John C. Lee
(first seated 2011)

John C. Lee serves as president and CEO of Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative, based in Case City, Virginia, a position he has held since January 2008. He began his electric cooperative career in 1992 as community relations specialist for Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC), a Glen Allen, Virginia-based generation and transmission cooperative, working on its joint development with Dominion Energy of the coal-fired Clover Power Station in Halifax County. He would go on to work at ODEC for 16 years as director of economic development, manager of administration, and vice president of member and external relations.

Lee currently serves as secretary-treasurer of the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative Board of Directors where he chairs its strategic planning committee and serves on the executive, power supply and human resources committees. In addition, Lee holds a seat on the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives (VMD) Board of Directors, where he chairs the statewide’s finance and Gaff-n-Go Lineman’s Rodeo committees and serves on committees for safety and training services and human resources. He also is vice chair of the VMD CEO Advisory Committee and board secretary-treasurer of Regional Headquarters, Inc., which oversees jointly owned cooperative real-estate holdings.

Along with serving as chair of the NRECA Region 1 nominating and resolutions committees, Lee was appointed by the state governor to serve on the Southside Virginia Higher Education Center Board of Directors. In addition, he is a member of the Southern Virginia Higher Education Foundation Board of Directors and co-founder of the Southside Virginia Community College Power Line Worker Training School at Fort Pickett, where he continues to serve on the school’s advisory board.

Lee also sits on the VCU-Health Community Memorial Healthcenter Board of Directors, chairing the governance committee and serving on the finance committee, and as a member of the Medical College of Virginia Board of Trustees Finance Committee.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Mississippi State University.

James Webb
(first seated 2012)

James Webb has served as president and CEO of Lower Valley Energy, based in Afton, Wyoming, since October 1994. He joined the cooperative (then known as Lower Valley Power & Light) in 1987 as financial services manager before advancing to assistant general manager in January 1992. He then became general manager at Sagle, Idaho-based Northern Lights, Inc., from April 1993 to October 1994 before assuming his current position.

In addition to the NCSC board, Webb holds seats on the Northwest Requirements Utilities Board of Directors and the Northwest Energy Services Cooperative Board of Directors. He was also appointed as a commissioner of the Wyoming Energy Commission (2001–2006) and sits on the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and as president Energy Conservation Works (formerly Jackson Hole Energy Sustainability Project).

A Certified Public Accountant, Webb earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Utah; took courses in the advanced management program at University of North Carolina; and has graduated from the NRECA Robert I. Kabat Management Internship Program.

R. Wayne Stratton
(first seated 2015)

Wayne Stratton serves as a director of Shelby Energy Cooperative, based in Shelbyville, Kentucky. He also serves as his co-op’s representative on the East Kentucky Power Cooperative (G&T) Board of Directors, including a stint as past chair; as a former member of the ACES Power Marketing (now ACES) Board of Directors; and as a former member of the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation Board of Directors (elected to fill the At-Large Audit Committee Financial Expert seat, 2007–2013).

A Certified Public Accountant and partner with Jones, Nale & Mattingly PLC, Stratton has been designated as a Certified Forensic Accountant by the American College of Forensic Examiners and a Certified Fraud Examiner by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. He served as past president, Kentucky Society of Certified Public Accountants; former chair, Kentucky Higher Education Authority; and chair, Republic Bancorp Audit Committee. He also has been recognized as one of the top tax accountants in the country by Money magazine.

Stratton earned a B.B.A in accounting from the University of Cincinnati.

Deborah Erickson
(first seated 2017)

Deb Erickson has served as a director with Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative, based in Jordan, Minnesota, since 2010 and currently represents her cooperative on the Minnesota Rural Electric Association (statewide) Board of Directors, where she is a member of the Resolutions Committee and serves as a Rural Electric Political Action Committee trustee.

A financial adviser with Market Financial since 2003, she was appointed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty to serve as the 2nd Congressional District representative on the Minnesota Compensation Council (2009–2013). In addition, she has been a Rotarian since 2003 and has held posts as club president, secretary, membership chair and on the District 5950 Leadership Team.

Erickson received an associate degree in business marketing from Ridgewater College and attended the Southwest State University CAP program in business management.

