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Built for the Storm: How Data and AI Readiness Shape Real-World Outcomes

When extreme weather hits, there is no time for theory. In this discussion, Fred Knops, Senior VP, Energy and Utility Solutions, and Valerie Logan, Chief Strategy Officer and Founder of The Data Lodge, explore what actually matters in the first critical hours of a weather crisis. They unpack how data quality, shared literacy, and workforce readiness shape real-world outcomes, and why these moments reveal far more than any post-mortem report.

If your organization is navigating climate volatility and high-stakes decision-making, this conversation is worth your time.

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Meet Our Speakers

Valerie Logan

CEO & Founder, The Data Lodge

Chief Strategy Officer, Data Society Group

Founding The Data Lodge in 2019, Valerie is as committed to data literacy as it gets. With train-the-trainer bootcamps, and a peer community, she’s certifying the world’s first Data Literacy Program Leads.

In 2023, The Data Lodge was acquired as the basis of a newly formed venture, Data Society Group (DSG), aimed at fostering data and AI literacy and cultural change at scale. Valerie is excited to also serve as the Chief Strategy Officer of DSG.

Previously, Valerie was a Gartner Research VP in the CDO team where she pioneered the Data Literacy research and was awarded Gartner’s Top Thought Leadership Award (2018). Valerie has more than 30 years of experience in consulting leadership and telecommunications.

Valerie holds a B.S. in Math (SUNY College, Buffalo) and an M.S. in Applied Math (New Mexico State). She lives between the Adirondacks in Upstate NY, and Sarasota, FL with her husband Brian, and their yellow lab, Cooper, the Lodge mascot.

Fred Knops

Senior VP, Energy and Utility Solutions

Fred Knops is currently the Senior Vice President and Energy Sector Lead at Data Society, a role he has held since February 2020. Data Society specializes in providing data science solutions and training across various sectors including health, financial services, and defense, assisting clients in transforming data into actionable insights.

Prior to this, he served as Chief Executive Officer at LendPro and a Senior Vice President and Partner at Booz Allen Hamilton. Fred's 30-year career is underpinned by his focus in Critical Infrastructure Protection, with a primary focus on energy and telecommunications. He has provided IT and AI-enabled services to notable clients such as the Dominion, FirstEnergy, AT&T, Siemens, T-Mobile, and the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Defense.

Fred holds an MS in Aerospace Engineering from The University of Michigan, an MBA from The George Washington University, and a Post Graduate Degree in Entrepreneurship from the University of Cambridge Judge Business School.