumers Energy, Lori spent several years doing research and development at Valeron Corporation, a carbide cutting tool manufacturer and as a senior metallurgist at Kelsey Hayes Automotive in Romulus, Michigan. Currently Lori serves as a chapter director of the Jackson Chapter of the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers. Lori has also served as Chairperson of the Electric Power Materials Committee, an organization of approximately 50 metallurgists from electric utilities around the country. Lori and her husband, Ron, reside in Jackson, Michigan.
Millie Louissaint, district supervisor of Gas Operation at Citizens Gas, a local natural gas distributor of Citizens Energy Group, a public charitable trust located in Indianapolis, IN. Millie holds a Business Certificate from Indiana University Kelly School of Business and is in the process of completing her Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Communication from Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. Millie began her career with Citizens Gas over 30 years ago as an entry level file clerk. Her first 18 years of responsibilities included positions in Customer services, Billing, and Credit and collections. In 1994, after returning from a continuing education leave, she decided to step out of her comfort zone and test wearing a Gas Operations hat as a distribution and utilization dispatcher which has lead her to becoming the first Afro American female and second female District Supervisor of gas operations. Her current responsibility includes managing bargaining unit employees as First Responders focused on helping customers conserve energy while providing safe reliable gas service and minimizing the environmental footprint of our operations. She is also currently establishing an alliance for the women at Citizens Energy Group. When she isn’t working, Millie spends time with her family and volunteering in the community.
Mary Lucarelli is the Fleet Services Coordinator at INTREN, Inc. She joined INTREN in 2010 and is responsible for overseeing the maintenance and service of INTREN’s fleet that includes over 650 pieces of equipment and 195 additional rental units.
Prior to joining INTREN, Mary was the Corporate Logistics Manager for a Fortune 500 Pharmaceutical Company. Mary was responsible for managing a private fleet consisting of 1,200 tractors and trailers. Her responsibilities included handling all budgets, policies and contracts with vendors.
Mary was also trained to be a diversity trainer/facilitator, and developed and implemented the following programs: “The Coach/Team Player” and “The Kudos Program”. These programs created developmental leadership and employee recognition opportunities for all employees.
She was also presented with the Employee of the Year Award for creating and implementing a project that saved the company $12M the first year of implementation and $3M each additional year.
Mary’s professional development includes graduating from the inaugural class for Leadership Greater McHenry County (LGMC). LGMC’s goal is to foster and develop community leaders. Mary took her role as a community leader seriously and served two consecutive terms on the Board of Directors for a Not for Profit organization called “Youth Outlook.” This organization is committed to providing a safe, supportive, and respectful environment for adolescents, in order to facilitate ongoing personal growth and development of a positive identity.
Clarissa McWherter, P.E. is an engineer for CenterPoint Energy in Little Rock, Arkansas. She is responsible for designing, implementing, and managing capital projects for the distribution system in Arkansas. She has been at CenterPoint for 8 years and also played a key role in the integrity management framework in Arkansas, which includes implementation of the required assessments outlined at the federal level.
Clarissa received her BSIE from the University of Oklahoma and her Masters in Engineering Management from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. She is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Arkansas since 2008. She is currently a participant in the CenterPoint Leadership Academy.
When not at work, Clarissa enjoys spending time with her husband and son outdoors. She loves biking, cooking, reading, and relaxing at the lake.
Nichole R. Owens is a Key Manager for Commonwealth Edison, the primary electric delivery services company for Northern Illinois. Today, ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), one of the nation's largest electric and gas utility holding companies. With over 10 years of experience, Nichole currently is the manager of Technical Services in Engineering where she oversees approximately 30 employees across the ComEd Services territory. Her primary role includes Distribution Mapping and Records, Regulatory Performance & Reporting and Distribution Work Strategy.
Nichole has B.S. from University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and a MBA from Kellstadt (DePaul University) with a concentration in Finance/Financial Management Control.
She is married with one son and two step-daughters. She has served on the board of directors as President of St. Agatha Family Empowerment (S.A.F.E.); a non-for profit organization that support after school, summer activities, and mentoring for students in Kindergarten through 12th grade on the Westside of Chicago. In Exelon, She was also a charter member for the Network of Exelon Women (NEW) an organization within Exelon. NEW is an employee network group with a membership base of women and men employees across ComEd’s parent company Exelon.
Stacy Splittstoesser, P.E., is currently a field engineer for Black Hills Energy (BHE) in Iowa gas operations. Her main duties include designing natural gas pipeline systems such as regulator stations, meter sets, and odorizers for the BHE systems in eastern Iowa. She has been with BHE for about 1 ½ years. Previously she was a pipeline safety inspector for the Public Utilities Commission in South Dakota (2 years) and prior to that she was conducting environmental engineering work for the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources (8 years).
Ms. Splittstoesser received her Bachelor of Science degree in Geological Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in December 2000. She is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and has just recently been elected as Section Representative for the Proposed Dubuque Area Society of Women Engineers (a new proposed SWE section). She currently resides in Dubuque, IA. Stacy is the proud mother of two young men that live and work in South Dakota. When Stacy isn’t working she likes to travel and participate in running and biking events.
Lisa Vallaster, as manager of compliance at South Jersey Gas, oversees all of the company’s distribution compliance, leak reporting and leak survey management. In addition to that role, Lisa also has responsibilities for the Distribution Integrity Management and pipe replacement programs.
Lisa’s career with SJG began over 30 years ago in the Customer Service and Conservation Departments. Through her commitment and dedication to success, eight years later Lisa began advancing through various positions in Divisional Operations that spanned 17 years. Her responsibilities included Fleet and Storeroom Management, Meter Reading and Collections and Division Operations. During the past five years Lisa’s responsibilities have focused on compliance activities.
Lisa is dedicated to serving business and community organizations in the southern New Jersey region. She has served as Chairperson of the Supervisory Committee of the South Jersey Gas Federal Credit Union for over 10 years. Lisa also serves on the Networking and Mentoring Committee of the South Jersey Industries Women’s Leadership Imitative. She has served as the President, Treasurer and Secretary of the St. Anthony’s Women’s club, providing funding for local needy families and also sponsoring the “Honor a Student Award Program”. This program recognizes and monetarily rewards high school students for community service dedication.
When she’s not working, Lisa enjoys spending time with family, husband Robert and two sons Jason & Jesse.