Kathryn (Kathy) Cooper-Winters
(first seated 2015)

Kathy Cooper-Winters serves as board chair of Northwestern Rural Electric Cooperative Association, based in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, where she has been seated for more than 30 years. She also represents her cooperative on the Allegheny Electric Cooperative (G&T) Board of Directors, including posts as board vice chairman and board treasurer, and on the Cooperative Services (G&T) Board of Directors.

Past owner of Agvize, Inc., a tax and accounting firm for 150 farm clients in northwestern Pennsylvania for 27 years, she also worked as a member services representative for Northwestern RECA for eight years and served as secretary-treasurer of W&K Winters, Inc.

In addition, she serves as a director with Member to Member, Inc., Saegertown United Methodist Church Food Pantry, Meadville Area Soup Kitchen and Pennsylvania Stitchers, Quilts of Valor. She previously was elected as a Woodcock Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, auditor.

Cooper-Winters earned a bachelor’s degree in consumer-related services, and CPE credits for tax practitioners from Penn State University. She also has achieved NRECA Credentialed Cooperative Director, Board Leadership Certificate and Director Gold Certificate status.

Steve Rhodes
(first seated 2019)

Steve Rhodes currently serves as CEO of Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative (CHELCO) in Florida.  Prior to his arrival at CHELCO in 2013, he held the position of president and CEO at Kosciusko Rural Electric Membership Cooperative in Warsaw, Indiana, for 10 years. Before that, he worked at Midwest Energy Cooperative in Cassopolis, Michigan, as vice president of marketing and customer services, and as president and CEO of Western Michigan Electric Cooperative in Scottville, Michigan.

Rhodes recently served as chairman of the Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives Board of Directors, the national branding organization representing for the nation’s electric cooperatives. He is a member of the PowerSouth (G&T) Board of Trustees and Southeastern Data Cooperative (SEDC) Board of Directors, and holds a seat on the executive committee of the Okaloosa County (FL) Economic Development Council. 

Rhodes received an M.B.A. from the University of Toledo Graduate School of Business and bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Toledo.

Cozy Nelsen
(first seated 2018)

Cozy Nelsen serves as CEO with Guthrie County Rural Electric Cooperative Association, based in Guthrie Center, Iowa. She currently holds posts as secretary-treasurer and president-elect of the Central Iowa Power Cooperative (G&T) Managers Group and as a member of the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives (statewide) regulatory affairs and safety committees.

A former office manager with Guthrie County Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Nelsen is a member of the Guthrie Center Lions Club. She earned a bachelor’s degree in management specializing in marketing and finance, with a minor in French, from Simpson College, and graduated from the NRECA Robert I. Kabat Management Internship Program.

Kristina Bahr
(first seated 2019)

After serving as president of the Inland Power and Light Co. (WA) Board of Trustees, Kristina Bahr now holds an at-large position on her cooperative’s board. An NRECA Credentialed Cooperative Director, she previously served as president of the Washington Rural Electric Cooperative Association (statewide) Board of Directors. 

In addition to her cooperative duties, Bahr has worked as a commercial insurance underwriter, a residential real estate agent, and former co-owner and manager of a dryland wheat and barley farm operation. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration/finance from Washington State University and achieved a CPCU from the American Institute of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters.

Jeremy Diller
(first seated 2019)

Jeremy Diller has been a member of Bandera Electric Cooperative since 2010 and currently serves on its board of directors. He previously served two terms as a county commissioner in Indiana, as the director of risk management at Indiana Wesleyan University and held the same role more recently for the Texas Association of Public Schools.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in political science from Wheaton College, Diller went on to earn an master’s degree in ministry and an M.B.A. from Indiana Wesleyan University.  

Mark D. Snowden
(first seated 2018)

Mark Snowden has served as CEO of Cimarron Electric Cooperative, based in in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, since 2009. He began his career with the cooperative in 1998 in the Member Services Department before becoming CFO in 2007.

In addition to the NCSC board, Snowden serves on the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives (statewide) Board of Directors, including as past chairman of the Legislative Committee, and as an alternate on the Western Farmers Electric Cooperative (G&T) Board of Directors, including as a member and past chair of its Managers Group. He also is a member and past chair of the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives Managers Association and chair of the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives Touchstone Energy Disaster Relief Fund.

Snowden earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Southwestern Oklahoma State University. He served from 2015 to 2018 on the CFC Board of Directors, representing District 8.