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Speaker Biographies

Rita Adiani

President and Chief Executive Officer, Titan Mining Corporation

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Dwight Anderson

Founder and Managing Partner, Ospraie

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Senator Jim Banks

United States Senator, Indiana

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Dr. Gracelin Baskaran

Director, Critical Minerals Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies

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Andrew Bednar

CEO, Perella Weinberg

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Robert Bucey

Vice President and Director of Operations, Jacobs’ Federal Advisory Solutions

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Secretary Doug Burgum

Secretary of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior

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Honorable Michael Cadenazzi

Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy

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James Cornell

President, NuCore Energy LLC

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Congressman Warren Davidson

United States Congressman, Ohio

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Bob Diamond

Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Atlas Merchant Capital

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Dean Frankel

VP of Product and Marketing, Elevated Materials

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Charles Freeman

Senior Vice President for Asia, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

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Trevor Gunn

Founder and Chair, USA Healthcare Alliance

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Steve Hendel

Founding Managing Director, General Partner, Hartree Partners

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Dr. Christopher Hickey

Executive Director, Global Public Policy & International Government Affairs, Merck

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Allison Iannarino

Acting Managing Director for Asia, ICT, and Infrastructure, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation

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John Jovanovic

President & Chairman, Export-Import Bank of the United States

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Sarah E. Kemp

Vice President, International Government Affairs, Intel

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Fred Kempe

President and CEO, Atlantic Council

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Maria Korsnick

President & CEO, Nuclear Energy Institute

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Peter Lake

Senior Director of Power, National Energy Dominance Council, The White House

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Howard Lutnick

41st United States Secretary of Commerce

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Roger Martella

Chief Corporate Officer, GE Vernova

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Jon Mauck

Senior Managing Director, Digital Bridge View Bio >

Bruce L. Niemeyer

President, Shale & Tight, Chevron

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Scott Nolan

CEO, General Matter

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Caleb Orr

Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs

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George A. Pickart

Managing Director of Global Government Affairs & Policy, GE Vernova

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Jose Manuel G. Romualdez

Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the United States

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John Schaeffler

Executive Director, Global Government Affairs and Policy, GE Healthcare

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Merritt Simon

Vice President, Beacon Global Strategies

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Congressman Pete Stauber

Eighth Congressional District, Minnesota

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Alix Steel

Principal, DrivePath Advisors

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Mark Teubl

Senior Advisor for National Security, EXIM

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Richard Wilkins

Global Head of Export and Agency Finance Origination, JP Morgan

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Congressman Rob Wittman

United States Representative, Virginia

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Lee Zeldin

EPA Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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More speaker bios coming soon.

Rita Adiani
President and Chief Executive Officer, Titan Mining Corporation

Rita Adiani is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Titan Mining Corporation (NYSE American: TII; TSX: TI), a U.S.-based producer of zinc and natural flake graphite. She leads Titan’s transformation into an integrated supplier of critical minerals essential for national security, energy transition, and industrial-base resilience. 

With nearly 20 years of global experience across mining, critical materials, corporate finance, and public-private partnerships, Ms. Adiani has executed over US$70 billion in transactions across North America, Latin America, Europe, and Australia. Under her leadership, Titan secured the first-ever EXIM direct mining loan under the Make More in America Initiative, strengthening domestic graphite processing capacity. 

She works closely with U.S. federal and state partners—including EXIM, the Department of War/Office of Industrial Base Resilience, the Defense Logistics Agency, FAST-41 agencies, and Congress—to advance secure, U.S.-based supply chains. 

Ms. Adiani previously held senior roles at Arizona Sonoran Copper, Xiana Mining, NRG Capital Partners, Société Générale, and Linklaters LLP, in the United States and internationally. 

Dwight Anderson
Founder and Managing Partner, Ospraie

Dwight Anderson is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ospraie Management, LLC (“Ospraie”). Ospraie is an investment management firm focused on (i) the acquisition and management of real assets in agriculture, energy, metals & mining, and commodity processing & logistics, (ii) directional investing in commodities globally, and (iii) investing in agricultural technology companies.

Mr. Anderson launched the original Ospraie Fund in 1999 in partnership with Tudor Investment Corporation (“Tudor”), where he served as Head of the Basic Industries Group before establishing Ospraie as an independent firm in 2004. Prior to joining Tudor, Mr. Anderson was a Managing Director at Tiger Management in charge of the Basic Industries and Commodities Group.

Mr. Anderson has served on numerous boards of directors of companies in various sectors of the commodity industry. Additionally, he serves or served on the boards of trustees of NYU Langone Medical Center, The National WWII Museum, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, and the United States Olympic Committee.

He holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina and an AB in history from Princeton University. Mr. Anderson has been a recipient of the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Young Alumni Award and its MBA Alumni Merit Award. In 2008, he was inducted into NYU’s Sir Harold Acton Society. In addition, Mr. Anderson was the 2016 recipient of the Princeton in Africa Founder’s Medal.

Senator Jim Banks
United States Senator, Indiana

Senator Jim Banks is a native Hoosier, born and raised in Columbia City. He is the son of a factory worker and a nursing home cook and was the first in his family to go to college. Banks earned an undergraduate degree from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration from Grace College.

Before being elected to the United States Senate in 2024, Banks served in the United States House of Representatives and in the Indiana State Senate.

While serving in the Indiana State Senate from 2010 to 2016, he chaired the Senate Veteran Affairs and the Military Committee. In 2014 and 2015, Senator Banks took a leave of absence from the Indiana State Senate to deploy to Afghanistan during Operations Enduring Freedom and Freedom’s Sentinel.

Banks was elected to the U.S. House in 2016 where he served four terms representing Indiana’s third Congressional district. In the 117th Congress, Congressman Banks served as Chairman of the Republican Study Committee—the largest conservative caucus in the House. During his time in the House, Banks served on the House Armed Services Committee, the Committee on Education and the Workforce, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party.

On the House Armed Services Committee, Banks served as Chairman of the Military Personnel Subcommittee during the 118th Congress and ranking member of the Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems subcommittee in the 117th Congress.

Senator Banks is a past president of the Columbia City Rotary Club, former chairman of the Whitley County Republican Party, and has served on the Whitley County Council and Northeast Indiana Workforce Development Board.

