Utilities Policy Advisory Committee (UPAC)

Kate Danner was elected to serve as UPAC Chair in December 2024. She has served as a UPAC member since September 2021. Danner has worked in the manufacturing industry for 12 years. Her experience spans both processing engineering within chemical processing, aerospace manufacturing and process design for the utilities industry. 

Danner earned her Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Delaware, Master’s in Chemical Engineering degree from Villanova University, and her Master’s in Business Administration degree from Temple University.

Larry Barrett has been a committee member since September 2018. Barrett is a 40-year veteran of energy and environmental policy as a government analyst, utility official and management consultant.

Barrett earned his Master of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Biology from Kalamazoo College. His educational experience also includes foreign study in Sierra Leone and a management development program at Northeastern University.

David Watson has more than 45 years of engineering and construction experience. Watson brings a wealth of proven experience in managing large, complex technical projects in the United States and abroad. Most recently, Mr. Watson served as an International Senior Program Director for international projects at CH2M Hill.

Watson is professional engineer, licensed general contractor, and certified project management professional. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Lehigh University. He also has a Master of Business Administration from Lehigh University.

Chris Meyer has more than 38 years of experience in the financial and natural gas energy areas. He held multiple senior management positions at Kinder Morgan, most recently as the President for the KMI West Pipeline Group based in Colorado Springs.

Meyer has his bachelor’s in finance and a minor in marketing from the University of Houston.

Tom Carter is a Consulting Engineer for Nokia of America in the service provider and utility markets. Carter has previously worked as a network, security, and datacenter infrastructure engineer for 15 year in the defense, aerospace, and service provider industries. Carter is a US Army veteran and has served as a M1 Abrams tank crewmember and Signal non-commissioned officer.

Carter holds two US patents for networking technologies. Carter holds a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Networking from Colorado Technical University and a Masters in Business Administration from Colorado Technical University.