David Gattie

David Gattie is an Associate Professor of Engineering in the University of Georgia’s College of Engineering, and a Senior Fellow in the University of Georgia’s (UGA) Center for International Trade and Security and School of Public & International Affairs. He earned his B.S. and Ph.D. from UGA and has 14 years of private industry experience as an energy services engineer and environmental engineer. His research is in the area of energy policy and integrated energy resource planning for the power sector with a focus on the national security implications of U.S. nuclear power. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in energy systems and energy security, serves on the Advisory Board for the Energy Policy Institute at Boise State University and is an uncompensated member on the Advocacy Council for Nuclear Matters. David is currently working with his colleagues in UGA’s Center for International Trade and Security to stand up an Energy Security Initiative focused on the geopolitical and U.S. national security implications of energy and energy technologies within the challenges of 21st century great power competition. He also has provided testimony before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on energy, climate and nuclear power policy.

Todd Telesz

Todd Telesz, chief executive officer and general manager, joined Basin Electric in 2021. He brought with him more than 25 years of experience in finance and energy. Most recently, Telesz held the position of senior vice president of the power, energy, and utilities division at CoBank, where he had worked for 13 years leading the bank’s initiatives across the generation & transmission cooperative, investor-owned utility, and midstream industries.

Telesz earned a bachelor’s degree in economics with dual concentration in finance and strategic management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He serves on two not-for-profit boards of directors: treasurer for the Prince William Sound Science Center in Cordova, Alaska and founder and treasurer for Parker Youth Baseball Club, Inc. in the Denver, Colorado area.

John Kane

John Kane is Founder and Executive Director of Warehouses4Good, a non-profit developer of food warehouses in under-served rural communities. The organization works with food banks and local non-profits to plan, fund, and build facilities with dry, cold, and freezer storage. Projects are currently underway n the Mississippi Delta, Kentucky Appalachia, and Southern Illinois. Prior to starting Warehouses4Good, John co-founded and managed development for a logistics non-profit that distributed donated food and supplies to more than 3,000 animal welfare organizations. Working through more than 50 warehouses and emergency distribution pods, the organization operated in the area from the Caribbean, across the US, and to Nepal.

Before committing to non-profit work, John co-founded and ran a manufacturing technology company that developed advanced materials for commercial and military applications. He lives in Houston with his wife, where both are still involved in animal rescue and care.

Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux

Born and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota as the youngest of six children, Monique and Jocelyne excelled as young athletes and became North Dakota’s first Olympic Gold Medalists. Despite growing up with no opportunity to play on girls hockey teams, they did not let that stop them from developing into some of the best players in the state. 

They attended Shattuck St. Mary’s School where they elevated the women’s hockey program to national prominence and won three national titles during their high school careers.  

The Lamoureux twins rewrote the record books at the University of North Dakota, setting nearly every individual record in program history while becoming some of the best players in NCAA history and multiple-time All-Americans during their collegiate careers. 

During their 15 years on the USA Women’s National Team, Monique and Jocelyne rose to become two of the all-time greats in women’s hockey, winning one Olympic gold medal, two Olympic silver medals, six world championships and one world championship runner-up, along with multiple individual awards and accolades. 

Their most important victories have come off the ice in their fight for gender equity for women in hockey and sports. They were key leaders in negotiating Team USA’s first-ever contract that provided more opportunities, compensation and benefits for women and girls who play hockey in America. They continue to give back to the state of North Dakota through the Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux Foundation, which helps serve underprivileged youth. They have inspired a generation to dream big, but most importantly their legacy will be about making a difference in people’s lives as they strive toward those dreams. 

Mac McLennan

Robert “Mac” McLennan is the President and CEO of Minnkota Power Cooperative, a generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative based in Grand Forks, N.D.

A Wyoming native and Jamestown (N.D.) University graduate, McLennan has dedicated his career to serving the rural electric cooperative industry. Prior to becoming Minnkota’s CEO in 2011, he served as Senior Vice President of External Affairs and Member Relations for Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association. McLennan has also worked for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) as Director of Environmental Affairs.

In addition to his current role, McLennan serves on various industry boards and committees. He is the General Manager of Square Butte Electric Cooperative, Board Member of US Bank, Board Member of Grand Forks Economic Development Corporation, Board Member of the Lignite Energy Council and Board Member of BNI Coal.

Hill Thomas

Hill Thomas was born and raised in Tennille, Georgia. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia, in Athens, with a degree in Agricultural Economics.

After graduating college, he moved to Washington, D.C. and worked for the National Mining Association. Then he worked for eight years as Legislative Director for Congressman John Barrow, of Georgia, a member of the Energy & Commerce Committee and the Agriculture Committee. Later, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Congresswoman Gwen Graham, of Florida, a member of the Armed Services Committee and Agriculture Committee. Hill has worked at NRECA for 5 years, currently serving as Vice President of Legislative Affairs, where he leads the lobby team overseeing legislative advocacy on all issues of interest to electric cooperatives.

Hill and his wife have three young kids and live in Washington, D.C.

Michael Boland

Michael Boland (Mike) holds the Koller endowed Professorship in agribusiness management and information technology at the University of Minnesota. He teaches classes in cooperatives (in the law school and agricultural school), agricultural supply chains, and graduate course in agribusiness management in the Carson School of Management. Mike previously taught agricultural marketing, farm management, and strategy. He has worked with more than 100 cooperative boards of directors on strategic planning including retreat facilitation, financial planning including equity management, conducted board evaluations, and helped boards with governance topics such as CEO evaluation. In 2020, Dr. Boland helped lead colleagues from 11 universities to launch a New Cooperative Director Foundations virtual program for new directors. Mike and colleagues co-founded the Center for Cooperative Director Development for advanced education in finance, governance and strategy. Mike is an independent director on Select Sires, a global bovine genetics and reproduction cooperative where he is a member of the audit and member committees. He is a board advisor for UniGroup, a cooperative in the household relocation and logistics business with the United Van Lines and Mayflower Transit brands.

Mike serves on numerous state cooperative council planning committees including the Farmer Cooperatives program where for almost a decade he has coordinated a global board chair and CEO panel for the program and the California Center for Cooperative Development where he writes case studies with speakers for a program. He is a member of the National Society of Cooperative Accountants and the National Council on Farmer Cooperatives. Professor Boland was recently asked to serve as co-editor of the latest Handbook on Cooperatives and Mutuals. In addition, he has worked with cooperatives and agribusinesses in more than 100 countries. He spent 14 years at Kansas State after taking his doctorate at Purdue University where he worked in the Center for Food and Agricultural Business and has been at the University of Minnesota since 2010. He is the oldest of 12 children and was reared in Minnesota where he worked in local and wholesale farm supply cooperatives.