Energy Future Holdings (EFH) draws on the expertise of an independent advisory board comprised of individuals who represent labor, the environment, customers, Texas economic development and reliability/technology, the Sustainable Energy Advisory Board (SEAB). Click here for more information about the Sustainable Energy Advisory Board.

William K. Reilly
Senior Advisor
TPG
Chair, Sustainable Energy Advisory Board
Chairman Reilly is a Founding Partner of Aqua International Partners, LP, a private equity fund dedicated to investing in companies engaged in water and renewable energy, and a Senior Advisor to TPG Capital, LP, an international investment partnership. Mr. Reilly served as the first Payne Visiting Professor at Stanford University (1993-1994), Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1989-1993), president of the World Wildlife Fund (1985-1989), president of The Conservation Foundation (1973-1989), and director of the Rockefeller Task Force on Land Use and Urban Growth from (1972-1973). He was head of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Earth Summit at Rio in 1992. Mr. Reilly is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of the World Wildlife Fund, Co-Chair of the National Commission on Energy Policy, Chair of the Board of the ClimateWorks Foundation, Chair of the Advisory Board for the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University, Chair of the Board for the Global Water Challenge and a Director of the Packard Foundation and the National Geographic Society. He also serves on the Board of Directors of DuPont and Royal Caribbean International. In May 2010, Mr. Reilly was appointed by President Obama to Co-Chair the National Commission on the BP Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. He holds a B.A. degree from Yale, J.D. from Harvard and M.S. in Urban Planning from Columbia University.

Esperanza "Hope" Andrade
Commissioner Representing Employers
Texas Workforce Commission
Economic Development
Hope Andrade is the Commissioner Representing Employers for the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). Governor Rick Perry appointed her to the three-member Commission in March, 2013. Commissioner Andrade serves as the advocate for more than 460,000 Texas employers. In this role, she ensures employers' interests are considered in all Commission actions. Prior to her appointment to TWC, Andrade served as Texas' 107th Secretary of State from July 2008 to November 2012. As Secretary of State, Andrade was one of six state officials in the Executive Branch of Texas state government and Texas' first Latina Texas Secretary of State. Prior to her appointment as Secretary of State, Andrade served as a Commissioner on the Texas Transportation Commission from 2003 to 2008. Andrade was an entrepreneur and leader in the San Antonio business community for more than three decades. Her civic service has included leadership roles with the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Free Trade Alliance of San Antonio, United Way, the San Antonio Symphony and the board of trustees for Our Lady of the Lake University. In recognition of her service to Texas, Andrade has received a number of accolades including the San Antonio Business Journal's Leadership Legacy Award, the San Antonio Leadership Hall of Fame Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the Trefoil Award from the Girl Scouts of America. Additionally, she has been named the Woman of the Year by the Houston Chapter of the Women's Transportation Seminar and Small Business Advocate of the Year by the Small Business Administration. Andrade resides in San Antonio with her husband of more than 40 years.

John J. Bick
Managing Principal
Priority Power Management, LLC
Business Customers
John J. Bick is the Managing Principal of Priority Power Management, LLC (PPM) and has 23 years of energy experience. He joined PPM in 2003 and leads PPM's strategy, business development, and risk management initiatives, as well as providing hands on expertise to large clients. Prior to joining PPM, John spent 14-years in both the regulated and competitive energy markets. He was previously Director of Strategic Business Development for TXU Energy and Manager of Strategic Accounts for TXU Electric & Gas before that. Bick is a member of the Association of Energy Engineers, the Texas Association of Healthcare Facilities Management, and the Standards and Compliance Committee for the Texas Electricity Professionals Association (TEPA). In November 2011, Bick was honored with recognition by the Dallas Business Journal in its selection of "Who's Who In Dallas, Houston, Pittsburgh Energy." Bick holds a Bachelor of Science in Construction Engineering from Texas Tech University and has completed Executive Management Programs at Southern Methodist University and The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He has also completed advanced level training classes at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).

