Contact RERC Council Members

The council consists of up to 20 members representing people across the Tennessee Valley who are interested in TVA’s management of the region’s energy resources.

The council’s purpose is to gather advice from all sectors so that TVA can respond in a responsible way to the needs of people across the region. The council invites public input into its deliberations. In fact, the main reason the body exists is to increase public participation in the decision-making process.

TVA has appointed Amy Edge as the designated federal officer to facilitate the planning of the council’s meetings and reporting of its activities to the public. 

7th Term Council Members

Erin Gill - Chair of the RERC

Gill serves as Vice President of Communications & External Relations for Knoxville Utilities Board. In this role, she manages relationships with governmental and other regional partners and oversees the utility’s communications, executive services, and environmental stewardship teams.  Her professional experience focuses on improving the efficiency and resilience of urban systems and includes over a decade of leadership at the City of Knoxville, where she served as Director of Sustainability and Chief Policy Officer / Deputy to Mayor Indya Kincannon.

She represents KUB on the boards of the Tennessee Municipal Electric Power Association and Seven States Power Corporation, and has participated in numerous TVA stakeholder groups, including the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan Working Group.

She holds a Master of Environmental Management degree from the Yale School of the Environment and a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Notre Dame.

Jan Berry

Berry is the Tennessee State Coordinator for Citizens’ Climate Lobby. She retired from her previous career after 35 years of managing engineering teams to resolve issues of international and national importance by building teams, analyzing processes, and managing technology development, process demonstrations, equipment design, and construction to meet project requirements. Ms. Berry’s experience working nationally and internationally has equipped her to integrate the views and advice of diverse groups. She has collaborated with the American Hospital Association, the American Mining Association, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the American Nuclear Society, and the American Chemical Engineering Society.

In her 11-year role managing ITER’s Tokamak Cooling Water System (~$600M plus contingency), she ensured that project planning and implementation complied with French nuclear regulatory requirements and Department of Energy Orders.

Katherine Collier

Collier serves as Executive Director of the Mississippi Public Service Commission. She joined the MPSC in 2009 as a Senior Attorney and has been in her current role since 2014.

During her time at the MPSC, she has served in numerous and varied capacities, encompassing everything from drafting legislation to revising the Agency’s personnel classifications. She is an active participant in Mississippi’s representation within the Organization of MISO States and the Entergy-Regional State Committee and has served as an advisor to the Commissioners on numerous legal and policy matters.

She is a past recipient of the “Woman of the Year in Government Service” Award from the Mississippi Commission on the Status of Women and a Mississippi Business Journal “Top 50 Under 40 Top 10 Finalist,” as well as a graduate of the State Executive Development Institute at the Stennis Institute of Government and a sustaining member of the Junior League of Jackson.

A native of Kemper County, Mississippi, she received her Bachelor of Arts from Mississippi State University and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Mississippi.

Monte Cooper

Cooper is the CEO of Jackson Energy Authority. He began his career with Jackson Energy Authority while working as a co-op engineering student from 1992 to 1995. After graduating from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 1997, he was offered a Project Engineer position with Memphis Light, Gas & Water. He then returned to JEA in March of 1998 as an Electric Project Engineer and has since been promoted to various management positions. He is currently serving as the Senior Vice President of the JEA Electric Division. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Knoxville, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Tennessee, Martin and is a registered Professional Engineer. He, his wife Shea, and their children, Trey, Cassidy, and Will, are long-time residents of our community.

Glenn Davis

Davis is the Director of the Virginia Department of Energy. He was most recently serving the Commonwealth as a Delegate from Virginia Beach. He was first elected in 2014 and chaired the House’s Education Committee and led the Governor’s Cybersecurity and I.T. Transition team during his service. He was a technology business owner before leaving the private sector to join Virginia Energy. The Virginia Department of Energy leads the Commonwealth to a reliable and responsible energy future. The agency, which is home to the State Energy Office and Geologic Survey, also regulates mining and natural gas production. An economic development team within the agency also serves the southwestern part of Virginia, using data to team potential developers with formerly coal-mined sites. It was first formed in 1985.

Rebecca Goodman

Goodman, Kentucky Cabinet Secretary of Energy and Environment, was appointed by Gov. Andy Beshear as the state’s top environmental officer in December 2019. She has served the commonwealth for more than four decades. She most recently advocated on behalf of Kentucky utility ratepayers as executive director of the Attorney General’s Office of Rate Intervention. Through her work on state and federal cases, she regularly addressed social and environmental justice issues, often involving low-income, disadvantaged, and residential customer needs.

She formerly served as general counsel for the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Kentucky Executive Branch Ethics Commission, and the Kentucky Electric Generation and Transmission Siting Board. She has formerly served as the executive director of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Office of Legal Services after beginning her career as a staff attorney for the Kentucky Public Service Commission.

