Agenda Day 1

9:00 am

Pacific Time: Introduction & Overview

Todd Hooks , Program Co-Chair, Economic Development Director
Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians / Palm Springs, CA

Pilar Thomas, Esq. , Program Co-Chair
Quarles & Brady / Tucson, AZ

9:15 am

Impact of the Election on Federal Energy Policy as It Relates to Tribal Sovereignty and Energy Development

The federal government as no longer necessary, and in the absence of funding, no longer sufficient for driving Tribal energy development: What can we reasonably expect from Congress, DOI, DOE, EPA, and USDA?

Gregory A. Smith, Esq.
Hobbs Straus Dean & Walker / Washington, DC

10:00 am

Break

10:15 am

The American Energy Innovation Act of 2020 (AEIA) and How It Creates Tribal Economic Development Opportunities

Overview: A section-by-section analysis of the provisions with a focus on the areas of most significance for Tribes

Richard A. Agnew, Esq.
Van Ness Feldman / Washington, DC

Perspectives from the key DOE offices

Wahleah Johns , Director
DOE Office of Indian Energy / Washington, DC

The Hon. Kelly Speakes-Backman , Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy / Washington, DC

12:15 pm

Lunch Break

1:30 pm

State-Level Programs for Promoting Tribal Energy Development in California

Mandated utility resiliency planning, the role for Tribes in that process, and the opportunities for Tribal development of infrastructure for achieving greater resiliency

Kenneth C. Holbrook , Tribal Advisor
California Public Utilities Commission / Sacramento, CA

Thomas Gates, Ph.D. , Tribal Liaison
California Energy Commission / Sacramento, CA

Jennifer W. Summers, Esq. , Director, Tribal Relations & Land Services
San Diego Gas & Electric / San Diego, CA

3:15 pm

Break

3:30 pm

State-Level Programs in Other Southwestern States

Overview of the political landscape and programs the Southwestern states are putting in place

Mayane Barudin , Interior West Manager & Tribal Liaison
Vote Solar / Albuquerque, NM

4:15 pm

Energy as the Locomotive and Caboose for Tribal Economic Development

Case study of the Soboba ball field and community center project that morphed into a solar development: A good example of a tribal community and government working with a private sector developer and creating a larger community effort

Margaret M. Schaff, Esq. (inv)
Margaret M. Schaff PC / Boulder, CO

Mike Castello , Tribal Administrator
Soboba Band of Luseno Indians / San Jacinto, CA

5:00 pm

Virtual Reception for Faculty and Attendees

Test your energy knowledge during our virtual Jeopardy-style game show and win some swag or at least learn some new things

Friday, May 7, 2021

9:00 am

Navigating the Regulatory Processes for Tribal Participation in Evolving Power Markets, Grid Operations, and Microgrids

At the federal level: What to expect from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regarding power market operations and interconnection processes

Maranda S. Compton, Esq.
Van Ness Feldman / Washington, DC

State and regional market structures and operations

Tara S. Kaushik, Esq. , Managing Director, Regulatory Affairs
Southern California Edison / San Francisco, CA

The potential role for Tribes as sovereigns in project development and interconnection processes

John Lewis , Managing Director of Native American Energy
Avant Energy / Chandler, AZ

10:30 am

Break

10:45 am

Negotiating Leverage: Opportunities for Tribes with Expiring Right of Way Easements on Tribal Lands

Legal and practical perspectives on the issues you can leverage in negotiations to achieve Tribal energy infrastructure development goals

Thomas N Tureen, Esq. , Chairman (inv)
Nacero, Inc. / Houston, TX

Pilar Thomas, Esq. , Program Co-Chair
Quarles & Brady / Tucson, AZ

12:00 pm

Lunch Break

1:15 pm

Due Diligence: The Potential Legal Risks and Costs Associated with Implementing New Technologies

Identifying risks and addressing them in Tribal codes: Hydrogen explosions, battery fires, building code provisions for rooftop solar and behind the meter storage

Al J. Cadreau , CEO
Indian Energy LLC / Newport Beach, CA

2:30 pm

Break

2:45 pm

Tribal Project Development Success Stories

Planning and installing critical clean power infrastructure: Financing options and training resources for Tribes pursuing on-reservation community solar projects, highlighting the Spokane Tribe's rooftop solar initiative

Tim Willink , Director of Tribal Programs
GRID Alternatives / Denver, CO

Tribal electric utility: Update negotiations with Southern California Edison and the operational accomplishments of Pechanga Western Electric

Breann Yoshiko Swann Nu'uhiwa, Esq. , Senior Associate General Counsel
Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians / Temecula, CA

Jicarilla Apache Nation electric utility buyout and utility formation processes: Tips for getting the deals done

Nann M. Winter, Esq.
Stelzner Winter Warburton Flores Sanchez Dawes / Albuquerque, NM

4:00 pm

Evaluations and Adjourn

Faculty Bios

Todd Hooks, Program Co-Chair, is the Economic Development Director for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.