Ralph Cavanagh
Co-Director of Energy Program
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Environment
Ralph Cavanagh is a senior attorney and co-director of NRDC's energy program, which he joined in 1979. Cavanagh has been a Visiting Professor of Law at Stanford and UC Berkeley, and a Lecturer on Law at the Harvard Law School. In addition, he has also been a faculty member for the University of Idaho's Public Utility Executives Course for more than a decade. From 1993-2003 Cavanagh served on the U.S. Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board. He is a board member of the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, the California Clean Energy Fund, the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies, the Energy Center of Wisconsin, the Northwest Energy Coalition, and the Renewable Northwest Project. He is also a member of the National Commission on Energy Policy, which the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation established in 2002. Cavanagh has received the Heinz Award for Public Policy, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' Mary Kilmarx Award, the Yale Law School's Preiskel-Silverman Fellowship, the Lifetime Achievement in Energy Efficiency Award from California's Flex Your Power Campaign, the Northwest Energy Coalition's Headwaters Award, and the Bonneville Power Administration's Award for Exceptional Public Service. He is a graduate of Yale College and the Yale Law School.

Henry A. Courtright
Senior Vice President, Member and External Relations
Electric Power Research Institute
Reliability/Technology
Henry A. "Hank" Courtright serves as Senior Vice President of Member and External Relations at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in Palo Alto, California. His responsibilities include technical advisory services with EPRI's members around the world; federal, state and international government relations; and communications to stakeholders and the public. He has previously served as Vice President, Environment overseeing EPRI environmental sciences research; as Vice President, Generation overseeing research on fossil, hydro and renewable generation; and as a Technical Director on energy efficiency programs. Courtright has over 35 years of experience in the electric utility industry with EPRI and Pennsylvania Power and Light Company. He served on numerous energy advisory groups including being selected by the U.S. Secretary of Energy for the National Coal Council (NCC) and the NCC Board of Directors. He was founding co-chair of the Utility Committee for the American Council on Renewable Energy. He also served on the Advisory Board of the San Francisco State University College of Engineering and was Board Chair for several years. Courtright received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, a Master of Business Administration from Lehigh University and he is a graduate of the MIT Nuclear Reactor Technology Program. Courtright is a licensed Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania and California.

John B. Gaida
Senior Vice President of Supply Chain Management
Texas Health Resources
Business Customers
John B. Gaida is a Senior Vice President for Texas Health Resources (THR) in Arlington, Texas. THR is an integrated healthcare company that operates 14 acute care hospitals, 300 physician's offices, and many other types of healthcare operations in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex. Gaida is responsible for the supply chain operations within the THR facilities - purchasing, distribution and contracting all supplies, equipment and services for those facilities. His 35 year career includes work with nationally recognized healthcare systems, teaching institutions, all sizes of not-for-profit hospitals, a consulting firm and the eCommerce world. Gaida currently serves as Chairman of the North Texas Healthcare Laundry Cooperative, Chairman of The Strategic Marketplace Initiative, and as a board member and officer of the Bellwether League. He has received the George R. Gossett Leadership Award from the American Hospital Association and also selected by Healthcare Purchasing News as one of the 30 most influential supply chain professionals in the last 30 years. Gaida earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois and has completed many other advanced management courses through the years.

Jim Hunter
Utility Director
International Brotherhood of Electric Workers
Labor
Jim Hunter worked as a journeyman electrician before he was hired in 1973 at Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO), where he worked for the next 21 years in the Sub Station Relay department as a test specialist. In 1994, Hunter was elected President and Business Manager of IBEW Local 1900. In 1996, he intervened in the PEPCO/BGE merger and testified as an expert witness on electric system design. From 1997 to 2002, Hunter intervened and testified in numerous cases before FERC, the D.C. And Maryland Public Service Commissions and at the Department of Energy Hearings. In 1997, IBEW President Jack Berry appointed Hunter to the IBEW Committee on Electric Power Restructuring. In 1998, Maryland Governor Paris Glendening appointed Hunter to the Governor's Taskforce on Electric System Reliability. In 2002, IBEW President Ed Hill appointed Hunter an International Representative for the IBEW Utility Department. In 2004, Hunter was promoted to serve as the Director of the IBEW Utility Department. Hunter serves on the advisory boards for Carnegie Mellon Institute and Electric Power Research Institute.

