Bradley H. Belden, President, The Belden Brick Company

Brad has been the president of The Belden Brick Company since 2019. His career with Belden Brick began in 2004 in the EH&S department. His responsibilities eventually grew to other departments such as quality, purchasing, and customer service.

Prior to his work at Belden Brick, Brad graduated from Boston College with finance degree and worked on the Chicago Board Options Exchange and in New York City for JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Brad currently serves on the board of The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association and chairs the OMA Energy Committee. He also serves on committees of the Brick Industry Association, and as board president of the Ohio Aggregates & Industrial Minerals Association. He also serves on local non-profit boards such the Early Childhood Resource Center and the Canton Chamber of Commerce. He is a proud member of the 19th class of Leadership Stark County.

Founded by Henry S. Belden in Canton, Ohio in 1885, The Belden Brick Company is an American manufacturer and distributor of face brick and pavers.



Kimberly W. Bojko, Partner, Carpenter Lipps LLP

Kim oversees the firm's energy and utilities practice. With 24 years of experience, Kim is one of Ohio's most experienced lawyers in all areas of utility regulation.

Kim previously served as the chief of staff of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), as well as the PUCO’s director of economic development and regulatory affairs, and deputy director of the legal department. Prior to her time at the PUCO, Kim was assistant consumers’ counsel for the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel. 

In her current role, Kim advocates for consumers and suppliers of regulated and competitive natural gas, electricity, telecommunications, and water services before various state and federal agencies and courts. Kim has also represented and advised renewable energy companies and municipalities on energy and utility issues. 

She has extensive experience with power agreements, purchase and sale agreements, complex rate cases, and restructuring of the electric industry. In addition to advising clients on issues affecting the price and availability of energy services, Kim has negotiated multi-faceted state and federal matters, as well as contracts with utilities, consumer groups, and other regulatory stakeholders.



Denis E. George, Energy Advisor

Denis is a nationally recognized expert in the areas of energy supply contracting, renewable energy, utility ratemaking and policy, and energy efficiency. He currently advises end-users and suppliers on energy matters, and serves as president of the Energy Coalition of Ohio (www.energycoalitionohio.org), which aims to increase energy education and information sharing among all Ohio energy stakeholders.

At The Kroger Co. (www.thekrogerco.com) – one of the nation’s largest grocery and retail companies – George managed renewable energy acquisition, gas and electricity contracts, utility agreements, regulatory intervention, energy efficiency initiatives, carbon footprint calculations, mechanical system design, Energy Star program compliance, and related matters. 

Denis has served on the customer advisory board of Smart Energy Decisions, as well as on several utility customer advisory groups. He also served on the Ohio Public Benefits Advisory Board, advising state government and utilities on low-income consumer energy needs. 

From 1980 to 1997, Denis worked at the Dayton Power and Light Company, serving in several legal and management positions.   

He received a Juris Doctor in 1985 from the University of Cincinnati College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics/business administration from Wittenberg University in 1980.   

Denis and his wife, Alice, live near Loveland, Ohio.



Mark Romanchuk, State Senator – Ohio’s 22nd District, Owner and CEO, PR Machine Works Inc.

Senator Mark Romanchuk is serving in his first term in the Ohio Senate, representing the 22nd Senate District, which includes Ashland, Medina, and Richland counties, as well as part of Holmes County. He previously served four terms in the Ohio House of Representatives.

Mark has more than 35 years of experience in small business, systems engineering, management, and community development. He is the owner and CEO of PR Machine Works Inc., a contract manufacturer providing precision machining, fabrication, and assembly services in the City of Ontario. Prior to his role at PR Machine Works, he worked at Hughes Aircraft Company in a diplomatic capacity to the former Soviet Union in support of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Also, he was based in Japan as a team leader and technical advisor to the U.S. Navy in support of the F/A-18 aircraft.

Mark has been heavily involved in his community, particularly in local efforts to create jobs and in workforce development. He is a member of the National Tooling and Machining Association and served as an Economic Region 6 team leader for the state’s “Ohio Skills Bank,” which strives to develop regional manufacturing career pathways. He also serves on the Ashbrook Center Board at Ashland University.

Mark is the co-founder and past president of the Regional Manufacturing Coalition and is past chairman of the Richland Area Chamber of Commerce board. He is an active member of the Mansfield Sertoma Club, the National Federation of Independent Business, and The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association.