Pilar Thomas, Program Co-Chair, is a partner in the Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Practice Group at Quarles & Brady. Prior to entering private practice, she was the Deputy Director for the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs at the US Department of Energy and Deputy Solicitor of Indian Affairs for the US Department of the Interior.

Richard A. Agnew is a partner at Van Ness Feldman focusing on energy projects, environmental matters, and the uses of natural resources. He previously served as Chief Republican Counsel for the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs (now the Committee on Natural Resources) of the U.S. House of Representatives, Rick served as committee counsel and staff supervisor in a wide array of federal issues, involving natural resources, Native Americans, and energy production and use.

Mayane Barudin is Interior West Manager & Tribal Liaison for Vote Solar. A Tribal member of Kewa Pueblo in New Mexico, she previously worked with the United Nations Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (SPFII) and organizing with other local and national non-profits to push a solar transition within Tribal nations and at a state level.

Al J. Cadreau is CEO of Indian Energy LLC. He has expertise in full-scale development of hybrid utility scale electric power generation with an emphasis on parabolic trough (CSTP) technology integrated with combined cycle gas fired turbine generators (CCGT).

Mike Castello is Tribal Administrator of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians.

Maranda S. Compton is a partner at Van Ness Feldman and a co-coordinator of Van Ness Feldman's Native Affairs practice. She is experienced in representing both tribal and non- tribal clients in a wide range of federal regulatory, environmental, energy, and natural resources issues.

Thomas Gates, Ph.D., is the Tribal Liaison for the California Energy Commission. He has three decades of experience working with Tribal governments in the areas of tribal historic preservation, land conservation, self-governance and Tribal energy.

Kenneth C. Holbrook, Tribal Advisor at the California Public Utilities Commission, is a member of the Maidu Tribe and the Pit River Tribe. He also is President of Native Forest Resources, Inc., which provides solutions to sustainable forestry and fire resilient forest project planning and implementation needs.

Wahleah Johns is Director of the DOE Office of Indian Energy and a member of the Navajo (Dine) Tribe. In her DOE capacity, she is responsible for upholding and advancing the Office of Indian Energy's mission to maximize the development and deployment of energy solutions for the benefit of American Indians and Alaska Natives. She previously co-founded Native Renewables, a nonprofit that builds renewable energy tribal capacity while addressing energy access.

Tara S. Kaushik is the Managing Director for Regulatory Affairs at Southern California Edison. She formerly was in private practice focusing on utility law, energy regulatory law and native American law.

John Lewis is Managing Director of Native American Energy for Avant Energy. He has overseen a wide array of projects including Tribal utility formation, renewable energy development, Tribal organizational management, energy infrastructure development and energy and utility related negotiations.

Breann Yoshiko Swann Nu'uhiwa serves as Senior Associate General Counsel for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians. She co-led Pechanga's initiative to form Pechanga Western Electric, the first tribally owned and operated wholesale electric utility in the State of California, and she continues to work closely with the utility's leadership team on legal and regulatory matters.

Margaret M. Schaff, Margaret M. Schaff PC, consults with tribes on energy issues including electric power generation, high voltage transmission, oil and gas, tribal utilities, rights of way, energy strategies and tribal energy and land legal codes.

Gregory A. Smith is a partner at Hobbs Straus Dean & Walker. He has represented Indian tribes and tribal organizations as an attorney and as a government affairs specialist for nearly twenty years.

The Hon. Kelly Speakes-Backman is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), and Acting Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy. She previously served as the first CEO of the Energy Storage Association, the national trade organization for the energy storage industry.

Jennifer W. Summers is Director of Tribal Relations & Land Services at San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). She manages Company relations with county, city, and other local government and quasi-government jurisdictions supporting land and the Native American communities that SDG&E serves.

Thomas N Tureen is Chairman of Nacero, Inc. and also Chairman and Co-Founder of Coachella Energy. It is a partnership between Coachella Partners LLC, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and Southern California Edison for a $1.0 billion transmission upgrade project for bringing renewable energy into California.

Tim Willink, is a Navajo from Pueblo Pintado and Director of Tribal Programs for GRID Alternatives. He leads the company's new National Tribal Solar Program. He formerly worked as a lobbyist for the Navajo Nation Washington Office representing the tribe in economic development and education and and spent six years with Namaste Solar as a Field Supervisor for commercial solar installations.

Nann M. Winter is a shareholder at Stelzner Winter Warburton Flores Sanchez Dawes. She advises the Jicarilla Apache Nation, Angel Fire Public Improvement District, and other local governments on utility matters. She also lobbies on behalf of local government interests.

Continuing Education Credits

Live credits: Law Seminars International is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider. This program qualifies for 11.00 California MCLE and 10.75 ABCEP environmental professional credits. Upon request, we will help you apply for CLE credits in other states and other types of credits.

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