Board and Management

Appointed on April 14, 2020
Executive Chairman & CEO, FRP Holdings, Inc.
Chair, Board of Directors

Appointed on April 14, 2020
President, The Regency Group
Vice Chair, Board of Directors

Appointed on April 14, 2020
Executive Vice President & Regional President, Iberia Bank
Secretary, Board of Directors

Appointed on April 14, 2020
Lieutenant General, U.S. Army (Retired)

Appointed on April 14, 2020
President & CEO, Edward Waters College

Appointed April 14, 2020
CEO, UF Health Jacksonville

Appointed on April 14, 2020
President and CEO, Ascension Florida

Paul McElroy was named JEA’s interim managing director and chief executive officer by the board of directors on May 5, 2020. He previously served JEA as its permanent managing director and CEO from 2012 to 2018, and prior to that as the company’s chief financial officer and vice president of financial services.

Before originally joining JEA, Mr. McElroy served as a vice president and general manager for Bombardier Capital in Jacksonville and in Colchester, Vermont. Prior to that, he served in a variety of management positions with Pitney Bowes Credit Corp., including controller, director of marketing and vice president of internal finance in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Mr. McElroy currently serves on the board of trustees at the University of North Florida. He has previously served on the boards for The Energy Authority, Florida Reliability Coordinating Council, Northeast Florida Safety Council, Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies. He has also held several leadership positions within the American Public Power Association, including treasurer, chair of the Finance and Audit Committee and Retirement Committee and as an executive committee member. He also served as a member of the Large Public Power Council CEO Roundtable.

Mr. McElroy holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana and a certificate from the Advanced Management Program of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He pursued graduate-level studies at the University of Bridgeport and the University of New Haven in Connecticut.

Herschel Vinyard has served as JEA’s Chief Administrative Officer since April 2019. In this role, Mr. Vinyard oversees corporate compliance, legal, environmental and government affairs, in addition to serving as a strategic advisor to JEA’s senior leadership team.

Prior to joining JEA, Mr. Vinyard served as Of Counsel for Foley & Lardner LLP in both its Government Solutions and Environmental Regulation Practices in its Jacksonville and Tallahassee offices. He positioned clients for success with federal, state and local officials on a range of economic development, environmental and legislative matters.

Mr. Vinyard served as Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection under Governor Rick Scott from 2011-2014, where he was involved in all aspects of state-level environmental policy and regulation, including environmental permitting, water policy and ecosystem restoration.

Before serving the State of Florida, Mr. Vinyard was the director of business operations for the southeast shipyards division of BAE Systems, one of the world’s largest defense contractors. Mr. Vinyard started his career as a partner in the Jacksonville-based law firm of Smith Hulsey & Busey, where he focused on environmental law.

Mr. Vinyard has served on the boards of numerous local organizations, including the Jacksonville Port Authority, First Coast Manufacturers Association and World Affairs Council of Jacksonville. Mr. Vinyard received both his law degree and bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University.

Joseph Orfano has served as JEA's Interim Chief Financial Officer since December 2019 and as Treasurer since December 2013. He is responsible for overseeing all financial affairs for the utility, including financial reporting, treasury, rates, financial planning, budgeting and insurance. He also currently serves on the Finance and Audit Committee of The Energy Authority (“TEA”).

Prior to joining JEA, Mr. Orfano was director of treasury for a mining company in Scottsdale, Arizona. Before that, he held a variety of treasury management positions over more than 20 years in a number of large, diversified electric utility companies, including NV Energy Inc., SCANA Corporation and Florida Progress Corporation. Early in his career, he gained experience in corporate banking in Florida and Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Notre Dame.

Caren Anders has lead responsibility for producing and delivering energy to JEA's 485,000 electric customers in a safe, reliable and cost-competitive manner, and in full compliance with regulatory objectives. In this role, she and her team are responsible for planning, constructing, operating and maintaining JEA’s electric system, including generation plants and transmission, substation and distribution systems.

