Session 1: Industrial Decarbonization in Appalachia

Panelists will discuss the barriers and opportunities facing industry as they develop strategies and goals to transition to clean energy solutions and reduce carbon emissions, including potential impacts to job creation and other economic and environmental benefits to the region.

Plenary Speaker/Panelist: Louie Krak

Louie Krak is an Energy Infrastructure Coordinator with Governor Shapiro’s Office of Critical Investments and is responsible for maximizing federal funding opportunities to drive forward transformative projects across Pennsylvania. A Lancaster County native, Louie obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and a Master of Science in Environmental Studies from Southern Connecticut State University before moving back to Harrisburg to pursue a career in public service. Louie transitioned into public sector life as an Administrative Officer in the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Farmland Preservation, helping to preserve over 1,200 acres of prime farmland, including the berry farm in his hometown where he worked as a young adult.

Louie felt drawn to explore the work at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, where he served as an Executive Policy Specialist focusing on air, energy, and climate change policy. This invaluable policy experience prepared Louie to step into his current role, where he works strategically with programs across the Department to maximize the historic opportunities available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act to catalyze clean energy deployment, remediate legacy pollution, and rectify environmental injustices and inequities.

Moderator: Colby Hall

Colby Hall is the current Executive Director of Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR), coming onboard in November of 2020. Colby was born and raised in Eastern Kentucky, and he’s grateful for the opportunity to serve the region and its interests in a full-time capacity.

Colby graduated summa cum laude from the University of Kentucky in 2015 with a degree in biology. After spending a year teaching English abroad in Spain, he pursued a sales career in the heart of the bustling technology startup sector in Atlanta, GA before moving back to Eastern Kentucky to run SOAR.

Colby is married to Lindsey Hall, a nurse practitioner in the neurosurgery department at UK HealthCare’s Chandler Hospital. They have one son, Hayden Hall, who was born in November 2022.

Panelist: Dr. Bob Jewell

Dr. Bob Jewell is an Associate Director for the Cementitious Materials Group at the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (UK CAER).  His research encompasses high-performance concrete technologies, the fabrication of new low energy, low CO₂ emitting construction materials including cements and concretes from industrial by products, and process development for ash beneficiation.  Additionally, Bob is focused on the development of smart energy-harvesting cementitious materials for civil engineering structures.  He is the author of numerous technical reports, publications, and patents.  He has more than 19 years of energy research experience related to cementitious materials and industrial byproduct utilization and has been a leading researcher on projects for the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Defense.

Panelist: Shibani Shinde Patil

Shibani is a seasoned business leader with substantial background in the power and gas trading industry. With over a decade in the energy and power trading value chain, Shibani brings strong expertise in commercial strategy, origination, structured transactions, and contract negotiations, including tolling agreements, PPAs and tax equity investment structures. In addition, Shibani brings a vast network of relationships in various sectors, including energy trading, financial institutes, power generation companies, renewable developers, and regulatory bodies. In this era of unprecedented change in the energy industry, she is excited to be part of a team embracing renewables and other innovative green products and services that will be critical to domestic clean energy transition and energy independence.

Panelist: Aron Patrick

Aron Patrick is Head of Research and Development for PPL Corporation, a leading U.S. energy company focused on providing electricity and natural gas safely, reliably, affordably and sustainably to 3.5 million customers in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia. Aron is responsible for managing an enterprise-wide R&D strategy and PPL’s partnerships with external research organizations, including national laboratories, and universities. Aron previously held leadership roles at the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, including assistant director and program manager in carbon management and renewable energy. Prior to that, Aron was an intelligence analyst for the federal government, using statistical analysis and modeling to address national security problems. Aron is a Lexington native and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Kentucky.

Panelist: Amanda Woodrum

Amanda Woodrum is the Co-Director of ReImagine Appalachia, a four-state coalition of diverse stakeholder groups working together to find common ground and create a more sustainable, equitable and prosperous Appalachia. She has a master’s degree in economics and law degree from the University of Akron in Ohio. Over the past 15 years or so, she has conducted research, advocacy and coalition building around the role energy, transportation, manufacturing, health, labor and anti-poverty policy can play to promote a more sustainable and equitable economy. She also sits on the University of Akron’s Dept. of Economics Advisory Board and the board for All Aboard Ohio.  After living in New York City and experiencing 9/11, she returned to Ohio determined to make the state and the region the kind of place she wanted to live.