She earned a Juris Doctor from Salmon P. Chase College of Law and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Kentucky State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

Rodney Goodman

Goodman is the executive director of Habitat for Humanity in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He is responsible for promoting the affiliate’s overall vision and direction, ensuring its ability to increasingly serve families in need of simple, decent, affordable housing. In 2022, the affiliate constructed its 100th home. Building homes that are affordable to own and energy efficient to make them affordable to live in is a top priority.

Prior to this role, he worked as the supportive housing manager for LifeSkills Inc. of Bowling Green, Kentucky. In this capacity, he and his staff were responsible for providing supportive services and housing solutions to persons experiencing homelessness and mental illness. The goal of these efforts was to assist individuals in finding decent, safe and affordable housing to aid them on their road to recovery.

Michael O. Harris

Harris is a Memphis native and public sector executive with experience in land use, housing, finance, entertainment, and community development. He serves as President and CEO of the Memphis Metropolitan Land Bank Authority, where he is focused on strengthening the role of public land as a civic tool, advancing the Authority’s purpose as an instrumentality of the City of Memphis in support of housing, neighborhood revitalization, and long-term community outcomes. He led the establishment of the Memphis Metropolitan Green Financial Corporation and leads its work focused on financing energy-efficient housing, resilient utility infrastructure, green infrastructure, and community-based environmental investments. His professional background spans government relations, nonprofit leadership, institutional operations, military service, and experience in the entertainment sector. On the TVA Regional Energy Resource Council, he contributes practical insight on aligning energy planning with housing stability, infrastructure resilience, and neighborhood-level outcomes.

Chassen Haynes

Haynes is the Regional Manager of Government Affairs at Ford Motor Company, where he plays a pivotal role in advocating for Ford’s interests and shaping policy decisions. Focused on Tennessee and Kentucky, he champions policies that benefit Ford, the automotive industry, and businesses at large. Collaborating closely with policymakers, he works to ensure that Ford’s customers have access to innovative programs and technologies, enhancing their overall experience.

Prior to his role at Ford, he served as the Senior Director of Business Development at the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development, leading a dynamic statewide business development team. His educational background includes a Bachelor of Business Administration. in Finance and a Master of Business Administration from Middle Tennessee State University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Tennessee Technological University.

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, he resides with his wife, Meagan, and their daughter, Goldie.

Mary “Chrissy” Heard

Heard is a businesswoman and documentary filmmaker. Currently, she is President of HEARTS After School Tutoring Center, which provides free services to at-risk students in grades K-5 in Columbus, Mississippi. An avid equestrian, Chrissy owned and operated Oatland Stables in Maryland, which was dedicated to training, lessons and boarding up to 55 horses, and worked as head wrangler at Town Creek Farm in West Point, Mississippi. Additionally, she served as the head coach of a large Special Olympics Equestrian team in Maryland.

Chrissy is very active in county politics, serving as Chairman of the Lowndes County Republican Party and was a delegate to the 2020 Republican Convention.

Carter Hendrix

Hendrix has years of experience in both public service and economic development and leads the team at Southwestern Kentucky Economic Development Council with a clear vision for growth. As the former Mayor of Hopkinsville and former President/CEO of the Christian County Chamber of Commerce, he understands the importance of fostering strong community relationships. His leadership is integral to SWK EDC’s mission of promoting economic development and sustainability in the region.

Sen. Steve Livingston

Livingston has been a Jackson County businessman for more than 25 years, where he has distinguished himself as a community servant. He is a long-time member of the Scottsboro Rotary Club and has served as President of the Greater Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. He is a founding member of Leadership Jackson County and a Leadership Alabama Class 10 member. He has also served on the Boards of the United Way, Boy Scouts of America and on the Board of Directors of the FNB Bank of Scottsboro.

He was elected to the Alabama State Senate in November 2014, representing Senate District 8 and was re-elected in 2018. District 8 includes DeKalb, Jackson, Eastern Madison and parts of South Huntsville.

GOPAC,a national organization focused on advancing conservative ideas and policy solutions, has selected him to its 2019 Emerging Leaders Class. Senator Livingston is the current chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee and serves as a member of several other committees.

Additionally, he is vice-chairman of the Tennessee Valley Caucus. He serves on a number of interim committees dealing with a wide array of energy, water, state parks and aerospace issues.

He is a member of First United Methodist Church and has served as chairman of the church’s Board of Trustees. He is a 1974 graduate of Scottsboro High School and a 1978 graduate of the University of Alabama, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in History and Political Science.

Pete Mattheis

Mattheis is the chairman of the Tennessee Valley Industrial Committee's Strategic Planning Committee. He is also a principal in the Washington, D.C. firm of Stone, Mattheis, Xenopoulos & Brew P.C., where he has over 30 years of experience serving as counsel to Nucor Steel, the nation’s largest steel producer. As Nucor counsel, he has been involved with various energy-related matters, including evaluating and negotiating energy supply agreements; state and federal energy-related legislation; and utility resource and fuel use decisions. He has provided regulatory assistance on the Federal Energy Regulatory Council and Nuclear Energy Regulatory Council with regulatory matters, as well as other customer-specific power supply matters.

