Every major initiative—from cybersecurity investments and AI adoption to workforce development and grid modernization—ultimately arrives at the CEO’s desk. How do today’s cooperative leaders evaluate risk, prioritize competing investments, and prepare their organizations for an increasingly complex future?
Join a panel of electric cooperative CEOs for an open and candid discussion on leadership in an era of rapid technological change. Hear firsthand how executive leaders are balancing operational reliability, financial stewardship, cybersecurity, member expectations, and innovation while preserving the cooperative principles that have guided our industry for generations.
Whether you’re an IT professional, engineer, operations leader, or executive, this conversation will provide valuable insight into how strategic decisions are made—and what tomorrow’s leaders expect from their technical teams.
The reality of running an enterprise IT system with 1 or even 2 people is daunting. Staffing challenges in IT is a common thread with cooperatives, find out how we are tackling this issue without hiring an employee in the tradional sense. From helpdesk to cyber to project management, the to-do list never feels complete. Learn how aligning project objectives helps to manage the chaos. Some AI examples along with another favorite tool used will also be showcased.
Chris Franzen is an experienced IT leader with more than 19 years of expertise managing complex technology environments across education and utility organizations. As Systems Administrator for MJM Electric Cooperative, he oversees infrastructure, cybersecurity, Microsoft 365 administration, compliance, vulnerability management, and business continuity operations. Throughout his career, Chris has successfully led system migrations, maintained secure and reliable networks, expanded technology capabilities within budget constraints, and delivered cybersecurity awareness training. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from Illinois College and is recognized for combining technical expertise, strategic planning, and practical problem-solving to support organizational success.
Colin Jacobs spent seven years teaching middle school science before making his leap into IT. His time in the classroom provided ample opportunity to troubleshoot under pressure, break the problem down, and meet people where they are. Now he’s an escalation point and Help Desk Team Lead at Blue Layer where he continues to use those same skills, guiding his team and clients to success. In a small west-Texas town like Lubbock Texas, many of his clients are small and mission-driven, each with their own bespoke set of goals, obstacles, and solutions. A lifelong learner, he’s excited to trade ideas and absorb wisdom from others.
Kelsey Jo Angel Dowdy is the Director of Operations at Blue Layer, a managed services, advisory, and cybersecurity consulting company serving organizations throughout Texas and beyond. She oversees client relations, project planning, procurement, and day-to-day operations, both internally and customer-facing. She works closely with clients to understand their needs and turn complex decisions into practical business solutions while considering budget and feasibility. She is passionate about building strong client relationships, team building, and helping customers operate more securely and efficiently. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and her dog, Kono, cheering on the Texas Tech Red Raiders, and playing pickleball and golf.
Matt Ohmes is the IT Manager for SouthEastern Illinois Electric Cooperative, where he has led technology, cybersecurity, and infrastructure initiatives since 2011. With over two decades of hands-on experience in information systems, Matt specializes in operationalizing cybersecurity strategies, streamlining IT operations, and navigating the unique infrastructure challenges facing modern utility cooperatives. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and serves on the IT Steering Committee for SIU Credit Union.
MISO’s Load Modifying Resource (LMR) program plays a critical role in maintaining grid reliability by integrating demand-side resources into the wholesale energy market. This session provides an overview of the LMR program, including eligibility requirements, market participation, accreditation, performance obligations, and recent program developments. Attendees will gain practical insights into how LMRs support resource adequacy, the evolving regulatory landscape, and key considerations for utilities, aggregators, and large energy users.
Michael Gillespie, P.E., is an Electrical Engineer with Shelby Electric Cooperative, where he has worked for more than three years supporting utility operations and engineering initiatives. Michael has over nine years of experience in the electric utility industry and is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in the State of Illinois. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and has experience in electric utility design, planning, operations, and reliability programs. Over the past two years, he has helped support Shelby Electric Cooperative’s participation in MISO’s Load Modifying Resource (LMR) program, providing firsthand experience with program implementation and its benefits. During this session, he will share practical insights into the LMR program and discuss how electric utilities can evaluate and incorporate the program to support reliability and capacity objectives.
