Vice President, Policy, American Gas Association

Please note your affiliation and years of experience in the energy and/or environmental field, and any particular achievement/interest in energy/environment you would like to mention.

I’m the Vice President for Policy with the American Gas Association, and in my spare time I also serve as the Executive Director of our associated research arm, the American Gas Foundation. I came to Washington twenty years ago right out of graduate school (I’m a physicist by training, with a Ph.D. from U of M Ann Arbor). I initially came for a one-year science policy fellowship as an energy and environmental policy advisor to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. I had the privilege of serving for wonderful, smart Congressional bosses, with my longest service being on the Senate Energy Committee for Senator Pete Domenici. I’ve followed that with a decade of work on energy related issues at trade associations. I’m definitely someone who came to D.C. supposedly for a short stint, and then never left.  

Any particular achievement/interest in energy/environment you would like to mention?

I’m the Vice President for Policy with the American Gas Association, and in my spare time I also serve as the Executive Director of our associated research arm, the American Gas Foundation. I came to Washington twenty years ago right out of graduate school (I’m a physicist by training, with a Ph.D. from U of M Ann Arbor). I initially came for a one-year science policy fellowship as an energy and environmental policy advisor to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. I had the privilege of serving for wonderful, smart Congressional bosses, with my longest service being on the Senate Energy Committee for Senator Pete Domenici. I’ve followed that with a decade of work on energy related issues at trade associations. I’m definitely someone who came to D.C. supposedly for a short stint, and then never left. 

I’m grateful for the opportunities I had to craft legislation, especially the original America COMPETES Act. On behalf of Senator Domenici, I was one of the primary authors of the provisions that created ARPA-E at the Department of Energy. Creating that legislation was a tough three-year effort – we got to the finish line because all the lead offices took a bipartisan approach, and believed what mattered was ensuring the United States remained a global leader in technology innovation.

In your opinion, what are important economic/policy issues facing the energy industry nowadays?

The country needs more natural gas infrastructure. The shale gas revolution has transformed our energy landscape. Going forward, natural gas is going to be even more important to power generation, manufacturing, and the residential and commercial sectors. Our abundance of natural gas is a national strength, but we will have to make the right choices to capture the benefits it can offer us.

How long have you been a member of NCAC? Any particular NCAC memory you would like to share with us?

I’m a pretty new member of NCAC, and I’m looking forward to becoming more involved. I thought the recent annual meeting was a highly successful event.