Patrick E. Hughes, AStd, is 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.