Highlights of Keynote Addresses, Panel Discussions, and Summit news:

Press Release

News Articles

Keynote Speakers

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Panel Discussions

Panel: Five Developers from California's Initial Offshore Wind Lease Sale
Stephanie McClellan, Moderator, Founder & Strategic Advisor, Turn Forward
Alicia Barton, CEO, Vineyard Offshore
Michael Brown, CEO, Ocean Winds North America
Sam Eaton, President & CEO, RWE Offshore Holdings
Martin Goff, Project Director, Atlas Wind, Equinor
Daniel Runyan, SVP and Head of Offshore Wind Development, Invenergy
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Panel: Advancing Offshore Wind in the California Legislature
Brian White, Moderator, Partner, KP Public Affairs
Josh Becker, California State Senator, 13th Senate District
Jerry McNerney, California State Senator, 5th Senate District
Cottie Petrie-Norris, California State Assembly Member, 73rd Assembly District
Chris Rogers, California State Assembly Member, 2nd Assembly District
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Panel: Tribal Nation Strategies for Workforce and Economic Enterprise Development
Jana Ganion, Moderator, Senior Advisor, Offshore Wind, Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom
Sam Cohen, Government Affairs and Legal Officer, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
Madison Flynn, Chief Executive Officer, Northern California Indian Development Council, Inc. (NCIDC), Wiyot Tribe
Jason Ramos, Chairperson, Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe
Jaclyn Robinson, West Coast Tribal Relations Lead, Vineyard Offshore (Hoopa Valley Tribal member)
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Panel: Going Big on California Offshore Wind – Prospects for State & Federal Engagement & Path for Continued Progress
Adam Stern, Moderator, Executive Director, Offshore Wind California
Chuck Bonham, Director, California Department of Fish & Wildlife
Elizabeth Huber, Director, Siting, Transmission, and Environmental Protection, California Energy Commission
Andrew Meredith, Director of Labor Relations, Offshore US, RWE
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Panel: Roadmap for Timely, Efficient Permitting for California Offshore Wind
Whitney Fiore, Moderator, Technical Director - Environmental Science, WSP
Joseph Street, Ph.D., Manager, Energy, Ocean Resources and Federal Consistency Division, California Coastal Commission
Amy Vierra, Senior Environmental Scientist, California State Lands Commission
Awbrey Yost, J.D., Senior Policy Analyst, Schatz Energy Research Center
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Panel: Coexisting with Ocean Users - Monitoring & Mitigating Wildlife & Fisheries Impacts
Amber Hewett, Moderator, Senior Director of Offshore Wind Energy, National Wildlife Federation
Grace Chang, Senior Science Advisor, Director of Research and Development, Integral Consulting
Garry George, Senior Director, Climate Strategy, National Audubon Society
Kris Ohleth, Director, Special Initiative on Offshore Wind
Ben Ruttenberg, Director, Center for Coastal Marine Sciences, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
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Panel: West Coast Collaboration on Offshore Wind
Jason Busch, Moderator, Executive Director, Pacific Ocean Energy Trust
Ryan Calkins, Commissioner, Port of Seattle
Jenn Eckerle, Deputy Secretary for Oceans and Coastal Policy for Natural Resources and Executive Director of the Ocean Protection Council
Danielle Mullany, Program Specialist, California Energy Commission
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Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Panel Discussions

Panel: Prop 4 & Beyond - Investing in Seaport Facilities & Planning a Multi-Port Infrastructure Strategy
Eli Harland, Moderator, Supervisor - Offshore Renewable Energy Planning Unit, California Energy Commission
Rob Holmlund, Director of Development, Humboldt Bay Harbor District
Jennifer Lim, Ports and Offshore Wind Lead, Moffatt & Nichol
Suzanne Plezia, Chief Harbor Engineer, Port of Long Beach
Brian Sabina, CEO, Clean Energy Terminals
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Panel: Building a Sustainable Offshore Wind Industry in California
Chris Potter, Moderator, Offshore Natural Resources Leader, WSP
Tony Appleton, Offshore Wind Director, Burns & McDonnell
Kelly Boyd, Senior Director, Policy and Regulatory, Pacific Region, Equinor
Rick Umoff, California Market Lead, Vineyard Offshore
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Panel: California Jobs and Workforce Development for Offshore Wind
Dan Jacobson, Moderator, Senior Advisor, Environment California
Travis Alexander, Senior Organizer, Nor Cal Carpenters Union
Jeff Hunerlach, District Representative/Offshore Wind Consultant Operating Engineers Local #3
Micah Mitrosky, International Representative, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
Treston Shull, International Representative, Laborers Local 324, Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA)
Abrah Steward, Program Manager, CFROG
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Panel: Developing a Scalable West Coast Supply Chain & Advancing Technology to Deploy California's First Offshore Wind Projects
Nancy Kirshner-Rodriguez, Moderator, Senior Director for Policy & Outreach, Oceantic Network
Seth Price, Vice President of Technology, Principle Power
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Roundtable: The Role of Local Government Officials in Shaping Offshore Wind Policies in California, Hosted by Elected Officials to Protect America
Meghan Sahli-Wells, Moderator, California Director, Elected Officials to Protect America
Honorable Natalie Arroyo, 4th District Supervisor, Humboldt County
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Panel: Perspectives on Procurement & Imperatives for Driving Offshore Wind Economies of Scale
Molly Croll, Moderator, Pacific Offshore Wind Director, American Clean Power
Michael Colvin, Director, Regulatory and Legislative Affairs, Lead for California Energy Program, Environmental Defense Fund
Leuwam Tesfai, Deputy Executive Director for Energy and Climate Policy, California Public Utilities Commission
Dawn Weisz, CEO, Marin Clean Energy
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Panel: Connecting Offshore Wind to California's Grid - Accelerating Transmission Planning & Interconnection
Anna Fero, Moderator, Associate, Davis Wright Tremaine
Travis Douville, Wind Systems Integration Portfolio Manager, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Arne Jacobson, Director, Schatz Energy Research Center, Cal Poly Humboldt University
Susan Lee, Vice President, Aspen Environmental
Marco Rios, Manager, Transmission System Planning, PG&E
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Panel: Collaboration to Enhance Opportunities for Offshore Wind on the West Coast, Around the Pacific & Beyond
Kevin Banister, Moderator, Partner & CEO, Ocean Connect Energy 
Eunsung Kim, Chief Operating Officer, Renewable Energy Policy Program Director, NEXT Group, South Korea
Georgia Roden Lowe, Energy and Climate Policy Advisor, British Consulate-General San Francisco
Walter van der Weiden, Founder & Director, Westward Consulting
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