Travis Graff serves as Manager of Energy Portfolio at Prairie Power, Inc., where he oversees the cooperative’s energy supply portfolio, MISO market activities, and Load Modifying Resource (LMR) programs. Since joining Prairie Power in 2006, Travis has held a variety of positions across Accounting and Finance, Member Services, and Power Supply, giving him industry experience throughout the organization.
Travis earned a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems and later completed his MBA at Eastern Illinois University. He resides in Springfield, Illinois, with his wife, Ashleigh, and their four children. Outside of work, Travis enjoys playing hockey, traveling, and spending time with his family while supporting his children’s activities.
In today’s connected world, keeping your IT and OT environments as separate—and secure—as possible is more important than ever. But moving from a traditional flat network to a properly segmented environment can seem like a daunting task, especially when you’re dealing with years of existing infrastructure, critical operational systems, and the need to keep everything running along the way.
Join Blake and Glenn as they share their real-world journey from a flat network to a more secure, segmented architecture. They’ll discuss where they started, the challenges they encountered, lessons learned along the way, and the practical steps they took to better separate their IT and OT environments. This session will provide a firsthand look at network segmentation from the cooperative perspective—and how thoughtful planning and incremental improvements can turn a network that keeps you up at night into one that lets you sleep a little easier.
Glenn Williams serves as Vice President of Information Technology at Southwestern Electric Cooperative in Greenville, Illinois, where he leads the cooperative’s technology strategy, cybersecurity, enterprise systems, analytics, telecommunications, and IT operations.
Prior to joining Southwestern Electric Cooperative, Glenn has served at distribution coops in Kentucky and Texas, where he led major technology initiatives including enterprise system implementations, system integrations, cybersecurity improvements, GIS initiatives, and data analytics.
With 20+ years of extensive experience in the electric cooperative industry, Glenn has focused much of his career on using technology and data to improve operational efficiency, strengthen cybersecurity, and provide employees and leadership with better information for decision-making.
Blake Carlson is the System Administrator for Southwestern Electric, where he manages the cooperative’s IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, and business continuity efforts. In his two years with Southwestern Electric, he and his team have worked to ensure the cooperative can securely and reliably serve its membership.
As distributed energy resources (DERs) and battery storage continue to grow, electric cooperatives are navigating new opportunities and challenges across the grid. This session will explore the evolving role of DERs and energy storage, including their impact on system planning, operations, reliability, and load management. Attendees will gain practical insight into how cooperatives can prepare for and effectively integrate these technologies into their systems.
Kevin is a Graduate of Purdue University with a BSEE. He worked the first 9 years of his career at HNTB primarily doing power designs for water and wastewater treatment plants. During histime there, he designed a 24 generator system for backup power to a large package delivery company at their airport facility. Keving joined Johnson County REMC in the fall of 2006 as the manager of Engineering. His duties at JCREMC has included staking engineering, dispatching, GIS, SCADA, implementation of the Outage Management system, and oversight of outage restoration. His most recent project is implementation and utilization of JCREMC’s DER program. This includes a 2 MW diesel generator, Peak Load Management programs with industrial customers, TOU rates, 3 operational BESS units, 1 operational solar array, 4 BESS and 1 solar under construction.
Critical Decisions is a fast-paced, interactive cybersecurity card game that challenges players to make tough decisions during realistic cyber incidents. Working through scenarios such as ransomware, phishing, insider threats, and system compromises, participants select response cards, defend their choices, and discuss the tradeoffs with the group. Rather than focusing on technical knowledge or finding the “right” answer, the game encourages critical thinking, communication, and collaboration while exploring how technical, operational, and business decisions intersect during an incident. Whether you’re a cybersecurity professional, IT leader, or executive, this engaging session provides a fun, hands-on way to strengthen incident response skills and learn from the perspectives of others.
Shira Dankner is a cybersecurity leader focused on protecting critical infrastructure across telecom, electric, water, and wastewater sectors. She has spent over 15 years at NineStar Connect, beginning her career as a network engineer. Prior to working in the cooperative space, she was a digital forensic analyst for a global accounting firm.
With experience spanning risk management, and hands-on security operations, she brings a cross-sector perspective to complex environments. She holds multiple SANS certifications and is known for making cyber risk tangible and helping organizations respond to evolving threats with practical, actionable approaches.
