National Utilities Diversity Council (NUDC) hosts December 12 webinar: Returning Citizens and Utilities: Platinum Level Programs Inside Prisons and After Reentry

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Utilities Diversity Council (NUDC) announced today that Dr. Keesha Middlemass, Associate Professor of Political Science at Howard University, will be part of its December 12 virtual panel – Returning Citizens and Utilities: Platinum Level Programs Inside Prisons and After Reentry.  This free webinar will be held at 10:00 am PST.  Registration can be accessed on the NUDC website https://nudc.com/

Dr. Middlemass, whose book, Convicted and Condemned: The Policies and Politics of Prisoner Reentry (NY University Press) won the 2018 W.E.B. DuBois Distinguished Book Award, National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS), has focused much of her research on the politics of punishment, racial justice, and the lived experiences of formerly incarcerated adults.

During this panel, the audience will gain an understanding of the different factors that go into a program for returning citizens in the utilities by hearing from: a scholar whose research focuses on re-entry, two programs at utilities, and a community college that has a contract providing training at a prison. Lastly, the panel will address the role of regulators and utility leadership, who can both have a tremendous impact on these programs.

The December 12 panel will be moderated by the Honorable Emile Thompson, Chair of the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia. Panelists are national leaders in employment best practices for returning citizens. In addition to Dr. Middlemass, the panel will include: Eldon Davidson, Director, Center for Customized Training, El Camino College; Joseph Musallam, VP Electric Distribution Operations, DTE Energy and Brittny Pinto, Workforce Development Manager, Pepco Holdings.

The panel is co-convened by the Center for Energy Workforce Development and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Justice and Equity.

"We are excited to bring these leaders together to talk about best practices in this important area of workforce development," said Laurie Dowling, Executive Director of the National Utilities Diversity Council. "Years ago we were challenged by the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia and the U.S. Department of Energy to identify best practices and raise industry awareness about training and employment of returning citizens in our industry, so we are very glad to be able to offer this panel, which represents the start of a year-long series of free webinars on this topic, and grateful to CEWD and the Office of Energy Justice and Equality for joining us in convening the virtual event."

NUDC
The National Utilities Diversity Council educates, develops best practices and guides efforts that will promote diversity in the utilities and communications industries in the areas of governance, employment, procurement, language access/customer service, and philanthropy.

The NUDC is governed by a 20-member Board of Directors, chaired by Harry Sideris, Executive Vice President, Customer Experiences and Services, Duke Energy, and The Honorable Rebecca Valcq, Chair, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin.  It is made up of corporate leaders, regulators and regulatory staff members, suppliers, and non-profit professionals committed to encouraging diversity in utilities, telecommunications, and cable industries. Since its inception, NUDC has provided resources through webinars, toolkits, conferences and research.  The majority of NUDC's programs are made available at no charge to the user.

For more information, please contact Laurie Dowling – [email protected] 323-982-7223

SOURCE National Utilities Diversity Council