Global leaders are coming to Tulane to discuss the future of energy

Tulane alumni are invited back to the uptown campus Sept. 28 to 30 for the third annual Future of Energy Forum. Free and open to the public, the three-day event brings together leaders from industry, government, academia, finance, technology and policy for more than 40 sessions exploring the future of energy in the Gulf South and beyond.

The Forum will include keynote sessions featuring David LaCerte, commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Jason Wells, chair, president and CEO of CenterPoint Energy; and Jonathan Brightbill, general counsel of the U.S. Department of Energy.

“The decisions being made about energy today will shape economies, communities and global competitiveness for generations,” said Tulane University President Michael A. Fitts. “Tulane’s Future of Energy Forum brings the leaders driving those decisions together for conversations with enormous national and global implications. There is no better place for such dialogue than here in a region that has long helped power the nation and is now helping define what comes next.”

This year’s theme, “Connected Power: Connecting Leaders. Powering Progress,” reflects the scale of the opportunities ahead plus the collaboration required to meet growing energy demand, strengthen infrastructure, improve affordability and reliability, power economic growth and advance innovation and sustainability. The event features a number of Tulane’s own renowned faculty experts alongside leading energy voices from universities across the country, including Stanford, Dartmouth, the University of Houston, the University of Minnesota and Louisiana State University.

The event will feature more than 40 sessions, including keynote conversations, panel discussions, technology demonstrations and networking opportunities. Alumni can hear from leaders representing industry, government, academia, finance, technology and policy while connecting with the ideas, innovations and people shaping the future of energy. 

Other speakers include Geoffrey Richardson, senior vice president of commercial and business development at ExxonMobil; Kevin McMahon, vice president of production assets, Gulf of America, at Shell; Claudia Morrow, senior vice president of corporate development and strategy at Vistra Corp.; Dustin Davidson, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy; Jean-Paul Coussan, Louisiana public service commissioner; Gray Stream, executive chairman and president of Gulf Coast Sequestration; Julie Stokes, president and CEO of Ellevate Louisiana; Ian Walch, vice president of energy markets at ENFRA; Darryl Willis, corporate vice president for the energy and resources industry at Microsoft; and John Weiss, vice president of sustainability and environmental policy at Entergy.

The 2026 lineup also includes William Mundt, vice president of origination at NextEra Energy Resources; Joan Michelson, host of the Electric Ladies Podcast and ESG consultant; Jeremy Stine, Louisiana Senate majority leader; Cindy Taff, CEO of Sage Geosystems; Paul Sawyer, Louisiana state representative; Casey Herman, CenterPoint Energy director; Darren Olagues, chief development officer at Talen Energy; George Bilicic, global head of power, energy and infrastructure at Lazard; JP Morrell, New Orleans City Council president; Aimee McCarron, New Orleans City Council member; and Taiwan Brown, vice president of talent at Entergy Corp., among others.

The event has quickly grown into a major gathering. Last year’s forum drew more than 1,700 participants and featured more than 125 speakers.

Tulane launched the Future of Energy Forum in 2024 to connect global energy expertise with the opportunities and challenges facing the Gulf South, one of the world’s leading centers for energy production, infrastructure, innovation and investment. Its location in New Orleans puts Tulane at the center of conversations with implications not only for the region, but for the future of energy around the world.

For more information about the 2026 Future of Energy Forum, including registration, sessions and the latest list of speakers, visit energyforum.tulane.edu.