ISO-NE staff share expertise at spring conferences

Collaboration, expertise, and innovation are three of ISO New England’s core values. Staff embody these values by presenting their work at electricity industry conferences and events around the region, the country, and the world. Here’s a selection of their recent speaking engagements.

Vamsi Chadalavada, second from left, took part in the ClimaTech conference. Also pictured are, from left, Jeremy McDiarmid, commission chair, Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities; Jason Marshall, of counsel, Womble Bond Dickinson; and Weezie Nuara, deputy secretary for federal and regional energy affairs at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

Vamsi Chadalavada, president and CEO, spoke at the ClimaTech conference in Boston on May 5. He was part of a panel discussion titled “New Leaders Navigating a New Grid: Leadership Transitions and the Next Chapter for Energy Innovation.”

Al McBride, center, participates in a panel discussion at the 2026 NECPUC Symposium. Also pictured are Natalie Mims Frick, energy policy researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Jehmal Hudson, commissioner, Virginia State Corporation Commission.

Chadalavada and Al McBride, vice president, System Planning, also spoke at the New England Conference of Public Utilities Commissioners annual symposium May 18-20 in Rockport, Maine.

Matt White gave the keynote speech at the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company conference. (Photo courtesy of MMWEC)

Matt White, chief economist and vice president, Market Development & Settlements, was the keynote speaker at the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company’s annual conference on May 6 in Norwood, Massachusetts. He discussed recent and forthcoming market changes that may affect municipal utilities.

Eric Johnson, executive director, and Sarah Adams, senior state policy advisor, External Affairs, hosted virtual office hours on May 11. The event was designed for a non-technical audience to learn about ISO New England.

Marianne Perben, director, Planning Services, spoke at the Xcelerate conference in San Antonio, Texas, on May 12. She was part of a panel discussion titled “Innovation in Action: Solving the Americas’ Biggest Challenges.”

Mike Knowland, manager, Forecast & Scheduling, discussed New England’s electricity outlook at the Northeast Regional Natural Gas Readiness Forum in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 28.

Eric Johnson and Sarah Adams hosted virtual office hours.

Kerry Schlichting, supervisor, State Policy, presented a guide to understanding wholesale electricity prices on May 7 in Providence, Rhode Island. She was part of a panel discussion at a Rhode Island Clean Energy Week event.

Schlichting also took part in a New England power grid outlook panel at the Connecticut Business & Industry Association’s E2 Conference on May 14 in New Haven.

Kerry Schlichting, second from left, speaks at the Connecticut Business & Industry Association’s E2 Conference.

Melissa Winne, lead state policy advisor, External Affairs, highlighted system planning initiatives, including the longer-term transmission planning process, at an E2Tech event titled “Gridsilience: Building the Grid of the Future,” in Portland, Maine, on May 6.

Julie Araujo, director, Total Rewards and HRIS, discussed her experience in the field of human resources and how organizations can support employees at a Mercer seminar titled “From Vision to Action” in Hartford, Connecticut, on April 9.

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