Keynote Address: Ernest J. Moniz

Ernest J. Moniz served as the thirteenth United States Secretary of Energy from 2013 to January 2017.  As Secretary, he advanced energy technology innovation, nuclear security and strategic stability, cutting-edge capabilities for the American scientific research community, and environmental stewardship. He placed energy science and technology innovation at the center of the global response to climate change and negotiated the Iran nuclear agreement alongside the Secretary of State. 

Dr. Moniz joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty in 1973 and was Founding Director of the MIT Energy Initiative.  He is the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems emeritus and Special Advisor to the MIT President. Dr. Moniz is co-chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative and CEO of the Energy Futures Initiative. Dr. Moniz received a Bachelor of Science degree summa cum laude in physics from Boston College, a doctorate in theoretical physics from Stanford University, and ten honorary doctorates from American and European universities. He received the Distinguished Public Service Medal of the Department of Defense, the Grand Cross of the Orders of Makarios III (Cyprus) and of Prince Henry the Navigator (Portugal), and the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan).

Keynote Address: Patricia DiOrio

Ms. DiOrio is an experienced energy industry leader with over twenty years of experience in strategy, project development, finance and engineering. Patty joined National Grid in March 2015. In her current role as Vice President of US Strategy, she advises senior executives in making strategic decisions, with a focus on National Grid’s US businesses. Prior to joining National Grid in 2015, Patty was a Research Director at IHS CERA, a prominent global consultancy, where she was responsible for leading development of technology related research content for the firm’s North American Power Advisory Service. Previously, she was a Director at Competitive Power Ventures, Inc., where she was responsible for the development and acquisition of power generation assets; and a Development Manager and Senior Financial Analyst at PG&E National Energy Group.

Ms. DiOrio holds a Masters in Business Administration from Babson College, a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 

Keynote: Jerry Taylor

Jerry Taylor is the president of the Niskanen Center. Prior to founding the Center in 2014, Mr. Taylor spent 23 years at the Cato Institute, where he served as director of natural resource studies, assistant editor of Regulation magazine, senior fellow, and then vice president. Before that, Mr. Taylor was the staff director for the energy and environment task force at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Over the past two decades, Mr. Taylor has been one of the prominent and influential libertarian voices in energy policy in Washington. He is the author of numerous policy studies, has testified often before Congress, and his commentary has appeared in The Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other prominent print and electronic outlets.

Keynote: Victoria Mills

Victoria has over two decades of experience partnering with businesses to achieve environmental results. She currently leads EDF’s work with companies to advance public policies consistent with their climate and energy goals. Previously, she led EDF Climate Corps, an innovative fellowship program that has helped hundreds of organizations cut costs and emissions by managing energy strategically. Since the program’s launch in 2008, EDF Climate Corps fellows have identified $1.6 billion in energy savings for public- and private-sector organizations in the United States and China. Victoria has also led corporate partnerships in the consumer products, transportation, information technology and paper and packaging sectors.

Prior to joining Environmental Defense Fund, Victoria was a Director in the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment. She has also held management and business development positions in the environmental technology and software industries.

M.A., International Economics, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)

 B.A., Vassar College

Keynote: Michael Skelly

Michael Skelly is a renewable energy entrepreneur and pioneers in the US wind industry. Skelly is a Senior Advisor at the investment bank Lazard where he advises companies and investors on renewable energy and sustainability. Michael was the founder and president of Clean Line Energy, a company that developed interstate transmission lines which successfully permitted the largest transmission line in the U.S. in the last 50 years. Prior to Clean Line, Skelly led the growth of Horizon Wind Energy, now part of one of the largest renewable energy companies in the world, from family ownership through acquisition by Goldman Sachs and ultimately ownership by EDP. His other entrepreneurial ventures include founding partner and general manager of the Rain Forest Aerial Tram in the early ’90’s, where Skelly led the development, construction and operations of the first canopy tourism project.

Skelly applies his expertise in developing infrastructure projects to enhance transportation options and increase access to parks in his adopted hometown of Houston, Texas. In 2012, he led the “Parks By You” campaign, which resulted in the passage of a $150 million bond measure to fund 100 plus miles of trails along the city’s bayous, an effort in which Skelly remains deeply involved.

In addition to the Board of Directors of LINK Houston, Skelly sits on the boards of the Houston Bike Share, the Houston Parks Board, and TXRX Labs. He is an active angel investor in the sustainability field, supporting innovating ventures in lithium production, shared electric scooters, energy storage, smart grids, and ride share. Skelly serves on the US Department of Energy’s External Advisory Board for the “Beyond LCOE”, which studies high renewable energy scenarios for the United States.

Skelly’s public service includes working as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Central America and a run for the US Congress in 2008, where he was the Democratic nominee for the 7th Congressional District of Texas.

Skelly is the principal protagonist in Superpower, a book by Wall Street Journal reporter and Pulitzer Prize finalist Russell Gold. The book chronicles the growth and development of renewable energy in the 21st century. Gold’s new book follows his history of natural gas fracking, The Boom.

Skelly holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Notre Dame and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He speaks fluent Spanish. Skelly and his wife Anne Whitlock have three children in their twenties. They live in Firehouse No. 2, a 110 year old brick fire station which they restored in the East End of Houston.

Keynote: Rachel Kyte

Rachel Kyte is the 14th dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University. A 2002 graduate of Fletcher’s Global Master of Arts Program (GMAP) and a professor of practice at the school since 2012, Kyte is the first woman to lead the nation’s oldest graduate-only school of international affairs, which attracts students from all corners of the globe and at all stages of their careers. 

Prior to joining Fletcher, Kyte served as special representative of the UN secretary-general and chief executive officer of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL). She previously was the World Bank Group vice president and special envoy for climate change, leading the Bank Group’s efforts to shift its operations and campaign for the Paris Agreement. In her UN role and as CEO of SEforAll, a nonprofit public/private platform created from an initiative of the UN secretary-general, Kyte led efforts to promote and finance clean, affordable energy and low-carbon growth as part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the context of the Paris Agreement.

She grew SEforALL into an organization that employs more than forty staff and has partnerships with companies, governments, and civil society organizations. She continues to serves as co-chair of UN Energy.  

Kyte grew up in eastern England and has a deep appreciation for the value of apprenticeship, mentoring, sponsorship, and skills learned on the job in addition to in the classroom. She earned her undergraduate degree in history and politics from the University of London. Kyte is married to Dr. Ilyse Zable and they have two children.  

Keynote: Anne Kelly

Anne L. Kelly is the vice president of government relations and leads Ceres Policy Network, Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP). BICEP is a coalition of 52 leading consumer-facing companies advocating for meaningful climate and energy policy at the federal and state levels. Anne is a registered lobbyist and is actively engaged on Capitol Hill on behalf of Ceres and BICEP member companies.

Anne is an environmental lawyer with twenty-five years of combined experience in the private and public sectors. In the 1990s, she directed the Massachusetts-based Environmental Crimes Strike Force consisting of a multi-disciplinary team of legal and engineering professionals charged with bringing high-profile civil and criminal actions against environmental violators through the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General.

Anne later worked as special assistant to EPA Region 1 Administrator John DeVillars. In this role, she worked on corporate leadership programs and developed an International Pollution Prevention Program which was piloted in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Anne is a member of the adjunct faculty of Boston College Law School where she has taught courses in environmental law and climate change. Anne has also taught environmental law at Tufts University, Suffolk University, and New England School of Law. She serves on the boards of the Environmental League of Massachusetts and Massachusetts Interfaith Power & Light (MIP&L), and is fellow in the American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL). In addition to her law degree, Anne holds a Master’s in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.