Data Centers, Nuclear Power and Broadband

A one-day conference exploring AI and Broadband Infrastructure

Thursday, March 27, 2025, 8:30 a.m., Clyde's of Gallery Place, 707 7th Street NW, Washington

The rapid rise of cloud computing and artificial intelligence has placed an unprecedented strain on America’s energy grid, drawing new attention to the energy-hungry expansion of data centers. Tech companies are pushing forward with ambitious AI-driven growth often backed by commitments to renewable energy. Now the Trump administration is focusing on traditional energy sources. How will a shift in energy strategy impact data centers?

This summit will examine the role of nuclear power, the future of electric grid capacity, and the regulatory landscape shaping broadband and energy infrastructure investments in the AI era.

SPONSORS of Data Centers, Nuclear Power and Broadband

See descriptions about our sponsors below:

Keynote Address from Rep. Randy Weber

Randy Weber, Representative, Texas's 14th District

Keynote Address from Rep. Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann, Representative, Tennessee's Third District

Special Address from Christopher Guith, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Christopher Guith is the senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute.

Data Centers, Nuclear Power and Broadband

A one-day conference exploring AI Infrastructure

Panel 1: Data Centers, AI and Nuclear Energy

The AI revolution is reshaping America's energy landscape. As tech giants pour hundreds of billions into expanding data center infrastructure, questions about energy and water consumption, sustainability, and grid capacity take center stage. How will the nation balance its AI ambitions with energy constraints? What mix of traditional, renewable and nuclear energy will power AI?

Fatima Maria Ahmad, Senior Vice President for Clean Energy, Boundary Stone
Brian Smith, Director of Nuclear Reactor Development, Idaho National Laboratory
Ewelina Czapla, Manager, Cloud Government Affairs and Public Policy, Google
Stephen Snyder, Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson
Chip Pickering, CEO, INCOMPAS
Daniel Moore (moderator), energy and climate policy reporter, Axios

Panel 2: Cutting Red Tape for Broadband and Energy Projects

The Trump Administration has brought a new urgency to streamlining infrastructure deployment. The White House is pushing to accelerate data center and energy projects through executive action, prompting states and federal agencies to rethink their approval processes. How quickly can broadband and energy projects be built?

Andy Berke, Former Administrator, USDA's Rural Utilities Service, and Former Mayor, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Laban Coblentz, Head of Communication, ITER
Julianne Szyper, Deputy Director, Virginia Department of Energy
Other panelists have been invited
Drew Clark (moderator), CEO and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast

Panel 3: Using IXPs to Improve Rural Connectivity

Internet Exchange Points represent a critical but often overlooked piece of America's digital infrastructure. With billions being invested in broadband expansion, strategically placed IXPs could significantly improve rural connectivity while reducing costs. How can smart infrastructure planning ensure that rural communities aren't left behind in the digital revolution?

Hunter Newby, Owner, Newby Ventures
David Jeppsen, Chief of Global Public Affairs, NTT Corporation
Other panelists have been invited
Brent Legg, Executive Vice President, Connected Nation

Speaker Bios

Keynote Address from Rep. Randy Weber

Congressman Randy Weber is a public servant, proven conservative, former small business owner, and third-generation Texan representing the 14th District of Texas. He serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee as Vice Chair of the Energy Subcommittee, which oversees the broadest jurisdiction of any legislative committee. Additionally, Weber chairs the Energy Subcommittee on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. Prior to being elected to Congress, Weber served four years in the Texas State House. During his tenure, Weber served on the committees of Environmental Regulation, Public Education, and as Vice Chair of Border and Intergovernmental Affairs. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Houston at Clear Lake. He previously served on the House Foreign Affairs and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Keynote Address from Rep. Chuck Fleischmann

Congressman Chuck Fleischmann is a conservative Republican representing Tennessee’s 3rd District and serves on the House Appropriations Committee. He is Chairman of the Energy and Water Subcommittee, where he oversees funding for national laboratories, nuclear security, and key infrastructure projects like the Chickamauga Lock. He also sits on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, contributing to energy policy discussions. Before his political career, he and his wife ran a small business in Chattanooga for 24 years. He holds a law degree from the University of Tennessee and has been active in community organizations such as the National Craniofacial Association and the Cherokee Area Council of Boy Scouts of America.

Special Address from Christopher Guith, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Christopher Guith is senior vice president of the Chamber's Global Energy Institute, and leads the Institute’s efforts to build support for meaningful energy and environmental action nationally and internationally through policy development, education, and advocacy. He provides expertise on a range of energy issues, educating policymakers, businesses, and the public on the benefits of a diversified energy portfolio. Guith frequently speaks to stakeholder groups and consults with state and local chambers on the economic impact of energy policies. Before joining the Chamber in 2008, he held key roles at the U.S. Department of Energy, including deputy assistant secretary for nuclear energy. He is a graduate of Syracuse University College of Law and the University of California-Santa Barbara.

Panel 1: Data Centers, AI and Energy

Fatima Maria Ahmad is a Senior Vice President for Clean Energy in Boundary Stone’s Washington, D.C. office. Prior to joining BSP, she served as Senior Counsel with the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis in the 116th and 117th Congresses. Previously, she was a Senior Solutions Fellow at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

Brian Smith became Idaho National Laboratory’s Nuclear Reactor
Development Director in January 2025. He leads the laboratory’s strategy
for accelerating the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies to
ensure the nation’s energy security and promote space, defense, and
critical infrastructure applications. He joined INL after a 20-year career in
government in which he served in key positions in the Executive and
Legislative branches, with experience in defense and commercial nuclear
technology and policy.

