Executive Team
Melanie Frye
President and Chief Executive Officer
Melanie Frye, President and CEO, oversees WECC's mission to effectively and efficiently mitigate risks to the reliability and security of the Western Interconnection's Bulk Power System. Melanie achieves this work through active interactions with members and stakeholders, by managing relationships with regulatory and policy-setting bodies, and ensuring WECC contributes to a positive relationship with NERC and the ERO.
Melanie leads WECC and works to strengthen the developing leadership culture. She created the framework for WECC's Invented Future and shaped the transformation within the organization. She has profoundly influenced the development of the internal organizational culture to inspire alignment with the “why” of WECC.
Prior to this role, Melanie served as Vice President of Reliability Planning and Performance Analysis, overseeing WECC's technical and analysis functions, including events analysis, situation awareness, reliability planning and assessments, performance assessments, and standards development. Melanie also served as WECC's Vice President of Shared Services, overseeing Human Resources, Accounting and Finance, Information Technology, Project Management, and Administrative Services functions and staff. She joined WECC in 2007 as Director of Human Resources.
Before joining WECC, Melanie spent several years with PacifiCorp as a Senior Human Resources Consultant where she was responsible for providing advice and counsel to the leadership team of eight thermal and three natural gas power generation facilities in Utah and Wyoming. She provided support to over 2,500 union and non-union employees located across the company's six-state service territory.
Melanie holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, and a Utility Executive Course Certificate from the University of Idaho.
Jeff Droubay
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Jeffrey Droubay joined WECC as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary on August 1, 2022. Jeff leads the legal team and the Assistant Corporate Secretary at WECC and provides overall legal guidance to the organization. In his executive team role, Jeff provides leadership and oversight of the organization and shares the responsibility of leading strategy, collaboration, and engagement across WECC. Additionally, Jeff supports the Board of Directors regarding corporate governance documents, corporate bylaws, Board policies and procedures, committee charters, and other executive matters.
In his prior position as Senior Vice President for Legal and Business Affairs for Dyno Nobel Americas, Jeff led legal, compliance, and environmental functions for several industries. He most recently served as chair of the steering committee and vice-chair of the board of governors for the Institute of Makers of Explosives. Before his tenure at Dyno Nobel, Jeff was an attorney at Parsons, Behle, and Latimer for over 10 years.
Jeff received his undergraduate degree in English and Juris Doctorate from Brigham Young University (BYU). While at BYU, Jeff was Senior Editor of Law Review and graduated with honors.
Jillian Lessner
Vice President and Chief Financial and Administrative Officer
Jillian Lessner, Vice President and Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, is responsible for the management of Finance and Accounting, Information Technology, Human Resources, Meetings, Administrative Services, and the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS).
Jillian served as WECC's Controller from 2008 through 2010 and rejoined WECC in 2012 to serve as Director of Finance and Accounting. Prior to rejoining WECC in 2012, Jillian served as Corporate Technical Accounting Manager at Stanley Black and Decker in New Britain, Connecticut.
Jillian began her career in public accounting at a small local firm in New York City and obtained her Certified Public Accountant license in 1994. Jillian has over 20 years of experience in accounting and financial management. Earlier in her career she held accounting management positions at Duke Energy Trading and Marketing in Salt Lake City, Utah and Forrester Research, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Jillian holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Steven Noess
Vice President, Reliability and Security Oversight
Steven Noess joined WECC as Vice President of Reliability and Security Oversight (Oversight) in April 2022. Steve oversees the continued development of a risk-informed Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program (CMEP) for WECC and manages the diverse teams within the Oversight department, including Entity Monitoring, Risk Assessment and Registration, and Enforcement and Mitigation. As a member of WECC's executive team, Steve shares the responsibility for leading strategy, collaboration, transformation, and engagement across the organization.
Before joining WECC, Steve served as Director of Regulatory Programs at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), where he led and developed a working group to support the alignment, effectiveness, and oversight of the CMEP activities within the ERO Enterprise. Steve initially joined NERC as a Standards Developer, where he delivered the transformation of NERC's Critical Infrastructure Protection cybersecurity standards under aggressive timelines and led outreach and alignment efforts across the electric utility industry.
Before joining NERC, Steve was an attorney at the Minnesota Legislature, where he advised legislative members and coordinated rulemaking with agencies within the executive branch. Steve served in the United States Army, and during his deployment to Iraq, he received the Bronze Star Medal. Steve holds a Bachelor of Science in international politics from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School.
Kris Raper
Vice President, Strategic Engagement and External Affairs
Kris Raper, Vice President of External Affairs, is responsible for the management of External Affairs and International Relations and is a member of WECC's Strategic Engagement team.
Before joining WECC, Kris served as an appointed commissioner for the Idaho Public Utilities Commission for seven years. While a Commissioner, Kris was involved with the California Independent System Operator Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) and served as a member of the Governance Review Committee that considered governance changes for the EIM, including the anticipated impact of a day-ahead market. Kris has served as chair of the Western Interconnection Regional Advisory Body and as one of two Western representatives on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners Joint Task Force on Electric Transmission.
Before being appointed Commissioner, Kris served as deputy attorney general to the Idaho Commission for seven years. She holds an undergraduate degree in criminal justice from Boise State University and completed her juris doctor degree at the University of Idaho College of Law.
Branden Sudduth
Vice President of Reliability Planning and Performance Analysis
Branden Sudduth, Vice President of Reliability Planning and Performance Analysis, is responsible for WECC's technical and analysis functions, including Reliability Planning and Assessments, Standards Development, Performance Analysis, Event Analysis, and Situation Awareness.
In his previous role as Director of Reliability Risk Management, Branden provided leadership and strategic direction for the Performance Analysis and Event Analysis/Situation Awareness departments and was responsible for supporting several industry stakeholder efforts through WECC's Operating and Market Interface Committees.
Branden holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Brigham Young University, a Master of Engineering degree in electrical engineering from the University of Idaho, and an MBA from Weber State University.