Join your friends and colleagues as we recognize the 2018 Best Overall PIC Paper, Best Overall Zone Paper and Best Diversity Paper Winners!
WELCOME REMARKS
Jane Castor
Mayor of Tampa
MOST OUTSTANDING TEACHING AWARD WINNER
Dr. Mark M. Budnik, Valparaiso University
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
SaLisa L. Berrien, Founder and CEO of COI Energy
Founder and CEO of COI Energy, SaLisa Berrien has over 25 years of experience in the electric power and smart grid space. From working in vertically integrated utilities (PP&L and PECO Energy) prior to deregulation to ConEdison Solutions, a deregulated energy services company, and then on to Smart Grid, Clean Tech, Big Data Analytics, and SaaS Solutions, Berrien has had a diverse career in the energy space. In her early career, she sold the first electric vehicle (G-Van) in the NE region. She later went on to help EnerNOC move to be the Number 1 Demand Response company in the industry. She believes if you do the right thing for your customers, they will remember you for that. She and COI Energy practice the Platinum Rule, "Do unto your customer as they would have you to do unto them.”
Berrien is also the Founder and Board Chair of STRIVE Inc., a 501c3 charitable organization founded in
1995 which focuses on STEM leadership development training for students in third thru 12th grades. In 2013, she established COI Ladder Institute to focus on delivering leadership and empowerment services to millennials and women. Annually, COI Ladder Institute hosts a Women’s Business Leadership Retreat Conference in Martha’s Vineyard.
Since 1996, Berrien has established several scholarship funds for high school and college students. Her first scholarship was named in honor of her maternal and paternal grandparents, who paved the way so that she might have a better chance at life. In 2004, she established the Karl H. Lewis Engineering Impact Endowment at the University of Pittsburgh for students of African descent enrolled in Engineering.
Berrien holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and an Executive MBA from Saint Joseph’s University. She’s been a guest speaker at various conferences and events, including SXSW, NSBE, the University of Pittsburgh, Florida’s Women in Energy Leadership Forum, and Morgan Stanley’s Sustainable Futures Summit.
One of Berrien's core values is philanthropy. She believes that to whom much is given, much is required. Her mission in life is to positively impact the space she occupies by leaving it better off than it was when she found it.
Mayor of Tampa
Jane Castor is the 59th Mayor of the City of Tampa, where she was born and raised. She graduated from Chamberlain High School and attended the University of Tampa on an athletic scholarship.
A 31-year veteran of the Tampa Police Department, Castor has served in every area of the city and in nearly every capacity within the department, including six years as the city's first woman police chief starting in October, 2009. During her time as a senior staff member, Castor worked to reduce major crimes 70 percent citywide. While chief, she developed and successfully executed a progressive policing strategy during the 2012 Republican National Convention and oversaw the successful Bollywood Awards, held in America for the first time. In addition, she oversaw the multi-jurisdictional security plan for Super Bowl XLIII and led the Department of Homeland Security’s Tampa Bay Urban Area Security Initiative.
[