Get to Know Our "Everything Counts" Conference Speakers
The American Coalition for Ethanol's 2023 Conference features speakers from all corners of the ethanol industry. Visit this page to get to know the experts generously sharing their insights on the industry.
Carbon Scoring: The Benefits Outweigh the Costs
From 1974 to 2014 Ron was the owner/operator of RS, Inc., a grain production enterprise near Chester, South Dakota. Ron graduated from Chester High School in 1970 and from South Dakota State University in 1974 with a BS degree in Agronomy/Soil Science. Mr. Alverson was a founding member (1987) and past president of the South Dakota Corn Growers Association, and past Board member of the National Corn Growers Association. Ron was also a founder and is a current Board Member of Lake Area Corn Processors LLC (Dakota Ethanol), a 60 million gallon per year ethanol production plant at Wentworth, S.D., where he works on low carbon ethanol fuel pathways. He is a past President of the American Coalition for Ethanol’s Board of Directors and current Treasurer. Past honors include the South Dakota “Master Farmer” award, the South Dakota State University “Eminent Farmer” award, the South Dakota Corn Growers Association “Excellence in Agriculture” award, and the 2018 Renewable Fuels Association “Industry” award.
Engineering Carbon Reduction
Virginia Andrade (MSC Chem Eng., P.E.) is the Process Engineering Manager for Whitefox, based in Calgary. She has been with Whitefox since 2012 and leads the system design and process integration work for Whitefox, with the aim of optimizing efficiency and reducing energy use. Virginia is a Masters’ graduate of University of Calgary, and did her thesis there on ethanol production with membranes.
E15 & Flex Fuel Roadmap: Small Retailers Clearing Roadblocks and Blazing Trails for Ethanol Availability
Glenn has been the President/CEO of American Freedom Energy since May 2006. Glenn was raised on a farm in Henry County, outside of Napoleon, OH. In 2008, he began investigating the ethanol business and felt that this could be a great economic benefit, not only to him and other farmers, but also for local rural communities. In 2011, he received a grant from the Rural Energy for America program, which included blender pumps. Glenn farmed with his brother for 28 years, but decided to leave the farming operation in 2017 to concentrate on the business of promoting the many benefits of using our homegrown product.
Capturing Carbon: From Regulatory Approval to Practical Applications
Britta Bergland is a Senior Analyst with nearly 20 years of environmental permitting and consulting experience serving the energy industry. She specializes in permitting and environmental review of large-scale projects, especially in the Midwest and in Minnesota, and has worked for both the project proposer and as a third-party consultant. Her experience includes conducting siting, permitting and compliance services for liquid and gas pipelines, transmission lines, nuclear power plants, and biofuels facilities. She has extensive experience reviewing and negotiating regulatory requirements with regulatory agencies.
Exploring Opportunities and Challenges in Plant Staffing and Administration
Barb has over 30 years in finance, accounting, and management of grain processing and ethanol production firms. She helps clients by filling gaps in management and/or executive roles/duties; adding a fresh perspective to identifying and prioritizing areas of improvement while streamlining accounting and financial reporting processes/systems. Prior to joining Beyond, Barb was CEO of an ethanol facility for 9 years and CFO for 8 years.
Outlook for Exports
Mackenzie Boubin serves as the Director of Global Ethanol Market Development for the U.S. Grains Council, a non-profit organization that operates globally to promote the use of U.S. barley, corn, sorghum and related products including ethanol. In this capacity, Boubin oversees development and execution of the Council’s global ethanol program including strategy development, program implementation, public affairs, and strategic partnerships.
Prior to joining the Council, Boubin was the Biofuels and Industry Relations Director for the Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA), where she worked with the biofuel sector on a state and national scale to promote increased availability of, demand for and usage of ethanol in Minnesota and abroad. During her time at MCGA, Boubin was responsible for identifying and developing commercialization opportunities related to new uses for corn while also providing support to ensure a robust corn and corn co-products export market.