Ms. Anders joined JEA in January 2019 from Duke Energy. A seasoned energy executive, she brings operational leadership, financial acumen, strategy and innovation, and compliance and risk management to her leadership role at JEA. At both Duke and Exelon Corp., she led high-performing teams across the energy spectrum, including Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Emerging Technologies, and Shared Services. Along with her vast electric experience, she also has expertise in new technologies, strategic business performance, compliance, financial management, employee engagement and customer satisfaction.

Ms. Anders has served on the boards of PT Holding Company LLC, Peak Tower LLC, SERC Reliability Corp. and the Florida Reliability Coordination Council. She has also served her community as a board member for Junior Achievement, Central Carolinas and United Way, Greater Triangle N.C. She earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in finance from Drexel University and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Pennsylvania.

Deryle Calhoun is responsible for leading JEA's water and wastewater operations, construction and strategy execution, and delivering exceptional service to JEA customers across a four-county area. Each day, JEA delivers over 110 MGD (millions of gallons a day) of potable water and 20 MGD of reclaimed water and collects and treats almost 80 MGD of wastewater. The Water/Wastewater System is comprised of 38 water treatment plants, 11 wastewater plants and over 1,400 wastewater pump stations. Mr. Calhoun is currently leading a resiliency program that will improve water, wastewater and district energy system reliability during extreme weather events like hurricanes.

Mr. Calhoun began his career in water/wastewater in 1993 with the City of Jacksonville Public Utilities as a project engineer and joined JEA in 1997 when the city's water and wastewater services were transferred to JEA. Mr. Calhoun served at the director level for 20 years, first with the Distribution and Collection team and most recently with Water, Wastewater and Reuse Treatment and District Energy Services.

Mr. Calhoun holds a BS in Environmental Engineering from the University of Florida and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Florida.

Kerri Stewart joined JEA as Chief Customer Officer in 2017, bringing more than 13 years of public service experience to the organization. In her role, she leads JEA business units responsible for customer care, customer revenue, data/analytics, field and meter services, marketing, community engagement, and market development. Previously, she served as Chief of Staff for Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, providing policy and public affairs guidance to the mayor.

Prior to returning to the City of Jacksonville, Ms. Stewart was a Partner and Senior Vice President at Infinity Global Solutions. Drawing on her extensive experience in both the public and private sectors, she focused on assisting clients in the areas of government privatization, public infrastructure development, general management consulting and government relations. She also served as interim president of Visit Jacksonville, Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) and Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville as part of her management consulting practice.

Before she joined IGS, Ms. Stewart served as the Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Jacksonville under Mayors John Peyton and Alvin Brown. In this role, she oversaw day-to-day government operations for the city, including directing a nearly 5,000-member workforce and managing the $1 billion municipal budget and $164 million annual capital improvement plan.

During her years of public service, Ms. Stewart also served as director of the city’s Housing and Neighborhoods Department, created the Office of Operational Efficiency (now known as the Inspector General’s Office), and served as a policy advisor to Mayor Peyton. Prior to joining the City of Jacksonville, she worked as a Program Manager for Alltel Information Systems in Leeds, United Kingdom and in Jacksonville.

Ms. Stewart is a graduate of the University of North Florida’s Coggin School of Business with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, double-majoring in Marketing and Management. She also holds a certificate in Business Analytics from the Harvard Schools of Business (HBS) and Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS).

Jon Kendrick is responsible for leading JEA’s Human Resources groups, which include Recruiting, Compensation, Benefits, Payroll, Labor Relations, Leadership & Development, Safety and Health, Organizational Excellence, and HR Business Partners. He has more than 25 years of human resources experience that spans the healthcare, financial services, transportation and technology industries, including a previous tenure at JEA. He most recently served as Human Resources Director for Yusen Logistics (Americas) Inc. in Jacksonville. He also retired with 24 years in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and has served as a bi-vocational pastor.

