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, technology entrepreneurs, develop and implement technology strategies for the future, and in helping educate government policy makers and regulators about power system technologies. Dr. Masiello serves on the US 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. Dr. 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 President and General Manager for KEMA, Inc. covering KEMA’s consulting businesses in the Americas. During more than 20 years of management and consulting experience, he has led numerous strategy, transformation and technology initiatives. In 2008 he was recognized as one of Consulting Magazine’s Top 25 consultants. Mr. van Nispen is a primary architect in KEMA's Utility of the Future offering that enables utilities and energy industry clients to integrate disparate technologies with business strategies that enhance value for their customers, stakeholders and shareholders. In organizing this offering, Mr. van Nispen has brought together KEMA's global experts in strategy, grid automation, renewables, sustainability, operations, testing and certification, to offer utilities a total and integrated approach that delivers more profitable, reliable and sustainable operations.
  • 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. Mr. Wilhite He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Utilimetrics (formerly the AMRA), is Chairman of the Utilimetrics Education Committee, has served on other strategic committees for Utilimetrics, and also serves as Chairman of the Implementation Work Group with the GridWise Alliance. Mr. Wilhite was also recently named as one of the Top 25 Consultants in the U.S. by Consulting Magazine in 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. Mr. 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 a Principal consultant with KEMA focused on energy storage applications. He has worked with utilities and manufacturers in numerous recent projects to evaluate and and test energy storage applications for the grid. Mr. Fioravanti is collaborating on a forthcoming book on energy storage that will provide a comprehensive global perspective on energy storage applications and research.
  • 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. Ms 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. Ms 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, Ms. Traber brings a practical approach and a wealth of experience to KEMA’s consulting work. Ms. Traber regularly provides design assistance, eco-charrettes, LEED documentation, guideline development, and green building policy development. Ms. 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 NewsKEMAUtilityFuture.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. Jesse 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.