Our Speakers
Ernie Moniz - Keynote Speaker
U.S. Energy Secretary from 2013-2017
Ernie Moniz served as the 13th Secretary of Energy under President Barack Obama from 2013 to 2017. A physicist by training, Moniz played a critical role in advancing energy technology and policy, particularly in the areas of nuclear security and clean energy. Under his leadership, the Department of Energy launched several initiatives to support the development and deployment of advanced nuclear reactors and foster international collaboration on nuclear safety and nonproliferation. Moniz’s deep expertise in both the technical and policy dimensions of energy makes him a highly respected voice in the field.
Rick Perry - Keynote Speaker
U.S. Energy Secretary from 2017-2019
Rick Perry served as the 14th Secretary of Energy under President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019. During his tenure, Perry focused on promoting energy independence and innovation, with a significant emphasis on advancing nuclear energy as a key component of a diverse and secure energy portfolio. Prior to his role at the Department of Energy, Perry served as the Governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015, where he championed policies that positioned Texas as a leader in energy production and innovation.
Rep. Cody Harris
Texas State House District 8
Cody Harris’ conservative values are deeply rooted in Texas House District 8. His ancestors settled in Freestone County after the Civil War and his great-grandfather was the last operator of the Wildcat Ferry on the Trinity River between Anderson and Freestone counties.
A graduate of Texas A&M University, Cody owns and operates Liberty Land & Ranch in Palestine, a statewide real estate brokerage firm. He is an active member of the Texas Association of Realtors, Texas Farm Bureau, Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership Program (TALL), and lifetime member of the National Rifle Association.
As State Representative, Cody’s priorities include securing the border, strengthening public schools, protecting farmers and ranchers and private property owner rights, lowering property taxes, shrinking the size of government and fighting for pro-life and pro-family values.
Protecting farmers and ranchers is personal to Harris. During the 1980s, his family lost everything during the savings & loan and oil market collapse. The family leased a 100-acre tract of land outside Palestine and planted a crop of watermelon, corn, cucumbers and cantaloupe. They sold the produce on the side of the road to make ends meet and eventually recovered.
As the father of an adopted daughter, Harris also focuses on protecting the state’s most vulnerable children and reforming Child Protective Services.
Cody and his wife Taylor are proud parents to three sons and a daughter. The family is active at First Baptist Church where Cody serves as Deacon. Harris has also served in the following positions – Palestine Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, member and President of the Palestine YMCA Board of Directors, President of the Palestine Young Professionals Network, volunteer for Palestine YMCA Youth & Government, and volunteer for Palestine ISD Business Mentor Program.
Harris, a native of House District 8, serves on the House Calendars Committee, Transportation Committee, and serves as the Vice-Chair of the Natural Resources Committee. Rep. Harris is also the Presiding Officer on the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) Advisory Committee and was appointed by Governor Abbott to the Southwestern States Water Commission.
James Glotfelty
commissioner, Public Utility Commission of texas
Governor Greg Abbott appointed James Glotfelty to serve as a commissioner on the Public Utility Commission of Texas on August 6, 2021, for a term set to expire on September 1, 2025. Before his appointment, he served as Founder and Executive Vice President of Clean Line Energy.
His public sector experience includes serving as Senior Policy Advisor to U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, Energy Policy Director to Texas Governor George W. Bush and Legislative Director to Congressman Sam Johnson. He founded and led the Office of Electricity at The U.S. Department of Energy, led the joint US-Canadian Power System Outage Task Force and served on the White House Task Force to Streamline Energy Permitting.
Mr. Glotfelty’s private sector work also includes various Executive and Managerial roles at Calpine Corporation, ICF Consulting and Quanta Services.
He served as Chairman of AWEA on the Transmission Committee and held board positions on ConservAmerica, Texas Housing Finance Corporation and Group NIRE. He regularly participated in the Aspen Institute Energy Forum, the Harvard Energy Policy Group and the Keystone Energy Forum.
A former Committee Chairman of the Greater Houston Partnership and an Alumni of the Texas Lyceum, Jimmy received his Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Marketing from Texas Christian University.
Brooke Paup
Chairwoman, Texas Water Development Board
Brooke Paup has served as a Board member of the Texas Water Development Board since February 22, 2018. Governor Greg Abbott designated her as Chairwoman on April 22, 2021.
Prior to her appointment to the Board, Paup served as the director of legislative affairs for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts for the previous three years. While there, she led a team of legislative professionals to address statutory tax reforms.
Paup is formerly the deputy division chief of intergovernmental relations and former special assistant for policy and research for the Office of the Attorney General, where she worked on legislative issues, special litigation, and public finance-notably House Bill 4 and Senate Joint Resolution 1 in the 83rd Legislative Session, which created the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) and the State Water Implementation Revenue Fund for Texas (SWIRFT). Paup has 18 years of state government experience.
In September 2022, Governor Abbott appointed her to the Environmental Flows Advisory Group. She is also a member of the State Bar of Texas and Symphony League and a board member of the Wine and Food Foundation of Texas Auction Committee. Paup earned a bachelor of arts from Texas A&M University and a juris doctor from Texas Tech School of Law.
She lives in Austin with her husband, Spivey, and their two children, Henry and Heidi.
Sen. Charles Perry
Senate District 28
State Senator Charles Perry is a life-long West Texan and a practicing CPA from Lubbock. He was elected to the Texas Senate in 2014 after serving two terms in the Texas House of Representatives.
Since 2015 Senator Perry has been focused on developing undeveloped water supplies. Strategies include the most cost-effective energy to develop and move the water supply. Specifically, he is working with Abilene Christian University and other public universities to develop a small modular reactor. The project is set to yield a 100-megawatt reactor that can be massed produced.
Senator Perry currently chairs the Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture & Rural Affairs and is Vice-Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee. He also sits on the Senate Committees for State Affairs, Finance, and Transportation and he co-chairs the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) Advisory Committee and the Texas Infrastructure Resiliency Fund (TIRF). Governor Abbott appointed him to the Southwestern States Water Commission and the Western States Water Council.
Senator Perry grew up in the district he represents, graduating from Sweetwater High School. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting and management information systems from Texas Tech University.
He is married to his wife, Jacklyn, and they have two children and five grandchildren.
W. Nim Kidd, MPA, CEM
Chair, TERC
From 2004 to 2010, Chief Kidd served as City Emergency Manager for the City of San Antonio, where he managed the city’s response to over a dozen state and presidential disaster declarations. In 1997, Chief Kidd was one of the original members appointed to the Texas Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue Team. In 2001, he was the Plans Section Chief that responded to the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.
Chief Kidd formerly served as chair for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Advisory Council (NAC). Chief Kidd holds a Masters of Public Administration from Texas State University, a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University-Commerce, and two associates’ degrees. He is the Vice Chancellor for Disaster and Emergency Services for The Texas A&M University System. He is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM®), a Texas Master Firefighter, and holds Hazardous Materials and Emergency Medical Technician certifications. Chief Kidd and his wife, Dr. Emily Kidd, M.D., share three children and a beautiful granddaughter together.
Jim Burke
President and CEO, VIstra
Jim Burke is Vistra’s president, chief executive officer, and a member of its board of directors. Vistra is a Fortune 500 integrated power generation and retail electricity company based in Irving, Texas, with operations across the U.S. from California to Maine. Burke has been with Vistra and its predecessor companies since 2004, serving in various leadership positions, including chief financial officer, chief operating officer, and as chairman and CEO of TXU Energy, the company’s retail subsidiary and leading competitive retailer in Texas.
Burke has worked in the retail electric market since 2000 in both the residential and commercial segments. Prior to joining TXU Energy, Burke held senior leadership positions at Gexa Energy and Reliant Energy.
Before his work in competitive electricity markets, Burke worked at The Coca-Cola Company, both domestically in the juice division of The Minute Maid Company and internationally in the expansion of the juice business through Coca-Cola Bottlers in Latin America, South Africa, and Hong Kong. Before Coca-Cola, he was a management consultant for Deloitte & Touche Consulting.
Outside of his responsibilities at Vistra, Burke serves as a board member of the Nuclear Energy Institute and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, as an energy advisory council member for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and as an advisory board member for the Tulane University Energy Institute. He is also a board member for the United Way Foundation of Metropolitan Dallas and the Ursuline Academy of Dallas.
Burke is a graduate of Tulane University, earning a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s in business administration in finance and general management. He is a licensed certified public accountant and has also earned the designation as a chartered financial analyst.
Douglass Robison
President and CEO of Natura Resources
Douglass Robison is the founder and President of Natura Resources. Throughout his career in the energy sector, Douglass has been at the forefront of leading-edge technologies, in his role as Partner, Co-founder, President and Executive Chair of ExL Petroleum, a Permian-based oil and gas exploration and production company, and now as the founder and President of Natura Resources. In 2004 he was appointed by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to serve on the Texas Energy Planning Council and co-chaired the Energy Supply Committee during which time his committee identified the importance of nuclear energy in our energy future. Natura Resources is a natural fit for his deep-seated interest in advanced energy technologies.
simon irish
CEO of terrestrial energy
Simon Irish is Chief Executive Officer of Terrestrial Energy. He has 20 years of global investment banking and investment management experience in New York and London, and has a formal education in the quantitative sciences and quantitative finance. Mr. Irish has established and managed multi-billion-dollar alternative investment businesses in North America.
Mr. Irish formerly led the investment effort in North America for Man Group Plc, a leading global investment management business. He began his banking career at Credit Suisse in London before moving to New York. In 2010, he focused on investment opportunities in breakthrough energy technologies and specifically nuclear energy given its unique virtues, and the unparalleled commercial potential of Generation IV fission technologies in many industries and in an age of energy transition. Mr. Irish holds an MA in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University and an MSc in Finance from the London Business School.