Valley Public Power Leadership Academy

Valley Public Power Leadership Academy Leadership Program for Local Power Companies & Tennessee Valley Authority in the Tennessee Valley.

This week, VPPLA cohort 4 met in Louisville, KY at the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association's 80th Annual Conferenc...
05/21/2026

This week, VPPLA cohort 4 met in Louisville, KY at the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association's 80th Annual Conference. It was there where this great group graduated from the program and became another addition to the VPPLA Alumni. Congratulations to the 2026 VPPLA graduates. The journey was long, the commitment was hard and the time spent together was priceless.

Two awards are presented to each graduating class after being voted on by their peers.

The first is the Leader of Leaders award. Someone who not only leads effectively within their own role or team but also elevates and influences other leaders across the organization or industry. Congratulations to this year's recipient Monte Cooper from Jackson Energy Authority! 👏

The second is the Emerging Leader award. Someone who demonstrates strong potential to grow into higher levels of leadership and is beginning to expand their influence beyond their current role. Congratulations to this year's recipient Brittany Davis from McMinnville Electric System. 👏

Please help us congratulate the entire VPPLA Class of 2026!🥳

Tennessee Valley Authority participants:
Brian Smith
Amy Strickland Tate
Christopher Smith
Alan South
Lana Moore
Manu Sivaraman
Ying Ayliffe
Amy Reagan
Harry Schmidt
Joseph Burchfield
Autumn Katras
Jamie Bach
Eric Grau

LPC Participants:
Jason Grisham, ACE Power
Seth Selby, Arab Electric
James Wright, Duck River EMC
Jason Dye, VEC
Chad Spencer, BGMU
Ray Hardin, Decatur Utilties
Janet Phan Rehberg, EPB of Chattanooga
John Corum, Cleveland Utilities
Brittany Davis, McMinnville Electric System
Monte Cooper, JEA
Erin Gill, KUB
Tyler Jones, Sheffield Utilities
Wes Scott, Fort Payne Improvement Authority

Valley Association Participants:
Caleb Hall, TVPPA
Sean Strickler, AREA
Jeremy Elrod, TMEPA

Cohort 4 finished the year on a Nashville visit with TVA's Leadership including TVA Chair Mitch Graves and newly hired P...
05/05/2026

Cohort 4 finished the year on a Nashville visit with TVA's Leadership including TVA Chair Mitch Graves and newly hired President & CEO Mike Skaggs. Also serving on the panel was Senior VP & Chief of Staff Laura Campbell & Senior VP of Customer Relations & Ec Dev Dan Pratt. I love the vision that Mike has for TVA and the knowledge that he brings with him. He is going to be great for TVA and the Valley.
Thanks to Cohort 4 Member & TVA's CEO Communications Advisor Amy Reagan. Also enjoyed a visit with TVA's Ec Dev VP John Bradley as he prepares for retirement. Lots of great leadership insight.
Day 2 we had another special session with THE Doc Trish Holliday. Trish does such a great job of motivating & encouraging us all to be better leaders. Thanks to TVA Historian Jennifer Thelan for the history lesson and spending time with our VPPLA group.
We are now on to Graduation in Louisville, KY on May 20th at the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association Annual Conference!

We just concluded a successful trip to Chattanooga for our Tennessee Valley Authority Generation & Operations Days. Lots...
04/10/2026

We just concluded a successful trip to Chattanooga for our Tennessee Valley Authority Generation & Operations Days. Lots of dedicated TVA employees presented to the group including Chris Reneau at Watts Bar Nuclear, Kristin Spearman at the TVA System Operations Center, Hunter Hydas (System Planning/Cohort 2), Eric Grau (Transmission/Cohort 4), Allen Claire (Generation/Cohort 1), and Andrew Campbell (Bull Run Fusion Project). Also thanks to Janet Phan Rehberg (CEO Elect from Chattanooga EPB/Cohort 4) for the presentation & tour of EPB's Quantum Center.

Looking forward to our Nashville visit at end of the month for TVA Leadership.

Wonderful Trip to Jackson, TN to visit with Jackson Energy Authority for our Economic Development meeting. Thanks to Mon...
03/13/2026

Wonderful Trip to Jackson, TN to visit with Jackson Energy Authority for our Economic Development meeting. Thanks to Monte Cooper & team for being gracious hosts. Thanks to CleanSpark for a tour of their facilities in Jackson. Thanks to Mandy White from the Jackson Chamber & Jared Smith from JEA for a great presentation about team work for Economic Development. Thanks to Heidi Smith & Harry Schmidt for their information about current affairs for Tennessee Valley Authority's EcDev branch. Thanks to Dr. Kendrick Curtis from Middle Tennessee Industrial Development Association for your presentation on how does a RIDA work & for leading the panel discussion. Thanks to our Cohort panel of Monte Cooper, Jason Grisham, and Joseph Burchfield for the information of how to get it done on a local level & the TVA level. Looking forward to TVA Gen & Ops next in Chattanooga. development

What an incredible trip to Decatur, AL for our Workforce & Sustainability Meeting! 🌱⚡Huge thanks to our Cohort 4 member ...
01/22/2026

What an incredible trip to Decatur, AL for our Workforce & Sustainability Meeting! 🌱⚡

Huge thanks to our Cohort 4 member Ray Hardin and the entire Decatur Utilities team for the outstanding hospitality, preparation, and behind-the-scenes work that made this visit seamless.

