List of Current Directors by Seat
RRC is governed by a 15-member board – 13 members are appointed to represent specific stakeholder classes, and two members are non-voting, ex-officio directors representing the Regulatory Commission of Alaska and the Office of the Attorney General’s Regulatory Affairs and Public Advocacy Section. Voting directors are appointed by named entities or groups of entities that reflect the seat’s stakeholder class, with the exception of the Seat M Independent Member, who is elected by the other directors. Directors must be drawn from and able to represent the stakeholder class for which they have been appointed. Please visit this link for additional information about the RRC Board and stakeholder balance.
Director bios are listed below.
Navigate to each Primary Director’s bio by clicking on their name.
| Seat | Primary | Alternate | Stakeholder Affiliation | Term Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Matthew Clarkson | Andrew Laughlin | Provider – Integrated – Cooperative | 2024 |
| B | Daniel Heckman | Chris Forrest | Provider – Integrated – Cooperative | 2025 |
| C | David Thomas | Keriann Baker | Provider – Integrated – Cooperative | 2023 |
| D | Julie Estey | Ed Jenkin | Provider – Integrated – Cooperative | 2023 |
| E | David Burlingame | Rob Montgomery | Provider – Distribution – Municipal | 2024 |
| F | Lou Florence | Shayne Coiley | Provider – Distribution | 2025 |
| G | Bryan Carey | Bill Price | Provider – State of Alaska | 2024 |
| H | Suzanne Settle | Sam Dennis | Provider – Independent Power Producer | 2024 |
| I | Joel Groves | David Brailey | Provider – Independent Power Producer | 2025 |
| J | Veri di Suvero | Alyssa Sappenfield | Consumer – Residential-Small Commercial | 2024 |
| K | Paul Morrison | Sunil Kumar | Consumer – Large Commercial-Industrial | 2023 |
| L | Chris Rose | Greg Stiegel | Consumer – Environmental Advocacy | 2025 |
| M | David Newman | Bill Falsey | Independent | 2023 |
| N | Robert Pickett | Robert Doyle | Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) | No expiration |
| O | Jeff Waller | James Layne | State Agency for Regulatory Affairs and Public Advocacy (RAPA) | No expiration |
RRC Primary Director Bios
Seat A Primary: Matthew Clarkson
Mr. Clarkson is Director for Seat A, representing the provider stakeholder class, subclassified integrated/cooperative. He is Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Chugach Electric Association (CEA), where he has worked since 2018. He is the chief legal advisor to CEA’s Board of Directors, CEO, and executive management team, and as such represents the company in legal and regulatory matters.
Seat A Alternate: Andrew Laughlin, Vice President of Engineering at CEA
Seat B Primary: Daniel Heckman
Mr. Heckman is Director for Seat B, representing the provider stakeholder class, subclassified integrated/cooperative. He is Regulatory Manager at Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA), where he is responsible for providing regulatory and compliance oversight with accounting principles, federal and state laws, and industry standards. He is an experienced liaison with state and federal agencies and represents GVEA’s interests in legislation and state regulatory matters.
Seat B Alternate: Christopher Forrest, Acting Director of Power Supply at GVEA.
Seat C Primary: David B. Thomas
Mr. Thomas is Director for Seat C, representing the provider stakeholder class, subclassified integrated/cooperative. He is a registered Professional Civil Engineer (Alaska) serving as Director of Strategic Services for Homer Electric Association (HEA), with responsibility for strategic planning and implementation of new, utility-scale, renewable energy generation projects.
Seat C Alternate: Keriann Baker, Director of Member Relations at HEA.
Seat D Primary: Julie Estey
Ms. Estey is Director for Seat D, representing the provider stakeholder class, subclassified integrated/cooperative. She is the Director of External Affairs and Strategic Initiatives at Matanuska Electric Association (MEA), where she has worked for eight years. Ms. Estey oversees the Public and Member Relations Division; manages MEA’s strategic plan and carbon reduction goal; educates audiences on MEA’s interests identified with consumer input; and represents MEA’s interests before local, state, and national forums.
Seat D Alternate: Ed Jenkin, Chief Operations Officer at MEA.
Seat E Primary: David Burlingame
Mr. Burlingame is Director for Seat E, representing the provider stakeholder class, subclassified distribution/municipal. He is a Principal at Electric Power Systems, Inc., a consulting firm that supports power distribution, transmission, and generation for utilities, large industrial users, and IPPs. Mr. Burlingame is a registered Professional Engineer in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Oregon, Washington, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas.
