About Contributors

  • Ralph Masiello, Ph.D is Sr. Vice President and a global innovation manager at KEMA. His work is currently focused on helping utilities and technology entrepreneurs develop and implement technology strategies for the future, and helping to educate government policy makers and regulators about power system technologies. Masiello serves on the U.S. Department of Energy Electricity Advisory Committee and is a board member for the Gridwise Alliance. He was one of the principal authors of KEMA’s 2008 publication, Utility of the Future: Directions for enhancing sustainability, reliability and profitability. He is currently collaborating on a new book focused on energy storage. Masiello is an IEEE Fellow and was awarded the 2009 IEEE Charles Condordia Power System Engineering Award for his extraordinary vision, broad perspective, and compelling innovation to the enhancement of bulk power systems.
  • Hugo van Nispen is managing director for KEMA Americas, which includes North, South, and Latin America, as well as the Caribbean. He has had executive responsibility for all aspects of this organization since 2007. With over 20 years of management and consulting experience, van Nispen has overseen numerous strategy, process, transformation, and technology initiatives, and he remains actively engaged in delivering client value through strategic engagement.
  • Rob Wilhite, Sr. Vice President, has built KEMA’s North American practice for advanced metering Infrastructure (AMI) into a global practice focusing on intelligent networks and communications. He leads client solutions in strategic planning, new business/market analysis, financial analysis, business modeling and process design, and program implementation. Wilhite serves on the Board of Trustees of Utilimetrics (formerly the AMRA). He is Chairman of the Utilimetrics Education Committee and has served on other strategic committees for Utilimetrics as well. He also serves as Chairman of the Implementation Work Group with the GridWise Alliance. Wilhite was named one of the Top 25 Consultants in the United States by Consulting Magazine (2009).
  • Kevin Sullivan, Vice President, leads KEMA’s power generation services practice, as well as KEMA’s initiative to support client applications for a broad range of stimulus (ARRA) funded projects. Sullivan provides leadership in business and technology consulting services related to sustainable power generation, including distributed generation and evaluation as it affects real-time generation. He is the principal author of a white paper on biomass energy, “Co-firing biomass with coal: Balancing US carbon objectives, energy demand and electricity affordability.”
  • Rick Fioravanti is director, storage applications & support, at KEMA. He has over 18 years of experience working with emerging technologies in commercial and consulting roles. Focused on energy technologies, he assists utilities, manufacturers, state, and federal agencies to develop business plans, assess technologies, develop projects, and create financial modeling. Currently, Fioravanti’s efforts are directed toward energy storage, advanced storage technologies, testing of devices, modeling of applications, and electric vehicles.
  • Karin Corfee is a Principal Consultant who is currently focused on carbon strategies and policies. She is an expert in carbon trading, renewable energy, solar PV and greenhouse gas policy initiatives, energy efficiency and demand-side management, load management, and demand response programs. Corfee is also an expert in devising transmission feed-in tariffs to support renewable development.
  • Mimi Goldberg, Ph.D is a Sr. Vice President and leads KEMA’s sustainable market strategies practice. She is an expert in energy efficiency program evaluation with over 25 years of experience. She has directed studies for a wide range of programs, including commercial/industrial, low-income, general residential, and load management programs. She is an expert in the application of statistical methods to program evaluation, including sample design, surveys, and data analysis. Her expertise covers sampling and estimation, load research, billing data analysis, discrete choice modeling, end-use studies, pricing analysis, and segmentation.
  • Susan Erwin, director of marketing for KEMA, Inc. leads KEMA’s marketing communications, branding, and advertising strategy for the Americas. She has worked in the utility industry for 15 years and has more than 20 years of experience in business-to-business marketing. Her roles and responsibilities have ranged from market research and product development to managing marketing communications and sales. Erwin currently focuses on developing and refining the intellectual capital of KEMA’s professional staff and creating communications that convey the depth and range of KEMA’s knowledge and expertise to a wide range of clients and energy constituents.
