As President of Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO), Mr. Skaar oversees the reliability of the Bulk Electric System (BES) for the upper Midwest Region of the United States and Canada consistent with its delegated authorities from the applicable governments.  Over the past 11 years, Mr. Skaar established three separate corporations in the bulk electric reliability arena and was heavily involved in the cooperative effort between the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and the eight Regional Entities in drafting the original Electric Reliability Organization rules under Section 215 of the Federal Power Act.  Under the leadership of Mr. Skaar, MRO negotiated arrangements with Canadian provincial entities consistent with  the bilateral principles between the United States and Canada.   

The MRO region includes investor owned utilities, generation and transmission cooperatives, municipalities, joint action agencies, generators, regional transmission organizations, marketers, U.S. federal power entities and two Canadian provinces.  MRO’s technical configuration is unique in the Eastern Interconnection as it is a stability constrained system sharing many performance similarities to the Western Interconnection.  MRO’s governance structure includes a diverse, balanced stakeholder board that employs a consensus-based approach in key matters related to BES reliability.

As Chief Executive Officer of MRO’s predecessor, the Mid-Continent Area Power Pool (MAPP), Mr. Skaar was instrumental in the functional unbundling of key elements of the regional BES operations and was responsible for implementing 24X7 reliability coordination, regional planning, tariff administrations, and other reliability functions currently employed by regional transmission organizations and other organizations similar to MRO. While at MAPP, Mr. Skaar spun off applicable functions to Midwest ISO and established MRO, becoming its President in 2005.   Prior to MRO and MAPP, Mr. Skaar led the international operations for a software company, IDeaAs, where he oversaw offices in Eagan, MN, London, UK, Singapore, and established a service center in India.  Mr. Skaar also held the position of Vice-President of Unregulated Businesses for a midsized investor owned utility holding company, NI Source.  Prior to that, Mr. Skaar was employed by Honeywell, Inc (a systems and controls business) for approximately 12 years where he served in a number of leadership roles in operations, sales, and finance in Minneapolis, Detroit, Phoenix, and Chicago. 

Mr. Skaar holds a BA and MBA from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, and is also a graduate of the University of Minnesota’s Advantage Executive Program.  Mr. Skaar retains an active CPA license and is involved in several industry associations. Mr. Skaar served as chair of the Regional Entities Management Group (an executive group comprised of all eight Regional Entities) and also served as chair (appointee) to the Ramsey County Commission on Capital Projects.   Mr. Skaar was an initial director of ReliabilityFirst Corporation, one of the eight Regional Entities, and was very involved in its initial development and start-up.

Wayne VanOsdol has 28 years of experience working in electric utility bulk power system operation.  Mr. VanOsdol began his career working for an investor owned utility in the upper Midwest where he spent nine years in power plant operation and energy production, and five years in power system operation.  He then moved to Regional and RTO real-time operation where he spent ten years managing the 24/7 Reliability Coordinator operation for the Mid-Continent Area Power Pool (MAPP) and the Midwest ISO west region.  Mr. VanOsdol was hired by MRO in 2006 to lead the Compliance Department.       

Mr. VanOsdol holds a Technical Degree in Electricity and Bulk Power Operation, a Degree in Business, is a NERC certified System Reliability Operator and a member of the American Power Dispatcher Association.  Mr. VanOsdol actively participates on NERC and Regional Entity working groups.

Dan Schoenecker joined the MRO leadership team in July 2007 as Enforcement and Mitigation Manager, and was promoted to Vice President Operations in August 2008.

Mr. Schoenecker brings a diverse background to the leadership team having held several positions with Great River Energy, including; Manager of System Operations responsible for generation and transmission operations, and Manager of Field Services overseeing construction and maintenance of transmission and substations.  Mr. Schoenecker also held the position of Vice President of Member Relations for Split Rock Energy, a wholesale marketing entity, and just prior to joining MRO he served as Vice President of Marketing for Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative.  In this position, Mr. Schoenecker worked with large commercial and industrial customers on back-up generation projects and energy efficiency improvements. 

Ms. Patrick is responsible for the enforcement of Reliability Standards as detailed in the NERC Compliance and Enforcement Monitoring Program (CMEP) within the MRO region.

Prior to joining MRO, Ms. Patrick served as the Director of Government Affairs for Explore Information Services, LLC, a leading service provider to the property and casualty insurance industry.   Ms. Patrick also served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Arizona under both the administration of Janet Napolitano (D) and Grant Woods (R).  Early in her career, she honed her legal research skills at Thomson West, a leading provider of legal reference materials.

Ms. Patrick was born and raised in Michigan.  She is a graduate of the Lee Honor’s College of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI and received her doctor of jurisprudence (J.D.) from the Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington, IN.  She currently resides in the Twin Cities Metro.

Ms. Patrick is licensed to practice law in Minnesota and Arizona.  She is a Certified Information Privacy Professional and a member of the Energy Bar Association.

Jim Burley joined MRO in June 2007 as Principal Compliance Associate, was promoted to Senior Compliance Manager in 2008, and was recently promoted to Senior Director  Mitigation, Reliability Standards, Training and Education.  Mr. Burley brings 34 years of power system operating experience to MRO.

Mr. Burley came to the organization from Minnkota Power Cooperative (MPC), a Generation and Transmission Cooperative serving eleven distribution cooperatives and municipal utilities in eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota where he held the position of Manager of Control Center Operations and Energy Supply. 

During his employment with MPC, Mr. Burley served on many MAPP Regional Reliability Council Committees and Working Groups, including the Operating Committee, Operating Practices Subcommittee (Chair), Northern MAPP Operating Reliability Working Group, Technical Operations Subcommittee (Vice-Chair), and Compliance Committee (Vice Chair).

Mr. Burley spent his childhood on a small farm in the Red River Valley near Gardner, North Dakota and attended the Wahpeton State College where he graduated with an Associates degree in Electrical Technology.  

Sue Clarke joined the Midwest Reliability Organization in August 2007 as Controller, and was promoted shortly thereafter to Vice President Finance and Administration.

Ms. Clarke’s industry experience includes ten years with Minnegasco (Reliant Energy) as an Administrator of Rate Design and Research.  In that role, Ms. Clarke participated in five rate cases, and most recently, was as an expert rate case witness before the state commission.  Ms. Clarke was also employed at North Central Public Service Company for two years prior to its acquisition by IPS, and spent three years at Apache Corporation before it relocated to Denver, CO.

Raised in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Ms. Clarke graduated from the University of St.. Thomas with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, and later returned to earn a Master's in Business Administration. Ms. Clarke currently resides in the Twin Cities Metro area.