Mr. J. Edward Brown, II recently joined the Office of General Counsel as an Attorney Advisor on January 9, 2006. He comes to us from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission where he was an Associate Attorney addressing issues concerning utility law. Mr. Brown’s government experience also includes employment with the Department of General Services for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He also has professional and legal experience in private practice with defense litigation firms in Philadelphia and investments with a trust company. Mr. Brown is a graduate of Morehouse College and Villanova University Law School.

Dr. Jesse P. Clay, Jr. has been selected to be the Deputy Executive Director for Administration effective January 9, 2006. He brings a wide variety of administrative experience to the Commission including twelve years as Commission Secretary and eleven years as Deputy Executive Director with the DC Public Service Commission. He has also served in other management positions at the Commission and in other organizations.

Dr. Clay is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He holds a doctorate degree of ministry, master degrees in divinity and Christian counseling from Maples Springs Baptist Bible College and Seminary and a B.S. degree from Howard University.

Ms. Aminta Daves has been selected to be the Executive Assistant to Dr. Phylicia Fauntleroy Bowman, Executive Director, effective January 9, 2006. Ms. Daves brings fourteen years of experience as an Office Manager to the Commission. Her experience includes providing administrative support and managerial skills such as planning, scheduling, reporting and training new personnel. She also has strong communication skills evidenced by her ability to interact with all levels within the organization. Ms. Daves is also fluent in Spanish.

Mr. Roger Fujihara joined the Commission on November 28, 2005 and serves as a Senior Electricity Economist. Mr. Fujihara brings over 15 years of experience as an Economist to the Commission. He recently served at the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and covered some energy-related issues. Mr. Fujihara also served as the department’s representative to the Power Plant Research Program, which coordinates, in part, the review of new power plant applications among state agencies in Maryland.

Mr. Fujihara has his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Economics from the University of Illinois and a B.A. from the University of Hawaii.

Prior to joining the Commission, Ms. Patankar worked on the federal level with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. House of Representatives. Her work ranged from creating the Department of Justice Implementation Report for former Attorney General Janet Reno to examining the extent of “continuing agency action,” associational standing, and the administrative law reopener doctrine with the Environmental Protection Agency.

Ms. Patankar has also worked on the state level for the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office. She has practiced in civil litigation, specifically in consumer protection, nonprofit liability, and antitrust litigation. While at the State’s Attorney’s Office, she assisted the criminal prosecution of child abuse, rape, and homicide.

Ms. Patankar is originally from Akron, Ohio. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and English from Case Western Reserve University and her Juris Doctor from American University Washington College of Law. Ms. Patankar is licensed to practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia.