Senior Management Team

The Department of Public Utilities' Senior Management Team operates under the jurisdiction and control of the Board of Public Utilities, a group of five citizens, each appointed by the Los Alamos County Council. The County Manager (Stephen Lynne) and Utilities Manager (Philo Shelton) are ex officio, non-voting members of the BPU. Our Management Team shares decades of design, engineering, and management experience in multi-service utilities, power systems and public works organization.

Philo S. Shelton, III

Utilities Manager

Mr. Shelton is a registered Professional Engineer in the Civil Engineering discipline. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute and received his Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is also a Certified Public Manager and holds a Master of Public Administration degree from University of Colorado at Denver. Mr. Shelton joined the County in June 2012 and served as the County’s Public Works Director until June 2019. Prior to joining the County, Mr. Shelton had been a Public Works Director since 2001 serving in the communities of Steamboat Springs and Black Hawk, Colorado.

James Alarid

Deputy Utility Manager - Engineering Division

Mr. Alarid joined the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) engineering staff in 2002. In 2008 Mr. Alarid became the Deputy Manager of Engineering. Prior to joining the DPU staff Mr. Alarid worked as an engineer for 10 years in a combination of private and public sector positions. Mr. Alarid's engineering experience in land development, utilities and roadways prepared him for the challenges of leading an engineering staff of six who support the natural gas, water distribution, water production, wastewater collection, wastewater treatment, electric distribution and electric production utility operations and infrastructure. Mr. Alarid is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of New Mexico and has a bachelors and masters degree from the University of New Mexico in Civil Engineering. Mr. Alarid is a member of the American Society of Engineers since 1994 and a member of the American Water Works Association since 2000.

Ben Olbrich

Deputy Utility Manager - Power Supply

As the Deputy Utility Manager of Power Supply, Mr. Olbrich is dedicated to building a reliable, cost-effective, and renewable electricity supply for Los Alamos County and Los Alamos National Laboratory. He leads a talented team of power schedulers, operators, and hydroelectric technicians who ensure that the County's electrical supply meets the demands of today and the future. Prior to joining DPU, Mr. Olbrich received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Hawaii, and worked for Motorola, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and NASA. Over the past 24 years, he has led systems and test engineering activities for space exploration, and planned city and county infrastructure in New Mexico.

Clay Moseley

Deputy Utility Manager - Gas, Water, and Sewer Services

Mr. Moseley is responsible for operation of the natural gas distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, and water production and distribution systems. He joined DPU's engineering division in 2000 to bolster the post-Cerro Grande Fire recovery program team. While he boasts more than 25 years of experience in infrastructure evaluation, planning, design and project management, his first job out of college was with an Albuquerque architecture/engineering firm that specialized in facility condition assessments and operational evaluations that included both LANL and Los Alamos County facilities. He later worked for Johnson Controls Northern New Mexico with the Facilities and Waste Operations group at LANL for two years. Mr. Moseleyholds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics and a Master of Science in Engineering Construction Management. In managing the GWS divisions, he earned level 2 certifications as NM Water Treatment Operator and NM Wastewater Operator.

Karen Kendall

Deputy Utility Manager - Finance & Administration

Karen Kendall has worked in financial operations for both DPU and the general County. From 2008 to 2015, Ms. Kendall was the DPU Business Operations Manager under the Finance and Admin Division. From 2015 to 2021, she held the position of Budget & Performance Manager for Los Alamos County. Ms. Kendall holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Accountancy from the California State University, Sacramento. She has more than 42 years of accounting, auditing, budgeting and managerial experience in both the public and private sectors. Ms. Kendall is the chief financial officer responsible for financial planning for the electric, gas, water and wastewater services, billing, and contract management of the Electric Coordination Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy. She also oversees the Customer Care Center that serves as a centralized customer service for both the Los Alamos County and the DPU.

Stephen Marez

Deputy Utility Manager - Electric Distribution

Stephen Marez joined the County in June 2001 just after the Cerro Grande Fire. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the Electrical Engineering discipline who earned his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, with a specialization in power distribution, from New Mexico State University. He received his Master of Information Systems degree from the University of Phoenix. Additionally, he is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with the Project Management Institute. He maintains additional memberships in the Institute for Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) and the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE). Mr. Marez manages a crew of 10 lineworkers in the Electric Distribution Division and supervises two associate engineers on DPU's engineering team. The Electric Distribution Division provides design and project management for all projects within the county that require new or upgraded electric distribution systems.