PhD Student Tommy Jones Presents at National Tribal Energy Summit in Washington, D.C.

SNRE PhD student Tommy Jones recently attended the National Tribal Energy Summit: A Path to Economic Sovereignty hosted by the Department of Energy in Washington, DC Sept. 23-25th. The national conference focused on energy policy priorities for Native Americans and Alaska Native tribes and brought together tribal and state governments, federal agencies, tribal corporations, private industry, utilities, and academia.

The Director of the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, Chris Deschene, personally invited Tommy to present his dissertation work and his work at Sandia National Laboratories that he has collaborated along with Carnegie Mellon University's Len Necefer to the conference attendees. The presentation titled: Identifying Barriers and Predictors for Success for Renewable Energy Development on Tribal Lands focuses on a nationwide expert elicitation of individuals that work directly in Indian energy. In addition to Director Deshene, Tommy was able to interact directly with Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn to discuss his work here at the University of Arizona.