Wendell Dallas

President and CEO

Wendell Dallas serves as president and CEO of Nicor Gas, one of America’s leading natural gas distributors and the largest distribution company of Southern Company Gas with 2.2 million customers in over 650 Illinois communities. Prior to leading Nicor Gas, Wendell served as vice president of sales and marketing for Georgia Power Company where he was responsible for their topline revenue growth strategy, new product development, product distribution, e-commerce, electric transportation, sales management and energy efficiency.

Wendell brings with him deep institutional knowledge gained from more than 30 years of leadership, operations and engineering experience in the natural gas industry. Prior to joining Georgia Power, he served as vice president of operations for two Southern Company Gas subsidiaries, Atlanta Gas Light and Chattanooga Gas. In these multistate leadership roles, he was responsible for ensuring the company’s operational excellence in delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable natural gas to more than 700,000 customers in five Georgia and Tennessee regions. He also served as the vice president of economic and community development for the Southern Company Gas multistate footprint.

A native of Opelika, Alabama, Dallas holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn University and is a graduate of Leadership Georgia, Leadership Atlanta and Leadership Savannah. He and his wife have three grown children.

James M. Gorenz

Treasurer

Gorenz is director of finance for Nicor Gas. In this role, he is responsible for the development of the company’s financial plan and assuring its financial objectives are met. Gorenz maintains a broad knowledge of accounting, financial and business principles essential in the performance of his role.

Meena Beyers

Vice Chair & Secretary

Beyers is vice president of Business and Community Development at Nicor Gas. In this role, she will lead strategies to strengthen our customer engagement and drive our community and economic impact. She will oversee Community Affairs, Customer Development and Energy Efficiency, including strategic leadership of corporate giving, community engagement, workforce development, large customer services and market transformation.

John O. Hudson III

Board Chair

Hudson is a licensed attorney who serves as president and CEO of Nicor Gas, the largest natural gas distribution company in Illinois. In this role, he is responsible for ensuring that natural gas – a clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy source – reaches more than 2.2 million homes and businesses in 656 northern Illinois communities. In addition, Hudson serves as executive vice president of Southern Company Gas, where he has enterprise-wide responsibility for market strategy and new venture development across the company’s regulated utility franchises in Georgia, Illinois, Tennessee and Virginia. Hudson also is a member of the Southern Company Gas Management Council.

Before assuming his current role, he served as executive vice president and chief external and public affairs officer at Southern Company Gas. In this role, he was responsible for the company’s External Affairs, Customer Operations, Corporate Communications, Marketing, Community Relations, Economic Development and Environmental Affairs functions. In addition, he served as president of the Southern Company Gas Foundation, which focuses on philanthropic and volunteer initiatives.

Louie Binswanger

Director

Binswanger is vice president of external affairs for Nicor Gas. In this role, he directs the company’s regulatory policy, strategy and planning and is responsible for regulatory activities with the Illinois Commerce Commission. In addition, he leads the company’s legislative and governmental affairs activities, external lobbyist engagement and development of company policy to align with state legislation.

Tovah McCord

Executive Director

In February of 2021, McCord was named Executive Director of Northern Illinois Community Initiatives, and brings 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. In this role, McCord will oversee all of NICI’s strategic planning, operations and grantmaking.

Most recently, McCord was Foundation Director for the Chicago Blackhawks. During her tenure, McCord served as the public face of the foundation and raised awareness of its engagement in the community, especially with diverse audiences. Additionally, McCord led a brand renovation of the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation, led the development of a new arm of the foundation by creating a direct service pillar, launched six individually branded programs, and pioneered innovative fundraising campaigns including events with NHL players and top chefs in Chicago.