Fermentation Treatment and Technology
Ryan Brock graduated from the University of Nebraska Lincoln in 2009 with a B.S. in biochemistry and A.S degree in chemistry. Following graduation, he immediately began work as the lab manager at a 50 MMGY Green Plains ethanol plant in Shenandoah Iowa. While at that facility he also assisted in launching an algae startup project as the lab and safety manager. During his tenure at the plant, he assisted in raising the throughput to as much as 140% of nameplate without major upgrades.
Ryan joined Lallemand in January 2015 as a technical service manager and now works based out of Columbus, Nebraska. His territory with Lallemand has historically covered most of Nebraska, Western Iowa, Northwest Missouri, and Kansas. Currently he is serving as the hygiene audit manager for the technical services team, leading efforts to assist plants with any process or infection concerns.
Real Time CI Scoring for Ethanol Producers
Preston Brown is the Director of Agribusiness at nZero, a carbon management platform for ag-processors and feedstock producers. He is a University of Illinois graduate and Central Illinois farm kid with over a decade of experience in producer-focused sales and consulting roles across the corn belt with companies like Beck's Hybrids and Synenta. Most recently, Preston led Syngenta's "Top Producer" efforts, delivering a diversified suite of services, ranging from H2A International work programs, to ag-tech startup investments, to government-affairs engagements, all for row crop operations farming over 10,000 acres. Over the last two years, he has been the leader behind tailoring nZero's real-time carbon management platform to cater to the unique needs of the biofuel industry.
Unlocking Corn Oil Extraction and Utilization Advancements
Anne Chronic has been in the fuel ethanol industry since 2006. She has held various roles within Phibro Ethanol including sales, technical service, and fermentation analytics. Outside of the industry, she also has experience in beer and winemaking, distilling, and starch production. Before entering the fuel ethanol industry, Anne was employed by Anheuser-Busch. Anne holds a B.S. in Food Science from North Dakota State University.
Exploring Opportunities and Challenges in Plant Staffing and Administration
Sara DeRoo is a Partner with Christianson PLLP. She is a CPA with approximately 20 years of experience in audit, taxation, and general business consulting with renewable fuels and manufacturing clients. She has helped companies with business challenges such as internal control improvement, accounting standards adoption, working capital strategy and forecasting. Sara leads the firm’s quality control and audit and attest department, is a board member of the Minnesota Society of CPA’s, and a Peer Review Committee member of the MNCPA.
Climate-Smart Agriculture and Ethanol’s CI
Danielle Durán, Product Analytics Lead at Gevo, Verity Tracking is a veteran ESG and industrial data scientist and multidisciplinary statistician with over 13 years of experience deriving solutions to complex, real-world problems in a range of fields. She is a pioneer in the differentiation of commodities based on environmental performance, and is advancing “S” and “G” metrics into financial contexts and driving alpha. Danielle is adept at applying advanced statistical techniques and novel analytical approaches to large, heterogeneous, error-full, noisy, and near real-time datasets in closed- and open-loop mechanical systems, and identifying correlation between different sources of data around singular points/meters. Her training in classical statistics, including both probabilistic and inferential methods, as well as her experience in advanced data analytics across multiple domains, have led to extensive expertise in signal processing, anomaly detection methods, supervised and unsupervised machine learning methods, quantitative finance modeling and analytics, data visualization, and database engineering.
The Journey to Capture, Store, and Utilize Carbon
Aaron Eldridge is a Pipeline Project Manager for Summit Carbon Solutions managing the design, construction, and commissioning of the South Dakota portion of the Summit proposed CO2 pipeline. Aaron has experience working all across the country on a wide range of projects from small facilities to large pipeline projects and has been involved in projects for numerous commodities including water, crude oil, refined products, natural gas, and carbon dioxide. His core experience is found in the regulation, design, construction, and operations of pipelines. Aaron has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Unlocking Corn Oil Extraction and Utilization Advancements
Bob Fesser is the Technical Sales Manager for the Bioprocess Solutions group of
Trucent. Bob is an accomplished sales and engineering executive with over 35 years
of experience in sales, marketing, and engineering. He spent 20 years in the
automotive industry in powertrain design and sales as a Market Director for a
fortune 500 company. For the last 10 years, Bob has been involved in the biofuel
market, focusing on corn oil extraction for the last 5 years. He received his Bachelor
and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Northern Illinois University
3. Cash for Credits, Carbon: Examining the Potential Impact & Implementation of IRA Biofuel Incentives
Working with forward-thinking businesses throughout the United States, Donna identifies opportunities to grow businesses and meet goals whether through strategic planning and advice, accounting and tax-consulting, or business acquisition.