Throughout Senator Banks’ years in public service, he has been recognized for his leadership and commitment to conservative values.
Senator Banks and his wife Amanda are the parents to three daughters, Lillian, Elizabeth, and Joann.

Dr. Gracelin Baskaran
Director, Critical Minerals Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

Dr. Gracelin Baskaran is director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She is a mining economist and has spent over a decade working on critical minerals globally. She began her career in South Africa’s platinum belt and later spent five years at the World Bank in South Africa, where she coauthored the book Africa’s Resource Future: Harnessing Natural Resources for Economic Transformation during the Low-Carbon Transition. She recently published a policy playbook, Critical Minerals and the Future of the United States Economy, and is now writing a book on an international strategy for critical minerals engagement for the United States. Dr. Baskaran is also an adjunct associate professor at Georgetown University, where she teaches on critical minerals in the Center for Security Studies. She was a Fulbright Scholar and has held positions at the University of Cambridge, University of London, and University of Cape Town.

Dr. Baskaran has been cited as an expert in The Economist, Financial Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Fox, CNN, Bloomberg, and BBC, and regularly appears on television. She has authored over 200 policy reports, white papers, and op-eds. In 2025, Mining Journal ranked Dr. Baskaran #8 on its list of the most influential figures in global mining—the only woman in the top 12. She regularly speaks at international conferences and policymaker forums and has testified before the U.S. Congress. She holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Andrew Bednar
CEO, Perella Weinberg

Andrew Bednar is the CEO of Perella Weinberg and has been a Partner since its founding in 2006. He previously was Head of U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions at Bank of America and before that was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Bednar began his career as a corporate lawyer at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

Mr. Bednar received a Bachelor of Science and a Masters in Business Administration from Cornell University and received a Juris Doctor from Columbia University. He previously served as a member of the Board of Trustees of The Juilliard School.

Robert Bucey
Vice President and Director of Operations, Jacobs’ Federal Advisory Solutions

Rob is Vice President and Director of Operations for Jacobs’ Federal Advisory Solutions practice. He has more than 30 years of experience and leads a diverse team whose mission is to identify and solve the most challenging problems related to operational excellence, resilience, business continuity, energy transition, and health security across a broad range of market sectors.

Prior to joining Jacobs, Rob was Director of Engineering for a 3.5 million square foot academic medical center in Boston where he was responsible for engineering operations, infrastructure master planning, design, and construction. While at the medical center, he led his team in improving operational efficiency, improving asset reliability, and enhancing patient care.

Secretary Doug Burgum
Secretary of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior

Doug Burgum is the 55th Secretary the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Raised in Arthur, North Dakota, Burgum worked as a chimney sweep to help pay his way through North Dakota State University before earning an MBA from Stanford University. In 1983, Doug literally “bet the farm” to provide seed capital for a software startup called Great Plains.

Doug led Great Plains through a successful IPO and grew the company to over 2,000 employees before its acquisition by Microsoft. Burgum remained with Microsoft for six years as the Senior Vice President of Business Solutions.

Doug later co-founded Arthur Ventures and served as chairman for international software companies including Atlassian, SuccessFactors, and as a board member for Avalara.

In 2016, Burgum was elected to serve as North Dakota’s 33rd Governor. In 2020, he was re-elected in a landslide. Under his leadership, North Dakota passed the largest tax cut in state history and dramatically reduced red tape.

As a testament to Burgum’s leadership, Forbes named him “America’s Best Entrepreneurial Governor.” During his tenure, North Dakota experienced the highest growth in real GDP and had the lowest unemployment rate in the country.

Burgum has three adult children. He is married to Kathryn Burgum, a nationally recognized advocate for addiction recovery.

Honorable Michael Cadenazzi
Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy

The Honorable Michael Cadenazzi was sworn in as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy (ASD(IBP)) on September 23, 2025. In this role, he is the principal advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment on industrial base policies and leads the Department of Defense’s efforts to develop and maintain the U.S. defense industrial base to ensure a secure supply of materials critical to national security.

Over the past two decades, Mr. Cadenazzi has served as a serial entrepreneur and consultant with experience in managing and addressing challenging issues across the aerospace & defense sector. He has launched multiple defense industry services and technology start-ups across the signals intelligence, program analysis, data analytics, and market assessment and strategy sectors, and executed two successful transfers of business ownership. His extensive sector experience includes work from the space to undersea domains and from aircraft and munitions to armor, weapons, ships, and services. His clients have included domestic and international firms from large prime contractors to all levels in the supply chain. His direct experience spans strategy, mergers & acquisitions, operations, supply chain and organizational transformation.

Prior to his civilian career, Mr. Cadenazzi served for ten years as an active-duty U.S. Navy cryptologic warfare officer. He completed the Cryptologic Division Office Course at Corry Station in Pensacola Florida before his first tour at Naval Communications & Telecommunications Area Master Station (NCTAMS) WESTPAC in Agana, Guam. Following graduate education, he was assigned to the staff of Commander, U.S. Navy SIXTH Fleet in Gaeta Italy. He completed his military service on the staff of U.S. Naval Forces Europe in London, the United Kingdom.

Mr. Cadenazzi holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Tulane University and a master’s degree in electrical engineering with an emphasis on RF communications and signals intelligence from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. He was commissioned an ensign in 1995 through the Tulane Naval Reserve Officer Corps (NROTC) program.

James Cornell
President, NuCore Energy LLC

Jim has over 38 years of experience in the global nuclear fuel industry, He currently serves as President of NuCore Energy LLC, a company that he founded together with Cadent Energy Partners in 2009. NuCore is a strategic advisory and investment firm with specialized expertise in nuclear fuel marketing and procurement, the evaluation of uranium mining and nuclear service sector investment opportunities, and nuclear project and fuel financing.

Jim also served as Vice President and President of Nukem Inc., from 1987 to 2008, during which time he helped build the company into one of the largest international suppliers of nuclear fuel. Under his leadership the company established exclusive supply arrangements with several former Soviet Republics, and organized the Western consortium that negotiated the historic U.S.-Russian HEU Agreement, commonly referred to as the “Megatons to Megawatts” deal. During his Nukem tenure Jim also served as the Chairman of publicly traded, American Nuclear Corporation.