Stephen Snyder is Partner at Womble Bond Dickinson. He represents energy clients in a broad range of transactions and regulatory, compliance, and litigation matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and state regulatory commissions.

Chip Pickering has been CEO of INCOMPAS since January 2014. During that time, INCOMPAS has achieved significant growth with leading internet, backbone, business broadband, wireless, and international companies. Under his leadership, INCOMPAS has led numerous public policy campaigns promoting competition through an open internet and in the business broadband market.

Daniel Moore is a Washington-based journalist covering energy/climate policy for Axios, a newsletter-driven media company. Based in the Capitol, he covers how Congress and policy-makers at the Energy Department and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission think about rising demand for electricity, the role of natural gas and nuclear energy, and securing supplies of critical minerals. Previously, he covered energy policy for Bloomberg and national politics and business for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Panel 2: Cutting Red Tape for Broadband and Energy Projects

Laban Coblentz’s career crisscrosses multiple sectors of science, technology, and entrepreneurship: as an NRC safety inspector, a staffer for Senator Joe Lieberman on e-Government, an IAEA official pushing WMD diplomacy in Iraq and Iran, a university administrator at RPI, the founder of a New York innovation center and a Texas cybersecurity start-up, and now at the ITER international fusion project in France.

For the last two decades, Andy Berke has led progress at the federal, state, and local levels. In 2022, he became the Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service, the largest funder of telecommunications, water, and electricity in rural America. His work led to the funding of more than $4.5 billion for new high-speed internet projects, and he utilized funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to create two new programs: Empowering Rural America (New ERA) and Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE). Together, these initiatives seeded $40 billion in clean energy projects across solar, wind, nuclear, hydro, geothermal, and carbon capture technologies. Berke also served two terms as Mayor of Chattanooga, Tennessee, the first city to build universal broadband. In 2018, after a comprehensive effort to change policies and practices, the U.S. Department of Energy recognized Chattanooga as having the largest reduction in carbon emissions among city governments.

Julianne Szyper is Deputy Director of the Virginia Department of Energy. She was previously Chief of Staff to the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 2022-2024. As Deputy Director, Julianne has overseen the establishment of the Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank, with a seed fund of $10 million for energy and supply chain projects in the Commonwealth. She is leading efforts for public and private capital infusion for energy infrastructure and generation projects. Additionally, Julianne is overseeing the Virginia Power Innovation Program grant fund, with $3 million allocated for energy innovation projects in the Commonwealth.

Breakfast Media LLC CEO Drew Clark has led the Broadband Breakfast community since 2008. An early proponent of better broadband, better lives, he initially founded the Broadband Census crowdsourcing tool to collect and verify broadband data left unpublished by the Federal Communications Commission. As CEO and Publisher, Clark presides over the leading media community advocating for higher-capacity internet everywhere through topical, timely and intelligent coverage. Clark also served as head of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois, a state broadband initiative.

Panel 3: Using IXPs to Improve Rural Connectivity

Hunter Newby is an American entrepreneur, investor, conservationist and the owner of Newby Ventures. His primary field of interest has been network infrastructure. As Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer and a Director of Telx, he pioneered the carrier-neutral Meet-Me-Room and the development of carrier hotels and data centers in the United States leading to massive value creation and economic development throughout the Country. Since the sale of Telx he has been and continues to be a founder, developer and investor in the creation of multiple network-neutral infrastructure businesses all across North America.

David Jeppsen is Chief of Global Public affairs at NTT Corporation, the holding company of NTT DOCOMO, NTT DATA and other NTT subsidiaries. In this role, David helps manage NTT’s government relations strategies worldwide, shaping policies that impact the future of technology and innovation. Prior to his role at NTT, David was VP & Representative Director for NTT DOCOMO in Washington DC. Earlier in his career, he was VP of Public Affairs, Asia Pacific and China at Lucent Technologies based in Tokyo, Japan and Washington DC. David is a graduate with honors from George Washington School of Law. He lives in Washington DC with his wife and three daughters.

Brent Legg serves as Executive Vice President at nonprofit Connected Nation, where he leads the organization’s joint venture to establish neutral Internet Exchange Point (IXP) facilities in unserved markets across the United States. Mr. Legg has more than 23 years of experience working at the intersection of technology, politics, and public policy, with a focus on mapping, planning, K-12 school connectivity, and infrastructure development. He has provided testimony before the U.S. Congress and the legislatures of 14 states, and has authored dozens of regulatory filings and reports, including the State of Alaska’s broadband plan. He is a graduate of Transylvania University with a degree in political science and was a 2002 Hansard Scholar at the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom.

INCOMPAS, the internet and competitive networks association, is the leading trade association advocating for competition policy, innovation, and economic development. INCOMPAS represents internet, competitive communications, infrastructure, energy, and technology companies both large and small. Our members are catalysts for creating economic growth and improving the quality of life of all Americans through technological innovation, new services, and greater choice for consumers and businesses.

Connected Nation, a national nonprofit founded in 2001, exists to connect and empower people through technology. Offering solutions that foster innovation and improve lives, Connected Nation works in close collaboration with state and federal agencies, tribal nations, foundations, network operators, and community anchor institutions to plan and implement projects and programs that drive economic opportunity and improve lives. We offer policy and planning support, grant program administration, and geospatial and network validation services to ensure that taxpayer dollars are invested wisely. We work at the grassroots level to conduct research and provide workforce development and digital skills training programs that empower individuals to succeed. We’re also building carrier-neutral Internet Exchange Point (IXP) facilities to improve internet performance and resilience while lowering costs—ensuring that smaller cities and rural areas aren’t left behind in the coming A.I. revolution. We believe that everyone belongs in a Connected Nation.