She leads Pinion’s biofuels practice area, specializing in succession planning, multi-state taxation, inventory management, finance, and traditional tax, audit, and accounting services. Donna connects with business owners through her vast understanding of these unique industries, including impacts like commodity pricing and fluctuating economic challenges.
To Donna, results matter. Growing up on a dairy farm, she learned that getting the job done—no matter day or night—was paramount. This inspires her to bring creative ideas to the table, recommending progressive solutions to difficult problems in the constantly changing industries she serves.
Unlocking the Potential of Corn Oil: Innovations and Advancements in Extraction and Utilization
Chuck Gallop is the Director of Innovation with ICM, Inc. In his role, he leads the creation and implementation of new technologies, in concept, design, piloting, and full-scale commercialization.
Chuck gained extensive mechanical skills in the U.S. Marine Corps as a helicopter mechanic and completed three tours overseas. After finishing active duty military service, he began working in custom metal fabrication, including robotic welding and CNC programming and machining.
Chuck combined the skills as a helicopter mechanic with his custom metal fabrication experience when he started in the ethanol industry in 2002. He started at Glacial Lakes Energy in Watertown, SD, as an operator and lab technician. He then joined the ICM Plant Services Team as a trainer in 2006, advancing to his current position as Director of Innovation.
A prolific inventor, Chuck has played a major role in the development of ICM’s 39 patents. He is the lead inventor on four of ICM’s primary technologies as well as its oil separation system.
Fermentation Treatment and Technology
Kristel Gebhart graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a BS in Biology. She spent 5 years in the lab at Badger State Ethanol before joining Leaf by Lesaffre as a Technical Service Representative in 2015. Lesaffre is a key global player in fermentation with nearly 170 years of yeast manufacturing excellence. Leaf is the business unit committed to sustainability, customers’ satisfaction and innovation for the biofuels and industrial biotechnology markets.
Maximizing Your Energy Resources
Delbert Grotewold is a Renewable Fuels Subject Matter Expert in the fuels industry with Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions. He has held roles in research, process engineering, operations management, technical marketing, strategic product development and commercial operations. Delbert’s areas of expertise are in process design, unit operations troubleshooting, membrane separation technologies, renewable fuels production, advanced modeling, statistical process control, data management and water reuse. He holds 5 patents in the fuels industry including applied artificial intelligence modeling and refinery process control.
Mr. Grotewold holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering, a BSc in Petroleum Refining Engineering and a BSc in Mathematics and Statistics from the Colorado School of Mines. He is a registered Professional Engineer with 39 years of experience with operating companies, fuel processing and fuel unit treatment providers.
Engineering a Sustainable Future: Exploring the Role of Technology in Carbon Reduction
Bernie Hoffman leads business development efforts for P&E Solutions. P&E Solutions is the EPC arm of Piping and Equipment, a 76-year-old mechanical and electrical contracting and engineering firm. With extensive biofuels, refining and power industry experience, P&E is focused on co-locating combined heat and power solutions with existing ethanol plants to reduce energy costs and lower carbon intensity. Bernie is an experienced senior executive with an extensive track record working for both domestic and international organizations. In his various roles, Bernie has had a key role in developing and/or running numerous ethanol plants. He began his biofuels industry work over 20 years ago with the Broin Companies (now Poet). He spent several years at ICM and was Chief Operating Officer of Babcock and Brown Biofuels. Bernie has a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Kansas. Bernie is also a graduate of the Southwest Graduate School of Banking at SMU where he served on the Faculty Advisory Board. Bernie has served on small business and nonprofit boards and on several biofuels plant boards.