Senator Romanchuk resides in Ontario with his wife, Zoi.

Kent Smith, State Senator – Ohio’s 21st District

Kent was elected in 2022 to represent Ohio’s 21st Senate District, which is wholly within Cuyahoga County. Prior to his service in the Senate, Smith served four terms in the Ohio House of Representatives, from 2015-2022. 

Senator Smith serves as the ranking member on the Senate Energy and Public Utilities, Financial Institutions and Technology, and Ways and Means Committees. He also serves on the Senate Judiciary, Transportation, and Rules and Reference Committees.

Previously, he was a member of the Euclid, Ohio board of education from 2002 – 2013. As a Euclid school board member, he was a four-time winner of the Ohio School Boards Association’s “Award of Achievement,” which is awarded annually to a select group of Ohio school board members.

Senator Smith graduated from Miami University in 1988 and earned his Master of Science in Urban Studies from Cleveland State University in 2001. 

Throughout his time in the State House, he served as the ranking member on the House Public Utilities (134th and 133rd GA), Financial Institutions (133rd GA), Financial Institutions, Housing, and Urban Development (132nd GA), and Economic & Workforce Development (131st GA) Committees. He also served on the House Higher Education and Career Readiness, Technology and Innovation, Education, Commerce and Labor, and Rules & Reference Committees.

 

 

 


Jim Fisher, Senior Director of Environmental Sustainability, Amgen

Jim began his career in the pharmaceutical industry in 1989 as a chemical operator working for Merck and Company in Danville, Pennsylvania. He concurrently attended Bucknell University and received a bachelor’s in chemical engineering in 1995.  

Jim then transitioned into an engineering role, holding various roles of increasing responsibility while earning his master’s in chemical engineering from Bucknell University and his MBA from Lehigh University. He has also been a licensed professional engineer since February 2000.

Jim transitioned to Amgen in 2005 and is senior director of environmental sustainability within Amgen’s global engineering department.

Jim and his family reside in Colorado.


John Holeman, MBA, Director of Facilities and Maintenance, Tosoh SMD

John, a U.S. Air Force veteran, has been with Tosoh for 23 years. He serves as the company’s global technical support manager, northwest regional sales manager, and commercial globalization manager for key accounts such as Intel, Micron, Taiwan Semiconductor, and Applied Materials. 

As the facilities and maintenance director, Holeman has focused on the plant expansion, cost-savings measures, and practices to increase equipment uptimes. In February 2023, John commissioned three natural gas generators with a total of 3.5MW of power, and in late June participated in an endpoint detection and response (EDR) opportunity.
 
The history for Tosoh SMD was established nearly 50 years ago, when two former employees from Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus started supplying physical vapor deposition (PVD) targets from a small building in Grove City. Today, Tosoh SMD’s 43-acre campus is still located in Grove City and has more than 300 employees globally. 

In 2023, Tosoh was recognized as the best place to work in Grove City. Tosoh SMD has received supplier awards from both Intel and Samsung.



Douglas Monnin, Manager - Industrial Engineering, Campbell Soup Supply Company

Doug has been employed with Campbell’s since 1985, with much of his time at the Napoleon, Ohio facility. 

The Napoleon facility is a manufacturer of canned and microwaveable soup, Prego sauce in both glass and flexible pouch, Pace salsa, and vegetable and fruit-based beverages in PET bottles and aluminum cans. 

The Napoleon facility has on-site water and waste treatment facilities, a 10 MW (direct current) solar array, employs roughly 1,500 full-time employees and about another 200 third-party full-time employees (Silgan Container, Amcor PET, etc.). The facility has an annual sales value of around $2.5 billion. 

Doug’s current role includes responsibility for industrial engineering, continuous improvement, and commercialization functions. He previously served in various roles including operations, plant maintenance, and purchasing and planning.



Brady Phillips, P.E., Director of Operations, Kokosing Solar

Brady is director of operations for Kokosing Solar, a leading EPC renewables firm in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic U.S.  

Reinforced through the 2022 acquisition of Third Sun Solar, Kokosing Solar is an operating division of Kokosing Industrial and part of the Kokosing family of companies. Founded in 1951, Kokosing has grown to be one of the largest family-owned construction companies in the eastern U.S. and serves the renewables, industrial manufacturing, heavy civil, water/wastewater, marine, and transportation markets.