Mr. Kendrick holds certifications as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and as a Senior Certified Professional from the Society for Human Resource Management (SCP-SHRM). He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Florida and a Master of Divinity from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Mr. McCarthy is responsible for leading JEA's logistics operations and support services groups. His responsibilities include JEA's facilities, fleet, real estate, procurement, inventory management, investment recovery, emergency management planning and recovery and utility locates groups.  The team ensures JEA's material readiness is at the highest levels and lowest cost, while ensuring corporate funds are committed under ethical standards to deliver the greatest value to JEA in compliance with state and local laws.

Mr. McCarthy joined JEA in 2002 after a successful 20-year career as a U.S. Navy Supply Officer. During his 16 years at JEA, he served in various leadership roles within the logistics groups, including an initial assignment as a Procurement Project Coordinator where he developed an aggregated sourcing model adopted by seven different utility companies. This resulted in the strategic sourcing of over $400 million over a 10-year period. Other notable roles include JEA's Chief Procurement Officer and Incident Command Logistics Section Chief where he implemented a hurricane preparedness strategy for critical storm materials providing 100 percent on-site material availability for the restoration periods following Hurricanes Matthew and Irma. He also served as JEA's United Way Campaign Chairman.

Mr. McCarthy received his B.S. degree from the U.S. Naval Academy and an M.B.A. degree from The Ohio State University. He is a member of Leadership Jacksonville, class of 2013, and holds advanced certificates in executive contract negotiations and supply chain strategy and management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management.

Steve McInall is responsible for long-term planning for JEA’s energy and water sectors, overseeing the development of a more than $1 Billion capital program.  Mr. McInall’s groups are responsible for the Integrated Resource Plans for both the electric and water systems.  He is responsible for JEA’s renewable energy portfolio, including landfill gas and solar photovoltaic (PV). During his tenure, JEA’s solar PV portfolio has grown from 12 MW to 34 MW, with another 5 MW plant under construction and 5-50 MW facilities (250 MW) in the contract stage.  He is also responsible for real estate acquisitions and sales.  

Mr. McInall has been with JEA since 2011, serving as the Director of the Electric Production Resource Planning Department, with oversight of the Electric Generation Planning, Fuels Management Services, Natural Gas Commercial Services and Byproducts Production Services areas, and as the Manager of Nuclear Generation Business.   

Prior to joining JEA, Mr. McInall had a 27-year career at several regional and national engineering consulting firms, including Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation, Boston, and MACTEC Engineering and Consulting, in Tallahassee and Jacksonville. Clients included major US utilities, such as Dominion and TVA, as well as the US Department of Energy and the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Mr. McInall holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Master of Public Policy degree from Jacksonville University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.  He is also a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional, in Building Design and Construction. 

Mr. McInall is on the Board of the North Florida Chapter of the US Green Building Council and serves as Vice-Chair on the St Johns County Citizens Flood Mitigation Advisory Committee. He also serves on the Board of Advisors for the Jacksonville University Public Policy Institute.

Mr. Steinbrecher is responsible for leading JEA's Environmental Services group. Core group functions include environmental permitting and compliance assistance for JEA's numerous electric and water business facilities, environmental incident response and reporting, due diligence, waste programs in which JEA serves as an environmental regulatory agency, and full-service environmental laboratory functions to support the enterprise's extensive monitoring and environmental reporting activities. In this role, he leads the organization in ensuring the highest levels of environmental compliance and incorporation of sustainability into all JEA's planning activities.

Mr. Steinbrecher's career has focused on finding and advancing cost-effective environmental and engineering solutions for utilities, business and industry and governments. Mr. Steinbrecher joined JEA in 2001.  He is highly active in Florida environmental policy and regulatory issues, currently serving as President of the Florida Water Environment Association Utility Council and a national board member of the WateReuse Association and a long-term member of the Florida Electric Power Coordinating Group Environmental Committee. Based on his prior experience, he also helps lead the utility in forward thinking water resource solutions.