Jim received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut and his Master of Business Administration from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. and climate change practices and was recognized by his peers as the top lawyer in the field globally.

Congressman Warren Davidson
United States Congressman, Ohio

Warren Davidson represents Ohio’s 8th Congressional District. He is a member of the House Financial Services Committee, where he is focused on policies that help grow our economy, instill fiscal discipline, advance innovation, and limit runaway government expansion that threatens to bankrupt America.

After high school, Congressman Davidson enlisted in the Army as an infantryman. As part of the 3rd Infantry Division, he was stationed in Germany and witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall. Warren’s commanding officers recognized his potential and helped him earn an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated near the top of his class as a student of American history and mechanical engineering. As an officer, he led in The Old Guard, the 75th Ranger Regiment, and the 101st Airborne Division. In 1995, he married his wife, Lisa Davidson.

After the Army, Congressman Davidson returned home, worked with his father, earned an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, and spent fifteen years owning and operating manufacturing companies in Ohio. In 2016, he again responded to the call of service, and came to work in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Warren and his wife Lisa have been married for 30 years and have two adult children.

Bob Diamond
Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Atlas Merchant Capital

Mr. Diamond is our Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer, based in New York. Until 2012, Mr. Diamond was Chief Executive of Barclays, having previously held the position of President of Barclays and was responsible for Barclays Capital and Barclays Global Investors (“BGI”). He became an executive director of Barclays in 2005 and was a member of the Barclays Executive Committee since 1997.

Prior to Barclays, Mr. Diamond held senior executive positions at Credit Suisse First Boston and Morgan Stanley in the United States, Europe and Asia. Mr. Diamond worked at Credit Suisse First Boston from 1992 to 1996, where his roles included Vice Chairman and Head of Global Fixed Income and Foreign Exchange in New York, as well as Chairman, President and CEO of Credit Suisse First Boston Pacific. Mr. Diamond worked at Morgan Stanley from 1979 to 1992, including as the Head of European and Asian Fixed Income Trading.

Mr. Diamond is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of Concord Acquisition Corp II (NYSE:CNDA) and a member of the Board of Directors of Crux Informatics. Mr. Diamond also serves on the Yale SOM Council of Global Advisors.

A native of Concord, Massachusetts, Mr. Diamond holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Colby College in Maine and an MBA from the University of Connecticut. He was awarded Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Connecticut and Doctor of Laws from Colby College.

Dean Frankel
VP of Product and Marketing at Elevated Materials

Dean Frankel serves as Vice President of Product and Marketing at Elevated Materials, a battery materials company spun out of Applied Materials in February 2025, focused on bringing ultra-thin lithium metal films to gigawatt-hour scale production for next-generation batteries across electric vehicles, aviation, energy storage, and consumer electronics.

Prior to joining Elevated Materials, Mr. Frankel served as Chief Commercial Officer at Li-Metal Corp., where he led commercial strategy for a lithium anode technology developer. Before that, he founded and ran Electrify Everything, an advisory firm focused on advanced batteries and the electrification megatrend.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Frankel led Business Development at Solid Power, headed the Energy Storage research practice at Lux Research, and led Sales and Marketing at Voltaiq. Across these roles, he has supported due diligence for over $7 billion in energy storage acquisitions and investments and developed deep expertise across the battery value chain from raw materials to end-product applications.

Mr. Frankel holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Energy and Environmental Systems with minors in Math and Physics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Charles Freeman
Senior Vice President for Asia, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Charles Freeman, senior vice president for Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has been helping companies navigate complex markets in the Asia-Pacific for 25 years. His career included senior stints in government, business, law, and academia, giving him a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities in the world’s most dynamic region.

During his government career, Freeman was assistant U.S. trade representative for China affairs, serving as principal U.S. trade negotiator with China. He also was legislative counsel in the U.S. Senate, where he concentrated on East Asian economic and trade issues.

After leaving government, Freeman consulted on Chinese and other Asia-focused business and policy matters for some of the world’s leading companies during market entry, expansion, and crises phases alike. He also served as PepsiCo’s vice president for global public policy and government affairs for Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

In addition, Freeman was chair of China studies at Washington, D.C.-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Earlier, he was based in Hong Kong with The Asia Foundation and the International Herald Tribune and worked as a securities lawyer and venture capitalist investing in emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and China.

He is on the board of directors of Harding Loevner Funds, an internationally focused mutual fund group and is also a senior adviser to CSIS.

Freeman earned his doctor of law degree from Boston University’s School of Law and his bachelor’s degree in Asian studies and economics from Tufts University.He did postgraduate work at Fudan University in Shanghai and studied Mandarin Chinese at the Taipei Language Institute.

Trevor Gunn
Founder and Chair, USA Healthcare Alliance

Trevor Gunn is Founder and Chair of the USA Healthcare Alliance (USAHA). In December 2025, after 21 years of service, he retired as Vice President, International Relations for Medtronic, the world’s largest medical technology company.

He has served for 33 consecutive years and presently serves as Adjunct Professor between the Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy and CERES at the School of Foreign Service and Georgetown University. He is a Vicennial Silver Medalist.

Trevor Gunn was formerly long-time Director of the Commerce Department’s Business Information Service for the Newly Independent States (BISNIS), the clearinghouse for US Government information for doing business in the former Soviet Union for 12 years. Previously, he has worked with the Chamber of Commerce of Southern Sweden, Dover Elevator Corporation (now ThyssenKrupp of Germany), International Executive Service Corps and on the staffs of the former San Francisco Mayor and two U.S. senators from California.

Presently, he sits on the U.S. State Department’s Stakeholder Advisory Board on the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Social Responsibility; is an official Advisor to the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) in the “Industry Trade Advisory” system of the US Government. Further, he is Chair Emeritus and Board Member of the Executive Council on Diplomacy and is a Founding Advisory Board Member to the Geneva-based World Association of Investment Promotion agencies (WAIPA).

He received his B.A. from University of San Francisco. He received his Ph.D. in International Relations from the London School of Economics in 1992.

Gunn speaks Swedish, French and Russian. Gunn, his wife(Anna) and their three grown children live in Suburban Maryland, California and the Chicago area.

