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Powering Partnerships: How E2B Connects, Serves, and Empowers San Antonio’s Business Community
This webinar will showcase CPS Energy’s Energy2Business (E2B) initiative—a hands-on, mobile outreach model designed to support over 90,000 small and medium-sized businesses across San Antonio. From...
Executive Panel: “One Voice” Crisis Communications for All Hazards
When disaster strikes — whether hurricane, wildfire, winter storm or cyberattack — effective communication saves lives and preserves trust. This executive panel will explore crisis communication through an all-hazards lens, covering unified messaging across channels and agencies, social media as a real-time engagement tool, risk communication for vulnerable populations, and the keys to leadership under pressure. Attendees will gain actionable insights and best practices to strengthen their crisis response and protect their organization’s reputation when it matters most.
Moderator:
Carlos D. Torres, Resilience Executive Advisor at Chartwell Inc.,
Carlos D. Torres, Resilience Executive Advisor at Chartwell Inc., has nearly 40 years of utility leadership experience. As VP of Emergency Preparedness & Business Resiliency at Consolidated Edison Inc., he led crisis responses, including 9/11, 2003 Northeast Blackout, and Superstorm Sandy. He was asked to lead Puerto Rico’s power restoration by their Governor after Hurricanes Irma and Maria and has worked with numerous consulting firms advising utilities, and regulators. He has served as board member and senior advisor to various organizations and currently serves on the boards of Disaster Tech Inc. and the All-Hazards Consortium, helping utilities enhance resilience and crisis response.
Panelists:
Shaun Vacher, VP, Electric Operations, National Grid
Shaun Vacher is the Vice President of Electric Operations New England for National Grid, an investor-owned utility company. He is responsible for operating and maintaining over 18,000 miles of distribution lines in Massachusetts and hundreds of substations throughout Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire that serve 1.4 million Massachusetts electric customers. He is also the Company’s Incident Commander during emergency restoration. Shaun’s emergency response experience began long before National Grid, as he spent 7 years as a Marine Corps Infantry Officer where he also project managed T&D infrastructure, certified in humanitarian relief and conducted command center operations. With experience certifying the Marine Air Ground Task Force that deployed to Haiti for Operation Unified Response following its 2009 earthquake and planning multi-national operations for a range of crisis response, his interest in emergency response began to grow rapidly. As a result, he saw parallels in the utility space where he has spent the last 13 years starting in delivery of complex T&D infrastructure projects. Over the past 13 years his role in storm restoration expanded and in 2024 he took over Operations and Incident Command. Since that time, his strategic focus has been on digital transformation and improving customer communications in both blue sky and emergency events. National Grid has earned numerous EEI awards for its emergency response. The latest for its mutual aid response during Hurricanes Helene and Milton in October 2024.
Keith Stephens, SVP & CCO, CenterPoint Energy
Keith Stephens is a seasoned corporate communications and public affairs executive with nearly three decades of leadership experience spanning corporate communications, crisis and issues management, government relations, and branding. He has led large, global teams through high-stakes challenges, translating corporate strategy into measurable business outcomes.
Currently Senior Vice President & Chief Communications & Marketing Officer at CenterPoint Energy, Stephens has held senior leadership roles at National Grid, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and Fluor Corporation, guiding organizations through complex crises, operational transformations, and reputational challenges. Known for his strategic vision and steady leadership under pressure, he excels at building alignment across stakeholders, managing high-impact communications, and positioning organizations and executives for sustained success.
Michelle M. Fraley, Colonel (Retired), Ph.D., Corporate Security Director, LUMA Energy
Colonel (Ret.) Michelle M. Fraley, Ph.D. was the first woman from Puerto Rico to graduate from West Point in 1984. A decorated U.S. Army officer with six advanced degrees, she served in key leadership and command positions worldwide, including at the White House Communications Agency and as Commander of the Warrior Transition Brigade, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. After retiring from active duty in 2014, she became the first female Superintendent of the Puerto Rico Police Department. She currently serves as VP of Corporate Security & Emergency Management at LUMA and as Director of the Selective Service System for Puerto Rico.
