Jeff is the president and chief executive officer of the Independent Petroleum Association of America.  IPAA is the national trade association representing the 6,000 independent, U.S. companies that drill 90 percent of America’s oil and natural gas wells. He is also the founder and president of Energy in Depth, the industry’s rapid response, research and communications coalition.

Jeff currently chairs the Natural Gas Council, a coordination group of the American Petroleum Institute, American Gas Association, Interstate Natural Gas Association, Natural Gas Supply Association and IPAA.

Eshelman is a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s “Association Committee of 100 (C100),” a group of CEOs representing all free enterprise segments of American business industries. He also is a member of the Council for a Secure America’s Partnership Society. The Council is an organization dedicated to promoting United States energy independence, its impact on United States foreign policy, and the strategic relationship between the United States and Israel.

In his previous role as chief operating officer of IPAA, he oversaw public affairs and communications, administration, membership, IT and finance departments.

In his 25-plus years in the oil and natural gas industry, Jeff has also managed the communications programs of the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council and the National Stripper Well Association.

He has worked for three national and global public affairs firms. Other professional experience includes The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Department of Defense and the U.S. House of Representatives.

A native of Berks County, Pennsylvania, Jeff is an honors graduate (political communications) of The George Washington University.  He resides on Capitol Hill in the nation’s capital.

Andrea Staid is a Principal Technical Leader in the Energy Systems and Climate Analysis Group at EPRI. Her research focuses on risk and resilience analysis for energy infrastructure planning and operational decision-making, largely with a focus on climate hazards and impacts. Andrea is a co-lead for System Planning and Investment Prioritization on EPRI's Climate Resilience and Adaptation initiative (Climate READi).

Prior to joining EPRI, Andrea worked for Sandia National Laboratories in the Center for Computing Research, with projects covering topics on natural hazard impact modeling for interdependent infrastructure systems, scenario creation to capture renewable energy production uncertainties, and coupling climate risk with infrastructure vulnerabilities. She also worked to advance data analytic methods and implementation across a range of national security applications.

Andrea received her MS and PhD degrees in Environmental Systems Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and her BS in Aerospace Engineering from MIT.

Dr. Timothy D. Unruh is the Executive Director of the National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO). In this role, he manages the representation of its member Energy Service Companies. NAESCO provides advocacy for the industry at the Federal, State and Local levels, and provides for member company Accreditation.

Prior to this role, Dr. Unruh was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Renewable Power at the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Office of the US Department of Energy (DOE). As the Deputy Assistant Secretary, Dr. Unruh managed the nation’s renewable power research, while also providing oversight to the Grid Modernization Initiative.

Also, while at the DOE EERE, Dr. Unruh Directed the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). As FEMP Director, Dr. Unruh oversaw the implementation of policy and actions that resulted in energy efficiency implementation, renewable energy adoption, and reductions in energy and water use in Federal government operations. Dr. Unruh coordinates with DOE national laboratories and other Federal agencies in this capacity.

Dr. Unruh has a doctorate, master’s, and bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering from Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas.

Todd Hillman joined MISO in 2004 and is senior vice president and chief customer officer, leading all the organization’s customer and external affairs activities.  

He and his team drive MISO’s commitment to a quality experience for members, employees and stakeholders. As vice president and South Region executive in Little Rock, Hillman oversaw the successful integration of the MISO South Region. The introduction of the Entergy system across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas made it the largest integration in RTO history.  

Hillman is a veteran customer and business development executive with proven leadership in corporate strategy, product origination, project coordination, customer management and marketing and development.  

Before MISO, Hillman worked for Houston-based Reliant Energy, leading contract management and corporate development both in Houston and abroad. Hillman also worked for DuPont/Conoco and the CME Group (formerly the New York Mercantile Exchange) in contract development, electricity and natural gas trading and origination. 

Hillman is the former Chairman of the Board for the NERC Regional Entity Southeast Reliability Corp. (SERC) and has served on numerous Boards including the National FBI Citizens Academy Alumni Association, the Gulf Coast Power Association, the Make-A-Wish Foundation (Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee) and the Arkansas Research Alliance. 

He has also served on commissions from the Governors of Arkansas and Indiana on business development collaborations for high-tech job retention and creation, also semiconductor expansion.   

Hillman earned Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of the Pacific, an Executive Institute graduate from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and attended the INSEAD Advanced Management Program for Senior Executives.