With 15 years of utility power systems engineering experience in roles of increasing leadership, James has built a foundation as a leader within distribution operations and engineering. After spending the first half of his career in control center operations, James now manages the distribution engineering team at PG&E which is responsible for capacity and reliability asset planning as well as distribution protection. He currently is the lead engineer on PG&E's Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings program which has become a critical initiative to mitigate wildfire ignition risk on the distribution system. James is passionate about building teams and developing the next generation of engineers and leaders that will ensure the future of the electric grid is able to safely deliver energy for customers and meet California’s energy goals.  James holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and is a registered Professional Engineer in California.