WECC is governed by a nine-member, independent Board of Directors and the chief executive officer. The nine Directors are independent of any registered entity in the Western Interconnection, either by employment or affiliation. The WECC Board is elected by the WECC membership and the Directors are compensated for their time.
Brittany Huggins801-819-7665
Ian McKay
Richard Campbell
Ian McKay recently served as Executive Director, Electricity and Alternative Energy, with Alberta Energy. Prior to that, he held executive positions with the City of Winnipeg and Manitoba Hydro, including experience in utility operations, planning, design, and administration. Ian previously served on the WECC Board as a Class 6 Member Director and represented Alberta on the Western Interstate Energy Board.
James Avery served most recently as the Chief Development officer for San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), where he was responsible for establishing the long-term vision for the company. At SDG&E, he also served in turn as Senior VP of Power Supply and Senior VP of Electric. Mr. Avery has also worked as a consultant, was the CEO of gas and electric operations at Citizens Utilities Company, and chaired the California Transmission Planning Group. He was a member of the Association of Energy Engineers and the National Society of Professional Engineers.
Richard Campbell served for 5 years as the Director of the Utah Division of Public Utilities before becoming a Commissioner on the Utah Public Service Commission in 2001 where he served for 11 years. Currently, Ric is the Executive Director for the Utah Medical Education Council. A previous member of the WECC Board of Directors from 2006 to 2012, Ric has also been a member of the State Provincial Steering Committee, the Northern Tier Transmission Group Steering Committee, and on the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners board of directors. Prior to Ric’s public service in state government, he worked for Shell Oil Company.
Kristine Hafner began her career in information technology marketing and consulting at IBM where she managed large systems accounts and led national consulting engagements in public and private sector organizations. As Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer for the 10-campus University of California system, Kris oversaw shared IT systems and strategic IT investments. She also held the position of IT Division Director and Chief Information Officer at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Ms. Hafner served on the California ISO’s Board of Governors.
Gary Leidich served most recently as Executive Vice President of FirstEnergy Corporation and President of FirstEnergy Generation, where he was responsible for 26,000 MW of generation in four states and FirstEnergy’s retail operations. Previously, he was Senior Vice President of Operations, which included Transmission and Utility Operations and Dispatching. His 37 years of industry experience also included five years as Executive Vice President with the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, where he led nuclear plant evaluations.
Shelley Longmuir has served on Corporate boards for over a decade both in the U.S. and Europe. She served on the Board of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) from 2006–2015 where she chaired MISO’s Human Resources Committee and served as a member of its Corporate Governance and Strategic Planning Committees. Previously, Shelley was a senior executive of United Airlines/UAL with primary duties for domestic and international regulatory matters worldwide. Thereafter, she served as CEO of the National Business Aircraft Association.
Felicia Marcus is an attorney who has served in leadership and management positions in the government and non-profit sectors. She is currently the Landreth Visiting Fellow at Stanford University’s Water in the West Program and is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Felicia was most recently Chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board after having served as Regional Administrator of the U.S. EPA Region IX and as head of the Los Angeles Department of Public Works in addition to leadership in national non-governmental organizations and experience as a private and public interest sector attorney.
Joe McArthur spent 38 years with Portland General Electric, where he had responsibilities for distribution, customer service, and transmission. He was responsible for labor relations and negotiations, NERC/FERC compliance, compliance audit processes, safety programs, succession planning, and management development. Joe contributed to the budget process and strategic planning, serving on the executive management team. He is currently a Board Member for the Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve in Hillsboro, Oregon.
Richard Woodward is a retired partner from Deloitte Consulting, where he worked with senior business executives. His professional experience includes investment banking, corporate finance, consulting in the energy industry, and higher education. As policy Vice President for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Richard negotiated a tariff arrangement for pipeline access among stakeholders.
Melanie Frye oversees WECC’s mission to effectively and efficiently mitigate risks to the reliability and security of the Western Interconnection’s Bulk Power System. Melanie achieves this work through active interactions with members and stakeholders, by managing relationships with regulatory and policy-setting bodies, and ensuring WECC contributes to a positive relationship with NERC and the ERO.
Melanie leads WECC and works to strengthen the developing leadership culture. She created the framework for WECC’s Invented Future and shaped the transformation within the organization. She has profoundly influenced the development of the internal organizational culture to inspire alignment with the “why” of WECC.
Board of Directors TEAM SITE (Restricted Access)
