Transforming The Energy Sector and Serving The Greater Good
Dots and Bridges Thought Leadership Consortium | Utility SuperCluster
- Accelerating innovation within our Nation’s Critical Infrastructure Sector(s)
- Unearthing new perspectives to enable public-private partnerships
- Conducting technology diligence to accelerate secure, digital transformation
Our world has fast become increasingly dependent on “smart” devices in fundamentally new ways. Subsequently, the “critical” infrastructure, i.e., assets, networks, and systems, underpinning our cities/communities require the security, functionality, and resiliency deemed vital to public safety, prosperity, and well-being. Incorporating a heterogeneous, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Smart City fabric requires continuous diagnostics and mitigation to reduce cyber-physical risk AND provide visibility. These technologies will enable cities and communities to improve services, promote economic growth, and enhance the quality of life but also require thoughtful risk mitigation.
The Dots and Bridges Consortium created its Utility SuperCluster to focus on sustainability challenges related to Energy, Water and Waste Management by bringing cities, counties, and municipalities together with Government, Commercial, Non-Profit, and Academia to celebrate inventiveness, share best practices and demonstrate world-class innovation. It is a humanizing process encouraging stakeholders (public, private, community, civic, and business leaders) to ideate and mobilize feasible action for internal, long-term change and to spur public private sector investment and innovation to widen and fortify the pathway to thriving and inclusive communities.
In partnership with
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SpeakersPete Tseronis Founder and CEO Dots and Bridges
Jim Hempstead Managing Director, Global Project & Infrastructure Finance Moody's Investors Service
Commissioner Dianne Solomon State of New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
Derek Vadala SVP, Head of Risk BitSight
Bruce Walker, JD Head of Energy Risk Operations/Energy Chief Risk Officer Analysis and Resilience Center (ARC)
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Dots and Bridges is motivated to engender thought-provoking dialogue addressing how Technology, Humanity, and Culture intersect. Utilizing the power of Storytelling and Translation, we highlight individual passion, feature technological innovation, and convey societal impact. Founded by Pete Tseronis, we serve as a unique nexus for “Connecting Dots and Building Bridges.” And our YouTube channel seeks to humanize the thought-leading individuals that embody passion and purpose to serve a “greater good.”
Pete worked inside the U.S. Federal Government for 25 years, kicking-off his career at the Pentagon and finishing as a Senior Executive Service member. He served four Presidential Administrations, three Cabinet Agencies, the Executive Office of the President, and was appointed Chief Technology Officer at the U.S. Department of Energy and the Education. An accomplished entrepreneur, business executive, and technology strategist with 30+ years leading public, private, and non-profit entities, Pete upholds a fervor for working in partnership with Government, Industry, Investor and Academia ecosystems to unearth inventive solutions, accelerate sustainable adoption, and streamline private-sector commercialization. A trusted thought leader with corporate savvy and substantive technical proficiency, he maintains several Advisory Board roles in which Companies that leverage his aptitude to facilitate digital transformation, mitigate supply-chain risk, and ensure global growth, particularly across the Smart and Secure Cities/Communities domain. His appointment as the Utility Supercluster Chairperson affirms a dedication to the establishment and demonstration of replicable, scalable, and sustainable models for incubation and deployment of interoperable, secure, standards-based solutions intended to modernize digital, physical and social infrastructure and, thus, make delivery and use of public, private and hybrid services more efficient, cost effective and socially beneficial. It was an honor for him to be recognized as one of the “10 Most Influential CEOs To Watch In 2021.” Pete received his B.A. in Communications from Villanova University and earned his M.S. in Information and Telecommunication Systems from Johns Hopkins University.
Jim Hempstead is a Managing Director in Moody’s Global Project & Infrastructure Finance Group, where he heads both the North American Regulated Utility & Power Team and the North American Public Infrastructure Team. Jim acts as a rating chair across all segments of Moody’s Global Infrastructure & Project Finance franchise, and is a member of both the firm’s Infrastructure Finance Franchise Committee and Global Infrastructure Focus Editorial Board. Jim also manages the Moody’s Cyber Risk Team, which looks to incorporate cyber security risk into global credit analyses. Jim helped manage the firm’s global Environmental, Social and Governance efforts between 2017 – 2020.Prior to joining Moody’s in 2002, Jim was an investment banker with Merrill Lynch &Co., working in the Global Energy & Power Group, providing financial and advisory services to electric, natural gas distribution, interstate pipeline, energy merchant, water and energy technology companies. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Jim worked with Salomon Smith Barney Corporate Finance, working in their Global Energy &Power Group. Jim graduated with a B.S.B.A. from Villanova University and an M.B.A. from Fordham University. From 2011 - 2013, Jim served as the Director of Emergency Management for his hometown in New Jersey, and is a registered EMT for his local, volunteer first aid squad. Jim is a member of the Wall Street Utility Group and served as a Trustee with the Society of Utility and Regulatory Financial Analysts (SURFA) between 2012 -2020. He served on the Advisory Council for the Electric Power Research Institute(EPRI) from 2014-2019.