Steve Hendel
Founding Managing Director, General Partner, Hartree Partners

Stephen Hendel is Founding Managing Partner of Hartree Partners. Hartree is a leading U.S.-based global merchant commodities firm headquartered in New York. Since co-founding Hartree in 1997, along with Stephen Semlitz and Guy Merison, Hartree has become one of the most influential and trusted participants in global commodities markets. Under their leadership, Hartree has grown from a U.S. energy-focused trading operation into a diversified global platform spanning energy, metals, agriculture, and environmental products. With around 5,000 employees and a presence in all major commodity markets worldwide, Hartree combines deep trading expertise, physical asset ownership, and disciplined risk management to deliver long-term value for partners, counterparties, and stakeholders. 

A pioneer in the modern era of commodities and energy trading, Stephen is regarded as one of the industry’s most accomplished and respected figures. He has earned a reputation shaped over decades, beginning with his tenure at J. Aron & Company, acquired by Goldman Sachs in 1981, one of the most formative institutions in global commodities markets. He served as Co-Head of the J. Aron Commodity and Currency Division and Co-Head of Energy Trading, helping steer the firm through a pivotal period of innovation, globalization, and rapid market evolution. From 1981 to 1996, he held senior leadership roles at Goldman Sachs, spanning precious metals, energy, and global commodity trading. 

At Hartree, Stephen and his co-founders have overseen the firm’s organic expansion into new commodity verticals and its strategy of selective, high-impact acquisitions. Their leadership has enabled Hartree to deploy its trading capabilities and market insights into complementary assets, including extending its reach into soft commodities and environmental markets. Hartree’s U.S.-based roots, global reach, and strong culture of integrity have positioned the firm as a reliable partner to U.S. institutions, including policymakers and government agencies seeking a stable, transparent, and domestically anchored market participant. 

Stephen holds a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. Across his career, he has been recognized for his strategic vision, commitment to disciplined risk management, and enduring contributions to the global commodities landscape. 

Dr. Christopher Hickey
Executive Director, Global Public Policy & International Government Affairs, Merck

Dr. Christopher Hickey serves as Executive Director, Global Public Policy & International Government Affairs at Merck. In this role, he is responsible for leading Merck’s global engagement strategy and advocacy efforts in Washington D.C. From 2015 to 2023, Chris was at Pfizer, where he led the company’s policy and government affairs work in China and established their first-ever geopolitical risk hub.

Earlier in his career, Chris served in international health leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), first in multilateral affairs and later leading HHS’s Asia-Pacific policy work. Building on that work, he founded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s China Office, and led and expanded FDA’s work in China from 2008 to 2015.

Chris holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Virginia and began his career as a human rights advocate.

Allison Iannarino
Acting Managing Director for Asia, ICT, and Infrastructure at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)

Allison Iannarino serves as Acting Managing Director for Asia, ICT, and Infrastructure at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), where she leads the agency’s investment strategy across the Indo-Pacific and oversees its global information and communications technology and infrastructure portfolios. In that capacity, she advances DFC’s role as a lead implementer of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, the Blue Dot Network, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, engaging regularly with foreign government counterparts and private-sector partners across India, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. She joined DFC as Director for East Asia Policy Philippine News Agency before being elevated to her current role in 2025.

Ms. Iannarino brings more than a decade of U.S. government experience advancing American strategic interests across the Indo-Pacific. She previously served as Director for Afghanistan at the White House National Security Council (2021–2022), where she led interagency policy development on counterterrorism, humanitarian assistance, economic stabilization, and human rights, and played a central role in negotiations securing the 2022 release of U.S. hostage Mark Frerichs. University of Dayton Prior to her NSC detail, she served as a Foreign Affairs Officer at the U.S. Department of State (2017–2022).

She holds a Master of International Development from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and a B.A. in Political Science and Human Rights Studies from the University of Dayton. Ms. Iannarino is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

John Jovanovic
President & Chairman | Office of the President & Chairman

Mr. Jovanovic serves as the President & Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, nominated by President Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He brings to EXIM extensive experience in financing, investing, and business building across energy and critical infrastructure industries within the private sector and U.S. government.

Prior to EXIM, Mr. Jovanovic served as Chief Strategy Officer at Asplundh, the largest provider of critical infrastructure services across North America. While there, he led the company’s growth initiatives and digital innovation while overseeing Corporate Development (including mergers and acquisitions) and External Affairs.

During his prior U.S. government service, Mr. Jovanovic was Regional Head and Managing Director for the Aegean & Western Balkans at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), America’s $60 billion development bank, opening DFC’s first ever overseas office. At DFC, he participated in countering Chinese and Russian malign influence by helping provide American-led financing alternatives in the region. He also led the implementation of President Trump’s historic Washington Agreements on Economic Normalization between Kosovo and Serbia.

Prior to his government service, Mr. Jovanovic was Investment Director at Mercuria Energy Group, where he managed investment and business building efforts across North and South America.

Mr. Jovanovic holds a degree in Politics from Princeton University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School with a double major in Finance and Management.

He is married and has four young children.

Sarah E. Kemp
Vice President, International Government Affairs, Intel

Sarah joined Intel in February of 2022 with decades of global policy expertise. Before joining Intel, she served as the Associate Vice President (AVP) for Global Health Policy/ESG Strategy for Organon and was Merck’s AVP for Public Policy for Asia Pacific and the Emerging Markets.

Before joining the private sector, Ms. Kemp served as the Deputy Under Secretary for the International Trade Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce. She oversaw a $485 million annual budget and 2,100 trade and investment professionals based in 108 US cities and 76 markets worldwide. In addition she served as the Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and had postings in Hanoi, Hong Kong, and Bangkok.

She received her MBA from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, her MPA from Columbia University, and her BA from Hamilton College. Ms. Kemp is an independent board member of NTIC and CIPE and a member of the WEF’s Global Future Council on China. She also is on the Advisory Council of Indiana University’s Manufacturing Policy Initiative.

Fred Kempe
President and CEO, Atlantic Council

Fred Kempe is the president and chief executive officer of the Atlantic Council. Under his leadership since 2007, the Council has achieved historic, industry-leading growth in size and influence, expanding its work through regional centers spanning the globe and through centers focused on topics ranging from international security and energy to global trade and next generation mentorship.