Prior to joining JEA, Mr. Steinbrecher was a process engineer and program manager for CH2M Hill, designing water and wastewater systems and assisting industries and municipalities with environmental projects worldwide. Mr. Steinbrecher holds BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering from Valparaiso University and the University of Arkansas, respectively. He is a registered professional engineer in Florida and a member of the Leadership Jacksonville, class of 2015.

Kurtis Wilson joined JEA in March 2020 on an interim basis to lead its Office of Government Affairs, which is responsible for fostering relationships with federal, state and local partners and legislative bodies that impact JEA. 

Prior to joining JEA, Mr. Wilson served 25 years with the Jacksonville Fire & Rescue Department, moving through the ranks from firefighter to Director/Fire Chief. It is there that his government affairs responsibilities began in 2011, when he was appointed to Division Chief of Administrative Services. Following that he was appointed to Division Chief of Fire Prevention in 2012, Division Chief of Operations in 2013, and ultimately Chief of the Department in 2015. In that role he worked with most city agencies, department heads and local elected officials to help solve problems they faced in the realm of public safety. His responsibilities included managing 1,600 personnel, all budget and legislative affairs, delivering state-of-the-art fire-rescue services to Duval County residents, and managing responses to large-scale events such as hurricanes Matthew and Irma, industrial accidents and multi-alarm structure fires.

Mr. Wilson earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration from Flagler College and holds numerous certifications in Incident Command System, Hazardous Materials, and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR). 

In his role as Chief Information Officer, Shawn Eads oversees JEA’s enterprise-wide information systems and infrastructure, ensuring they meet current and upcoming organizational goals and positioning JEA as a digital innovator and utility of the future. He is highly skilled in developing operational strategies with a record of success in identifying new and emerging business opportunities.

Mr. Eads joined JEA in March 2019 from GE Appliances, where he served as Senior Director of IT Programs and Business Development. There he held responsibility for Oracle ERP, risk and compliance, predictive analytics, engineering systems, ITSM, application and database services, vendor management, product management and new product introduction.

Innovation and education are two of Mr. Eads’s passions. While at GEA, he built a team responsible for cloud and user interfaces in home energy management and Wi-Fi-connected appliances. His team developed several industry firsts such as GENEVA, the first Amazon Alexa skill to control home appliances through voice. There he also established an Innovation Organization focused on unleashing creativity within his IT group and founded a weeklong IT learning conference-style event called E ³ – Educate, Enable, Excel – providing keynote speakers, business updates and technical trainings.

Mr. Eads earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana and an MBA from Xavier University.

As JEA’s Interim Chief Compliance Officer, Steve Tuten is responsible for JEA’s primary governance, risk and compliance (GRC) areas, including Audit Services, CIP Compliance, Electric Compliance, Ethics and Security. He has served as JEA’s director of audit services since November 2015.

Mr. Tuten has more than 35 years of internal audit, finance and consulting experience, primarily in the financial services industry. His Audit Services position is his third time serving as a Chief Audit Executive, having served in similar roles at Southern National Bank (now BB&T) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and EverBank (now TIAA Bank) in Jacksonville.

Jody L. Brooks rejoined the City of Jacksonville’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) in April 2020 and serves as Chief Legal Counsel to JEA. She provides operational, transactional and governance legal services to the organization.

Ms. Brooks previously worked for OGC from April 2013 to March 2019 and served as the Chief Legal Officer for JEA from 2016 to 2019. Immediately prior to rejoining OGC, Ms. Brooks worked as an Assistant County Attorney for Clay County.

Prior to her public service, Ms. Brooks served as General Counsel at Allen Land Group Inc. and in-house counsel with The St. Joe Company. She began her legal career as an associate with Lewis, Longman and Walker, P.A.

Ms. Brooks received her Juris Doctor, with honors, from the University of Florida, Fredric G. Levin College of Law, with a Certificate in Environmental Land Use Law in December 2000.