Region Vice President, Pike Electric Iliana Rentz recenlty announced her postion as Region Vice President at Pike Electric. With a 75-year track record, Pike Corporation is a leading provider of turnkey infrastructure solutions for electric and gas utilities, as well as telecommunications companies. On the electric side, Pike specializes in the engineering, construction, maintenance and upgrade of transmission, distribution and substation infrastructure. Our expertise ranges from traditional and renewable grid assets and storage, to longer-range smart city planning and implementation. Pike is also a leader in emergency storm restoration. Pike provides similar turnkey engineering and construction solutions for telecommunications clients, supporting the full range of wireline and wireless infrastructure projects, as well as for gas utility clients. Iliana holds a bachelor’s degree from American University’s Kogod School of Business and a specialization in civil-military operations and infrastructure development from the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. a 12-year Army combat veteran with distinction, having received numerous meritorious awards including a Bronze Star and a Combat Action badge. She holds certifications as a Six Sigma Black Belt, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Prosci Change Management Practitioner, and in Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP). Iliana is the vice president of Veterans in Energy and the immediate past president for VETNEXT, Veterans of NextEra, and has held various leadership positions through several industry associations. She and her husband live in West Palm Beach with our two children, three dogs, and 20 chickens.

Contractor Operations Manager, MidAmerican Energy Company​ Milton has over 25 years of leadership and operations utility experience. He currently leads the Contractor Operations department at MidAmerican Energy Company (MEC). MEC delivers energy to 1.6 million gas and electric customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, and South Dakota. MEC is well-known for its large wind generation fleet and is a Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company (BHE). Milton has been in the BHE utility companies for 20 years holding positions from a union inspector, field support supervisor, operations manager, and director of Operations. ​Milton is one of the founders of VETRN, the veteran employee resource group at BHE and has served on the leadership team since 2019. Milton is proud to have led the effort at the BHE companies to provide employees a “best in class” Military Leave Policy which has been shared with companies across the United States. Milton created the BHE Veteran Employee Resource Groups Collaboration Network for Veteran ERG leaders to share best practices, lessons learned, and join efforts to increase the impact of veteran employee resource groups across the United States. He continues to support veteran initiatives at BHE companies, Veteran Organizations, CEWD, and Veterans in Energy. Milton’s story of how he served in the military and transitioned to an Energy Sector career is included in the book “Frontlines to Powerlines”. ​Milton proudly served in the United States Army. He was a Heavy Engineer and after deployment injuries reclassed to Intelligence. Milton supported training efforts at the Joint Readiness Training Center focused on operating heavy equipment and land mines. Milton is married with four children. His family enjoys participating in sports and frequently volunteer at community and veteran-focused events

Cassandra Wheeler serves as director for Southern Company’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) Generation and Gas services. Named to that position in April 2022, she oversees the contracts, transactions and category management for all areas of spend. She also leads the materials strategy and inventory functions for Generation and Gas respectively. Prior to her current role, Wheeler served as region director for Georgia Power’s northwest region where she oversaw the operations, sales, customer service, economic and community development and external affairs activities for 15 counties and more than 170,000 customers. Wheeler has served in various roles during her time within the Southern Company system. She began her career at Alabama Power in 2001 as an engineer at Plant Miller. She also served as Plant Miller’s Maintenance Team Leader and Operations Team Leader, and plant manager for Plants Gadsden and Hammond. In 2015, Plant Hammond was awarded the Exceptional Plant Award, recognizing Wheeler’s reliability and leadership while plant manager. Wheeler served as Assistant to the executive vice president of Generation for Southern Company in 2003 and in 2005 was selected as Assistant to the vice president of Southern Company Governmental Affairs in Washington, DC. Wheeler was honorably separated from the United States Air Force after more than six years of service as a B-1B avionics technician. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Cincinnati at Cincinnati, Ohio and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Currently, Wheeler serves on the Board of Directors for Georgia Northwest Technical College and is president of the Veterans in Energy board, a national employee resource group (ERG) that provides transition, retention and professional development support to military veterans working in the energy industry. Wheeler also serves on the Executive Advisory Council for Berry College’s Campbell School of Business.

