EMP-24

Michael Silverman has found his degree from Kellogg to be a valuable investment. In 1999, he founded duoconsulting.com to help clients,like the Christian Science Monitor, Chicago Public Library and Careerbuilder.comleverage the web along with other lesser-known clients. He is still trying to connect technology and business and would love to hear how each of the other classmates have navigated the last 20 years.

	Greg Powell EMP-24 with son Greg at his Columbia College graduation

Greg Powell writes: “The last five years have been quite interesting for me and my family. I spent just over four of those years with the Chicago Sun-Times News Group. You don’t have to read the papers to understand what is going on in the print media industry. Perhaps I should say if you would read newspapers, the print media industry would be performing much better. Technology and lifestyle changes mark a new era in the production and distribution of reading content. In any event, declining sales, mergers and bankruptcy are prevalent throughout the industry, while new business models surface. I miss the fun and talented people who still enjoy the chase of the unique story or provocative storyline.

“Last November, I joined the Midwest ISO located in Carmel, Ind., as the vice president of human resources. The Midwest ISO is one of the electricity grid operators in the United States. Our operations are in the Midwest region, spanning 14 states and Manitoba, Canada. We are responsible for the reliability of the electricity highway transmission system, comprising thousands of transmission lines and several hundred generating plants. We also operate an electricity market much like the New York Mercantile Exchange, except that we facilitate trading in electricity for the ‘day-ahead’ market and in the ‘real-time’ market. We are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington D.C., and our main competitors are grid operators in the northeastern and southern part of the United States.

“My wife Kelly continues to do a great job taking care of our entire family. My mother still lives with us as she simultaneously and bravely battles a combination of health issues. Our daughter Erin (14) is competing well both inside and outside of the junior high school class room. She is a high-energy basketball and volleyball player and a great student. Next year, she’s in high school. Our son Greg just graduated from Columbia College in Chicago with a degree in film editing. We are very proud of him. Greg was 6 years old when he attended the EMP-24 commencement activities in1992.

“Also, a special thanks to Eileen Clune for doing a great job in assuming the responsibilities of EMP-24 class representative.”