MEA Announces Jim Lorenz as Chair of the 2023 MEA Board of Directors


Jim Lorenz
Jim Lorenz, 2023-2024 Chair, MEA Board of Directors

MEA Energy Association (MEA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Jim Lorenz as chair of the board and welcome all officers and directors to the 2023 MEA Board of Directors. On the morning of March 23, outgoing board chair Eric Kozak of Ameren Illinois passed the gavel to Lorenz.

“I am proud to assist in leading the MEA Board of Directors, along with their talented team, as we support the rapidly changing energy industry,” remarked Lorenz, who has worked in the energy industry for over 35 years.

Throughout his career at Madison Gas and Electric Company, Lorenz has worked as an engineering technician, operations scheduling manager, electric operations supervisor, and assistant vice president of electric operations. Currently, he serves as vice president of energy operations. Prior to joining the MEA Board of Directors, he participated on the MEA Electric Operations Steering Committee. In addition to MEA, Lorenz is active with the Wisconsin Energy Workforce Consortium and State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development State Apprenticeship Advisory Committee.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to serve as the 2023 Chair of the MEA Board of Directors,” said Lorenz.  “Since 1905, MEA has been a strong partner in the energy industry, supporting their members in multiple ways. MEA’s strengths are built on providing educational opportunities with industry leading systems for learning, creating industry connections through MEA summits and roundtables, and helping leaders grow at all levels with Field Leader Training, the Energetic Women Conference, and online courses and webinars.”

Leigh Larson, president and CEO of MEA, said, “We are pleased to welcome the new slate of board members and look forward to Jim’s leadership. Under their direction, MEA will continue fulfill its mission and make strides toward our vision to be the preeminent association connecting, educating, and inspiring the energy industry.”

MEA is proud to announce the 2023 board of directors, who will serve from March 2023 to March 2024:

Officers (listed by role):

  • Chair, Jim Lorenz, vice president, energy operations at Madison Gas and Electric Company (Wis.)
  • 1st Vice Chair, Wes Ashton, vice president, customer experience at Black Hills Corporation (S.D.)
  • 2nd Vice Chair, Rich Asiyanbi, vice president, operations at Nicor Gas – Southern Company Gas (Ill.)
  • Treasurer, Steven Karolewski, vice president of operations at GROEBNER (Minn.)
  • Secretary, Leigh Larson, president and CEO at MEA Energy Association (Minn.)
  • Past Chair, Eric Kozak, vice president, gas operations at Ameren Illinois (Ill.)
  • Appointed Director, Mark Johnson, director of SEMI gas operations at DTE Energy (Mich.)
  • Appointed Director, Chuck Allen, director of customer field operations at Duke Energy (Ohio)

Directors (listed by surname):

  • Salvador Arana, director of field operations at WEC Energy Group – Peoples Gas (Ill.)
  • Mike Beatty, vice president at Liberty Utilities (Mo.)
  • Alicia Berger, senior director of gas operations at Xcel Energy (Minn.)
  • Nancy Conder, director of work order management and data quality at CenterPoint Energy (Ind.)
  • Mayuri Farlinger, vice president of customer and community engagement at Alliant Energy (Iowa)
  • Carla Frieh, vice president of transmission and substation engineering at ComEd (Ill.)
  • John Guy, vice president, electric delivery at MidAmerican Energy Company (Iowa)
  • Karima Hasan Bey, vice president – gas construction, maintenance & service at NiSource (Ind.)
  • Ted Hastings, Midwest operations vice president at Henkels & McCoy Shared Services (Ill.)
  • Erin Inman, president & CEO at Primera Engineers (Ill.)
  • Keith Johnson, executive vice president, utilities business unit leader at ENTRUST Solutions Group (Md.)
  • Scott Kranstuber, vice president of sales & marketing, SENSIT Technologies (Ind.)
  • Eric Martuscelli, vice president of field operations, MDU Utilities Group (Wash.)
  • Steve Mills, vice president & general manager, Missouri West, at Spire (Mo.)
  • Mike Nelson, president of Nelson Technologies, Inc. (Minn.)
  • Don Scacco, vice president of electric operations at Eversource (Conn.)
  • Chris Shellberg, executive director of fleet & facilities at Consumers Energy (Mich.)
  • Mike Shruba, vice president of transmission & distribution at AES Indiana (Ind.)
  • Christe Singleton, vice president Minnesota gas operations at CenterPoint Energy (Minn.)

For more information about MEA, the board of directors, or committees, please visit MEAenergy.org.

About MEA

MEA serves the people that deliver electricity and natural gas to homes and businesses. We were founded as a trade association in 1905 by distribution utilities whose vision was to improve safety and efficiency. Today, we fulfill the same purpose through education, leadership development, and industry connections. Energy delivery companies, contractors, and suppliers around the country benefit from our summits, roundtables, and webinars, 400+ online technical courses, safety assessments, evaluator training, operator qualification compliance tools, and leadership courses for field personnel.