Keynote and Distiguished Speakers

Keynote Speakers:

Randall Swisher, Executive Director, American Wind Energy Association
Randall Swisher has served as Executive Director of the American Wind Energy Association since 1989. Prior to that, he worked as Legislative Representative for the American Public Power Association and as Energy Program Director for the National Association of Counties. He has also worked as Professional Staff for the House Interior Committee's Energy and Water Subcommittee and as Executive Director for the D.C. Public Interest Research Group, where he first became involved with renewable energy advocacy in 1975. Between 1976 and 1981, Swisher served as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and Georgetown University Law Center, where he taught courses on energy policy. Swisher has a Ph.D. in American Civilization from George Washington University and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Iowa.

James Robo, President, FPL Energy. James Robo was appointed President of FPL Energy in July 2002
James Robo was appointed President of FPL Energy in July 2002. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy for the FPL Group. Before joining the FPL Group, Mr. Robo was at General Electric for ten years, most recently as President and CEO of a major division of GE Capital. He also served as Chairman and CEO of GE Mexico and was a member of the GE corporate development team. Prior to joining GE, he was Vice President of Strategic Planning Associates, a management consulting firm. Mr. Robo received a B.A, Summa Cum Laude from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar.

Michal Moore, Chief Economist, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Dr. Michal Moore is the Chief Economist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, where he leads a research team engaged in framing over-the-horizon issues for the U.S. Department of Energy. He is an economist and former regulator in the energy industry in California. Dr. Moore received his Bachelor of Science in Geology at Humboldt State University and a Master of Science from the Ecology Institute at the University of California at Davis in Land Economics. He obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in England in Economics where he is a member of Darwin College. He is a former Commissioner with the California Energy Commission, where he held the designated Economist position. In that role, he oversaw market structure issues, pricing of electricity and natural gas, and data collection for the Commission as presiding member of the Electricity and Natural Gas Committee. He directed the $2 billion U.S. program to maintain and expand the renewable energy industry in the state and presided over many complex siting cases for new fossil-fired generation. Dr. Moore is an active researcher in the areas of urban open space and agricultural land conversion, local government fiscal impacts, and the structure and rules of energy markets. He is an accomplished public speaker and participates in a wide variety of public forums ranging from energy and fiscal policy to land use.

Patrick Henry Wood, III, Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C.
Pat Wood III is Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). He was nominated to the Commission by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate in 2001. His term expires June 30, 2005. Before joining the Commission, Mr. Wood, a Republican, was Chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas. He has worked as an engineer with Arco Indonesia and as an attorney with the Baker & Botts law firm in Washington, DC. He also served as legal counsel to the Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission. In the early 1990s, he was legal advisor to FERC Commissioner Jerry J. Langdon. Throughout his career, he has worked to advance a pro-customer, market?oriented vision of utility regulation. Mr. Wood holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University.

Distinguished Speakers

U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan
Byron Dorgan was reelected to the U.S. Senate in November 1998 by an overwhelming majority after serving one term in the U.S. Senate and six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1998, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle named Dorgan the Chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee-the first North Dakotan ever to hold this position or to serve in the Democratic leadership. From 1996-1998, Dorgan served in the Democratic leadership as Assistant Floor Leader. Currently, he is a member of four Senate standing committees-Appropriations; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Energy and Natural Resources; and Indian Affairs-and eleven subcommittees, including ranking member of the Subcommittee on Water and Power and, most recently, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Interior. Throughout his career in both the House and Senate, Dorgan has fought for the interests of rural America. He has worked to create jobs and economic opportunity in North Dakota, to establish strong farm policies for family farmers, and to demand fairer trade policies. He has fought to assure that rural areas have access to cutting-edge technology and has promoted computers and Internet access in our nation's schools. Dorgan has also been a leader in the fight for sensible spending reductions and responsible government by cutting government waste and fighting for a balanced budget amendment while protecting our most important priorities: Social Security, Medicare, education, and the environment.

N.D. Governor John Hoeven
John Hoeven was elected the 31st governor of North Dakota in 2000. He has worked closely with the Legislature to promote excellence in education, economic development, agriculture, energy, technology, and quality of life. During the last session, he pushed to enhance the state's economy and infrastructure by intensifying business recruitment and expansion; expanding wiring of the state's high-speed data, voice, and video network; and restructuring the state's economic development resources into a new and integrated department of commerce. He has promoted value-added projects and agricultural research and helped to secure substantial new investments in education. Governor Hoeven serves as Chair of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission and the Governors' Ethanol Coalition and Vice Chair of the National Governors Association's Committee on Human Resources and the Midwestern Governors' Conference. Hoeven previously served as chair of the National Governors Association's Committee on Natural Resources.

U.S. Representative Earl Pomeroy
Earl Pomeroy was first elected in 1992 as North Dakota's only Member of the House of Representatives, and in the ten years since then, has emerged in Congress as a substantive leader with common-sense solutions for everyday problems. Pomeroy's leadership and hard work won him a spot on the powerful Ways and Means Committee in the 107th Congress. His bipartisan and objective analysis of issues has been valuable to this Committee, which is charged with key policy decisions on tax, trade, Social Security, and Medicare issues. In 2002, Pomeroy was named the Ranking Member, the most senior Democrat, of the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee. At the beginning of the 108th Congress, Pomeroy was elected Cochair of the bipartisan Rural Health Care Coalition, where he will be working for a more equitable system for Medicare reimbursements. This year, he became the only Democrat on Ways and Means to be awarded with a second committee slot. He will serve on the House Agriculture Committee, where he served during his first four terms. A focus on rural and agricultural concerns makes Pomeroy one of the most respected advocates for family farmers and ranchers in the House. He has been an effective leader for the improvement of the federal crop insurance program and for providing a safety net to protect farmers when prices collapse. This Congress, he will continue to focus on opening new markets for our surplus commodities and reducing the tax burden on family farmers. Pomeroy's expertise on Social Security and related issues are an important asset on the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security and the House Democratic Social Security Task Force, where he serves as cochair.