Karen R. Johnson
President
United Ways of Texas
Residential Customers
Karen R. Johnson brings special talents to the job of President of United Ways of Texas. With more than 35 years of executive and management experience, Johnson is leading United Ways of Texas to the bright future she thinks Texas deserves. She brings a wealth of experience in law, government and private industry that define her leadership. An attorney and the holder of the distinguished law graduate award of St. Mary's University School of Law Alumni Association, she has been recognized for her management and leadership skills in several important fields; including her position as executive director of the State Bar of Texas where she was the first woman in this job. In her role as a special assistant in the Texas Governor's office and as assistant comptroller for legal services in the State Comptroller's office - she gained unique insight into Texas public policy. As president of Entergy Texas, Johnson had the opportunity to know first-hand how entrepreneurial activities impact business and industry as well our state and our communities. As a private attorney, Johnson has represented clients before state agencies, the legislature and the executive branch on a wide range of issues including business, health and taxation issues. She is also a former Texas assistant attorney general and has worked in the Texas Legislature. Her achievements have been many and her awards for outstanding performance are recognized in Austin and throughout Texas. Johnson is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and St. Mary's University School of Law.

Sam R. Jones
Retired President & CEO
Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)
Reliability/Technology
Sam R. Jones has been active in inter-utility reliability work for over 27 years. Jones retired from the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on September 15, 2007. Jones joined ERCOT on December 1, 1996, as its first Independent System Operations Director. In March 2000, he was appointed as Executive Vice President and COO of ERCOT. He was named President and Chief Executive Officer in May of 2006. Prior to joining ERCOT, Jones was employed by the City of Austin Electric Utility in Texas for over 35 years. During his career with the City of Austin, he held engineering and management positions in the areas of distribution, transmission, substation, generation and system operations. Jones retired from the City of Austin as the Director of Generation and Energy Control. Most recently, Jones was active in the industry, serving as chair of the ERCOT Operating Subcommittee and as past chair of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Operating Committee. He has also chaired or participated in numerous NERC and ERCOT committees and task forces, including the NERC Reliability Assessment Subcommittee. Jones has a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and is a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas.

James D. Marston
Senior Attorney, Director of the Texas Regional Office, Director of State Climate Initiatives
Environmental Defense Fund
Environment
Jim Marston is the founding director of the Texas office of Environmental Defense Fund, located in Austin, where he has served since its beginning in 1988. The office includes scientists, attorneys, economists, and policy analysts who address some of the most complex and difficult environmental issues related to climate and air, water, wildlife, oceans, and environmental health. Marston leads Environmental Defense Fund's efforts on environmental policy in Texas, setting program and policy agenda on issues including air pollution, water quality, and energy. Marston also holds the position of state climate initiatives director, working in states from the west coast to New England to Florida that are initiating legislation and regulation to reduce the emission of global warming gases. He has worked closely with policymakers in California on the passage of AB32, the first state legislation with a cap on statewide emissions of greenhouse gases. Marston has served as a board member of Good Neighbor Environmental Board, Central Texas Clean Air Force Executive Committee and the Texas League of Conservation Voters. Marston holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Charles O'Neal
Lead Consultant, Strategique
Past President, Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce
Economic Development
Charles O'Neal is Lead Consultant for Strategique where he uses his broad business and development experience to assist a wide spectrum of clients in understanding bottom-line issues associated with business formation. Until recently, he served as President and Vice President of the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce (DBCC) for over 15 years where he was responsible for executing the mission of the nation's oldest and largest African American chamber of commerce. The DBCC serves its members and the North Texas region through advocacy, public policy development, convention and tourism development, and delivery of technical assistance. He also has a long history of involvement in the Dallas community. He served as the DBCC's Main Street Manager, working with community based organizations, realtors, utilities, insurance and financial institutions to coordinate plans for revitalizing Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. He was instrumental in creating the MLK Boulevard Merchants Association. A 20-plus year, award-winning career in the newspaper business provides the backdrop for his insight into the inner-workings of our city, state and nation, and helped shape credible opinions on the entire spectrum of the African American Experience.