Before joining the Council, Kempe was a prize-winning editor and reporter at the Wall Street Journalfor more than twenty-five years. In New York, he served as assistant managing editor, International, and columnist. Prior to that, he was the longest-serving editor and associate publisher ever of the Wall Street Journal Europe, running the global Wall Street Journal’s editorial operations in Europe and the Middle East.

In 2002, The European Voice, a leading publication following EU affairs, selected Kempe as one of the fifty most influential Europeans, and as one of the four leading journalists in Europe. At the Wall Street Journal, he served as a roving correspondent based out of London; as a Vienna Bureau chief covering Eastern Europe and East-West Affairs; as chief diplomatic correspondent in Washington, DC; and as the paper’s first Berlin Bureau chief following the unification of Germany and collapse of the Soviet Union.

As a reporter, he covered events including the rise of Solidarity in Poland and the growing Eastern European resistance to Soviet rule; the coming to power of Mikhail Gorbachev in Russia and his summit meetings with President Ronald Reagan; the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Lebanon in the 1980s; and the American invasion of Panama. He also covered the unification of Germany and the collapse of Soviet Communism.

He is the author of four books. The most recent, Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth, was a New York Times Best Seller and a National Best Seller. Published in 2011, it has subsequently been translated into thirteen different languages.

Kempe is a graduate of the University of Utah and has a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, where he was a member of the International Fellows program in the School of International Affairs. He won the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism’s top alumni achievement award and the University of Utah’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

For his commitment to strengthening the transatlantic alliance, Kempe has been decorated by the Presidents of Poland and Germany and by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

Maria Korsnick
President & CEO, Nuclear Energy Institute

Maria Korsnick is president and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute, the nuclear industry’s policy organization in Washington, D.C., a role she has held since January 1, 2017.

Drawing on her engineering background, hands-on experience in reactor operations and a deep knowledge of energy policy and regulatory issues, Korsnick aims to increase understanding of nuclear energy’s economic and environmental benefits among policymakers and the public. As part of her duty to NEI’s members, she serves as a member of the boards of directors of the U.S. Energy Association and the Foundation for Nuclear Studies. She also serves as a trustee of the Nuclear Power Labor Management Cooperation Committee Trust, vice chair of the University of Maryland Department of Mechanical Engineering External Advisory Committee, and a member of the Purdue University School of Nuclear Engineering Advisory Board.

Before joining NEI, she was senior vice president of Northeast Operations for Exelon, responsible for overseeing operation of the Calvert Cliffs 1 and 2, R.E. Ginna, and Nine Mile Point 1 and 2 nuclear power plants.

Before Exelon, Korsnick served as chief nuclear officer (CNO) and acting chief executive officer at Constellation Energy Nuclear Group. She began her career at Constellation in 1986 and held positions of increasing responsibility, including engineer, operator, manager, site vice president, corporate vice president, and CNO.

Korsnick holds a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Maryland, and has held a Senior Reactor Operator license. She lives in Maryland with her husband, and they are the parents of two adult children.

Peter Lake
Senior Director of Power, National Energy Dominance Council, The White House

In 2021, as Texas was reeling from the devastating impact of Winter Storm Uri, Peter answered Governor Greg Abbott’s call to stabilize and strengthen the state’s independent electrical grid as Chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT). Chief among his responsibilities as lead regulator of Texas’ power, telecom, and water industries was overseeing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the entity operating the power grid that provides electricity to the homes and businesses of more than 26 million Texans and supports the world’s 8th largest economy by GDP. During Winter Storm Uri, the grid came within five minutes of total failure, which would have resulted in 100% total blackout for multiple weeks. Due to Peter’s leadership implementing extensive operational, market, and regulatory reforms, the grid suffered zero system failures during his tenure despite setting dozens of all-time records for power demand. Working closely with Governor Abbott and the Texas Legislature, he led the effort to seat a completely new governing board at ERCOT in a matter of months and mitigated storm-induced costs to Texas businesses by structuring a complex $2.2 billion disaster securitization financing (AAA rated). During that time, he also successfully navigated almost $10 billion of storm-related litigation.

It is worth noting that when Governor Abbott called on Peter to fortify the Texas grid, he interrupted Peter’s term as Chairman of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), one of the world’s largest water infrastructure banks. Before his early departure, Peter led over $6 billion of financing to support water and wastewater infrastructure across Texas. While overseeing the multi-billion-dollar State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) program, he successfully implemented significant financial reforms in the wake of COVID-19’s market disruptions. Peter also led the development and operation of the $1 billion Flood Infrastructure Fund and associated programs in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. His unique ability to integrate technical components, statewide planning and coordination, and significant financing into a single, coordinated system yielded one of the most comprehensive flood mitigation programs in the world.

Before entering public service, Peter held senior operating roles in upstream oil and gas, healthcare, and financial companies. He was previously a proprietary bond trader on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, and he holds a BA from the University of Chicago and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Howard Lutnick
41st United States Secretary of Commerce

Howard W. Lutnick serves as the 41st United States Secretary of Commerce. During President Trump’s 2024 election campaign, he was the Co-Chair of the Trump-Vance Transition Team.

Before entering public service, Mr. Lutnick was a prominent figure on Wall Street for over three decades, simultaneously serving as Chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. and BGC Group, as well as Executive Chairman of Newmark. He joined Cantor Fitzgerald in 1983 and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming President and CEO at just 29 years old.

Tragedy struck on September 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, and Cantor Fitzgerald lost 658 of its 960 New York-based employees, including Mr. Lutnick’s brother and his best friend. He emerged from these events with an indomitable sense of purpose to rebuild the firm to honor those lost, support their families, and become a beacon of hope for those who remained.

In the days after the attacks, Mr. Lutnick launched the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, which donated $180 million to families of his coworkers who died on 9/11. He has donated more than $100 million to victims of terrorism, natural disasters, and other emergencies around the world.

Mr. Lutnick served on the Board of Directors of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and Weill Cornell Medicine. He was named the Financial Times Person of the Year in 2001 and Ernst & Young’s United States Entrepreneur of the Year in 2010. Howard also received the Department of the Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest honor granted to non-military personnel by the Navy.

Roger Martella
Chief Corporate Officer, GE Vernova

Roger Martella is Chief Corporate Officer, Head of Global Government Affairs and Policy, and Chief Sustainability Officer at GE Vernova. In this role, Roger engages the world’s top public and private sector leaders to solve the energy trilemma of affordability, reliability, and sustainability.