Climate-Smart Agriculture and Ethanol’s CI
Trisha Jackson, PhD hails from central Kansas, where she learned to value prairies and rural community. Her educational and personal adventures took her around the world, where she admired diverse cultures, foods, landscapes, and agriculture. Through her graduate studies in soil science, environmental studies, and climatology, she came to understand how regenerative agricultural practices build healthy soil to create truly resilient communities brimming with nutrient dense food, clean water, and plentiful wildlife. With these values in mind, she was pleased to join the PrairieFood team to help ensure that rich, fertile soil is the number one crop.
Engineering a Sustainable Future: Exploring the Role of Technology in Carbon Reduction
Neal Jakel, President for Fluid Quip Technologies (FQT), joined the company in 2014 where he leads the company’s short and long-term growth strategies and technology development directives. Neal continues to ensure FQT’s leadership position and advancements by bringing to market viable, commercially proven technologies that benefit the biofuels and biochemical industries. Prior to joining FQT, Neal was the General Manager for Illinois River Energy (IRE) where he led the directed efforts involved with IRE’s ethanol operations and business growth strategies. Mr. Jakel core operational focus was integral to the successful sale of the facility in 2014. Before joining the IRE team, Mr. Jakel lead the dry fractionation business development efforts for Delta-T Corp. Prior to this he was with Cargill and one of its joint ventures for more than 15 years. While at Cargill Neal led large scale greenfield projects as well as gained extensive operational, team leadership and project management experience. Neal is an accomplished business executive with more than 30 years of experience leading businesses, managing complex projects/products, directing technical and professional work teams, providing critical business strategy guidance and support, and implementation execution.
Mr. Jakel holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin School of Business, a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois, is a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center and has severed on several technical advisory and company boards. Mr. Jakel holds multiple patents on the design and production of value-added processes and products within the grain processing and biofuels and biochemical industries.
Everything Counts: Updates from ACE Leadership
Brian Jennings is the fourth generation to help raise cattle and crops on land his family homesteaded in South Dakota in 1907. Before becoming the top executive at the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) in 2004, Brian served as an advisor to a U.S. Senator and worked for a South Dakota farm organization – jobs which enabled him to help enact legislation to support farmers, ranchers, and renewable fuels from inside and outside the Beltway. Today Jennings works with ACE members, who represent the heart and soul of the U.S. ethanol industry, to feature the personal stories and authentic people who are providing clean fuel and valuable food to a growing world.
Board Succession Planning: How to Determine if you Have an Effective Board
James Jirak is a market manager with Pinion, formally KCoe-Isom. Pinion is a global consulting, accounting and tax service provider. James developed his passion for agriculture, growing up on a farm in central Kansas where his family raised hogs, cattle, wheat, milo, soybeans, corn and even ran a fruit and vegetable truck farm business. He has worked in the agricultural industry for 26 years after earning his bachelor’s in Ag Business from K-State and Fort Hays State University. Largely thorough his career, he has been in leadership and management positions, including 13 years as a CEO at farmer cooperatives. James has been involved on many boards, including being the chairman of the KCC, KGFA, ABBGI and local school, parish and extension boards. He has been married to his wife Sandy for 25 years and together they are raising their 5 children outside of Udall, KS. James stays involved with the family farm raising cattle and growing dryland crops. James enjoys passing on his experience to others on how boards can productively work together and on his servant style of leadership.
Keynote: Ethanol Outlook in a Changing Energy Market Landscape
Tom has been covering downstream energy markets for five decades, and is regarded as one of the foremost experts on North American fueling trends on the continent. Through his participation in the Fuels’ Institute, he is very much ahead of the curve in terms of choices that commercial companies and consumers will face for liquid fuels in the next decade.
Tom is regularly quoted as an expert in the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and all major media outlets and has specifically covered futures markets, spot markets, and anything related to the North American fuel distribution system. Unlike many so-called experts, he does not actively trade oil and does not hold positions in public downstream energy companies. He lives in Fort Myers, Florida and summers in Monmouth County, New Jersey.
Maximizing Your Energy Resources
James is the President of Bioleap, Inc. and is a recognized expert in the fields of Thermodynamics and Heat Integration. He is a seasoned innovator, inventor, and commercialist with a proven track record of designing simple, low-maintenance, and highly reliable processes. With over 15 years of experience in the biofuels industry, James has successfully implemented many of his patented energy saving innovations at ethanol plants across the country, saving Bioleap customers trillions of BTUs every year. Holding a Master’s degree from Case Western Reserve University and boasting 10 granted patents, James continues to drive innovation and promote sustainable practices in the biofuels industry. His proven track record of success and commitment to excellence has made him a respected leader in the industry.