Vonda McDaniel

McDaniel joined the United Rubber Workers (URW) in 1992 at the Bridgestone-Firestone Lavergne Plant, where she has worked for the last 26 years. Shortly after joining the Union, she became a Shop Steward, which began her Union journey. In 1995, URW merged with the United Steelworkers (USW), opening up new opportunities for her as a young activist. She was trained in the USW’s Women of Steel initiative, which equipped her with vital tools to become a leader in her Union and community. She went on to become a trainer in the program herself. After 10 years as a local Union Pension and Insurance Representative, she was elected President of the Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee in 2013.

She is a graduate of Tennessee State University. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc, A. Philip Randolph Institute Nashville Chapter, and CBTU. She was recently appointed to the TN State Workforce Investment Board and serves as Vice-Chair of the Board for the Music City Center. She is a member of the State Fed/CLC Advisory Committee. In October 2017, she was elected as a Vice President to the national AFL-CIO Executive Council.

Dan Miller

Miller is the Director of Innovation Crossroads at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Innovation Crossroads is an entrepreneurial fellowship program that recruits energy and advanced manufacturing entrepreneurs to work collaboratively with ORNL while building their early-stage startups. He previously led multiple industrial engagement strategies for ORNL. He served as the initial director of both the Oak Ridge Carbon Fiber Composites Consortium and the TennSMART Consortium.

Before joining ORNL, he managed intellectual property at Rice University and was a mechanical design engineer at Wright Industries in Nashville. Dan holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University. He received his MBA and MS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Tennessee.

Doug Peters

Peters is the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association’s president and CEO(TVPPA). A native of Rossville, GA, he joined TVPPA in 2001. In addition to his Technical Services responsibilities, he has also served as TVPPA’s Education & Training director and as vice president of Distributors Insurance Co. (DIC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of TVPPA. He will also serve as president/CEO of DIC and Seven States Power Corporation in addition to leading TVPPA.

He holds an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

H. Boyd Pettit, III

Pettit, III, is Partner and General Counsel for GeorgiaLink Public Affairs Group, LLC. He has been a practicing Attorney since 1979 and served as a member of the Georgia General Assembly for five consecutive terms beginning in January 1983. Elected to the House of Representatives, succeeding newly elected Governor Joe Frank Harris, he was named a member of the House Appropriations, Judiciary, and Industry Committees. He became Secretary to the Judiciary Committee and Chairman of the Public Services and Utilities Subcommittee of the House Industry. During his membership in the House, he served as Georgia’s representative to the Southern States Energy Board and was selected as a participant in the Leadership Georgia Class of 1987. In 1993, he joined GeorgiaLink Public Affairs Group while remaining active on behalf of local governments, local education entities, public bond finance issues, and local industrial recruitment and development. In September 2000, he was selected to the Georgia State Board of Transportation. He was re-elected in 2001 to a full five-year term. He previously served on the State Board of the Georgia Youth Science and Technology Centers and is an active member of the Sam Jones Methodist Church in Cartersville. Previously serving on the Board of Directors of the North Metro Technical Institute Foundation, he was part of the effort to secure property, utilities, and funding for the state adult technical school.

Patricia Sims

Sims is the President of Drake State Community and Technical College. She served on President Biden’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council. Dr. Sims has been President of Drake State, a historically Black Community College, since 2018. Under her leadership, Drake State has seen significant increases in state and federal funding, strengthened strategic partnerships, and expanded its program offerings. The College was recently awarded a $2.4 million grant as part of the U.S. Department of Commerce and National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA), Connecting Minority Communities Pilot (CMCP) program, to help eliminate historical broadband and computer access inequities in and around Madison County, Alabama. Drake was one of the first five universities and the first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) to be awarded the grant.

She has more than 28 years of progressive experience in the field of Education. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Alabama State Port Authority, the Alabama Partnership for Children, and the Alabama Forever Wild Land Trust.

Alexa Voytek

Voytek is the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s (TDEC) Energy Program Administrator. She has considerable expertise working in the Electric Vehicle sector. She is knowledgeable about battery storage, integrated resource planning, electric vehicle infrastructure planning, energy-efficient mobility systems and resiliency planning and data analytics. Among other things, she represented the state as the Tennessee Delegate at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s 25th Conference of the Parties (COP25) in Madrid (December 2019), where she spoke on State-led efforts to reduce carbon emissions and the energy impacts of the transportation sector.

She holds a Master of Arts from Columbia University in Russian, East European, Balkan, and Eurasian Studies and a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University with high honors in History & Russian Language.

Julie Woosley

Woosley is the Director of the State Energy Office at the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. She is leading North Carolina’s energy program to help prepare the state for a sustainable future. She has worked for the State of North Carolina for almost 20 years in various roles dealing with the environment. She started with the Dept of Environment and Natural Resources, coordinating the Department’s Environmental Stewardship Initiative. She then led the State’s Hazardous Waste Program. Her department was responsible for issuing operating and post-closure permits and for overseeing facilities that investigated and cleaned up hazardous waste releases to the environment.