Contact: Regina Davis, 202-898-9382, rdavis@naruc.org

Rhode Island Commissioner Marion Gold Leads National Regulatory Research Institute Board
Nevada PUC Executive Director Stephanie Mullen is New Treasurer

WASHINGTON (December 16, 2019)—The National Regulatory Research Institute has elected Commissioner Marion Gold of the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission as its Board of Directors chair. NRRI is the research arm for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and its primary mission is to produce and disseminate relevant and applicable research for NARUC members.

Along with Gold, Nevada Public Utility Commission Executive Director Stephanie Mullen was elected as treasurer. Mullen is the co-chair of NARUC’s Staff Subcommittee on Executive Management. They join NRRI Board Vice Chair David Ober, of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, who was appointed in September.

Gold has served on the NRRI Board since 2017 and has been its treasurer since 2018. She was appointed to the Commission by Governor Gina Raimondo in June 2016 after serving as a commissioner for the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources. Her professional career demonstrates a keen focus on environmental and sustainability issues. She holds a BS in Natural Resource Science and Policy from the University of Michigan, an MS in Environmental Economics from Michigan State University and a PhD in Environmental Sciences from the University of Rhode Island.

“I am pleased to have the opportunity to serve as NRRI’s board chair,” said Gold. “The Institute is committed to providing relevant, high-quality research, training and technical support to our members. I look forward to working closely with NARUC leaders to ensure that NRRI continues to best serve the needs of state commissioners.”  

“Commissioner Gold has performed an exceptional job during her tenure as NRRI treasurer and I have every confidence in her ability to lead NRRI on a trajectory of being a sought-after national resource for utility research and training,” said Presley. “The leadership support from Commissioner Ober and Executive Director Mullen will ensure that NRRI remains on a successful path.”

Gold replaces Commissioner ToNola Brown-Bland of the North Carolina Utilities Commission, who served as the chair since 2016 and stepped down after being appointed to NARUC’s Executive Committee treasurer by President Brandon Presley.

“We are grateful for the thoughtful leadership of Commissioner Brown-Bland, as she was very instrumental in helping to enhance NRRI’s financial profile and also helped to refocus NRRI’s goal of better alignment with NARUC and its members. We are pleased that she will remain as a member of NRRI’s board,” added Presley.

To learn more about NRRI, visit nrri.org.

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About NRRI

The National Regulatory Research Institute was founded in 1976 by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. NRRI serves as a research arm to NARUC and its members, the utility regulatory commissions of the fifty states and the District of Columbia in the United States. NRRI’s primary mission is to produce and disseminate relevant and applicable research for NARUC members.

About NARUC

NARUC is a non-profit organization founded in 1889 whose members include the governmental agencies that are engaged in the regulation of utilities and carriers in the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. NARUC's member agencies regulate telecommunications, energy, and water utilities. NARUC represents the interests of State public utility commissions before the three branches of the Federal government.