Patrick Hughes, SVP Technical and Industry Affairs, NEMA

Patrick E. Hughes, AStd, is Senior Vice President of Operations and Strategy at the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), the industry-leading trade association and ANSI-accredited standards developing organization. NEMA represents 325 electrical equipment and medical imaging manufacturers that make safe, reliable, and efficient products and systems serving seven major markets: Building Infrastructure, Building Systems, Industrial Products and Systems, Lighting Systems, Transportation Systems, Utility Products and Systems, and Medical Imaging. NEMA-represented industries account for 370,000 American jobs and $124 billion in annual shipments.

Patrick leads a team of nearly 30 technical experts and oversees NEMA's strategic planning activities to position NEMA and electrical manufacturers for long-term success and sustainability. He also oversees the NEMA Strategic Initiatives program—an idea accelerator that incubates innovative projects to prepare NEMA Members for emerging opportunities and technologies, including electrification, digitalization, smart cities, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, connected and autonomous vehicles, wireless communication (5G), and more.

With expertise on energy technology and policy—including energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy finance, building codes and standards, climate science and policy, smart grid, electricity transmission and distribution, electricity markets, and utility business models—Patrick has been sought out as an expert witness, conference presenter, and published author.

Before his promotion to Vice President, Patrick was Senior Director of Government Relations and Strategic Initiatives where he was the principal lead for NEMA's legislative and regulatory government relations work on grid modernization, high-performance buildings, energy storage systems, electric vehicles, and more.

Before joining NEMA, Patrick was Senior Associate at the Energy Future Coalition, an initiative of the United Nations Foundation, where he developed innovative new policy approaches to increase the energy efficiency of commercial buildings and advocated for policies that resulted in increased investment in electric grid infrastructure to interconnect remote renewable energy resources. Prior to that, he worked in the Washington, DC office of Congresswoman Grace F. Napolitano (D-California) and for multiple congressional campaigns.

Patrick has a M.S. in Energy Policy and Climate Science from Johns Hopkins University and B.A. degrees in Political Science and Spanish from the University of Rochester. He is a certified as a Standards Professional (AStd) by the Society for Standards Professionals.

Craig Updyke, Director, Global Policy & International Trade, ASTM

ASTM International (ASTM) is a globally recognized leader in the development and delivery of voluntary consensus standards. Today, 13,000 ASTM standards are used around the world to improve product quality, enhance health and safety, strengthen market access and trade, and build consumer confidence. ASTM leadership in international standards development is driven by the contributions of its members: more than 30,000 of the world’s top technical experts and business professionals across 150 countries. Working in an open and transparent process and using ASTM’s advanced IT infrastructure, members create test methods, specifications, classifications, guides and practices that support industries and governments worldwide and fuel trade by opening new markets and creating new trading partners for enterprises everywhere. For businesses ranging from Fortune 500 leaders to emerging startups, ASTM standards help level the playing field to foster competition in the global economy. Beyond standards development, ASTM offers certification and declaration through a subsidiary, the Safety Equipment Institute, as well as technical training programs and laboratory services programs such as proficiency testing.

Based in Washington, DC, Craig Updyke serves as ASTM’s senior director of global policy and international trade. In this role, Craig is responsible for sharing government policy developments across the organization and for building strong recognition and support for ASTM International through strategic relationships with policymakers, regulators, global institutions, companies, associations, and related business forums. Craig also develops and implements initiatives to support reform of policies that serve as technical barriers to trade and to promote consistent good regulatory practices that advance ASTM's mission and objectives. Craig oversees ASTM's outreach in the Asia-Pacific region and to the United Nations and contributes to ASTM's work with other international organizations, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Before joining ASTM in April 2020, Craig worked for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), where over twenty years he served in roles of increasing responsibility focused largely on international policy and trade issues. Craig holds an M.A. in European Affairs from Georgetown University and B.A. in International Relations and German from the University of California, Davis.