Presenters

Kris Anderson is a senior program manager with the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA), which is the state's energy office. Kris' responsibilities at GEFA include managing the state's energy savings performance contracting program, managing the Georgia Energy Challenge, leading the state's energy emergency planning and response team, and working on energy policy analysis and recommendations for state leaders. Prior to joining GEFA, Kris was a planner and worked on a range of planning and management programs for federal and energy industry clients.

Kris has a master's of city and regional planning degree from Georgia Tech and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

Debbie Bass is the Emergency Coordinating Officer (ECO) for Emergency Support Function (ESF) 12-Fuels with the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) State of Florida. Debbie’s responsibilities include; monitoring fuel situation in the state, training ESF emergency staff, coordinating with private and public sector, responding to and recovering from fuel incidents.

Debbie has been instrumental in leading the fuels team through hurricane exercise each year, resulting in the team’s tremendous response to Hurricane Hermine 2016, Hurricane Matthew 2016, and Hurricane Irma 2017.

Prior to joining the FDEM, Debbie was a project manager and owner of a commercial construction company in North Florida.

Debbie has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology / Building Construction from the University of West Florida.

Patrick DeHaan, Head of Petroleum Analysis, has been called one of the most accurate fuel forecasters in the U.S. by the San Jose Mercury News and has been analyzing fuel prices and trends for over a decade. He provided expertise to authorities during Hurricane Harvey and Irma and is regularly cited in U.S. periodicals and news broadcasts for his knowledge on topics including oil, fuel prices, fuel taxation, pipelines and convenience stores.

Matthew Duncan serves as the Program Manager of the State, Local, Tribal, & Territorial (SLTT) Energy Assurance Program inside the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability (OE). His work on SLTT Energy Assurance focuses on building stronger relationships with states and local communities, and improving the resilience of the energy sector. Prior to his arrival at DOE, Mr. Duncan deployed for two years as a civilian at the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan with the U.S. Department of State and held positions at the Department of Defense and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from St. Joseph’s University, and a M.A. in International Relations from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

Alexander Mack holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering; have over twenty four years of experience in Electrical Utility Regulation/Energy Conservation and Efficiency, and over eight years of experience in hardware development for light attack aircraft. Current duties include serving as the Grants Administrator of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Office of Energy.  Specific duties include planning, supervising and coordinating section staff activities in the ongoing development and implementation of energy efficiency programs   Serve as liaison with other state agencies, the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Assurance, institutional administrators and energy coordinators regarding institutional efficiency programs.  Served as the Governor's alternate to the Southern States Energy Board and member of the Florida Solar Energy Center's Policy Advisory Board.  Have served as the public sector co-chair of the Florida Chapter of the Energy Services Coalition, the vice-chair of the Florida Solar Energy Center's Policy Advisory Board, member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Energy Officials and served as a member of the United States Department of Energy's State Energy Advisory Board. Served as the Emergency Coordinating Officer for Emergency Support Function #12 (Fuels) for the State Emergency Operations Center.

Ms. McCombs served as the director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), four years, as part of a seventeen-year tenure with the agency, including other roles such as the Disaster Recovery and Mitigation Manager. During her tenure as Director, Ms. McCombs lead the for large events such as the Boston Marathon and the July 4th Esplanade Concert, and for the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to host the 2004 Democratic National Convention (DNC). During this time, Ms. McCombs served as the State Coordinating Officer and the Governor's Authorized Representative (GAR) on over 30 disasters and led the Commonwealth to become the eighth in the nation to secure Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) accreditation.

Ms. McCombs worked directly with the leadership of The New York Power Authority (NYPA), the largest state public power organization in the United States, to develop an emergency management structure and business continuity program for its headquarters location and 5 offsite locations and was also appointed to the first 12-member "blue ribbon" panel in the nation convened to conduct an evaluation of the Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC).

During her career thus far, Ms. McCombs has also served on the project leadership team for the development of Energy Assurance Plans, including the Department of Energy in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

Kyle McPhee, currently Director of Preparedness Programs for Hagerty, is an experienced management professional who has worked with international, national, regional, state, local and private-sector organizations in the areas of emergency management, homeland security, business continuity, and public health preparedness.  His expertise includes project management, planning, facilitation and evaluation related to various topics including catastrophic incidents, mission ready packages, mass care, and evacuation.

Kyle was instrumental in the development of national-level documents, including guidance related to planning within and among the FEMA Regional offices. He authored a high level emergency management policy at FEMA Headquarters, as well as the Mass Care Appendix for the joint federal-state catastrophic earthquake plan for FEMA Region VII. Kyle has worked in numerous local and State jurisdictions and has successfully implemented FEMA HQ emergency management programs at various levels, including the deployment of the National Mass Evacuation Tracking System (NMETS) and work on the National Shelter System (NSS) in the State of Missouri with FEMA Region VII and in City of Chicago along side FEMA Region V.

Kyle has led, or participated in, evacuation-related planning efforts supporting: FEMA Headquarters and Regional Offices, the State of Missouri, IN-IL-WI Combined Statistical Area, the State of Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. An expert on mass care, he has supported many jurisdictions on issues ranging from Functional Needs Support Services (FNSS) to pet sheltering planning. For nearly three years he supported the New England Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Initiative (NERCPI). During this time, he worked with the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, as well as the urban areas of Providence, and numerous local agencies, on various mass care related concepts that tie directly into the region’s approach to evacuation and shelter. In the final year of this contract, he supported the jurisdictions in a multi-event training and exercise program, supporting more than a dozen tabletop, functional, and full-scale exercises within a 12-month period.

