Kathy Beckett

Chair, West Virginia Chamber Environmental Committee

Member, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

Kathy Beckett has over thirty years of experience practicing environmental, regulatory, and natural resources law. She has a national reputation for her ability to influence environmental policies on behalf of her clients. Kathy engages in federal and state regulatory compliance assistance, economic/energy development, and appellate litigation of national rulemakings. She has been instrumental in the development of national and state regulatory programs and the drafting of environmental legislation. She is active in many industry trade groups and served on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and chairs its Energy, Clean Air and Natural Resources Committee. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce and chairs its Environmental Committee. Kathy has served in a leadership role with the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources. She is a Fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers and is rated in Chambers USA and Lawdragon Green 500. Kathy is the board chair of the Black Diamond Council for the Girl Scouts serving multiple states.

Bernard Brown

Chief Operating Officer, Empire Diversified Energy

With over two decades of combined public and private sector experience in project development, Bernard brings a wealth of expertise to his role as Chief Operating Officer at Empire Diversified Energy. His leadership is instrumental in guiding teams through every phase of project development, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives and delivering measurable results.

Bernard’s proficiency spans project design, permitting, financing, and execution particularly in both renewable and sustainable energy. Through education and experience, Bernard’s project has been designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance renewable energy. At Empire Diversified Energy, Bernard spearheaded the company’s inaugural waste-to-energy project leveraging, cutting-edge pyrolysis technology. He played a pivotal role in securing project financing and establishing crucial investment tax credits.

Notably, Bernard’s visionary leadership secured Empire Diversified Energy’s victory in a fiercely competitive federal competition, earning the company an ARCH2 hydrogen hub award. This achievement facilitated strategic pivots, including guiding the company through a successful acquisition. Additionally, Bernard has been instrumental in in expanding efforts at the Port of West Virginia to include the formation of new Class III railroad.

Bernard holds degrees from Arizona State University in Planning and Sustainability, a masters degree from Clemson, a master’s degree in Energy Engineering from Texas A&M University, and a masters degree in Natural Resource Management (Sustainability) from Virginia Polytechnical University. Bernard is a certified Renewable Energy Professional and a MIET with the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Laura Crowder

Director, Division of Air Quality, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP)

With over two decades of combined public and private sector experience in project development, Bernard brings a wealth of expertise to his role as Chief Operating Officer at Empire Diversified Energy. His leadership is instrumental in guiding teams through every phase of project development, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives and delivering measurable results.

Laura Crowder is the Director of the West Virginia Division of Air Quality. She has been the Director for the last six years, and with the agency for 31 years. She has a BS in Electrical Engineering form WV Institute of Technology. Laura was with the Compliance and Enforcement Section of the agency for 10 years, moving to the Planning Section where she worked on SIP Planning and Regulatory Development, before becoming the Director. Laura has one son, Christopher, who resides in Birmingham, AL with his wife and young son. In her spare time Laura enjoys reading, gardening, and spending time with her grandson.

Eric Drugotch

Senior Business Development Manager, Revive-Environmental

Eric Drugotch is a Senior Business Development Manager at Revive Environmental and is responsible for commercial growth of the business. With 8 years of experience in water treatment and pollution reduction, Eric has focused on innovative technologies for treating PFAS, heavy metals, and organics in water and wastewater. He has collaborated with industrial and commercial entities as well as state and federal regulators on successful treatment and remediation nationwide. Eric earned a B.S degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.

David M. Flannery

IOGCC and ORSANCO

David is a Member of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC and has focused his practice in the areas of environmental and energy law. He is a founding regent of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, the Chairman of the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO), and a member of the Legal and Regulatory Committee of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) and the Chairman of its Council of Oil and Gas Attorneys. He currently represents electric utilities, manufacturers, and trade associations, in a variety of federal Clean Air Act rulemakings including appeals before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States in connection with the Good Neighbor Plan interstate transport rule, the Greenhouse Gas climate change rule, the Mercury and Toxic Substances Rule and the PM 2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standard. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Law degree from West Virginia University.

Christopher Jordan

General Counsel, Niterra North America, Inc.