Discover how Business Intelligence (BI) and data analytics are helping electric cooperatives turn everyday operational data into actionable insights. This session will explore practical ways cooperatives can bring together data from across the organization, build meaningful dashboards and reports, identify trends, and support better decision-making. Attendees will hear a real-world perspective on how to get more value from the data cooperatives already have.
Keith has spent the last 22 years at Monroe County Electric Cooperative, where he’s done a little bit of everything. He’s a licensed Professional Engineer, and outside of work he manages a farm and runs a kettle corn business on the side — all while keeping up with his wife and six kids, five girls and a boy. Power BI is one of his newer tools, but after two decades of building reports the old-fashioned way, he’s picked up a solid sense of what makes a report actually useful.
Glenn Williams serves as Vice President of Information Technology at Southwestern Electric Cooperative in Greenville, Illinois, where he leads the cooperative’s technology strategy, cybersecurity, enterprise systems, analytics, telecommunications, and IT operations.
Prior to joining Southwestern Electric Cooperative, Glenn has served at distribution coops in Kentucky and Texas, where he led major technology initiatives including enterprise system implementations, system integrations, cybersecurity improvements, GIS initiatives, and data analytics.
With 20+ years of extensive experience in the electric cooperative industry, Glenn has focused much of his career on using technology and data to improve operational efficiency, strengthen cybersecurity, and provide employees and leadership with better information for decision-making.
The virtualization landscape has changed dramatically. Licensing shifts, rising costs, and evolving infrastructure demands have many organizations reevaluating their dependence on VMware and exploring alternative platforms.
In this practical, vendor-neutral session, we’ll examine today’s leading virtualization options, including Microsoft Hyper-V, Scale Computing, Azure Local, and other emerging solutions. Attendees will learn how to evaluate alternatives based on performance, resiliency, management complexity, disaster recovery requirements, staffing resources, and total cost of ownership.
We’ll discuss real-world migration considerations, common pitfalls, and the questions every IT leader should ask before making a platform change. Whether you’re actively planning a move away from VMware or simply preparing for future infrastructure decisions, this session will provide a framework for assessing your options and building a virtualization strategy that aligns with your organization’s goals.
Tim Pritchett is the Vice President of Service Delivery at Matrix Integration, where he provides leadership and direction of a multi-tiered engineering team in the development and service delivery for a wide range of clients. With over 20 years of experience in management, Tim has a proven track record in leading change management initiatives, data governance, policy management, and cybersecurity.
Before joining Matrix Integration in 2022, Tim served as the Director of Technology for Monroe County Community School Corporation, overseeing IT operations for 23 schools and more than 13,000 users. His expertise in cybersecurity and IT management has been recognized through various certifications, including CompTIA Security+, CompTIA CySA+, and and ISACA Certified Information Security Manager (CISM).
Tim holds a Master’s degree in Communication & Culture from Indiana University and started his college career at Ball State University in their telecommunications program in addition to a technical certification in Cybersecurity & Information Assurance from Ivy Tech. He is actively involved in the community, having served on the Bloomington Digital Underground, the IDOE K-12 Cybersecurity TaskForce, the INsite Executive Advisory Board, and as a volunteer youth football coach.
Residing in Bloomington, IN, Tim enjoys spending his free time with his wife and three kids. He is an outdoor enthusiast who loves fishing, hiking, and camping.
Vegetation management is one of a co-op’s largest operating expenses, and the remote sensing data powering those decisions can make or break the budget. This session cuts through the marketing noise and gives you a practical framework for choosing between free NAIP aerial imagery, free USGS 3DEP LiDAR, commercial satellite subscriptions, drone flights, and paid LiDAR surveys. Walk away knowing exactly which data is right for which task, and how to stop paying premium prices for problems that free data can solve.
Pablo Fuentes is Co-Founder and CEO of Bloom Spatial, where he partners with electric utility co-ops across the country to modernize their vegetation management through innovative technology solutions.
As an experienced product designer and technology leader, Pablo brings a unique perspective to utility challenges. He’s the Co-Founder and Principal of Makepath, an AI + Geospatial development firm, and previously founded Proven, a hiring platform used by millions to connect talent with opportunity.
Pablo’s commitment to community infrastructure runs deep. He serves on the Monroe County CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and volunteers in the field during emergencies, giving him firsthand understanding of how utilities and communities work together during critical moments.
