Finding Forward
April 10
Xcel Energy President Ryan Long joins St. Thomas engineering professor and founding director of the Center for Microgrid Research Mahmoud Kabalan, Ph.D. to discuss challenges and opportunities in the transition to carbon-free energy
Event Details
April 10, 2024
Finding Forward was conceived as a way to break through the divisions in our society right now that keep us from dialogue and connection. Ryan Long joins Dr. Mahmoud Kabalan to discuss the future of carbon-free energy.
IN-PERSON DETAILS
WHEN
7:30 a.m. Registration & Breakfast
8 a.m Program
9 a.m. Event Concludes
WHERE
James B. Woulfe Alumni Hall
Anderson Student Center, 3rd floor
St. Paul Campus, University of St. Thomas
WHAT
Breakfast and coffee will be provided at the in-person event.
Complimentary parking is in Anderson Parking Facility.
Dress code: business or business casual
COST
The cost for a regular attendee is $30
The cost for a table of 8 is $240
The cost for a St. Thomas student is $10
Note: Registration has closed for the in-person event.
LIVESTREAM DETAILS
WHEN
8 a.m. Program and livestream begins
WHAT
Register to get the livestream link
Xcel Energy President Minnesota, North Dakota & South Dakota
Ryan Long
Ryan Long is responsible for the strategic planning, financial results and operational outcomes for Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, leading teams focused on customer, community, regulatory, legislative and governmental relationships.
Ryan joined Xcel Energy in 2015 and previously served as interim General Counsel, leading the legal department and executing the company’s legal strategy. Prior to that role, he served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel where he managed the Federal and State Regulatory, Environmental and Real Estate legal teams. Ryan previously worked as a lawyer for Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath in Minneapolis and Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City. He is a graduate of Grinnell College and Cornell Law School.
Ryan serves on the Board of Directors for Project for Pride in Living, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization that provides transformative affordable housing and career readiness services for individuals and families with lower incomes.
Professor and Founding Director of Center for Microgrid Research
Mahmoud Kabalan, Ph.D.
Mahmoud Kabalan, Ph.D., is an electrical engineering professor and director of the Center for Microgrid Research at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minn. Dr. Kabalan received the National Science Foundation CAREER award in 2023 and serves as the principal investigator on a 5-year grant from the Minnesota Department of Commerce to expand the Center’s research, education and outreach activities.
A visionary for the future of sustainable energy, he also led the initial establishment of the St. Thomas microgrid – a real-world, industrial grade, self-sufficient energy system in the heart of Saint Paul.
Dr. Kabalan has published more than 30 peer-reviewed papers on microgrids and power systems, and is a licensed professional engineer in the State of Minnesota.
Star Tribune Reporter
Walker Orenstein
Walker Orenstein covers energy, natural resources and sustainability for the Star Tribune, and he will moderate the conversation with Long and Kabalan.
Orenstein previously covered state government and politics with a focus on greater Minnesota and environmental issues for MinnPost, and he reported on the Legislature in Washington state for The News Tribune of Tacoma. He was raised in St. Paul and attended the University of Washington in Seattle. In his spare time, Orenstein enjoys playing hockey, hiking and camping.
About Finding Forward
Building trust, overcoming differences and breaking through standstills. It’s not something that happens enough in society today, but it’s the primary aim of a new speaker series that Minnesota’s largest private university is hosting with the region’s largest media outlet. Finding Forward, hosted by the University of St. Thomas and the Star Tribune, will engage experts on a range of important issues that seemingly have society stuck in neutral due to partisan debates, inabilities to find common ground and an unwillingness to see competing perspectives.