After joining Kokosing in 1999, Brady has played a key role in several of Kokosing’s most challenging projects and business improvement initiatives. In his current role, Brady is responsible for the holistic business operations of Kokosing Solar. With significant experience as a self-performing constructor in the manufacturing and conventional energy sectors, Brady now leads Kokosing’s renewables team towards its mission of “putting people to work to build the clean energy future.”

Brady holds a civil engineering degree from The Ohio State University and resides in central Ohio with his family. He can be found most weekends gliding around the lake with his sons in his old ski boat.



Michael J. Zimmer, Executive in Residence and Professional Fellow, Voinovich School of Leadership & Public Service at Ohio University

Mike has been an executive in residence at the Voinovich School since 2006 and has served in a similar capacity for OU’s Russ College of Engineering. He focuses on energy, environment, corporate sustainability, project finance, workforce development, advanced manufacturing, and economic development issues in the Appalachian region. 

Since 1977, he has provided counsel to manufacturing companies on energy and sustainability issues. 

Mike led the American Bar Association's (ABA) Renewables and Distributed Energy Committee from 2008 to 2010 and led the ABA’s Energy and Environmental Markets and Finance Committee from 2010 to 2012. An expert on energy policy, decarbonization technology, and corporate sustainability, Mike has been at the forefront of public policy changes on energy at the federal and state level.

He has served on the boards of several energy and clean technology companies and national trade groups during his private law practice career. His work focused on energy, financial, investment, and environmental issues in the manufacturing, building, industrial, and commercial sectors. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and various federal and state departments and agencies. 

He has successfully developed energy projects since 1980 in 35 states and in more than 20 countries, representing cumulative investments of more than $15 billion.

Mike retired from Thompson Hine and private law practice in 2013. He earned his education at Providence College and University of Baltimore School of Law and attended graduate and advanced courses at Brown University and the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business.



Susanne Buckley, Co-owner, Scioto Energy

Susanne is co-owner of Scioto Energy, one of the first electric brokerage firms to enter the Ohio market. She has developed an unparallel reputation in the energy industry for making the complex simple. 

Susanne is lead in managing all key accounts for Scioto Energy. Her technical energy acumen brings a level of knowledge that has been recognized by Columbus Business First, trade associations, and notable academics throughout Ohio. Having started her career in mid-1990s, she has witnessed the many transitions of the energy markets, including Ohio’s move to deregulation, the shale revolution, and the ongoing effect of natural gas globalization.
 
Susanne has a background in wholesale energy trading, retail energy deal structuring, contract negotiation, and demand response management. Using this expertise, she has advocated for competitive energy costs by testifying before the Ohio Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee and through numerous one-on-one discussions with members of the Ohio General Assembly.

When not jamming away at a spreadsheet or on the phone with clients, Susanne can be found backpacking on mountain ranges near and far.



John Burke, Chairman, Past President, OSCO Industries Inc.

John is chairman and past president of OSCO Industries. OSCO Industries is a medium to high-volume gray iron casting foundry, with three manufacturing plants in southern Ohio. 

Dating back to 1872, OSCO Industries has seasoned senior management, including John. OSCO is committed to continuous improvement and environmental enhancements for the communities in which its employees live and work. John is a longtime member of the OMA Energy Group, where his insightful questions and quick comprehension of complicated topics add considerable value to the group experience. John has a degree in engineering physics from The Ohio State University.



Peter Kleinhenz, P.E., Engineer, Go Sustainable Energy

Pete is an industrial energy efficiency expert with Go Sustainable Energy. Pete leads Go's energy assessment and commissioning teams, and regularly works with manufacturers, healthcare, and other large energy-intensive users. Pete's technical expertise includes compressed air, process cooling, process heating, and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems. Pete received his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dayton, and is a Professional Engineer.



Timothy W. Ling, P.E., Corporate Environmental Director, PLASKOLITE, LLC

Mr. Ling is the corporate environmental director for PLASKOLITE, LLC, a Columbus-based manufacturer of continuously processed plastic sheet. He is responsible for overall environmental compliance at PLASKOLITE’s manufacturing sites in North America and around the world. His roles include serving as PLASKOLITE’s corporate energy manager. He has spoken and written on a wide range of environmental and energy management topics.  

Mr. Ling has a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology (1989), and a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Notre Dame (1991). He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the states of Ohio and Florida and serves on The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association’s OMA Energy Group board.