Everything Counts: Updates from ACE Leadership
Ron Lamberty has been working in the fuel business for decades, doing every job in the wholesale and retail fuel business - from pumping gas and checking oil, to c-store management jobs and running wholesale jobberships with multiple c-stores, to operating three c-stores of his own. At ACE he works alongside fuel marketers as they add higher ethanol blends, spreading their success stories to other retailers interested in making the switch through ACE’s FlexFuelForward.com website he developed. Lamberty built and operated several ethanol “splash-blending” facilities in the 1980's, and in the early 1990’s, he opened the nation’s first retail E85 fueling site, and handled fuel for one of the first U.S. soy biodiesel tests. He has spoken at petroleum industry tradeshows and workshops in the U.S. and Mexico. Lamberty joined ACE as Market Development Director in 2000, was named Senior Vice President in 2011, and transitioned to Chief Marketing Officer in 2021.
Cultivating Progress: Climate-Smart Farming for Carbon Markets
Jonathon has over 15 years’ experience in conservation policy, having served as principal counsel to Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) and as professional staff on the Senate Agriculture Committee under the leadership of Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA). Jonathon developed agricultural, energy, water resource, rural development and forestry legislation on behalf of the Leader, and was the principal negotiator of such legislation for the Democratic Caucus. Jonathon developed successful bipartisan renewable energy legislation during his time on Capitol Hill, and now works extensively with agricultural producers and cooperatives to develop renewable fuel and other environmental markets for agricultural commodities. Jonathon holds a J.D. from Vermont Law School. Jonathon grew up on his family’s dairy farm near Watertown, South Dakota.
Cultivating Progress: Climate-Smart Farming for Carbon Markets
Brennan Lewis is a research associate at South Dakota State University. He recently attained his Master’s degree in Plant Science in 2022 from South Dakota State University. Brennan has been the main point of contact for producers who are interested in being part of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, a multi organization partnership with ACE, SDSU, USDA, SD Corn Utilization Council, Dakota Ethanol, and Cultivating Conservation.
Exploring Opportunities and Challenges in Plant Staffing and Administration
Connie Lindstrom provides customized data analysis and reports, working with participants in the Biofuels Benchmarking program at Christianson Benchmarking, LLC, for the past nine years. With over twenty years' experience as a professional technical writer and business analyst, Connie helps benchmarking clients drill into their data to identify precise areas of opportunity for growth. Connie has a Master's of Business Administration from the University of North Dakota, with a concentration in government and business
Climate-Smart Agriculture and Ethanol’s CI
Chan grew up on a dryland farm in south-central Nebraska and now lives in Lincoln with his wife and the youngest of their 4 children. In college he studied agronomy, plant breeding/genetics and business. He has worked in agriculture his entire career across seeds, biotech traits, crop protection, water use and the whole system of agricultural production. This journey has blessed him to be part of teams to launch different products across the US and multiple other countries across the world. He currently is focusing his time on learning and navigating how plants and soil interact in the carbon accounting process to create low carbon intensity crops. At Gevo and Verity Tracking he works with a team to build and implement a digital tracking and measurement tool with farmers. This system brings both an economic and agronomic value to a farm and also positively impacts energy environmental challenges in our world.
Workforce Evolution: Strategies for Harnessing the Power of your Current Workforce and the Future Role of AI Technology
Carson Merkwan is a Chemical Engineer with an MBA, PMP, and Six Sigma Green Belt Certification. His career has lead him to immerse himself in automation and data management as the Business Development Manager of Direct Companies for over a decade. A rapidly growing company that leverages technology to enhance the strengths of an ethanol plant's management style. Various PLC, DCS, IT, and data management projects have been successfully completed by the Direct Companies team. Carson is instrumental in justifying potential projects as beneficial to customers' needs. Connect with Carson via LinkedIn or CarsonM@direct-automation.com "Thank you for your time, I hope you will find this topic helpful and useful on your path to reach your production goals."