Prior to joining GE in 2017, Roger served as General Counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the George W. Bush Administration, where he was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate, and as Principal Counsel for Complex Litigation for the Department of Justice’s Natural Resources Section, where he won every case he litigated. Roger also co-led Sidley Austin LLP’s global environmental and climate change practices and was recognized by his peers as the top lawyer in the field globally.

Jon Mauck
Senior Managing Director, Digital Bridge

Jon Mauck is a Senior Managing Director at Digital Bridge, a specialist investment firm that focuses exclusively on digital infrastructure. Digital Bridge manages over $90 billion in assets across data centers, towers, fiber, small cells and adjacent assets. Jon is a member of the investment committee overseeing all new investments at the firm and of the Executive committee that oversees the operations of Digital Bridge globally.

Jon has over 25 years of experience of advising, operating, and investing in digital infrastructure. At Digital Bridge, Jon leads the data center strategy and is responsible for identification, evaluation, consummation, and management of new investments in the data center sector on a global basis. His portfolio includes: Vantage Data Centers, DataBank, Switch, Scala, AtlasEdge, AIMS, and Yondr (scheduled to close in Q2 2025).

Previously, Jon was the President and CFO of IO Data Centers, a privately held data center company, that developed and operated over 1.5 million square feet of capacity across North America, Europe, and Asia. Jon was also a partner in BaseLayer, a modular business developed in 2011, that utilized standard design and software functionality to industrialize the development and delivery of data center capacity.

From 1999 to 2010, Jon was a Managing Director and the Global Head of the Technology Infrastructure group at Citigroup’s Investment Bank. In that role, Jon advised digital infrastructure companies in over $15 billion of strategic and financing transactions. His clients included: Equinix, Digital Reality, Coresite, Interxion, TeleCity, and multiple private entities and investors. Prior to Citigroup, Jon was a practicing attorney at Thatcher Proffit focused on mergers and acquisitions.

Bruce L. Niemeyer
President, Shale & Tight, Chevron

As President, Shale & Tight, Chevron Corporation, Bruce L. Niemeyer oversees Chevron’s significant upstream activities in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado, the Bakken in North Dakota, and the Vaca-Muerta shale play in Argentina.

From 2022 to 2025, Niemeyer served as president of Americas Exploration & Production, overseeing Chevron’s upstream portfolio across the continental U.S, Canada and Latin America. From 2018 to October 2022, Niemeyer led the development of the company’s key strategies, including capital allocation and sustainability efforts as corporate vice president of Strategy and Sustainability.

Previous roles have included vice president of Chevron’s Mid-Continent business unit from 2013 to 2018, vice president of the Appalachian/Michigan business unit from 2011 to 2013, and general manager of strategy and planning for Chevron North America Exploration and Production Company. Niemeyer is a member of the Upstream Committee of the American Petroleum Institute, the Executive Committee of the Greater Houston Partnership and board member of the Texas Economic Development Corporation (TxEDC).

Niemeyer joined Texaco in 2000 from Atlantic Richfield Company. He earned a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and is a registered petroleum engineer in the state of California.

Scott Nolan
CEO, General Matter

Scott Nolan is the Founder and CEO of American nuclear fuel company General Matter. Scott is also a Partner at Founders Fund, where for over a decade he led investments across energy, infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, space and transportation.

Prior to Founders Fund, Scott was an early employee and engineer at SpaceX, where he helped develop the original Falcon propulsion systems and Dragon capsule.

Scott earned degrees in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Cornell and an MBA from Stanford University. e helped build the company into one of the largest international suppliers of nuclear fuel. Under his leadership the company established exclusive supply arrangements with several former Soviet Republics, and organized the Western consortium that negotiated the historic U.S.-Russian HEU Agreement, commonly referred to as the “Megatons to Megawatts” deal. During his Nukem tenure Jim also served as the Chairman of publicly traded, American Nuclear Corporation.

Jim received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut and his Master of Business Administration from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. and climate change practices and was recognized by his peers as the top lawyer in the field globally.

Caleb Orr
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs

Caleb Orr is the Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs (EEB), where he helps advance American economic strength, energy dominance, and business leadership on the world stage.

As the head of EEB, Mr. Orr spearheads a robust portfolio spanning international trade, finance, and investment, transportation and associated infrastructure, energy security, critical minerals, sanctions policy, and commercial advocacy. He implements the administration’s strategy to reindustrialize the American economy, secure critical supply chains, and unleash U.S. energy production as pillars of national power.

Mr. Orr also coordinates the Department’s economic engagement with Venezuela, supporting Secretary Rubio’s three-phased approach focused on stabilization, recovery, and transition with targeted sanctions relief and new investment by leading energy, minerals, and financial services firms. Mr. Orr also organized the Department’s first-ever Critical Minerals Ministerial, at which Secretary Rubio and representatives from 54 nations and the European Union announced $30 billion in investment interest, loans, and project financing to build resilient, secure, and independent critical minerals supply chains.

Also under his leadership, the bureau established the Commercial Diplomacy Enterprise (CDE), a Department-wide initiative to identify, prioritize, and advance economic opportunities that serve significant U.S. strategic interests. This program represents a commitment to putting economic statecraft at the heart of what we do—helping American workers, businesses, and communities thrive while securing the supply chains and strategic interests our nation depends on.

A longtime aide to Secretary Rubio, Mr. Orr was previously Senior Policy Advisor to then-Senator Rubio and Deputy Staff Director of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Mr. Orr also practiced securities and administrative law at Boyden Gray PLLC, the law firm of the late Ambassador C. Boyden Gray.

A proud Texas native, Mr. Orr clerked for Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, receiving his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and B.A. from Abilene Christian University.

George A. Pickart
Managing Director of Global Government Affairs & Policy, GE Vernova

George A. Pickart is Managing Director of Global Government Affairs & Policy for GE Vernova. He is based in Washington DC and holds responsibility for international policy, regulation and related issues. He joined the General Electric Company in 2008 and held several prior roles at GE until GE Vernova’s spin-off as an independent company in April 2024. Previously, George worked for the CMS Energy Corporation of Jackson, Michigan, including serving as head of the company’s Washington, D.C. office. Earlier, he served as Senior Adviser for South Asian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State and also worked for 10 years in various staff positions in the United States Senate, including as Professional Staff Member for the Near East and South Asia at the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. George holds a Master of Arts degree in World Politics from the Catholic University of America and a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and French from Randolph-Macon College. He resides in Arlington, VA.