Christopher Jordan serves as the In-House General Counsel and Compliance Officer for Niterra North America, Inc., where he leads the company’s North American Legal, Compliance, and Corporate Social Responsibility teams. In this pivotal role, Chris provides strategic counsel and oversight across a wide range of legal and regulatory matters, while also driving the organization’s commitment to ethical conduct, sustainability, and ESG initiatives. His leadership ensures Niterra North America operates with the highest standards of integrity and a forward-thinking approach to its environmental and social impact.

Scott Mandirola

Deputy Cabinet Secretary, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP)

Scott Mandirola is the Deputy Cabinet Secretary for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP). He joined the WVDEP Division of Water and Waste Management in April 2006 as an Environmental Resources Program Manager 2 to manage the state-wide Water Quality Standards Program. He became Acting Director of the division in September 2008 and was named Director in March 2010. While he continued to hold that position, Mandirola was appointed Deputy Cabinet Secretary of WVDEP in June 2015 and served in both roles until July 2018. He is now the Deputy Cabinet Secretary for External Affairs, as well as the Chief Science Officer. Mandirola serves as the liaison between the WVDEP and outside groups such as the state legislature, federal legislators, other West Virginia State agencies, the Department of Commerce, Environmental Council of the States, EPA, USACE and the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission.

Prior to joining the WVDEP, Mandirola worked for 17 years with SGS Environmental Services Inc., the largest testing and certification company in the world. Mandirola lives with his wife in Elkview, WV where they raised their three children.

Erica Pauken

Director of Source Water Protection, American Water

Erica Pauken serves as the Director of Source Water Protection at American Water, the largest regulated water and wastewater utility in the United States. With over a decade of experience in environmental protection and water quality management, Erica has been instrumental in developing and implementing comprehensive source water protection programs in West Virginia and across 14 other American Water states. Her leadership was pivotal in West Virginia American Water receiving the 2021 Exemplary Source Water Protection Program Award from the American Water Works Association, recognizing the company’s commitment to safeguarding drinking water sources beyond regulatory requirements.

Erica’s approach emphasizes proactive risk mitigation, stakeholder collaboration, and integrating source water protection into daily operations. Her work has set a national benchmark for water utilities, demonstrating how strategic leadership and resilience can enhance environmental stewardship and protect public health.

Steve Roberts

President, West Virginia Chamber of Commerce

Steve Roberts is president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, a statewide organization that seeks greater prosperity and a higher standard-of-living for West Virginians. The Chamber is the voice of business throughout West Virginia and was recently honored to receive the first-place award for membership growth and loyalty among state chambers of commerce in the United States.

A West Virginia native and graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan College, he previously worked for the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce and BASF Corporation. He has a long association with Marshall University and was inducted into the university’s Business Hall of Fame.

Steve is the President of Leadership West Virginia; Chairman of the board of Jobs for West Virginia’s Graduates and Board President of the Woodlands, West Virginia’s largest not-for-profit retirement community. Steve holds several appointments on behalf U.S. Chamber, including Vice-Chair of its invitation only Political Advocacy Committee and the Committee of 100.

Steve is married and is the father of three children. He and his family reside in Charleston.

Randal Whitlatch

Member, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

Randal (Randy) brings nearly 20 years of litigation experience assisting manufacturers and businesses across diverse industries nationwide in navigating complex legal landscapes and disputes in state and federal courts. He advises a wide range of domestic and international clients, particularly in tier 1 and tier 2 automotive and mobility component parts and manufacturing companies in several industry sectors such as Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG)/energy, life sciences, chemicals, robotics, health care, and technology. Randy has also litigated mass tort, products liability, and toxic tort matters in these areas.

Randy’s experience includes serving as first chair litigation counsel in a variety of high stakes, complex matters, managing teams of other counsel both in-firm and out-of-firm domestically and internationally.

In addition to Randy’s sophisticated litigation experience he has developed a proficiency in the laws impacting global supply chains and assists companies to comprehensively manage the legal aspects of their supply chains from end-to-end. Randy also advises on commercial contracting under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG); Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) matters; cybersecurity; antitrust and securities all within the supply chain environment