Workforce Evolution: Strategies for Harnessing the Power of your Current Workforce and the Future Role of AI Technology
Erica Montefusco, Sr. Vice President, Risk & Compliance Services, has 25 years of leadership in environmental, health, safety, process safety, security, educational, and procurement roles with biofuels, food & beverage, cattle, oil & gas, education, and engineering companies. Offering an array of skills in strategic vision implementation, business/financial acumen, talent acquisition and development, leadership, performance analysis, program management, problem solving and software management. Erica excels in strategic operations leadership by winning over the hearts and minds of associates and focusing them on process-driven continuous improvement, discipline, and excellence in execution. She brings business goals to fruition by employing a passionate, humanistic, and empowering leadership style to build management bench strength while driving high-impact contributions.
Erica has been involved in and led numerous Sustainability and ERG programs, industry working groups, risk steering committees, multi-sector CARB action groups, as well as Renewable Fuels compliance based teams. Her activities have also included D&I initiatives and cultural inclusivity.
She is OSHA 10 & 30 hour certified, Hazwoper Certified, OSHA Hazwoper certified, and is a Registered Environmental Professional. Erica received her B.A. in Anthropology from Oakland University, her M.S. in Geological Sciences from Michigan State University, and her M.B.A. of Executive Business Management, specializing in Operations. Erica has also maintained ISO14001, ISO9001, OSHAS18001/ISO45001 Lead Auditor Credentials for nearly 20 years.
Real Time CI Scoring for Ethanol Producers
Resident of Flandreau SD, Director of Operations at SIRE in Council Bluffs, IA. Graduate of Augustana University in Sioux Falls SD and a MS of Ag and Biosystems Engineering from SDSU in Brookings SD. Ten years of experience in the ethanol and ag processing industry, covering roles in quality, R&D, data science and operations.
Currently focused on the challenge of bringing SIRE to net zero using process improvements, personnel development, and feedstock optimization.
Untangling and Maximizing IRA Biofuel Incentives
Bradley Pederson is a CPA and Partner of Christianson, PLLP, a full-service public accounting firm serving the renewable fuel industry for nearly three decades. Bradley holds a Bachelor of Accountancy from the University of North Dakota and began with Christianson in 2004. After graduation, he joined Charles Bailly & Co where he spent 8 years in audit and tax. Following a short stint as a financial analyst working on valuations and financial modeling for a public company, he became the CFO for a highway heavy contractor. He leads the firm’s Business Advisory Group as they assist in seeking expansion funding and incentive opportunities. Bradley brings a progressive flavor to the firm and his clients through deep manufacturing knowledge, strategy, and futuristic thinking.
Workforce Evolution: Strategies for Harnessing the Power of your Current Workforce and the Future Role of AI Technology
Taylor Pellerin provides technical services to the fuel ethanol and carb processing industries including product application, process optimization, and data analysis. He is a member of IFF’s XCELIS® AI team, who’s goals include advancing the ethanol industry through process modeling, specialized training, and data analytics. Taylor has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines. He has 5 years of regulatory and compliance experience and over 6 years’ technical and engineering experience in the carb processing, brewing, fermentation, and distillation industries.
Untangling and Maximizing IRA Biofuel Incentives
Mel has over 39 years of experience specializing in legislative affairs, including development and implementation of tax legislation at the national level. He spent 6 years on the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation and has served as the chairman of the Tax Legislation Committee of the AICPA. He has extensive experience in the planning and implementation of environmental incentives, and has led that practice at a major international accounting firm. Mel also provides guidance to Eide Baily and its clients regarding the implication of future tax legislation and the planning techniques necessary to best prepare for such changes. Mel is a sought-after speaker for many AICPA, TEI, FEI and industry focused conferences.
The Journey to Capture, Store, and Utilize Carbon
As Vice President, Strategy and Business Development with StormFisher Hydrogen, Ashkan leads the origination and development of clean fuel production facilities across North America. Focused on green hydrogen-based facilities, Ashkan oversees the financial and commercial analysis for greenfield opportunities, asset acquisitions, and strategic partnerships.
