Back to AllWater Power Week in Washington, D.C. (March 9 – 13, 2026) brings together industry leaders, policymakers, and regulators to discuss the future of water power while keeping attendees abreast of the latest updates from Capitol Hill.
Every Water Power Week, NHA secures an excellent roster of speakers, who share insight about water power’s biggest topic areas. This year’s lineup includes the Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, a U.S. legislator, the Chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and a top journalist.
Learn more about the speakers by clicking on their names below:
MAJOR GENERAL JASON E. KELLY
Major General Jason E. Kelly assumed duties as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations on September 9, 2024, after most recently serving as the 53rd Commanding General of the U.S. Army Training Center and Fort Jackson, the U.S. Army’s main production center for Basic Combat Training.
Major General Kelly, a native of Flint, Michigan, attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and graduated in 1994 with a commission as an engineer officer.
Major General Kelly holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from West Point, and master’s degrees in engineering management from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, in statistics from the Georgia Institute of Technology, in Joint Campaign Planning and Strategy from the National Defense University and in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.
Kelly’s thirty-year career assignment history is vast. He has held Army leadership positions at every level of command and staff with duty in Asia, the Middle East, and the United States.
Other key assignments include participation in the Army’s Advanced Civil Schooling Program, with duty as an advanced calculus instructor in the Department of Mathematics, U.S. Military Academy; Aide-de-Camp to the Superintendent, U.S. Military Academy; and assignments in the Pentagon in the Office of the Chief of Engineers.
SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI
Lisa Murkowski, Alaska’s senior U.S. Senator, is a third generation Alaskan proudly serving as the first Alaskan born senator.
Since joining the Senate in 2002, Senator Murkowski has worked tirelessly for Alaskans and earned a reputation in the Senate for her ability to work collaboratively and across the aisle to reach common sense solutions. Murkowski is well-known for her love and dedication to her state, which means putting Alaska first.
A leader on energy and public lands issues, Senator Murkowski recognizes that sound national policy will promote not only job creation and economic growth, but also higher standards of living and greater global stability. She supports the safe and efficient production and use of all forms of domestic energy, as well as research to help develop emerging technologies. Senator Murkowski continues to pursue policies to advance renewable energy, increase energy efficiency, and make America’s energy cleaner, more affordable, and more reliable.
Senator Murkowski was born in Ketchikan, Alaska, and raised in towns across the state, including Wrangell, Juneau, Fairbanks, and Anchorage. She is married to Verne Martell and they have two grown sons. Senator Murkowski loves spending time in Alaska’s outdoors.
JAKE SHERMAN, FOUNDER OF PUNCHBOWL NEWS
Jake has been covering national politics for more than a decade, and has focused his reporting on Congress, the congressional leadership and the politics of legislating. He chronicled all of the major legislative battles of the Obama and Trump presidencies, and has traveled the country and the world, reporting on power and politics.
Jake and Anna Palmer are the co-authors of “The Hill to Die On: The Battle for Congress and the Future of Trump’s America,” which was a New York Times and national bestseller in 2019. He has been reporting and writing partners with Anna and Punchbowl News co-founder John Bresnahan for 11 years.
Jake is a contributor to NBC News, and appears almost daily across all of the network’s platforms. He’s a graduate of the George Washington University and Columbia Journalism School. He lives in Washington with his wife and two children and is an avid runner, and listener of the Grateful Dead and Phish.
FERC CHAIRMAN LAURA V. SWETT
Laura V. Swett was nominated by President Trump on June 2, 2025, and confirmed by the Senate on October 7, 2025, to serve on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a term expiring on June 30, 2030; Swett was designated by President Trump as Chairman of the Commission on October 23, 2025.
Chairman Swett has litigated FERC law for the past 15 years, which has included representation of generating utilities, transmission owners, and natural gas and liquids pipelines, most recently at Vinson & Elkins. Additionally, she previously served at FERC, advising a former Chairman and Commissioner, and as a lead attorney in FERC’s Office of Enforcement.
Chairman Swett holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia and a Juris Doctor, with honors, from Georgetown University Law Center. She resides in Virginia with her family.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To view the detailed program schedule, click HERE.
To register for Water Power Week, click HERE.