Director at Defense Media Activity Mr. Hal Pittman is a member of the Senior Executive Service, appointed as Director of the Defense Media Activity in 2021. In this role, Pittman leads 1500 people at 45 worldwide locations providing satellite television, radio, internet, and multi-media content and services for the Department of Defense’s 2.6 million military members, reservists, and civilian employees. ​ Prior to DMA, Pittman served as an executive with Arizona’s largest energy company, Arizona Public Service. Previously, he was President & CEO of Special Olympics Iowa, leading sports training and wellness efforts for 11,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities, and prior to that, he served a full career as a U.S. Navy officer in assignments all over the world, rising to the rank of Rear Admiral. In uniform, Pittman led public affairs for some of the military’s most visible operations, including serving twice as Communications Director at the U.S. Central Command; leading NATO and U.S. communications in Afghanistan; commanding the Joint Public Affairs Support Element, and serving as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon. ​ Pittman has also founded and advised multiple non-profits, including serving as Founding President and Board Member of Veterans in Energy, a national non-profit organization focused on professional development for veterans in the energy field. He is a recipient of the Amateur Athletic Union’s Brother Bennett award for volunteerism, as well as the Arizona Governor’s Lifetime Community Service Award. ​ Pittman earned his undergraduate degree from Appalachian State University, a master’s degree from American University, was an MIT Seminar XXI Fellow in foreign politics and international relations and is a graduate of the Dartmouth Tuck Advanced Management Program. He resides in the Washington, D.C. area with his family.

Manager - System Integrity, Peoples Gas/North Shore Gas Edwin is responsible for Damage Prevention and The Legacy Cross Bore Program for Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas. Edwin began his career at Peoples Gas in 1989 in meter reading as a represented employee and progressed through several roles in field service operations. He started his non-represented role in 2006 as an Operations Supervisor and held several additional leadership roles in field operations prior to his current role. He is a retired Naval Petty Officer with 22 years of service including active duty and reserve time. Edwin’s personal commendations include 5 Navy Achievement medals, 6 Reserve meritorious service medals, marksman pistol, and Armed Forces reserve medal with an M device. ​Edwin attended Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. He serves on the Board of Directors for Peoples Energy Credit Union, steering committee member for WEC Energy Group’s Military Service Members Association, treasurer for the Chicago Chapter of the American Association of Blacks in Energy and Vice President of Brookwood Point Homeowners Association. He enjoys biking, skating and traveling in his spare time.

Director of Emergency Preparedness, Consolidated Edison Company of NY Dee has over 25 years of leadership, engineering, and utility experience. She is currently a director in Emergency Preparedness in Electric Operations of Consolidated Edison Company of NY (ConEd). ConEd delivers electric, gas, and steam to the five boroughs of New York City and neighboring counties. She has been in the company for over 20 years in various other management positions from a supervisor to a general manager in Electric Operations, Utility Shared Services – Stores Operations, and Environmental Health and Safety. Dee is on the board of the Veterans of Con Edison, Inc. (VOC.) She recently spoke on the ERG panel at the Veterans in Energy conference this fall. YWCA of the City of New York Academy of Women Leaders recently named Dee a recipient of the 2019 Corporate Achievers Award for her accomplishments at Con Edison and her service to her community. In 2019 she also received the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Seven Seals Award for her dedication and energy toward Reservists. Dee is a United States Navy Veteran. She is a 1994 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and served on active duty as a Surface Warfare Officer on the USS WASP (LHD 1) and the USS ASHLAND (LSD-48) where she did two Mediterranean Sea deployments. She also served an additional year in an intelligence unit out of Austin, Tx. ​ Dee is married to a fellow Navy Veteran. She has three kids and spends a lot of time coaching high school-aged girls in softball, volunteering in the community, and mentoring.

Manager of Talent Pipeline Programs, Consumers Energy Amber is responsible for career awareness and strategic energy education programs for the company. She also serves as the Career Awareness Chairperson for the Michigan Energy Workforce Development Consortium, working statewide to network and build partnerships that build a more qualified, diverse workforce in the industry. Prior to entering the world of energy, Amber was a middle school English teacher and counselor. She holds a master’s degree in School and Agency Counseling from Central Michigan University, and a bachelor’s degree in English and Communications from Aquinas College. Amber is a US Army active duty veteran. She currently serves as a member of the Michigan Women’s Veterans Coalition, Team Rubicon, and Team Red, White, and Blue. She is a former chair of Consumers’ Energy Veterans Advisory Panel employee resource group, where she worked diligently to register the company’s apprenticeships with the Department of Labor for GI Bill purposes. Through this group, Amber led efforts to involve the company’s veterans in various volunteer activities including, but not limited to, Habitat for Humanity, Cadillac Veterans Park, Blue Star Mothers, Grand Rapids Veterans Home, and the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency. ​In her free time, Amber enjoys being active. She enjoys traveling, hiking, running, paddle boarding, and coffee. She lives in Michigan and has two grown children; Lane and Olivia.

