Masood Parvania is the Roger P. Webb Endowed Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Director of Utah Smart Energy Laboratory at the University of Utah, and the PI and Co-Director of the U.S.-Canada Center on Climate-Resilient Western Interconnected Grid (NSF WIRED Global Center) that is co-funded by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). His research interests include the operation, economics and resilience of power and energy systems, and modeling and operation of interdependent critical infrastructures. Dr. Parvania serves as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Power Systems.

Branden Sudduth, Vice President of Reliability Planning and Performance Analysis at WECC, leads the organization’s technical and analytical functions, overseeing Reliability Modeling and Assessments, Standards Development, Performance Analysis, Event Analysis, and Situation Awareness.

In his previous role as Director of Reliability Risk Management, Branden led the strategic direction for WECC's Performance Analysis and Event Analysis/Situation Awareness departments. He actively supported industry stakeholders through the Operating and Market Interface Committees, ensuring alignment and collaboration. Additionally, with a strong foundation in engineering and management roles within WECC's Reliability Planning department, Branden brings deep expertise in bulk power system modeling and analysis, driving impactful results for the organization.

Branden holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Brigham Young University, a Master of Engineering degree in electrical engineering from the University of Idaho, and an MBA from Weber State University.

Mostafa Farrokhabadi received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo, ON, Canada. He is currently an Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical and Software Engineering, University of Calgary, AB, Canada, where he leads the Distribution Grids Research & Innovation (DGRI) Lab. His research interests include data-driven modeling, operation, and control of electrical power systems, with a specific interest in electrical distribution systems and microgrids.

Mohammed Ben-Idris is an Associate Professor and Director of the E-RESILIENCY Research Laboratory at Michigan State University (MSU). From 2016 to 2023, he served as an Assistant and Associate Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. Dr. Ben-Idris has over six years of industry and consulting experience and more than a decade of academic experience. His research focuses on power system resilience, cybersecurity, control, and stability. He has authored over 200 publications in the field, including book chapters, technical articles, research reports, and U.S. patents. He currently serves as Chair of the IEEE Reliability, Risk, and Probability Applications (RRPA) Subcommittee and Chair of the IEEE Task Force on Power System Resilience Metrics and Evaluation Methods.

Ali Bidram is currently an Associate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Arlington, USA, in 2014. Before joining the University of New Mexico, he worked with Quanta Technology, LLC, and was involved in a wide range of projects in the electric power industry. His area of expertise lies within the control and protection of energy assets in power electronics-intensive energy distribution grids. Such research efforts culminated in a book, several journal papers in top publication venues and articles in peer-reviewed conference proceedings, and technical reports. He has received the NSF CAREER Award, the University of New Mexico’s School of Engineering Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence award, the IEEE Albuquerque section outstanding engineering educator award, the New Mexico EPSCoR mentorship award, the University of Texas at Arlington N. M. Stelmakh outstanding student research award, and IEEE Kansas Power and Energy Conference best paper award.

Hollis Belnap received her Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Brigham Young University and her Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Utah. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Utah Smart Energy (U-Smart) Laboratory , where she works as a graduate research assistant and teaching assistant for Power and Energy Systems Economics. Her research focuses on the operation, modeling, and design of distribution systems and distributed energy resources, with an emphasis on enhancing grid and community resilience against extreme events. Hollis received the Epistimi Female Leaders in STEMM Scholarship in 2024 and currently serves as President of the Grid Resilience Student Group at the University of Utah. She is also a researcher with the NSF WIRED Global Center.

Mahsa Omri received her M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Utah, where she serves as a graduate research assistant at the Utah Smart Energy Laboratory (U-Smart) and is a member of the NSF WIRED Global Center. Her research focuses on probabilistic and data-driven approaches for reliability and resilience assessment in power systems, with a particular emphasis on integrating large-scale AI data centers.

Laura joined the Utah Smart Energy Laboratory (U-Smart) in 2026 a Senior Program Manager. She is responsible for providing administrative support to the lab as well as the NSF WIRED Global Center. Before joining the U-Smart Lab, Laura spent 4 years as a program manager for the Science Research Initiative (SRI) program in the College of Science at the University of Utah. She received Bachelor of Science degrees in Geography (emphasis Climate Change & Landscape Dynamics) and Environmental & Sustainability Studies (emphasis Air, Water, and Health) from the University of Utah.

Bob has worked with the University of Utah for approximately 20 years.  He has experience managing all aspects of accounting and finance across both academic and business units within the university.  When not busy with the university, he spends time with his family and serves in his local community.

Brandy joined WECC in 2008 as the Front Desk Administrator. She moved from that role into the Meetings Team in 2009 where she has held several different positions, her current being Meetings and Facilities, Supervisor. She has an associate degree in business and a certificate in meetings and event planning. Before coming to WECC, Brandy worked at Core-Mark International for over 13 years where she held many positions, including warehousing, sales, accounting, and human resources.

Travis English joined WECC in 2019 as a Training and Outreach Specialist. He is responsible for the development, promotion, and facilitation of WECC’s external training program. Travis works with staff to identify and address risk-based training needs and delivers educational opportunities to stakeholders and industry. Before joining WECC, Travis spent five years as the Special Event Director of Summit County, Utah. There he oversaw permitting and mitigation planning for a variety of public events—from the Sundance Film Festival, to international sporting events. During this time, he also produced a local county fair and PRCA Rodeo. He serves on the Advisory Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Park City and is also a member of the board of directors for the Arts Council of Park City and Summit County.