A great presenter and frequent speaker at industry-related conferences, his opinion is often sought on plan development by government agencies and jurisdictions. Kyle holds a Masters of Science in Biosecurity and Disaster Preparedness from Saint Louis University. When he is not on the road meeting with clients or his team, he resides in Missouri.

The Honorable Dan McTeague, Senior Petroleum Analyst, is a noted expert in the energy field. He is heralded as “Canada’s Gas Guru” for helping motorists save money at the pump and offer insight into pricing and market dynamics. Dan has also been cited hundreds of times by virtually every Canadian news organization during his decades of experience.

Chuck Phinney is the State Coordinator for Preparedness at the Texas Division of Emergency Management, Texas Department of Public Safety. He has held that position since April 2011 and is responsible for preparedness functions in the state including planning, training and exercises.

Prior to joining TDEM, Chuck worked for the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (NERRTC) with the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX). At TEEX, he was responsible for developing local, regional, state and federal plans for states and jurisdictions across the country.

Chuck has worked in homeland security and emergency management for over 15 years. He has developed emergency response plans for local jurisdictions, regions and state agencies. He has completed medical response plans, hazard mitigation plans, standard operating guides, field guides and training and exercise plans for states and local jurisdictions across the country. He led teams to develop numerous After Action Reports including those for Hurricanes Ike and Rita, floods and wildfires.

Chuck received his Bachelors and Masters Degree from Texas A&M University. He and his wife Jill reside in Austin, Texas. He has 4 children who are all graduates of Texas A&M and 1 step-daughter who is currently attending Texas A&M, and 2 grandchildren who he hopes will also attend Texas A&M University.

Jeff Pillon is Director of Energy Assurance at NASEO and is an expert on energy assurance planning and preparedness issues. Mr. Pillon worked for the state of Michigan for 36 years where was responsible for monitoring energy supply and demand, short term energy forecasting, emergency preparedness, and management of the Commission’s website and information technology applications. He is a graduate of Michigan State University in Political Science.

Trina Sheets is the Executive Director for the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), an affiliate organization of the Council of State Governments (CSG).  NEMA represents the State Directors of Emergency Management in all 50 States, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories.

Ms. Sheets joined NEMA in 1993 and was named Executive Director in 1995.  Her primary responsibilities with NEMA include representing the views of the state emergency management community to the Federal government, Congress and other decision-makers.  She works to ensure the needs of the states are considered as legislation and national policies and programs are developed.  Policy research, analysis and the development of national positions and white papers by NEMA also fall within her portfolio.  In her role as Executive Director Ms. Sheets serves as the conduit between the Federal government and the state emergency management agencies.  She facilitates relationship building and information sharing between NEMA and other emergency management and homeland security stakeholders in order to develop a unified voice among practitioners that serves to advance the nation's ability to prepare for, mitigate, respond to and recover from disasters and emergencies. 

During her time with NEMA, Ms. Sheets has been responsible for overseeing national projects including establishment of the National Homeland Security Consortium,  initial development of the Emergency Management Accreditation Program, facilitating interstate mutual aid through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, providing states with resources, information and technical assistance to better prepare for homeland security and training newly appointed state emergency management directors.  She has provided project development and management for numerous federal grant projects with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Defense and other grant making bodies.

In 2009 Ms. Sheets was presented with the NEMA President's Award which goes to an outstanding contributor who represents the principles and practices for which the Association stands. She is a graduate of the Executive Leadership Program of the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense & Security. She is a member of the American Society of Association Executives.  

Ms. Sheets holds a B.A. in Public Relations from Eastern Kentucky University.

David Terry is the Executive Director of the National Association of State Energy Officials and has worked with NASEO in a variety of capacities since 1996. Mr. Terry leads NASEO's programs in support of the nation's 56 State and Territory Energy Offices. The organization communicates the states' views on virtually all national energy issues, including electricity policy, energy efficiency market transformation, renewable energy commercialization and deployment, industrial energy efficiency, energy assurance and reliability, building codes and efficiency, and climate oriented energy programs.

Mr. Terry has 20 years of experience working on a range of energy issues for such organizations as the Association of State Energy Research Institutions, Governors' Biofuels Coalition, National Academy of Sciences, and the U.S. Department of Energy. Prior to working in the energy area, Mr. Terry was a statistical analyst for a market research firm, an analyst with the National Academy of Sciences, and a researcher for The Washington Post. He received a BA degree from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, and he has completed graduate coursework in statistics and marketing at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia.

Ashley Wargo is a Managing Associate at Hagerty Consulting, working with clients at the state and local levels in planning, exercise development, resource management, and multi-agency/jurisdictional coordination. She has coordinated projects at Hagerty that include Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) mission ready package (MRP) development, multiple levels of planning, tabletop and full-scale exercises, after action reporting, critical infrastructure interdependencies assessment and planning, and compliance.

Prior to joining Hagerty, Ms. Wargo worked for the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) in preparedness.

Ms. Wargo holds her Master of Public Administration (MPA) with a focus in Emergency Management and Homeland Security, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in English from the Florida State University.