emPOWERing Young Professionals

NOW ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS for the 2020 GCPA emPOWERing Young Professionals Award: The emPOWERing Young Professionals award recognizes individuals under the age of 40 who actively participate in the electric power industry and contribute to the success of their employer, the success of the electric power market, the development of other industry professionals and provide leadership for projects or activities within the electric power profession.

To read more about the selection and qualification criteria - CLICK HERE

To download the nomination form - CLICK HERE

Nomination deadline is August 15, 2020. The winner will be announced on September 15, and the award will be presented at the GCPA Virtual Fall Conference on Sep 29 - Oct 1.

Questions about the emPOWERing Young Professionals Award? Contact Kim Casey

Meet Katie Coleman, our 2019 emPOWERing Young Professionals Award Recipient

Katie Coleman is a Partner in Thompson & Knight’s Austin office and serves as the Firm’s Government and Regulatory Practice Group Leader. Katie has more than a decade of experience representing large customers on energy matters in Texas and has extensive experience with both ERCOT’s competitive market and rate regulation under the PUCT. Katie also routinely assists companies with regulatory compliance and diligence in contracting and infrastructure projects, including structuring energy agreements, joint ownership agreements for privately owned electrical facilities, energy supply agreements, and cogeneration agreements.

Katie has been recognized for her energy regulatory work by The Legal 500 US 2018, selected as a leading state regulatory lawyer by Chambers USA 2018, honored among The Best Lawyers in America^®, selected as “Lawyer of the Year – Energy Regulatory” by The Best Lawyers in America^® for 2019, and recognized as one of Texas Lawyer’s 2018 Lawyers on the Rise. Katie served as President of the State Bar of Texas Public Utility Law Section for the 2016-2017 term. She is also on the Board of Directors for the Gulf Coast Power Association (GCPA) and is currently serving as Vice President.

For further information on Katie's accomplishments, please click here to see the press release announcing Katie as the recipient of the 2019 emPOWERing Young Professionals Award.

Past Recipients

Rebecca Zerwas - 2018 Recipient

Rebecca Zerwas is currently a Regulatory Affairs Manager at CenterPoint Energy; in this role, she will provide regulatory support to the electric business unit and interact with the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
Her utility career started as a Retail Market Analyst at the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and then moved on to Wholesale Market Analyst. She subsequently joined NRG Energy where she further developed her skills in the electric utility regulatory field, moving from Regulatory Specialist to Regulatory Manager in three years. During her time at NRG Energy she was active in Electric Reliability Organization of Texas (ERCOT) issues being the Retail Market Subcommittee (RMS) Vice Chair for two years before becoming the RMS Chair in 2018. During these years she provided leadership to her employers by providing expert witness testimony, analyses of financial implications of regulatory issues and interfacing with numerous industry groups and lobbyists. She has also been an active participant in GCPA activities. Rebecca joined CenterPoint Energy’s Austin office earlier this year.

For further information on Rebecca's accomplishments please see the press release for her award announcement.