  • Andrea Traber  is Director of KEMA’s Sustainable Buildings and Operations group. With an extensive background as project architect and principal on numerous green building and new construction projects, Traber brings a practical approach and a wealth of experience to KEMA’s consulting work. She regularly provides design assistance, eco-charrettes, LEED documentation, guideline development, and green building policy development. Traber is President of the Northern California Chapter of the USGBC. She has been active in green building research and advocacy since 1996.
  • Kristen Brewitt  is a senior marketing manager for KEMA, Inc., focusing on B2B marketing and integrated communications and leading the firm’s market intelligence, web strategy and media relations initiatives for the Americas. Kris joined KEMA in 2001 as a senior consultant in community and government relations, building on her prior experience in Washington DC as a senior congressional aid to two U.S. Representatives and as a legislative specialist for a global law firm. Her policy specialties included transportation and infrastructure, banking and finance, international relations, healthcare, social security, and environment. Kris was awarded the Simmons School of Management 2008 Jane Trahey Prize for excellence in the field of marketing.
  • Guest Author - Jesse Berst, Smart Grid News-- KEMAUtilityFuture.com is featuring guest posts from Jesse Berst, the Founding Editor of Smart Grid News—the sector’s oldest, largest and highest-ranked specialty smart grid website. Berst is an internationally known technology and business analyst. He has authored or co-authored more than a dozen books on technology topics, written hundreds of articles for leading publications and keynoted dozens of business events in the U.S. and abroad. For more information visit: www.smartgridnews.com.
  • Jeff Stephensis KEMA’s National Proposal and Communications Manager. Key areas of expertise include client-centered proposals, business communications, and editorial processes. Stephens has 19 years of experience across energy services, sustainable buildings, and environmental consulting. With training in both natural resources management and integrated marketing communications, he is able to effectively communicate the relevancy of today's energy and environmental topics.
  • Mark Burke, head of KEMA's telecommunications & smart grid architecture practice, provides clients with a broad scope of services. These include strategic planning, asset valuation and financial analysis, regulatory development, network planning, design, management, services development, spectrum analysis and licensing, and implementation oversight and intervention. Burke has over 20 years of experience in engineering and management consulting. He has successfully managed consulting and change management engagements for telecommunications firms, utility companies, and governments in the North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.
  • Jessica Harrison, a KEMA consultant, has a diverse background in clean energy, including experience with federal policy, engineering analysis, and cost-benefit analysis. At KEMA, Harrison has worked on a national analysis of energy consumption by end-use in commercial buildings, evaluations of commercial sector energy efficiency programs, and energy efficiency market potential studies for the residential and commercial sectors.
  • Aaron Schneider, a KEMA energy analyst, focuses on issues that face the U.S. energy supply infrastructure. He has developed expertise in smart grid deployment, federal affairs, renewable energy policy, and demand-side management. He also serves as the managing editor for KEMA’s Automation Insight newsletter.
  • Ali Nouraijoined KEMA as an executive consultant in March 2010, after a 30-year utility career with American Electric Power (AEP). At AEP, he launched the company’s successful sodium sulfur (NaS) battery program and introduced the concept of the Community Energy Storage. Nourai is an IEEE Fellow. He also serves as chairman of the Electricity Storage Association, which is dedicated to promoting the development and commercial application of energy storage technologies as solutions to power and energy problems.
  • Michael Esposito
  • Aldo Nevárez, a senior consultant at KEMA Inc, has extensive experience in cyber security and risk management in the utility industry. He currently serves as KEMA's coordinator for the cyber security practice area and also works with the NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee. Nevárez is a member of the GridWise Alliance Interoperability and Cyber Security Working Group.
  • Paulo Tanimoto
  • Dennis Flinn, a senior consultant for KEMA's Electricity Transmission and Distribution team, has an expertise in distributed generation and interconnection.
  • Brian Pugliese, sr. principal consultant at KEMA, specializes in intelligent networks and communications.
  • Craig Bialy, principal consultant at KEMA
  • Raymond Gilby, KEMA principal consultant, is an expert on NERC and ERCOT compliance assessments.