2026 Conference Recap

Powering the Future – Clean Energy Infrastructure from Wires to Watts fittingly brought together around 70 attendees representing a diverse cross section of parties interested in how our state can address our growing energy needs.

Advocates, experts, government officials, union workers, industry representatives, and energy insiders gathered together to learn about how we quickly deploy more power to the grid, smartly use technology to reduce peak demand, and what we need to do to build a 21st century grid. Additionally, our keynote speakers BPU Commissioner Rebhorn and Senior Advisor on Energy to Governor Sherrill Madeline Urbish shared the BPU and Governor’s Office thinking about the energy challenges facing New Jersey.

It was a day full of informative panels, thoughtful questions, and deep conversations that hopefully left everyone more aware of both the challenges and opportunities the state has for Powering our Future.

Agenda

9am

Registration and Light Breakfast

9:30 am

Welcome Remarks

9:45 am

Keynote Address, Madeline Urbish, Senior Advisor on Energy for the State of New Jersey

10 am

Panel 1 – Increasing the Deployment of Distributed Energy Resources in NJ

Our first panel of the day will bring together experts in renewable energy and storage to discuss what the state needs to do to get more distributed energy resources onto the grid, as well as how deploying more of these resources, especially in a coordinated, planned fashion, will help to increase overall supply to put downward pressure on rates.

  • Ahmed Chaudry – Manager, Clean Energy, NJEDA
  • Brandon Smithwood – Vice President, Policy, Dimension Energy
  • Dan Watson – Director of Development, Jupiter Power
  • Evangeline Hobbs – Deputy Director, American Clean Power
  • Grace Power – General Counsel & Executive Vice President of Government Affairs, Solar Landscape
  • Moderator – Elowyn Corby – Senior Mid-Atlantic Regional Director, Vote Solar

11 am

Panel 2 – Modernizing our Grid Through Demand Response and Virtual Power Plants

The second panel of the day will focus on how we can use modern technologies to most efficiently use existing and new energy resources to decrease demand during peak hours and address the challenges of the need for increased energy supply and demand disparity that is both causing older, less efficient, and more polluting energy plants to be used across the region and the driving force behind increased energy bills.

  • Cathleen Lewis – Clean Transportation Program Manager, NJ Board of Public Utilities
  • Tim Fagan – Manager, Evaluation and Planning, PSE&G
  • Catherine Zingg – Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Regional Director, Evergreen Energy
  • Hannah Birnbaum – Chief of Advocacy, Permit Power
  • Moderator – Pamela Frank – CEO, ChargeEVC

12 pm

Lunch and Networking

12:45 pm

Keynote Address, Commissioner Emma Rebhorn, NJ Board of Public Utilities

1 pm

Panel 3 – Modernizing the Physical Grid

The final panel of the day will focus on the needed work, as well as best practices, the state should pursue to build a 21st century grid that is designed to handle and quickly deploy new types of energy while maintaining reliability. Experts on this panel will discuss both what is needed to upgrade our aging electric grid and the opportunities that upgrades provide in communities throughout the state for good paying jobs and other benefits.

  • Wyatt Earp – President, Monmouth and Ocean Central Labor Council
  • Aden Savett – Executive Director, Climate Jobs New Jersey
  • Jake Sneeden – Director of Regulatory Initiatives and Clean Energy Strategy, Atlantic City Electric
  • Jason Friedman – Sr. Council Representative, Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters
  • Moderator – Debra Coyle – Executive Director, NJ Work Environment Council

2 pm

Closing Remarks

Keynote Speakers

Commissioner Emma Rebhorn

Emma Rebhorn was nominated to the NJ Board of Public Utilities by Governor Murphy and confirmed by the New Jersey State Senate in January 2026.

Prior to her appointment, Commissioner Rebhorn served as the Deputy Executive Director of Climate Jobs National Resource Center and Action Fund, the national hub of more than a dozen state-based, labor-led coalitions advocating for worker-centered climate action on behalf of millions of union members. At CJNRC/AF, Commissioner Rebhorn supported unions and climate jobs coalitions nationally and abroad in driving ambitious subnational action to create good union jobs, lower utility costs, and expand clean energy. Commissioner Rebhorn brings a deep understanding of the role working people—including those who build, operate, and maintain our utility infrastructure—must play in shaping energy and regulatory systems that are sustainable, reliable, and affordable.

Raised in a union family in New Jersey, Commissioner Rebhorn spent more than 15 years in the labor movement prior to her appointment, including as a member of the Communications Workers of America, and brings to her role extensive litigation, corporate counsel, and advocacy experience in practice areas including antitrust, bankruptcy, civil rights, labor, and employment law. Previously, Commissioner Rebhorn was General Counsel to Health Professionals and Allied Employees, a statewide federation of healthcare and allied workers affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, and began her career as Assistant General Counsel to the United Steelworkers International Union, the nation’s largest private sector union.

Commissioner Rebhorn earned her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and her JD from Tulane University and is a graduate of the Harvard Trade Union Program.

Madeline Urbish

Madeline (Maddy) Urbish serves as Sr. Advisor on Energy to Governor Sherrill following her role as Policy Director for the Sherrill Transition team. Prior to joining the state, Maddy served in several policy and external relations roles with Ørsted where she was responsible for managing corporate external affairs and investor relations as well as representing the company in New Jersey. She also served as Governor Muphy’s policy advisor on energy and environment and worked as a senior associate with River Crossing Strategy Group. Additionally, Maddy worked with New Jersey Audubon where she managed a multi-state coalition and led federal advocacy efforts to establish and fund a new regional conservation program. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of The College of New Jersey.

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