Michael Catanzaro has served in a number of senior energy and environmental policy positions in government and the private sector. In 2004, Catanzaro was named Deputy Policy Director for the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign. In that capacity, Michael was the campaign’s lead staff person for energy and environmental policy issues. After the campaign, Michael served as Associate Director for Policy in the White House Council on Environmental Quality, where he worked on an array of energy and environmental policy issues. Michael finished his tenure in the Bush Administration by serving as Associate Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, where he managed the agency’s regulatory policy process. In 2007, he joined PPL Corporation as Director of Federal Legislative Relations. In March of 2009, he was named Deputy Staff Director for the Minority on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. In May of 2011, Catanzaro was named Senior Policy Advisor (energy/environment/telecom) to the Speaker of the House. Michael received a B.A., with honors, in political science and philosophy from Fordham University, and an M.A. in government from Johns Hopkins University.

Catherine Karen is counsel in the Government Strategies Group at Sidley Austin LLP in the Washington, D.C. office. The focus of her practice is providing strategic advocacy advice and representation before the U.S. Congress and federal agencies to clients whose business needs require public policy strategies in the environment and energy sectors. Catherine has more than 17 years of bipartisan federal affairs experience with governmental and non-governmental entities. She has represented the domestic timber industry and the U.S. refining and petrochemical industries and served in the Environmental Protection Agency and as staff in the U.S. House of Representatives. During the course of her career, Catherine has distinguished herself for her strategic, substantive, and bipartisan approach to advocacy before Congress and the executive branch. In 2011, she was the lead advocate for two of the year’s leading developments in the environmental arena. Catherine’s leadership in these advocacy campaigns resulted in the 3-year deferral of EPA permit requirements for biomass in the EPA Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule and the inclusion of a key provision in the 2012 Omnibus Appropriations bill that preserves through the fiscal year EPA’s long standing treatment of forest roads as nonpoint sources under the Clean Water Act.

Roger Martella, Jr. is a partner in the Environmental Practice Group at Sidley Austin LLP. He recently rejoined Sidley Austin LLP after serving as the General Counsel of the Environmental Protection Agency, concluding 10 years of litigating and handling complex environmental and natural resource matters at the Department of Justice and EPA. Roger’s practice focuses on three primary areas. Roger advises companies on developing strategic approaches to achieve their goals in light of rapidly developing demands to address climate change, promote sustainability, and utilize clean energy. Roger also handles a broad range of environmental and natural resource litigation and mediation. In addition, Roger advises multinational companies on compliance with environmental laws in the United States, China, the European Union, and other nations. Roger was unanimously confirmed by the Senate as EPA General Counsel. In that role, Roger served as EPA’s chief legal advisor supervising an office of 350 attorneys and staff in Washington and 10 regional offices.

Christopher Miller is a senior policy advisor on energy and environmental issues for U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Senate Majority Leader. Chris handles many Nevada-specific matters in these areas as well as helping coordinate related policy and legislative priorities for the Senate Democratic Caucus. Prior to re-joining Sen. Reid’s staff in September 2005, Chris was a professional staff member and then senior policy advisor with the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. While there, he worked under the direction of the lead Democrat/ Independent on the committee - Senator James M. Jeffords (Ind. Vt.), Senator Reid, and Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.), respectively. He handled climate change, the Clean Air Act, and energy and environmental technology issues for the committee. Chris has an M.S. in Natural Resource Management, Planning and Policy and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan.