Austin Knudsen was sworn in as Montana’s 25th Attorney General in January 2021. He is a 5th generation Montanan who grew up a farm and ranch kid in Northeast Montana. Austin received his undergraduate degree from Montana State University and his law degree from the University of Montana. He opened his own law firm in Culbertson and served as Speaker of the House before running for county attorney in Roosevelt County, where he prosecuted criminals and saw the drug and crime issues up close. Then, Austin decided to put his legal skills and leadership abilities to work for all Montanans and ran for Attorney General.

As the head of the Montana Department of Justice, which includes the Highway Patrol and the Division of Criminal Investigation, Austin has made public safety the agency’s top priority, and is working to keep Montana safe and a great place to live and raise a family.

Paul Baruya is the Director of Strategy and Sustainability at FutureCoal. Paul joined FutureCoal in 2022, where he supports advocacy for advanced coal technologies in a carbon neutral future and the strategic role of coal in developing economies.

He comes with a background in environmental consultancy at AEA Technology (now Ricardo), where he devised the New Entrant Reserve CO2 allocation for new power plants and industrial facilities and was involved in numerous projects involving end-user energy efficiency and CO2 reduction campaigns. He also has experience in long-term forecasting and modelling of global coal and gas markets at IHS Global Insight (now IHS Markit), and energy use and emissions from power generation, steel, cement, and transport sectors. Previous to FutureCoal, Paul was a senior analyst at the International Centre for Sustainable Carbon, a Technology Collaboration Programme of the IEA, studying the cost structures of mining, coal and gas competition in Asia, energy in Africa, and global biomass resources.

Dan was appointed as the leader of CONSOL Energy’s new CONSOL Innovations group in 2023, spearheading the company’s ongoing commitment to sustainable growth through new technologies, especially those in the coal-to-products, carbon materials, and carbon management sectors. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President – Strategy and Vice President – Business Development and Technology, with a primary focus on developing and executing CONSOL’s overall strategy, while having responsibility at various times for the company's Baltimore marine terminal, Itmann mine project, and sales & marketing, environmental & sustainability, and business development efforts. Prior to these roles, Dan spent about 15 years working in CONSOL’s research & development, marketing, and strategy & engineering groups, where he focused on the development and economic analysis of advanced power generation and environmental control technologies, technical marketing for thermal and metallurgical coal customers, energy market analysis, strategic planning, new market development, and major transactions. Dan earned his B.S. in chemical engineering, summa cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame, and a Certificate of Excellence in Advanced Management and Leadership from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He was named one of the Pittsburgh Business Times 20 People to Know in Energy in 2022, and he has authored or co-authored more than 75 publications and presentations on topics related to coal, energy, and the environment.

Superintendent of Joint-Owned Thermal Generation for NorthWestern Energy since 2014 overseeing NorthWestern’s interest in four coal-fired generation facilities in 4 states. My career in the electric generation business using coal fuels spans over 30 years from a mine engineer to a power trader to management and oversight of facilities.   

A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Commerce Director Paul Green assumed leadership of the agency in 2024 after serving in the Montana House of Representatives. Director Green championed tax relief, economic development, red tape reform and workforce housing development while he represented House District 41. Director Green has extensive leadership experience earned in the private and public sectors, as well as a strong background in economic development, serving as executive director of Two Rivers Economic Development Authority and as a leader with the Montana Economic Developers Association. He later started and ran a small business, and oversaw maintenance and civil engineering for Burlington Northern Santa Fe and the Bureau of Land Management, respectively. In addition to farming and ranching with his family near Hardin for nearly three decades, Director Green has held various volunteer leadership positions in the area. He has served on the Board of Directors for Little Horn State Bank since 2007, and in 2019, helped found the Big Horn County Search and Rescue for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Persons, where he served as director until 2022. For nearly 20 years, Director Green has coached football, baseball, softball and wrestling in Big Horn County.

Gary Parry is a member of the Republican Party and represents District 39 in the Montana House of Representatives. He assumed office on January 2, 2023, and his current term ends on January 6, 2025. He is presently running for re-election. Gary Parry was born in Helena, Montana, and currently resides in Colstrip. He graduated from Helena Senior High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Montana in 1975 and an M.B.A. from Sam Houston State University in 1990, His career experience includes working as a senior contract analyst with Western Energy Company and Westmoreland Coal Company. He ran for election to the Montana House of Representatives to represent District 39 and won in the general election on November 8, 2022.