Leadership

Barbara Quiñones is Director of Electric Utilities for the city of Homestead. She serves as the elected Chair of the Florida Municipal Power Agency’s (FMPA) Board of Directors.

Quiñones was originally elected as FMPA’s Vice Chair in January 2014. She has been a member of FMPA’s Board of Directors since 2009. She is also a member of FMPA’s Finance Committee.

Quiñones has served as Homestead’s Director of Electric Utilities since 2009. Previously, Quiñones worked 26 years for Florida Power & Light in a variety of positions including Senior Manager of Statewide Distribution Planning and Design and Senior Manager of Statewide Power Restoration and Power Quality. She is a graduate of Leadership Miami.

Quiñones is active in the Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) and is a past President of the association. She was named FMEA’s 2014-2015 Member of the Year. Under Quiñones’ leadership, Homestead achieved the American Public Power Association’s Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) designation and was awarded a U.S. Department of Energy Resilient Electricity Delivery Infrastructure (REDI) Grant to improve the city’s electrical infrastructure.

Quiñones holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech.

Lynne Tejeda is General Manager and CEO of Keys Energy Services in Key West. She serves as the elected Vice Chair of the Florida Municipal Power Agency’s (FMPA) Board of Directors and FMPA’s All-Requirements Project Executive Committee.

Tejeda was appointed as her utility’s alternate to FMPA’s Board of Directors in 2005 and has been a member of the Board since 2013. Tejeda was first elected Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee in December 2014 and has been a member of the Committee since 2005. She previously served as Secretary of the FMPA’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

Tejeda has served as Keys Energy Services’ General Manager and CEO since 2005. She has been employed by the utility since 1989 in positions including Assistant General Manager and COO.

Tejeda is active in the Florida Municipal Electric Association and is a past President of the association. She was named FMEA’s 2017 Member of the Year. Tejeda previously served on the American Public Power Association’s Board of Directors and was the 2013 recipient of the association’s Harold Kramer-John Preston Personal Service Award. She currently serves on the Board of the Key West Chamber of Commerce.

Tejeda holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in business from Regis University in Denver, Colorado. She is a Certified Public Manager through Florida State University and a graduate of the Berkeley Executive Leadership Program.

Allen Putnam is the Managing Director for Beaches Energy Services in Jacksonville Beach. He serves as the elected Treasurer of the Florida Municipal Power Agency’s (FMPA) Board of Directors and All-Requirements Project Executive Committee.

Putnam has served as Beaches Energy Services’ Managing Director since 2015. Previously, Putnam worked 17 years for Jacksonville Electric Authority in a variety of positions including Manager of Electric Customer Service Response and Manager of Customer Contacts.

Putnam is active in the Florida Municipal Electric Association and currently serves as Past President of FMEA’s Board of Directors.

Putnam holds a bachelor’s degree in management and marketing and a master’s degree in business from the University of North Florida.

Robert Page is a former Green Cove Springs Council Member and two time major. He serves as the elected Secretary of the Florida Municipal Power Agency’s (FMPA) Board of Directors and the Chairman of the Policy Makers Liaison Committee.

Page was appointed to FMPA’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee in 2013. In addition to the Policy Makers Liaison Committee, Page has served on the Conservation & Renewable Energy Advisory Committee and CEO Search Committee.

Page earned a degree in Economics from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. He is a former Naval aviator and General Electric Lighting Business retiree.

Howard McKinnon, CPA, is a consultant and the former Town Manager of the Town of Havana. He serves as the elected Chair of Florida Municipal Power Agency’s (FMPA) All-Requirements Project Executive Committee.

McKinnon was first elected as Chair of the Executive Committee in July 2011. He has been a member of the Executive Committee and FMPA’s Board of Directors since 2006.

McKinnon served as the Town of Havana’s Town Manager for 13 years prior to his retirement in 2019. When the position became open in October 2021, he was asked to temporarily step into the Town Manager role and served until mid-January 2022. McKinnon joined the Town as Finance Director in 2005. Previously, he served eight years as County Manager of Gadsden County, Fla.

McKinnon was active in the Florida Municipal Electric Association and is a past President of the association. He also was active in the American Public Power Association and received the association’s Larry Hobart Seven Hats Award in 2010. The Florida Rural Water Association selected McKinnon as Manager of the Year in 2012.

