Amanda McClinton serves as the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Energy at the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy (C&E), where she helps guide energy policy, planning, and implementation across the state. In her role, Amanda supports efforts to promote energy efficiency, manage federal energy grant programs, and advance statewide energy initiatives that balance traditional resources with emerging technologies and sustainability goals. She brings extensive experience in analytics and public service from her previous roles in state government, including positions in business analytics and benefits management. Amanda holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Louisiana State University.

Brandon Frey serves as Executive Secretary of the Louisiana Public Service Commission (PSC), where he leads the agency’s day-to-day operations and works closely with the five elected commissioners to support the regulation of public utilities and common carriers throughout Louisiana. He has served in this leadership role since 2018, after previously overseeing the Commission’s legal division as Executive Counsel. In his capacity as Executive Secretary, Frey provides administrative oversight, coordinates technical and legal support for regulatory proceedings, and acts on behalf of the Commission in providing information to stakeholders, the public, and media. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from Louisiana State University’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center.

David Schneider is a Reservoir Engineer at LLOG Exploration Company, based in Covington, Louisiana. David's work focuses on evaluating new drill opportunities and optimizing wells currently on production, including LLOG’s newly installed Floating Production System “Salamanca.” Before joining LLOG in 2018, David held roles of increasing responsibility at Stone Energy, where he worked in reservoir engineering, planning and economics, and business development. He was selected as a “40 Under 40” honoree by Hart Energy’s Oil and Gas Investor publication in 2024, and has 18 years of experience in the Gulf and onshore Louisiana.  David holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and an MBA in Finance from Tulane University.

Dr. Greg Upton is Executive Director and Associate Research Professor at LSU’s Center for Energy Studies. His research interests are related to the analysis of economic, environmental, and public policy issues in the energy industry. During his tenure at LSU, he has addressed topical energy issues of significance to Louisiana, including state mineral taxes, solar tax credits, and net metering policies, the impact of the oil price collapse on Louisiana’s budgetary challenges, and implications of the crude oil export ban’s lifting on the Louisiana economy, among others. He has presented research to more than 200 industry, governmental, and academic audiences, and has been quoted or cited over 250 times in local and national media, including the Wall Street Journal and NPR’s Marketplace. Dr. Upton holds a Ph.D. in economics from LSU, where he also received both an M.S. and B.S. in economics.

Jason Pettrey serves as Technical Division Manager at ExxonMobil’s Baton Rouge Integrated Complex, where he leads Process Engineering, Laboratories, Coordination, and Project Support while overseeing a multidisciplinary team of more than 200 employees since 2022. Over more than 25 years with ExxonMobil, Pettrey has held a range of operations, technical, and corporate roles supporting global industry analysis and commercial optimization. Pettrey is actively engaged in employee mentorship and university partnerships with Louisiana State University and Southern University, and he supports community organizations including the Capital Area United Way and the Baton Rouge Rotary Club. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2002 and began his career through cooperative education assignments with ExxonMobil.

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Joe Leimkuhler is a veteran oil and gas executive with over four decades of experience in offshore drilling, well engineering, and production operations. He is Vice President of External Affairs at Beacon Offshore Energy, where he previously served as COO overseeing offshore operations, engineering, and major deepwater projects. Earlier, he was VP of Drilling at LLOG Exploration and spent over 25 years at Shell International E&P in senior leadership roles across deepwater and offshore development. He chairs the HWCG Well Containment Company and the National Ocean Industries Association, and serves on the national board of the American Association of Drilling Engineers and the advisory board of the University of Wyoming College of Engineering. He holds an M.S. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Wyoming and a B.S. in Geology and Forestry from the University of Montana.

Dr. Ashwith Chilvery is Director of Use-Inspired Research & Development at FUEL, where he leads industry- and community-focused energy innovation initiatives. He brings more than a decade of experience in academia and research administration, including serving as Assistant Vice President of Research and Sponsored Programs and Associate Professor of Physics at Xavier University of Louisiana. His work centers on advancing applied energy technologies through partnerships with industry, federal agencies, and SBIR/STTR programs. Dr. Chilvery has conducted research at leading federal laboratories, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, strengthening his expertise in energy systems and applied physics. He holds a PhD in Applied Physics from Alabama A&M University, along with an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Alabama.

Dr. Ingmar Schoegl is the Chevron Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Louisiana State University, where he leads research and graduate education initiatives in advanced energy systems. He earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 2009, building on a Diplom-Ingenieur in Mechatronics from Johannes Kepler Universität in Linz, Austria. His expertise spans combustion theory and applications, optical diagnostics, computational modeling, and advanced instrumentation, positioning him at the forefront of energy and propulsion research. Prior to academia, he gained industry experience in combustion engine research and development at AVL, strengthening his applied engineering perspective. Dr. Schoegl also contributes to the global research community through his involvement in the open-source Cantera platform, a widely used tool suite for chemical kinetics and thermodynamics.

John Pendergast brings over 40 years of chemical engineering industry experience to the classroom, having spent his career at Dow Chemical designing processes for plastics, pharmaceuticals, synthetic rubber, and petrochemicals across facilities in Louisiana, Texas, and Europe. He holds 23 patents and has been elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers — the highest honor in the profession — and currently serves on the institute's fellows council. A recognized expert in distillation and chemical separations, Pendergast designed and oversaw the installation of a state-of-the-art distillation facility at LSU's Dow Unit Operations Laboratory, giving students hands-on experience with commercial-grade equipment. Since joining LSU Engineering as a Professional-in-Residence in 2018, he has developed and continues to teach a course on chemical separations, bringing real-world process design and plant engineering experience directly into the curriculum. John earned a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University.