Logan Rolles | Chair
Logan is an Assistant Department Manager and Electrical Engineer specializing in substation design at Burns & McDonnell with experience designing a variety of high-voltage substations ranging from 12-kV to 500-kV for utility clients across the country. With over 5 years of EPC (Engineer-Procure-Construct) experience, she is able to lead and design complex portfolios from conception through construction. Outside of work, Logan is active in IEEE and CIGRE and enjoys volunteering in her community, skiing and hiking, and spending time with her husband and two dogs.
Jodie Lupton | Professional Development – Paper Competition & Social Media/Outreach Co-Chair
Jodie Lupton is a Distribution Planning Engineer at SRP where she works on longer term system planning. She graduated from the University of West Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. She has experience in overhead and underground distribution line design and transmission line design, as well as grid modernization like DER interconnections and volt-VAR optimization from her previous positions. She is also working on a master’s in electrical engineering with a specialization in power engineering at Arizona State University. In her free time, Jodie enjoys playing disc golf, hiking, and reading.
Secilia Ho | Professional Development – Paper Competition Co-Chair
Secilia Ho is an electrical engineer at Burns and McDonnell in the Transmission and Distribution Global Practice and Underground Submarine and Cables department.
Secilia joined full time after graduating at Southern Illinois University Carbondale with a Master’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2024 while playing Division 1 golf. Before graduating, she was an intern with Burns and McDonnell in 2022. She has experience in the design of underground cable projects ranging from 12-kV through 345-kV. She joined CIGRE for the opportunity to connect with industry leaders and to grow her knowledge. In her free time, Secilia enjoys playing golf, working out, cooking/baking, pickleball, hiking, and reading.
Maigha | Professional Development/Webinars Co-Chair
Maigha is a Senior Quantitative Engineer in the Relay and Protection Engineering department at Commonwealth Edison, Illinois, USA. A licensed professional engineer, she received her Ph.D in Electrical Engineering (Power Systems) at Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO followed by a post-doctoral research fellow position at Clemson University Restoration Institute, Charleston, SC. In her current role she is working on developing simulation and analysis framework for assessing DER impacts on the distribution system. She is a senior member of IEEE, and is engaged with CIGRE NGN and WIE. Her research interests include DERs, smart inverters, EVs, microgrids, real-time simulations and hardware-in-loop testing. She keeps herself grounded through meditation, bird-watching and versatile hobbies.
Genesis Alverez | Professional Development/Webinars Co-Chair
Genesis B. Alverez received her B.S (2016) in Electrical Engineering from Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL and the M.S. (2019) in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech. She is an Engineer III in the Electric Transmission Operation Engineering Team. Her research interests include power systems analysis, system protection and renewable energy integration in distribution systems.
Zejia Jing | Mentorship Chair
Zejia Jing is an Engineer III in the Transmission Planning and Strategic Initiatives group at Dominion Energy, Richmond, VA. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Tsinghua University.
In his current role, Zejia supports the Virginia Clean Energy Act and Dominion Energy’s net-zero commitment through integrated resource planning. He has conducted various studies, including import/export analysis, short circuit strength, generation retirement, and solar integration. His research interests include transmission planning, power system analysis, data analysis, and blockchain. He enjoys engaging in versatile hobbies and continuous learning.
Nicholas Skoff | International Collaboration Chair
Nicholas M. Skoff received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2019, and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2020. He started his career at Dominion Energy in June 2020 with the Transmission System Protection Engineering group in Richmond, VA. He then moved to the Operations Engineering Support group in 2023, serving as an SME for instrument transformers and air core reactors. His research interests include applications of low power instrument transformers (LPITs), power system protection, and power quality monitoring for transmission-connected IBRs.
Michael Hanestad | Social Media/Outreach Co-Chair
Michael Hanestad is a Senior Power System Engineer in the Distribution Planning group at RLC Engineering, PLLC.
He has 8 years of industry experience and is a registered P.E. in Maine and New Hampshire. He is the Secretary of the IEEE P1729 Working Group and a member of the IEEE 1547 Revision Working Group. He is also the Chair of Social Media and Outreach for the CIGRE USNC NGN and a member of the CIGRE Study Committee C6 on Active Distribution Systems and Distributed Energy Resources. Michael has a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maine and has conducted or lead more than 200 distribution-related studies while at RLC, including the modeling and integration of novel technologies on medium voltage systems, DER system impact studies, hosting capacity studies, and distribution system planning studies across New England and New York.
Purandhya Vij | Marketing & External Membership Chair
Members-At-Large
Brian Obermeier | Senior Electrical Engineer
Brian Obermeier is a senior electrical engineer for Burns & McDonnell’s transmission & distribution group. In his more than 10 years in the industry, Brian has worked with some of the country’s largest investor-owned utilities and renewable energy developers on a range of complex power delivery projects. He is a licensed electrical engineer in the states of Virginia, Michigan and Nebraska.