He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants. McKinnon holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in public administration from Florida State University.

Currently, McKinnon and his wife own an accounting and tax preparation business. He also works with Intuit as a Tax Expert during tax season.

Jacob Williams is General Manager and CEO of Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA), a position he has held since September 2016.

Williams has 38 years of experience in the electric utility industry, including both public power and investor-owned utilities. Prior to joining FMPA, Williams served as Vice President, Global Energy Analytics at Peabody Energy in St. Louis, Missouri. He also was previously with Alliant Energy (formerly Wisconsin Power & Light).

Throughout his career, Williams has served in various positions including energy marketing, trading, integrated resource planning, and generation planning.

Williams holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in business from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Jody Lamar Finklea is the General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer for Florida Municipal Power Agency, a position he has held since September 2017. As General Counsel, Finklea is responsible for the legal and regulatory compliance (NERC) areas for FMPA.

Finklea joined FMPA in 2001 and has held several positions during his tenure. Previously, he served as Deputy General Counsel and Manager of Legal Affairs. Prior to FMPA, Finklea practiced law with Hopping Green & Sams, P.A. in Tallahassee, Florida.

Finklea has more than 22 years of experience in municipal utility law. Finklea also represents the Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) as its General and Regulatory Counsel. As legal counsel to FMPA and FMEA, and each of their utility members, Finklea represents the interests of all Florida’s public power utilities at both the wholesale and retail levels.

Finklea holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., a master’s degree in public administration from the University of North Florida and a juris doctor degree from The Florida State University College of Law. He is admitted to The Florida Bar and has been board certified as an expert in city, county and local government law since 2006.

Finklea is active in the American Public Power Association (APPA) and served as the 2017 Chairman of the Legal Section. In 2011, Finklea was recognized by APPA as a Rising Star in Public Power.

He holds a peer review rating as AV-Preeminent by Martindale Hubble.

Ken Rutter is Chief Operating Officer for Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA), a position he has held since March 2019.

Prior to joining FMPA, Rutter worked with the Basin Electric Cooperative and Dakota Gasification in Bismarck, North Dakota, where he served for more than six years as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Asset Management. Among other responsibilities, he led a team that restructured short-term power and natural gas management, as well as created many value enhancements and commercial transactions for Basin and Dakota Gasification.

He also spent more than 12 years with Ameren in St. Louis, Missouri, serving in a couple roles, most notably Director of Risk Management and a short period as an Internal Auditor.

Rutter has a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Purdue University and a master’s degree in business from Washington University in St. Louis.

Rich Popp is Chief Financial Officer for Florida Municipal Power Agency. He joined FMPA in 2002.

Popp has 31 years of experience in municipal utility finance. Prior to joining FMPA in 2002, Popp served as financial analyst at Kissimmee Utility Authority. Throughout his career, he has served in various supervisory positions, including accounting, auditing, risk management and treasury.

Popp has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Central Florida College of Business and a master’s degree in accounting from Nova Southeastern University. Popp has an inactive CPA and active CTP certification.

Sharon Adams is Chief People and Member Services Officer for Florida Municipal Power Agency. She joined FMPA in 2001.

Adams has more than 22 years of experience in the municipal electric utility industry specializing in human resources. Prior to joining FMPA, Adams worked for more than 10 years in human resources for the nonprofit, retail, recruitment and placement industries.

Adams is a member of the Society of Human Resource Management. She volunteers for several organizations throughout Central Florida.

Adams has a bachelor’s degree in marketing with a minor in business administration and management from Troy University. She is a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Certified Practitioner and is certified in Compensation Design and Administration. She also is certified in Executive Leadership from eCornell University and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace from the University of South Florida.

Chris Gowder is the Chief System Operations and Technology Officer for Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA).

Gowder joined FMPA in 2001, and, over the course of his 23-year career serving FMPA and its Members, has held a range of positions reflecting key responsibilities across the Agency. Prior to his current role, Gowder has worked in the areas of business development, regulatory compliance, resource planning, transmission operations planning, and EMS/SCADA engineering. In addition, Gowder has provided leadership and technical support to the Florida Municipal Power Pool (FMPP) and has participated on various committees with industry organizations, such as North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB), and Florida Reliability Coordinating Council (FRCC).

Gowder holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering from the University of Central Florida and is a member of the IEEE Power and Energy Society.