Adam Foodman, public member: Aderis Energy, LLC
Mr. Foodman is a North Carolina licensed attorney who is the CEO of Aderis Energy, LLC, a technology, operations and maintenance provider to the solar energy industry. He also serves as the COO of O2 EMC, LLC, a utility-scale solar energy developer, and is a past board chair of the Carolinas Clean Energy Business Association. Mr. Foodman earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Juris Doctor from Mercer University School of Law. He is admitted to the State Bar of North Carolina.
Carl Wilkins, P.E., public member: Quanta Technology
Mr. Wilkins has extensive experience in the electric utility industry, serving in a variety of managerial, research and consulting roles working with electric and gas utility companies. Combining experience in engineering, sales, marketing and project management with applied technical skills, he brings a wide array of talents to Quanta Technology. Mr. Wilkins managed several projects related to transmission and distribution storm hardening assessments and emergency preparedness plans for large electric utilities. He has also led benchmarking studies on transmission maintenance and construction practices. His team currently performs renewable energy grid integration studies for wind and solar PV projects. Prior to joining Quanta Technology, Mr. Wilkins served at Advanced Energy as the director of utility services, where he managed the senior management relationships and the delivery of energy efficiency and renewable energy services to electric utilities. Mr. Wilkins was also the chief architect in the development of North Carolina’s green power program, NC GreenPower, the first statewide green power program where all electric utilities in the state agreed to collaborate and use one marketing campaign.
Chris Edge, utility member: Duke Energy
Mr. Edge is the vice president – large business customers for Duke Energy. In this role, Mr. Edge provides the vision and leadership for the team that is responsible for developing relationships with the company’s largest industrial, commercial, military and governmental customers, with a focus on customer satisfaction, financial growth and operational excellence. His responsibilities span across Duke Energy’s entire franchise gas and electric footprint, including Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana.
Dionne Delli-Gatti, public member: Environmental Defense Fund
Ms. Delli-Gatti is the associate vice president – community engagement for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). She previously served at EDF as the director of Southeast climate and energy. Prior to her return to EDF, Ms. Delli-Gatti worked alongside Governor Roy Cooper to lead the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and serve as the North Carolina State Clean Energy Director. In addition, Ms. Delli-Gatti spent six years at the Environmental Protection Agency Southwest Regional office as a congressional and government liaison. She also served as a site coordinator for the Ohio EPA and an environmental specialist for the City of Dallas, and she is an Air Force veteran.
Hayes Jernigan Finley, public member: Womble Bond Dickinson
Ms. Finley is an attorney at Womble Bond Dickinson (US), practicing energy and environmental law. She represents private businesses in environmental and utility regulatory matters, conducts environmental due diligence and legal opinions for project financing transactions in the renewable energy arena, and advises clients on environmental remediation and cleanup activities. A North Carolina native, she graduated summa cum laude from the North Carolina Central University School of Law. Prior to law school, she served in the U.S. Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa, for two years.
Jo Anne Sanford, public member: Sanford Law Office
Ms. Sanford practices law in Sanford Law Office and is a partner in Blount Street Advisors, a governmental consulting firm. Ms. Sanford led the North Carolina Utilities Commission as Chair for ten years of her eleven-and-a-half-year term (1995-2006), serving under appointments to the Commission and as Chair from both Governors Hunt and Easley. She earned national recognition as an expert in regulatory law and policy, participated vigorously on numerous state and national boards, and is regularly requested to speak and advise on regulatory issues. Her current professional focus is on regulatory and governmental policies that support sustainability in a low-carbon environment, infrastructure investment, water law and broadband deployment. Her clients have included Fortune 500 corporations, mid-size regulated companies and major nonprofit organizations. A graduate of North Carolina State University and of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law, Ms. Sanford handled progressively responsible positions in the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office over a 20-year period. She represented the public in environmental, insurance, energy and utilities matters while also providing service to various state agencies, including the State Auditor, the Secretary of State and the Department of Commerce. In January 2007, after a successful 31-year career with the Attorney General’s Office and the North Carolina Utilities Commission, Ms. Sanford launched complementary professional practices (legal and consulting) in downtown Raleigh.
Katharine Kollins, public member: Southeastern Wind Coalition
Ms. Kollins has been with the Southeastern Wind Coalition as its president since October 2015. She manages SEWC’s programming and operations across 11 states, working with a wide variety of stakeholders to promote land-based and offshore wind, wind imports and the regions’ supply chain assets. Ms. Kollins’ experience in the wind industry includes working in finance for Boston-based developer First Wind, consulting with Vestas R&D to formulate a federal grant funding strategy, and serving as business development manager for The Wind Alliance. Ms. Kollins has also worked in other renewable energy capacities as an analyst at the Nicholas Institute and authoring an NREL paper on third-Party PPA financing of solar systems. Prior to SEWC, Ms. Kollins worked for RTI International where she was the finance lead for two $30M+ divisions.
Paul Spruill, utility member: North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation
Mr. Spruill is the general manager and CEO of Tideland Electric Membership Corporation, located in Pantego, North Carolina. Mr. Spruill spent 13 years in various positions among North Carolina municipal and county governments as a town administrator and county manager before joining Tideland EMC in 2011. He completed a two-year term as president of the board of directors for the North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation and is actively serving a four-year term on the North Carolina Rural Electrification Authority. He also currently serves in the role of Vice President for NCREA. Mr. Spruill received a B.A. in English at Wake Forest University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Peter Ledford, public member: Office of Governor Roy Cooper
Mr. Ledford currently serves as Clean Energy Director for North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, where he works to further the state’s goals laid out in Executive Order 246, including achieving carbon neutrality, pursuing environmental justice for communities disproportionately impacted by pollution and creating economic opportunities in the clean energy sector. Mr. Ledford formerly served as general counsel and director of policy at the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association from 2014 to 2022. Prior to his work at NCSEA, Mr. Ledford worked in the Research Division of the North Carolina General Assembly as a staff attorney and legislative analyst. He is a certified specialist in Utilities Law by the North Carolina State Bar and a recipient of Energy News Network’s 40 Under 40 list.
Robert Powell, public member: NC A&T State University
Mr. Powell is an associate professor in the Architectural Engineering Program at NC A&T State University. He teaches aspects of architectural design and building construction based on many years of professional practice. This has included building design and construction administration as a practicing architect, building contractor, affordable housing developer and energy consultant. He is also a long-term advocate and practitioner of sustainable development consulting with neighborhoods using open participatory design methods to identify effective use of green technologies. Mr. Powell received his undergraduate degree at Stanford University in architectural engineering and his Masters in Architecture from MIT.
Venu Ghanta, utility member: Duke Energy
Mr. Ghanta serves as Duke Energy’s vice president of regulatory affairs and policy, responsible for managing the company’s presence in all North Carolina regulatory matters before the North Carolina Utilities Commission. He provides leadership and direction in the development and implementation of public policy that is in the best interest of the customers and communities served by Duke Energy. Mr. Ghanta previously held roles as vice president of federal regulatory affairs and environmental policy director at Duke Energy. Before joining Duke, he worked for nearly a decade at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Gaylene Watson, utility member: Dominion Energy
Ms. Watson serves as the director of customer service and strategic partnerships at Dominion Energy.