MDA Weather Services Spring Energy Conference 

Christopher Hyde is an Energy Weather Consultant (Meteorologist) and Director of Weather Marketing at MDA Information Systems LLC in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  Mr. Hyde has been employed with MDA Information Systems LLC. for fifteen years.  As an Energy Weather Consultant (Meteorologist), Mr. Hyde is responsible for contributing to the consensus 30/60 day and seasonal forecasts.  Phone consultation with industry traders and meteorologists about the latest forecast view is part of the daily routine for Mr. Hyde.  Besides forecast responsibilities, Mr. Hyde markets MDA Information Systems LLC Weather Services energy and agricultural products by letting current clients know about new products and finding perspective energy and agricultural clients.  Over the past decade, Mr. Hyde has tripled the amount of weather clients that subscribe to various services and products.

Mr. Hyde has been invited to speak to a number of energy conferences and individual corporations and routinely speaks to energy groups 15-20 times a year. 

Chris Hyde received his BS in Meteorology from The Pennsylvania State University in 1998.  Mr. Hyde has training in radio and television communication as well. 

 

Jane has been with TESLA for the past 20 years.  She has more than 30 years experience in the collection, maintenance and analysis of data, particularly in the energy sector.  

At TESLA, Jane is responsible for maintenance, analysis and quality assurance of electric and gas load data and of the weather data used to support TESLA forecasting models.   Jane is also responsible for research and development in support of new forecasting models.  In general, almost all new TESLA models that are constructed start out with Jane and her team.

Prior to joining TESLA, Jane was an economist with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, where she developed and conducted economic and statistical training for BLS employees and for economists and statisticians from around the world, with particular emphasis on data analysis.  Jane also conducted on-site training seminars for the Central Bank of Venezuela and the Mexican government.

Jane holds a master’s degree from the University of Iowa.

 

Eric Blake is a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Blake received his Bachelor's Degree in Atmospheric Science from the University of Louisiana at Monroe (1998) and his Master's Degree in Atmospheric Sciences from Colorado State University (2001). His graduate studies were under the tutelage of Dr. William Gray, a renowned expert on tropical meteorology and hurricanes.

Blake began his career with the National Hurricane Center in 2000 as a student intern. He advanced to a full-time position at NHC in 2002 and became a hurricane specialist in 2006. The specialist position involves the issuance of track, intensity and wind radii forecasts as well as associated watches and warnings for tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific oceans.

Blake performs post-season analyses of hurricanes and hurricane forecasts for the Atlantic and eastern Pacific basins. In addition, he composes tropical cyclone reports detailing the history, meteorology statistics and all relevant information pertaining to a particular tropical cyclone. He is a member of the NOAA Atlantic and Eastern Pacific seasonal hurricane forecast team.

Blake serves on the Tropical Cyclone Best Track Change Committee, which considers both internal and external proposals to change the hurricane record, important for long-term studies of climate and global warming. He led a team of scientists in publishing a research project on the Deadliest, Costliest and Most Intense Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1851-2006. Blake is also an author of the book Eastern North Pacific Tropical Cyclones, 1949-2006.

 

Travis is the Energy Weather Manager at MDA Information Systems LLC in Gairthersburg, MD.  Hartman received his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Meteorology as well as a minor in Business from The Pennsylvania State University in the spring of 2004.  He began his career with MDA Weather Services the following summer as an Operational Meteorologist working primarily on short and medium range domestic forecasts for the natural gas and oil industries as well as hourly forecasts (now-casting) for the utilities/power industry.

Travis worked his way up through the ranks within the Weather Services business area and quickly moved into the lead forecasting role for the European region as well as working closely with Chris Hyde in the marketing group.  In the spring of 2009, Hartman moved into the manager’s role of the energy group.  Hartman’s primary responsibilities now include leading the energy group in day-to-day operations as well as taking lead in MDA’s seasonal forecasts.

Hartman also represents MDA Weather at numerous conferences throughout the year delivering long term forecasts and weather tutorials for meteorologists, analysts and traders.

Teri Viswanath joined BNP Paribas in 2011 from Credit Suisse, where she was the Director of Global Natural Gas Research within the firm’s economics team. 

Teri is currently ranked amongst the top 3 analysts in the industry in the EnergyRisk Commodity Rankings.  Her professional career spans more than two decades and includes senior positions with Deutsche Bank, Citadel and Dynegy, a wholesale power generating company.  Teri graduated from Fordham University and the University of Texas with a Juris Doctorate law degree and completed her undergraduate studies in finance.

Olga has 15 years of experience in the energy and business sectors. She is focused on regulatory support and market monitoring, and has conducted qualitative and quantitative research and analysis, project evaluation and strategic planning for energy and commodities industries. She currently leads a team as the Marketing and Communications Director for ZE PowerGroup.