Ashkan also holds a position as Treasurer and Director for the Canadian Biogas Association, an industry organization that supports the diverse needs of the biogas and renewable natural gas sector across Canada.
His transition into this role follows 7 years with EPCOR Commercial Services where he developed Regulated and Non-Regulated Water, Wastewater, Natural Gas, Electricity, and Waste-to-Energy infrastructure and systems. Prior to this, Ashkan spent 5 years with TD Bank Financial Group and completed his education with the University of Alberta and the CFA Institute.
Everything Counts: Updates from ACE Leadership
Dave Sovereign serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Golden Grain Energy LLC in Mason City, Iowa. Golden Grain Energy is locally-owned by over 900 shareholders, the majority of which are farmers producing approximately 120 million gallons of ethanol annually. Dave was a steering committee member and co-founder of Golden Grain Energy which began production as a 40 million gallon/year facility in December of 2004. Dave serves as Golden Grain Energy’s representative on the Absolute Energy board of directors and the industry trade group director boards of ACE and RFA. Dave is a member of a family farm operation, he and his wife Shirley reside near Cresco, Iowa.
Fermentation Treatment and Technology
Jennifer Starner received her Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Wartburg College and her doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame. Her graduate research focused on protein folding and aggregation of bacterial beta sheet proteins and biomaterials. Dr. Starner has worked at Kurita America for over eight years focusing on microbiological growth and biofilm formation in cooling water and reverse osmosis systems, developing cleaners and organic dispersants, and understanding how microbial infections and antibiotic use impact fermentations.
Maximizing Your Energy Resources
Brad has worked in water treatment in various roles for 30 years. Brad currently serves as the Biofuels Industry Technology Leader for North America for VEOLIA (formerly Betz Labs, GE Water, and Suez). VEOLIA is a manufacturer and patent-holder of multiple types of water treatment equipment, membranes, filters, and chemicals for control of foulants in evaporators and cooling/boiler utility systems. Brad has specialized in bridging the gap between mechanical and chemical solutions. His expertise in ethanol and biodiesel plants includes everything from the water source to discharge, or in some cases, zero-liquid-discharge. Brad has degrees in Production/Operations Management, Chemistry, and an MBA. Brad is married with two sons (22 and 16), and resides in Macomb, IL (western Illinois). He has coached over twenty seasons of youth sports, helps run the Macomb JFL, and is chapter advisor to Theta Chi Fraternity at WIU.
Real Time CI Scoring for Ethanol Producers
Austin Vaillancourt is a business development professional with nearly 15 years of experience in the renewable fuels and energy space. Since joining Gevo, a next-generation "low-carbon" fuel company focused on the development and commercialization of renewable alternatives to petroleum-based products, Mr. Vaillancourt has held several roles within the business, both technical and otherwise. In his current role as a Senior Business Manager, Mr. Vaillancourt leads the biofuels and bioproducts channel as part of the Verity Carbon Solutions business unit where he works to identify and nurture strategic relationships with partners or potential customers as well as assist in the development of a strong pipeline of new business opportunities through direct or indirect customer contact and prospecting. Prior to joining Gevo, Mr. Vaillancourt held several positions at Southern Research Institute where he served as the Analytical Leader on Fulcrum BioEnergy's pilot-scale process development unit designed to catalytically convert synthesis gas to mixed alcohols. Mr. Vaillancourt has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
E15 & Flex Fuel Roadmap: Small Retailers Clearing Roadblocks and Blazing Trails for Ethanol Availability
Bruce Vollan began working for Vollan Oil Company (Midway Service), a full-survice, family-owned company located in Baltic, SD, in 1989 as Operations Manager, and is now the Owner. In the fall of 2008, Vollan Oil began selling higher blends of ethanol. In 2022, Bruce Vollan of Vollan Oil was selected to receive the Excellence in Agriculture Award. This honor goes to an outstanding individual or organization who exemplifies excellence in agriculture through significant contributions to the industry. Vollan Oil has been a staple in South Dakota since 1921 providing fuel first as a single station to today's operations as a family owned and operated company. Not only does this Vollan Oil sell ethanol, they have gone to bat for it testifying to the EPA to increase ethanol blends.