Jose Manuel G. Romualdez
Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the United States

Jose Manuel “Babe” del Gallego Romualdez was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the United States of America in July 2017 by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, and was reappointed in July 2022 by President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. On 29 November 2017, he presented his credentials to US President Donald J. Trump and formally assumed office as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Additionally, as the head of the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., Ambassador Romualdez is concurrently the Philippines’ emissary to the Commonwealth of Jamaica, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Saint Lucia.

Prior to his appointment, Ambassador Romualdez was designated as a special envoy of the Philippine President to the United States. He also served as a member of several Philippine business delegations visiting the United States, China, Japan, and New Zealand from 1989 to 2012.

Ambassador Romualdez has extensive experience as a media practitioner and business executive. He used to be the Chief Executive Officer of Stargate Media Corporation and Publisher of People Asia Magazine (The Philippine Star affiliate). He was president of the Manila Overseas Press Club and vice-president of the Rotary Club of Manila.

Ambassador Romualdez writes columns for The Philippine Star. All his columns have a wide following of readers both in the Philippines and abroad.

On 29 November 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte conferred the Order of Sikatuna, with the rank of Datu (Grand Cross), Gold Distinction on Ambassador Romualdez. The Order of Sikatuna is one of the three highest honors of the Republic and is conferred upon individuals who have rendered exceptional and meritorious service to the Republic of the Philippines. He received the Order of Sikatuna in recognition of his meritorious contributions to strengthening the longstanding comprehensive ties between the Philippines and the United States, for his steadfast efforts to further deepen the Philippines-US alliance, for promoting trade and investment, and for his laudable initiative in the procurement of 20 million doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.

Born and raised in Manila, Ambassador Romualdez received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from De La Salle College in 1970. He plays golf as a pastime and is affiliated with Manila Golf and Country Club and the Manila Polo Club.

John Schaeffler
Executive Director, Global Government Affairs and Policy, GE Healthcare

John Schaeffler is the Executive Director, Global Government Affairs & Policy for GE Healthcare. John re-joined GE Healthcare in March 2010. Prior to that time, he served as Senior Leader of Government Relations from 2004 to 2009. In between his time at GE Healthcare, John was the Senior Vice President of Federal Affairs of DaVita – a dialysis provider. Prior to coming to GE Healthcare the first time, John spent nine years at the American Health Care Association (AHCA) ending his time there as Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Relations.

John began his career as a legislative aide to two Members of Congress from Minnesota from 1987 through 1995. He is a graduate of American University’s School of Public Affairs with a degree in political science.

Merritt Simon
Vice President, Beacon Global Strategies

Prior to joining BGS, Ms. Simon worked as a research analyst at the National Defense University’s William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies where she analyzed links between transnational organized crime networks and terrorism in Latin America. Ms. Simon previously spent a summer in Buenos Aires, Argentina where she worked for a local political consultancy firm, performing economic and geopolitical risk analysis for multinational corporations investing in Argentina.

Before moving to Washington D.C., Ms. Simon worked as a Capital Markets and Compliance Analyst at Equity International, a Chicago-based private equity firm investing in real estate platforms in emerging markets. Ms. Simon performed market analysis on a variety of real estate sectors and regions and managed anti-corruption and anti-money laundering compliance for several portfolio companies based in Latin America and Asia.

Ms. Simon graduated with General Honors from the University of Chicago with a B.A. in International Studies and a minor in Spanish. In 2018, she received her M.A. in International Economics and Latin American Studies from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). During her time at SAIS, Ms. Simon served on the Board of Global Women in Leadership and helped launch SAIS Europe’s inaugural Women in Peace and Security event.

Congressman Pete Stauber
Eighth Congressional District, Minnesota

Congressman Pete Stauber is a Duluth native, currently serving his fourth term in Congress as the Representative from Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District. Congressman Stauber believes that Northern Minnesota deserves strong, principled leadership in Washington, D.C. and is focused on unleashing the economic engine in the region.

Congressman Stauber currently serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Small Business Committee, and Natural Resources Committee. On the Natural Resources Committee, Congressman Stauber serves as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, where he remains committed to maintaining American energy independence and ending reliance on foreign minerals.

Congressman Stauber has a remarkable record of public service. Prior to his time in Congress, Stauber worked as a St. Louis County Commissioner, City Councilor in Hermantown, and Duluth police officer for over two decades.

During his tenure as a police officer, Stauber was the victim of two violent gun crimes. In 1995, he was shot in the head while off-duty by a criminal with multiple past offenses. A few years later, a suspect pulled the trigger at point blank range, and by the grace of God, the gun malfunctioned. His experience as a police officer solidified his view that more must be done to support law enforcement and create safer communities.

Congressman Stauber graduated from Denfeld High School and received a scholarship to play hockey at Lake Superior State University. During his sophomore year, Stauber became team captain and led the Lakers to a Division 1 National Championship. Following college graduation, he went on to play hockey with the Detroit Red Wings Organization.

Congressman Stauber lives in Hermantown with his wife Jodi, an Iraq War veteran and the first female Command Chief of the 148th Fighter Wing. Together, they are the proud parents of six children: Levi, Luke, Isaac, Addilynn, Theo and Genevieve.

Alix Steel
Principal, DrivePath Advisors

Alix Steel is a Principal at DrivePath Advisors, a strategic advisory firm focused on energy companies. Alix works with clients in Investor Relations and strategic communications. Alix was a broadcast journalist for +18 years, most recently as an anchor at Bloomberg TV where she anchored flagship programs including “Bloomberg Daybreak Americas,” “Commodities Edge,” and, most recently, “Bloomberg: The Close.

Mark Teubl
Senior Advisor for National Security, EXIM

Mark Teubl serves as Senior Advisor for National Security at the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), where he is responsible for supporting and advising the Chairman on national security issues and policy, and coordinating EXIM’s role within the national security enterprise and interagency.