Recognized as a Champion of Change by the White House for mentoring entrepreneurs, Pablo currently mentors through Stanford University and gBeta Accelerator. He is also Co-Founder and President of Cosmic Songwriter, a Bloomington music non-profit.
Pablo holds a BA from UCLA and an MBA from Stanford University. When he’s not working with co-ops or building technology, you’ll find him writing songs, restoring guitars, or exploring the outdoors with his family in Indiana.
When a cybersecurity incident occurs, the decisions made by IT professionals can quickly have legal implications. From preserving evidence and communicating during a breach to understanding when legal counsel should become involved, this session will explore what IT professionals need to know when technology and the law intersect. AIEC’s General Counsel will walk through practical considerations surrounding cybersecurity incidents, including the role of legal counsel, documentation, notifications, and working with outside parties. The session will also examine real-world AI case studies and emerging legal issues surrounding the use of artificial intelligence, highlighting lessons IT professionals can apply as AI becomes increasingly integrated into the workplace.
John Teefey is General Counsel for the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives (AIEC), advising on legal, regulatory, and governance matters for electric cooperatives across Illinois. A native of Mt. Sterling in west-central Illinois, he holds a B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a J.D. from Southern Illinois University School of Law. He began his career as an Assistant Appellate Prosecutor with the Illinois State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s Office and later served as legal counsel for several state agencies, including as General Counsel at the Illinois Department of Agriculture. Most recently, he was Chief of Staff at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources before joining AIEC in April 2025. John and his wife, Lindsey, live in Springfield with their five sons. Outside of work he enjoys the outdoors, attending concerts, watching sports, and — above all — spending time with his family.
Join your cooperative peers for an open discussion on Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). This roundtable will provide an opportunity to share experiences, challenges, lessons learned, and best practices surrounding AMI systems, including deployment, integration, data management, troubleshooting, and emerging capabilities. Bring your questions, successes, and challenges for a collaborative conversation focused on getting the most value from your AMI investment.
Nick Reitz is the Vice President of Government Relations for the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives (AIEC). Nick joined the AIEC in 2012 as Manager of Government Relations. Formerly, he served as Director of Legislative Affairs for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Legislative Liaison for the Illinois Department of Agriculture. He received a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Fun fact, he was a Youth Day and Youth Tour participant in 1999 representing Egyptian Electric.
Ryan Heater is the vice president of government relations. In this role, he leads the association’s state and federal governmental relations efforts, which include lobbying, political action and grassroots initiatives.
He was most recently chief of staff of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. He also served as the policy and legislative director in the Indiana Lieutenant Governor’s office for three lieutenant governors – Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann, Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb and Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch. His professional background also includes positions in the Indiana Cable Telecommunications Association and the Indiana House of Representatives.
Ryan is a graduate of Purdue University and the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. He also served six years in the Indiana Army National Guard.
This session introduces a joint NRTC and NRECA initiative designed to help electric cooperatives and G&T organizations consistently evaluate distributed energy resource DER opportunities before committing to deeper feasibility studies, vendor engagement, or program implementation. The approach is positioned as a structured evaluation framework that helps organizations understand where DERs may warrant further exploration and where they may not.
We will walk through practical frameworks used to evaluate when a resource such as battery energy storage may make sense, including key energy, capacity, transmission, and distribution considerations. We will demonstrate how cooperative specific load data can support a structured, data informed first look at different DER use cases. The session will highlight how this approach can serve as an easy entry point for early-stage evaluation while clearly outlining what the framework is intended to inform and where additional analysis may be needed.
Rada is a Cyber Security Practitioner experienced within compliance in FFIEC, NIST, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, CCPA & GDPR frameworks with 15 years’ experience within Electricity, Oil & Gas, Manufacturing, Banking, Health and Government. Proven, respected and well-established professional with an understanding of the balance between Technology, Information Security and Compliance initiatives.
Rada graduated with a Master of Science in Cyber Security from EC-Council University. He currently holds a variety of Cyber Security Industry recognized certifications. Including,CISSP, CNDA, CEH, CHFI, ECSA, and CND.
Retired Air Force Brigadier General Mike Oster delivers an energetic and practical message on leadership, accountability, teamwork, and excellence. His engaging style provides audiences with actionable strategies for elevating performance and strengthening organizational culture.
