Session 3: Workforce and People and Trends......Oh My: Recruitment and Engagement Challenges in the Energy Industry

Jennifer Meisenhelder is the Associate Director of Construction at the University of Florida. She began her career in consulting where she focused on design and construction of large and complex municipal utility projects. At the University of Florida, Jennifer directed large infrastructure projects, utility planning and the operational aspects of steam and chilled water distribution, before moving to large capital construction. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Resource Management from the Pennsylvania State University, a Master of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark, a MBA from the University of Florida and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Florida.

I am a Business Development Manager at Thermo Systems, driven by a passion for making a positive impact on the world. My focus lies in cultivating new relationships and driving business growth, with the ultimate goal of contributing to a better future.

With a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University, I bring a solid educational foundation to my work. Specializing in industrial control systems, I am committed to enhancing efficiency, resiliency, and cost-effectiveness while minimizing potential risk and downtime for our clients.

I take great pride in mentoring, guiding, and empowering the next generation of leaders. As the co-chair of the Young Professionals Group for the International District Energy Association, I am honored to serve in a role that not only fosters growth and development but also promotes sustainability and innovation.

Beyond my professional endeavors, I enjoy spending quality time with family and friends. I am also an avid practitioner and teacher of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, where I actively compete and embrace the discipline and values the sport instills.

I am always eager to connect with like-minded professionals who share a passion for business development, engineering, personal growth, and making a positive difference in the world. Let's connect and explore opportunities to collaborate and drive meaningful change together.

Rebecca is director of Talent Management for the Con Edison companies where she is responsible for workforce development, talent acquisition, leadership learning and development programs and services, people analytics, career development, succession management, organizational development, conflict resolution, executive development programs, and performance management. In leading these practices, she has a critical focus on supporting the company’s DEI strategy.

Prior to this role, Rebecca was director of Learning overseeing the company’s 11-acre campus and satellite training facilities. She launched Con Edison’s transformation to a blended learning approach for adult learners, leading the development and curation of technical and compliance training and testing portfolios, hands-on and simulated labs, and virtual and augmented reality courses for the corporation’s 15,000 employees.

Rebecca has extensive Customer Operations experience in mass market and corporate customer segments, and was responsible for the customer care, billing, credit and collections strategies for Con Edison’s largest electric, gas and steam customers including the New York Stock Exchange, Rockefeller Center, Yankee Stadium, manufacturing corporations, real estate conglomerates, government, universities, and hospitals representing $3 billion in annual revenue. For many years, Rebecca was liaison to New York State Department of Public Service Staff and peer utilities in regulatory policy collaboratives and proceedings for rates and billing, consumer protection, deregulation, unbundling, and bill redesign. She has managed an array of capital projects and IT implementations.

In 2023 Rebecca was recognized by Manage HR Magazine as one of the Top 10 Leaders in Talent Management. She serves on the Executive Council of the Center for Energy Workforce Development. Rebecca has a bachelor’s degree in business management and an M.B.A. from the Lubin School of Business, Pace University and is a Coro Leadership New York Fellow. She is a patron of the arts and volunteers to support spinal cord injury research to end paralysis.

Cameron Ratliff is the Associate Director of Utilities at the University of Virginia where Cameron leads a team of 27 employees who operate and maintain over 220+ miles of piping which includes steam, condensate, MTHW, LTHW, chilled water, domestic water, reclaim water, sanitary sewer and storm water and seven miles of tunnels.
Prior to UVA Cameron spent 20+ years in the construction industry as a project superintendent completing numerous projects across the country. This experience and has enabled the UVA Utilities team to self-perform over $5 million annually of utility distribution and mechanical project work.
Cameron strives for continuous improvement of the team, the infrastructure and ensures the safe and sustainable operation of the Energy and Utility systems at UVA.

Samuel Olmstead, P.E. is the Director of Utilities and Campus Resiliency at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Mr. Olmstead has over 20 years of experience in institutional district energy systems and facilities management, having served in engineering, operations and director roles in his Yale career. In his current role, Mr. Olmstead is responsible for 24/7 facilities services including Utilities, Fire Code Compliance, and the Facilities Operations Center, as well as operation and maintenance of critical infrastructure including the Yale's microgrid and stormwater management infrastructure. Mr. Olmstead graduated from the University of Connecticut with a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering and is a registered professional engineer in the State of Connecticut.

Grant Selking is a Senior Director at Thermo Systems LLC, where he leads the engineering and operations teams for District Energy and Life Sciences. He is experienced in the installation and implementation of control systems for utility plants, power management systems, critical air handling units, and site-wide SCADA systems. Selking has successfully delivered on a multitude of large and fast paced projects across the country. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology from Purdue University and is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM).

Senior Director of Operations for Energy & Power - Americas at Jacobs Engineering
Responsible for managing operations and P&L, strategic growth, business development, and oversight of portfolio focusing on Energy, decarbonization, renewables, Utility Master Planning, district energy, transmission and distribution, microgrids, substation design, combined heat and power, and utility infrastructure .