Program Manager, Westinghouse Electric Company Since separating from the US Air Force in 2007 after ten years of service, she has worked for Westinghouse in the nuclear energy industry for over fifteen years. Erin has extensive experience in both program and project management of large-scale, new AP1000 nuclear reactor builds and upgrade Instrumentation & Controls projects for existing nuclear power plants. Her most recent position is in the design finalization and licensing of the Westinghouse eVinciTM microreactor where she is managing all the projects related to the testing of the eVinci design at external laboratories such as the eVinci Nuclear Test Reactor program at Idaho National Laboratory and the eVinci criticality and heat pipe tests at Los Alamos National Laboratory. ​Erin grew up outside of Pittsburgh, PA and went to the University of Notre Dame on an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC) scholarship. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering and she was also a distinguished graduate from ROTC. Erin received a pilot training slot upon her commissioning in the US Air Force. After earning her wings, she flew as an instructor pilot in the T-38 and a pilot in the F-15E fighter jet. She served in the USAF for ten years and flew fifty-two combat missions as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Upon separating from the Air Force, she moved home to Pittsburgh and began her career with Westinghouse. Erin is a member of the Westinghouse chapters of Women in Nuclear (WIN) and Toastmasters. She serves on the board of her son’s football booster club and PR Kids First, a local political organization supporting children. Erin is also involved with the No Fallen Heroes Foundation, a charity committed to assisting active-duty military, veterans and first responders receive help with PTSD, trauma, depression and other mental health issues. Prior to COVID, she volunteered with her therapy dog, Radar, at the Pittsburgh airport as part of their PITPAWS program.

Manager of Talent Acquisition and Veteran Affairs – Pike Corporation James manages military and university recruiting across all of Pike’s business units. He also collaborates with Pike’s VA Certifying Official to engage veterans in Pike’s registered apprenticeship. He has served in this role since April of 2018. During this time Pike has grown their veteran recruiting from 2.5% of the hires annually to over 10%. Pike has averaged 400 veteran hires a year since James started in this role. James engages the military community working with installations and student veteran organizations across the country to ensure veterans are aware of opportunities at Pike and in the energy industry as a whole. Since joining Pike in 2018, James has worked with the Center for Energy Workforce Development, especially with their Troops to Energy Jobs engagements. James joined Veterans in Energy in 2019 and when he learned about the Professional Development Committee, he jumped right in to become part of the team. James helped developed the MOS Translator and in 2022 he coordinated two successful military base engagements for VIE on Fort Hood and Camp Lejeune. James is currently coordinating two base engagements for VIE in California for early summer 2023. ​From 2016-2018, James managed career engagement events and advocated with North Carolina employers to hire more veterans. During this time, he managed outreach in military communities across the state as the program manager for North Carolina for Military Employment. James conducted 8-12 career engagement events in communities with dense military populations each year in this role. James managed a team of volunteers from NCWorks, the Army National Guard Employment Center, and Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve to review resumes of transitioning military and military spouse candidates and match them with career opportunities submitted by participating industry partners. Veterans were interviewed at the events and often received contingent offers of employment. ​After his transition from the Marine Corps in 2012, James was hired as a Personal and Professional Development Advisor to support the Transition Readiness Seminar on Camp Lejeune. In short order James became a sought-out advisor by wounded warriors, transitioning service members, and their families. In 2014, James was selected to work directly with Marine Special Operations Command and Weapons Training Battalion at Camp Lejeune to host onsite transition programming and work directly with this population’s distinct transition needs. James also planned and hosted semiannual career fairs for Camp Lejeune and coordinated with groups like Hiring our Heroes and Troops to Transportation to bring specialized events to the base. James was an active duty Marine from 1987 to 2012. He was a recruiter, instructor, and a supply chain analyst, among other roles. James has a bachelor’s degree from Campbell University and a master’s in Human Resource Management from Webster University. James and his wife Elizabeth reside in North Carolina and have two adult daughters and a brand-new grandson.