Seat E Alternate: Rob Montgomery, Director of Seward Electric System.
Seat F Primary: Lou Florence
Mr. Florence is Director for Seat F, representing the provider stakeholder class, subclassified distribution. He is President and CEO of Doyon Utilities, LLC. Mr. Florence previously worked as Vice President of Operations for Reliability Management Group, where he provided assessments and implementation of O&M strategies and optimization of asset management plans for clients such as power generation, petroleum refining, natural gas storage and distribution, and electrical distribution companies.
Seat F Alternate: Shayne Coiley, Senior Vice President at Doyon Utilities.
Seat G Primary: Bryan Carey
Mr. Carey is Director for Seat G, representing the provider stakeholder class, subclassified state. He is Director of Owned Assets at the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA), where he has worked for over 20 years. During that time, Mr. Carey was the project manager for AEA’s Bradley Lake Hydroelectric Project and Bradley Lake transmission assets, and project engineer for the Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project. Mr. Carey is an Alaska licensed Professional Civil Engineer.
Seat G Alternate: Bill Price, Senior Infrastructure Engineer at AEA.
Seat H Primary: Suzanne Settle
Ms. Settle is Director for Seat H, representing the provider stakeholder class, subclassified independent power producer. She is Vice President of Energy, Land, and Resources for Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI), where she successfully developed the first IPP-owned, utility-scale wind project in Alaska. Ms. Settle is a board member for CIRI Development Corporation and the Renewable Energy Alaska Project, and a founder and board member of the Alaska Independent Power Producers Association.
Seat H Alternate: Sam Dennis, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Renewable Independent Power Producers.
Seat I Primary: Joel Groves
Mr. Groves is Director for Seat I, representing the provider stakeholder class, subclassified independent power producer. He is Vice President and Senior Civil Engineer for Polarconsult Alaska, Inc. (Polarconsult) and is a member and project manager for Fishhook Renewable Energy. Mr. Groves is an Alaska-licensed Professional Civil engineer.
Seat I Alternate: David Brailey, Managing Member and Hydroelectric System Operator at Ram Valley LLC and hydrologist/owner at Brailey Hydrologic.
Seat J Primary: Veri di Suvero
Mx. di Suvero is Director for Seat J, representing the consumer stakeholder class, subclassified residential/small commercial. Mx. di Suvero is the Executive Director of the Alaska Public Interest Research Group (AKPIRG), the only nonprofit, statewide consumer advocacy organization in Alaska, and leads AKPIRG’s ratepayer advocacy program.
Seat J Alternate: Alyssa Sappenfield, Energy Analyst at AKPIRG.
Seat K Primary: Paul Morrison
Mr. Morrison is Director for Seat K, representing the consumer stakeholder class, subclassified large commercial/industrial. He has worked as Senior Manager of Capital Projects for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) for more than two decades. Mr. Morrison is an Alaska-licensed Professional Mechanical Engineer and Certified Health Facilities Manager.
Seat K Alternate: Sunil Kumar, Vice President of Energy Strategy and Engineering at Kinross Gold Corporation.
Seat L Primary: Chris Rose
Mr. Rose is Director for Seat L, representing the consumer stakeholder class, subclassified environmental advocacy. He has been the Executive Director of the Renewable Energy Alaska Project (REAP) since he founded the organization in 2004.
Seat L Alternate: Greg Stiegel, Operations Director at REAP.
Seat M Primary: David Newman
Mr. Newman is Director for Seat M, an independent seat not affiliated with a stakeholder class. Mr. Newman has been Professor of Physics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks for nearly 24 years and is director of the university’s Center for Complex Systems Studies. Mr. Newman has spent nearly 30 years researching reliability and causes of failure in electric power transmission grids, among other research areas and has more than 40 publications to his credit on topics from vulnerability assessment and mitigation to the impact of regulation and markets on grid reliability.
Seat M Alternate: Bill Falsey, Senior Counsel at Huth Reynolds LLP.
Seat N Primary: Robert M. Pickett
Bio coming soon.
Seat N Alternate: Commissioner Robert Doyle.
Seat O Primary: Jeff Waller
Chief Assistant Attorney General Jeff Waller is Director for Seat O, a nonvoting, ex officio seat dedicated to the Alaska Attorney General’s Office Regulatory Affairs and Public Advocacy Section (RAPA). His work at RAPA includes advocating for the public interest in utility and pipeline matters that come before the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.
Seat O Alternate: James Layne, Public Advocate Utility Analyst in the Alaska Attorney General’s Office.