2020 Speakers

Celebrating the Electric Cooperative Business Model

Curtis Wynn – President, NRECA

Curtis Wynn is president & CEO of Roanoke Electric Cooperative & Affiliate Organizations.  He has nearly 39 years’ experience in the electric utility industry.  He formerly held a number of management positions at West Florida Electric Cooperative.  He graduated from Troy University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration & Management Information Systems. 

Roanoke Electric Cooperative distributes power to 14,500 member accounts in Northeastern NC.  Under Wynn’s 22 years of leadership, the cooperative has advanced operationally and technologically to increase its system’s efficiency and resilience while improving service to its member-owners.  Recently, Roanoke Electric began steps to embrace the rapid pace of industry transformation.  A number of transformative projects are currently under way including: 1) establishing broadband connectivity throughout its service territory, 2) installing ‘smart grid’ technology, 3) deploying distributed energy resources and 4) integrating demand response capabilities into its system operations.  As an added bonus, many of Roanoke’s member-owners are enjoying broadband internet service for the first time. 

In 2000, the cooperative established a non-profit 501c3 subsidiary, The Roanoke Center, which has worked extensively to support economic development and wealth creation throughout REC’s service region.  The Roanoke Center has positioned itself as a vehicle to receive and deploy several millions of dollars of philanthropic support for initiatives that provide direct benefits to its member-owners and the region at large.  Because of its demonstrated focus on providing a high level of service & member engagement, Roanoke has been twice named the recipient of NRECA’s prestigious Community Service Network Award and the J. C. Brown Leadership Award.   

Wynn is president of the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association and also serves on the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation, North Carolina Electric Membership Cooperative and North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperatives boards.

Celebrating a World Free from COVID

Robert Bryce

Robert Bryce is the acclaimed author of six books, including most recently, A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Austin Chronicle, Guardian, and Forbes. He has given over 300 invited or keynote lectures to groups ranging from the Marines Corps War College to the Sydney Institute and has appeared on a panoply of media outlets ranging from Fox News to Al Jazeera. Bryce is also the producer of a new feature-length documentary: Juice: How Electricity Explains the World, which is now available on iTunes, Amazon Prime, and other streaming services. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Lorin, who is an art teacher, photographer, and master potter.

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