Command Sergeant Major Jason J Fabre is from New Roads, LA. He entered the military in June 1992, completing Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Sill, OK. He served on active duty and retired from the United States Army Reserve after 31 years of service. CSM Fabre’ assignments span duty in several states, 5 overseas deployments and leadership roles with up to 4200 soldiers under his care. Ending his career as the Battalion Command Sergeant Major of the 365th CSSB in Jackson, MS. He is a 2016 graduate of the U. S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, Class 40. CSM Fabre’ other military education includes, Primary Leadership and Development Course, Combat Life Saver Course, Basic Non-Commissioned Officer Course, Advanced Non-Commissioned Officer Course, Hazmat Course, Small Arms Repair, Battle Staff, and the Sergeant Major Academy. SGM Fabre graduated from Southern University with a B.S. in electrical engineering in Dec of 2000. He is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraq Freedom, His most significant military awards and decorations include being a SEP 10th, 2001 inductee into the Sergeant Audie Murphy club, the Meritorious Service Medal, seven Army Commendation Medals, eight Army Achievement Medals, six Army Reserve Component Achievement Medals, National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” device, Silver Hour Glass, and with the numeral “2”, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Medal with numeral “4,” Army Service Ribbon, Army Overseas Service Ribbon, and the Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon with numeral “3”. CSM Fabre is currently the Service Area Director for CenterPoint Energy’s Electric operations covering the Bellaire and Spring Branch Service Centers. In this role, he is responsible for all Electric Business operations within this service area, maintaining relationships with local governments and area organizations. This includes responding to customer and outage issues, as well as managing and developing staff. Prior to that is was the Government Relations Director responsible for managing the company’s Local Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs Team. CSM Fabre is married to April Fabre and together they have three children: Dr. Leah Fabre (24) Pharmacy graduate from Xavier University in New Orleans, LA, Lauren (19) 2nd year student at Loyola-Marymount in Los Angeles, CA, and Julian (10) 5th grade student at Falcon Pass Elementary in Houston, TX. Additionally, he is a board member with the Buffalo Soldier National Museum and vice president of his company’s Military employee resource group. The retired CSM is also very active in the community, loves golf, hunting, hiking, and fishing.

I am a Navy veteran who served on active and reserve duty for 10years from Hawaii to almost every major port along the East Coast of the United States. I was part of the commissioning crew of the USS O’Kane, DDG-77 and served in Naval Expeditionary Combat Command units along the east coast as Communications, STRIKE and Operations officer. I am married to a Marine Corp veteran and have two wonderful children who know how important it is to say Go Navy, Beat Army. I have been with NextEra Energy for 13yrs in Procurement, Engineering and Construction as well as Renewables Development. I am currently in our Energy Savings Company (ESCO) where I work with military bases all over Florida to help them achieve their energy efficiency and grid resiliency goals. I am also a founding member and current Communications Officer of our company’s veteran employee resources group, VetNEXT. During my tenure I helped grow our group from 25 members in our headquarters office to over 700 current members across the United States. I have been a member of Veterans of Energy since 2016 and was part of our company’s first group to attend the October conference that year. That is where I realized we aren’t alone in our desire to attract strong veterans to our industry and show them how compatible the military and the energy sector are. We got to meet likeminded individuals who wanted to extend the network that helps military members separating from active duty to search out our core companies. In my 8 years with VIE, I have attended numerous conferences, spoken on panels, helped develop VIE associated websites and veterans job transitioning tools, and attended veteran hiring fairs with our Energy Row family. I’ve been lucky to form amazing friendships within our organization that have extend well beyond the annual conferences and I want that to be what everyone gets out of our organization. I sense of community, a shared passion for recruiting veterans and an opportunity to give back to the veterans who are joining the civilian world behind us.

I am a veteran of the US Navy, having served for seven years as an enlisted sailor onboard the USS Enterprise. I served in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom and separated honorably in 2008. I began working at Exelon immediately following my separation from service at Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station. I worked in numerous roles at Oyster Creek until 2018 when the station defueled and I transferred to Corporate Maintenance out of Kennett Square, PA. I moved from there in 2020 when I transferred to Atlantic City Electric as the Manager of Substations. I am still with Exelon and am currently the Senior Manager of Substations at Atlantic City Electric. I am also the President of the Exelon Militaries Actively Connected (EMAC) ERG for the three operating companies: Pepco, Atlantic City Electric, and Delmarva Power. In this role I work to help veterans through volunteerism and charity but am also looking to better develop of veteran recruitment strategies and make Exelon an even better place for veterans to work and develop their careers. I also service as a committee member for the Joint Military Affairs Committee of the Delaware Chamber of Commerce.