The cohort enjoyed great food and fellowship (shout out to Jason Dye with VEC for lunch at Brick Deli & Tavern 🍽️), a fascinating special tour at the Cook Museum with Dr. Jeanne Payne, and an inside look at operations at Decatur Utilities. We got to hear from our great associations (TVPPA, TMEPA, TECA, AREA and MTIDA). The evening wrapped with meaningful connections and laughs at 609 Social, plus a fun round of Buc’s Dirty Santa—some moments (and TVPPA socks 🧦) will live on forever!

We kicked off day two strong with Jaerica Troutt (VPPLA Coordinator, Cohort 3) sharing an inspiring message: “Grow where you are planted.” 🪴Mark Kimbellgave an impactful presentation on sustaining the system. Privott Sledge Stroman shared some insightful information on leadership and some HR wisdom with "What Would Dolly Do?" 🎤. Lastly, Ying Ayliffe share insights on potential rate changes. It was an impactful day of learning and conversation.

VPPLA is grateful for the speakers, partners, and previous cohorts who make these experiences so meaningful.💙

Wonderful trip to the Oak Ridge area where all the smart people are. Great visit to EPRI (Electric Power Research Instit...
12/08/2025

Wonderful trip to the Oak Ridge area where all the smart people are. Great visit to EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute) on the first day and then on to ORNL(Oak Ridge National Labs) for day two. The Cohort 4 of VPPLA is half way through the program now.

VPPLA just wrapped up our visit to Oxford, MS with Tennessee Valley Authority for their quarterly Board meeting. We star...
11/07/2025

VPPLA just wrapped up our visit to Oxford, MS with Tennessee Valley Authority for their quarterly Board meeting. We started the trip as always with a Dutch lunch! It’s always a good time to be together. Then we attended the TVA Board Listening Session where we witnessed many speakers who were there in support of Don Moul, the TVA Board members and Public Power. VPPLAers attended the TVA Board Meeting the next day. We were able to round out the day with updates on TVA Governance, the Board nomination process and a LPC Governance discussion. We look forward to being in Oak Ridge next month for Tech and Innovations day!

Day 3 of our VPPLA Legislative Event started at Tennessee Tuesday with Senator Marsha Blackburn & Senator Bill Hagerty. ...
10/01/2025

Day 3 of our VPPLA Legislative Event started at Tennessee Tuesday with Senator Marsha Blackburn & Senator Bill Hagerty. Always great to connect with them and hear the latest scoop about what is going on in Washington. Appreciate Senator Hagerty giving VPPLA a little special extra time after the TN Tuesday event. Senator Blackburn provided VPPLA with several great interns for a special Capitol tour to wind up our trip. Then it was off to the airport to head home. Several of us enjoyed a ride on the Metro to the airport.

Day 2 of the VPPLA Legislative Trip was very full. Started the day at the TVA Washington Office with Bevin Taylor, Sarah...
10/01/2025

Day 2 of the VPPLA Legislative Trip was very full. Started the day at the TVA Washington Office with Bevin Taylor, Sarah Eason & Mike Albares & Team. We filled the day with a visit to the Capitol for a visit with US House Staffers (Ian Merritt from Congressman Chuck Fleischmann, Alex Schnette Shucard from Congressman Steve Cohen, & Molly Martin from Congressman Brett Guthrie) and Senate House Staffers (John Henry Woods from Senator Katie Britt, Mikhail Love from Senator Roger Wicker & Lucas DaPieve from Senator Bill Hagerty) from all over the Tennessee Valley. Back for lunch at the TVA office and then panel discussions with DC Insiders from Cassidy & Associates (Julie Eddy Rokala, Anna Karakitos, & Elise Johnson), Public Power Professionals from APPA (Amy Thomas), NRECA (Montee Wynne) & one of our TVPPA Lobbyist from McGuire Whitney (Emily Peterson), and Joe Alexander from the DOE. Dinner at City Tap House with the TVA Washington Team and a little Wok & Roll Karaoke fun to wind up the day. Big thanks to TVA's Sarah Eason (& VPPLA Cohort 2member) for all the work on the schedule.

Great start for our VPPLA Legislative Trip to DC. We met for lunch and went to Fuddruckers, then stopped off at the Air ...
10/01/2025

Great start for our VPPLA Legislative Trip to DC. We met for lunch and went to Fuddruckers, then stopped off at the Air & Space Museum. After looking at all the rockets & planes we headed to the last Nationals baseball game of the year. It was a little bit of a snoozer, but we saw homeruns, stolen bases, great pitching and more. It was just all by the Chicago White Sox and not the home team. Fun day to kick us off. Thanks to Chris Templeton for taking good care of us and getting the group in the shade. It was still hot!

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Gallatin, TN

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+16155662254

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