Commissioner Dianne Solomon was nominated by Governor Chris Christie to serve as Commissioner of the Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) on April 17, 2013 and confirmed by the New Jersey Senate on June 27, 2013. She was re-nominated and confirmed in 2017. In her time at the BPU, she served as President and as a member of the Governor’s Cabinet from January 14, 2014, through October 5, 2014. Commissioner Solomon is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and currently serves as Chair of the Committee on Critical Infrastructure. She also serves on the Gas Committee and was selected by NARUC to serve as a representative to the Gas Technology Institute’s Public Interest Advisor Council and as a member of NARUC’s Natural Gas Partnership with the US Department of Energy. Prior to Commissioner Solomon’s appointment to the NJBPU she served as Commissioner of the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA), which is responsible for operating the Atlantic City Expressway, Atlantic City Airport and shuttle service in and around South Jersey. Commissioner Solomon is a graduate of Rider University with a degree in Political Science and attended the Philadelphia Institute for Paralegal Studies, concentrating on litigation. She served as President of the Philadelphia Association of Paralegals and on the Board of Directors at the Katz Jewish Community Center, assisting in the transition to a much larger campus in Cherry Hill. Commissioner Solomon, along with her husband, Lee A. Solomon, a New Jersey Supreme Court Justice, resides in West Berlin, NJ.
Derek Vadala is SVP, Head of Risk at BitSight where he leads a team that is focused on creating an automated Cyber Risk Quantification solution that enables CISOs to better communicate cyber risk to Boards of Directors and senior business executives. Before joining BitSight, Mr. Vadala was the CEO and founder of VisibleRisk, a joint venture between Moody’s Corporation and Team8, which was acquired by BitSight in 2021. Prior to that, Mr. Vadala was the Global Head of Cyber Risk for Moody’s Investors Service, responsible for developing capabilities for evaluating cyber risk and incorporating those capabilities into credit analysis. Mr. Vadala also previously served as the Chief Information Security Officer for Moody’s Corporation from 2013-2018, where he was responsible for global information risk and security across Moody’s businesses worldwide.
Prior to joining the ARC, Bruce was nominated by President Trump and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2017 to serve as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Electricity at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In this capacity, he provided national leadership to enhance our nation’s security for defense critical energy infrastructure and led national research to develop technologies and capabilities to meet this responsibility, including advancing microgrids, high speed/high fidelity sensing and data analytics, and bulk power energy infrastructure modelling. As Assistant Secretary, Bruce initiated and completed various key initiatives, including designating the Critical Defense Facilities and their associated Defense Critical Electric Infrastructure throughout the United States and its territories, the creation of the North American Energy Resilience Model – a first-of-its-kind model that includes all bulk power energy assets throughout North America – and the establishment of the Grid Storage Launchpad focused on accelerating the development of mega-watt scale energy storage, the groundbreaking of which occurred in August 2020. Bruce also served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response when the office was established. Notably, Bruce was also responsible for the four Power Marketing Administrations (PMA) established by Congress. These four PMAs own and operate the transmission system that connects U.S. federal hydro-electric generation to rural America from more than 100 hydro-electric turbines. The CEO led PMAs employ more than 5,000 federal employees, provide power in 34 states covering more than 2 million square miles and fund many U.S. Department of Interior and United States Army Corps projects associated with the dams. Bruce also served as the Chief Environmental Review and Permitting Officer for all departments within DOE and the federal ex-officio member on the Department of Homeland Security – Federal Emergency Management Agency National Advisory Council. Lastly, he was the senior official responsible for one of three Primary Mission Essential Functions that support the eight National Essential Functions. Prior to joining DOE, Bruce was the Deputy County Executive for Putnam County, New York and served on the Board of Directors for the Hudson Valley FBI Infragard partnership. For more than 20 years, he held leadership positions in System Operations, Emergency Management, Asset Management and Regulatory Services across National Grid U.S. and Consolidated Edison of New York. Bruce has previously served on DOE’s Electricity Advisory Committee; was an advisor for the development of the mega-watt scale renewable resources integration lab developed by DOE in Golden, Colorado; and was a member of the Board of Directors for GridWise Alliance, Inc., where he co-founded the Global Smart Grid Federation, a collaboration among 18 countries to modernize the world’s electric energy system. Bruce holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College and a Juris Doctor in Law from Pace University where he was the technical editor on the Environmental Law Review and received an Environmental Law Certificate. He has completed the Distribution Systems program from Siemens – Power Technologies International. Bruce is a distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School and received an Honorable Discharge from the United States Military Academy.