Prior to joining EXIM, Mr. Teubl covered cybersecurity and critical infrastructure policy at the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, where he enabled strategic oversight and developed legislative proposals to enhance geopolitical efforts against the CCP. He also spent two years on the House Homeland Security Committee, serving as subcommittee director for maritime and transportation security.

Before his time in the legislative branch, Mr. Teubl worked at the National Counterterrorism Center, where he served as a National Security Council briefer and deployed overseas to support counterterrorism operations. He began his career as an Imagery Analyst at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Mr. Teubl holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government with an emphasis in strategic intelligence from Patrick Henry College and a Master of Arts in Security Studies with a focus on terrorism and substate violence from Georgetown University.

Richard Wilkins
Global Head of Export and Agency Finance Origination, JP Morgan

Richard Wilkins serves as Global Head of Export and Agency Finance Origination at J.P. Morgan, where he is responsible for the origination, structuring, and negotiation of ECA-backed transactions across emerging markets and major global infrastructure deals. Based in London, he is widely regarded as one of the senior-most export finance practitioners in the market.

Prior to his current role, Mr. Wilkins held the title of EMEA Head of Export Finance at J.P. Morgan before ascending to his current global position. He joined the firm in 2014 from Barclays Capital, where he spent approximately five years as Head of Structuring for the Capex Financing Solutions team, responsible for structured finance and export transactions primarily in emerging markets, working across governments, export credit agencies, lenders, sponsors, borrowers, and guarantors.

Beyond his banking role, Mr. Wilkins serves as Co-Chair of the Export Finance Executive Committee at the Loan Market Association and is an active voice in industry debates on OECD Arrangement modernization and the evolving role of export credit agencies in social infrastructure and the energy transition.

Mr. Wilkins holds a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Banking and International Finance from Cass Business School and a post-graduate diploma in German law from the DAAD.

Congressman Rob Wittman
United States Representative, Virginia

Congressman Rob Wittman was first elected to the United States Congress to serve Virginia’s First Congressional District in 2007. While in office, he has focused on strengthening our military and supporting our nation’s veterans, promoting a flourishing economy through fiscal responsibility and pro-growth policies, fixing our crumbling infrastructure, increasing access to high-speed internet, and promoting workforce development through Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs.

In the U.S. Congress, Congressman Wittman serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee, where he is well-positioned to represent the needs of Virginia’s First District. He has earned a strong reputation for being an advocate for our men and women in uniform and for being a champion of the Chesapeake Bay.

On the Armed Services Committee, Congressman Wittman serves as vice chairman of the full committee and the chairman of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. On the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, Congressman Wittman oversees the largest portfolio of modernization programs on the House Armed Services Committee, with vast ramifications for the future of the U.S. military’s ground and air forces and munitions stockpiles. Congressman Wittman also serves on the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). As co-chair of the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus, he is a staunch advocate for a robust naval fleet and a healthy domestic shipbuilding industry. He also currently serves on the U.S. Naval Academy’s Board of Visitors.

As a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Congressman Wittman serves on both the Energy and Minerals Subcommittee, as well as the Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee, where he brings his professional expertise in water quality, fisheries, and other natural resource issues. He is a proud champion of the Chesapeake Bay for its environmental and economic attributes and has introduced legislation that will increase the accountability and effectiveness of cleaning up the bay. He serves as co-chair of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Caucus, which brings the bay’s issues into focus for Members of Congress.

As a co-chair of the House Rural Broadband Caucus, Congressman Wittman is leading the way to bring high-speed internet to the unserved areas of the First District and the nation. His Serving Rural America Act served as a model for the NTIA Broadband Infrastructure Program, a $288 million funding program for partnerships between localities and providers of fixed broadband service to support broadband deployment. His other infrastructure priorities include deepening and widening the Port of Virginia, easing congestion on I-95, improving traffic and safety concerns along I-64, improving and expanding the Long Bridge, expanding the capacity of the Virginia Railway Express (VRE), and providing sustainable funding mechanisms to Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA).

Congressman Wittman was re-elected for his eighth full term in the House of Representatives in November 2022 and prior to that, he served in several levels of government. Congressman Wittman won his first campaign for public office in 1986 when he was elected to the Montross Town Council, where he served for 10 years, four of them as mayor. In 1995, he was elected to the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors and was elected its chairman in 2003. In 2005, voters in the 99th Legislative District elected Rob to the Virginia House of Delegates, where he served until his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007.

Prior to his election to Congress, Rob spent 26 years working in state government, most recently as field director for the Virginia Health Department’s Division of Shellfish Sanitation. Earlier in his career, he worked as an environmental health specialist for local health departments in Virginia’s Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula regions.

He holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, a Master of Public Health degree in Health Policy and Administration from the University of North Carolina, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Virginia Tech.

Lee Zeldin
EPA Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Lee Zeldin was sworn in as the 17th Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency on January 29, 2025.

Administrator Zeldin has dedicated much of his life to public service. He served 22 years in the military, having deployed to Iraq in 2006 while serving as a paratrooper with the Army’s Elite 82nd Airborne Division. The Administrator retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve in May 2025. He also served in the New York State Senate from 2011-2014 before getting elected to Congress representing New York’s 1st District from 2015-2023.

Under Administrator Zeldin’s leadership, the Trump EPA launched the Powering the Great American Comeback initiative, focusing the agency’s work on its core mission while heeding the economic demands of the American people. In just his first 9 months on the job, Administrator Zeldin traveled to all 50 states to hear directly from the residents, business owners, and elected officials most impacted by agency policies.

On the 100th, 200th, and 300th days of President Trump’s term in office, Zeldin released lists of the top 100 environmental wins during each 100-day period. These include binational agreements with Mexico to urgently and permanently end the Tijuana River Sewage Crisis, the completion of a historic wildfire cleanup in Los Angeles in under 30 days, increasing water quality standards for the Delaware River Basin, cracking down on the import of illegal pesticides, and advancing land remediation.

At the same time, the Trump EPA is pursuing the largest deregulatory effort in American history, while also pursuing operational savings at the agency that now adds up to roughly $30 billion.

At just 23, Lee became the youngest attorney in New York State at the time.

Born and raised on Long Island, New York, Lee and his wife Diana are proud parents to their twin daughters, Mikayla and Arianna.