About Us | Renewable Northwest

The History of Renewable Northwest

Founded in 1994, Renewable Northwest has grown to become one of the nation’s most impactful renewable energy advocacy organizations. Our strength comes from our members, a unique and powerful coalition of renewable energy professionals, energy buyers and marketers, ratepayer advocates, and environmental NGOs. Together, these groups contribute their respective talents towards the socially and environmentally responsible advancement of clean energy projects across our region.

To date we have supported state and regional policies that have brought the region over 9,400 MWs of new solar, wind and geothermal projects—enough to serve 2,000,000 customers. As renewables replace fossil fuels as the backbone of our nation’s electricity grid, the responsibility for integrating and balancing a much more diverse portfolio of clean energy resources will be ours to shoulder.

Join with Renewable Northwest and help us create the policy, regulatory and market frameworks necessary to ensure our communities benefit from the transition to an electricity sector powered solely by clean energy resources.

Our Mission

Our mission is to decarbonize the region by accelerating the transition to renewable electricity.

Our Vision

Our vision is for every home, business, and vehicle in the Northwest to be powered by renewable, affordable, carbon-free electricity.

Our People

Board

David Bobzien

Board Chair

David Bobzien is Senior Director, West Region Regulatory & Political Affairs at NextEra Energy Resources. He previously served as the Director of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Energy and as the chairman of the Western Interstate Energy Board. David has served as a Council Member for the City of Reno and served four terms as an Assemblyman in the Nevada Legislature. David holds a B.A. in Government and Politics from George Mason University, and a Masters of Public Administration, natural resources and public lands policy emphasis, from Boise State University. He resides in Reno, Nevada with his family.

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Bo Downen

Vice Chair

Bo Downen is Director of Western State Affairs for the American Clean Power Association. In this capacity he oversees ACP’s legislative, regulatory and political affairs in the intermountain West and Pacific Northwest. Prior to ACP, Bo spent 15 years consensus-building among western electric utilities, tribal sovereigns, and state and federal agencies on behalf of public power in the Northwest to advance the long-term sustainability of the region’s power supply. He served as a cabinet member to Montana Governor Steve Bullock representing the State of Montana on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council advising on regional power and energy efficiency needs and on environmental mitigation matters. Bo serves as a board member to Tainable Regenerative Agriculture, an Oregon non-profit working to address climate change through carbon sequestration. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Bo lives in the Flathead Valley of his home state of Montana.

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Tim Miller

Treasurer

Tim Miller brings decades of executive, management, non-profit and Board experience to his work addressing the connected challenges of climate change and equity. As Director of Oregon Business for Climate, he brings the voice of forward-looking businesses to advance equitable, aggressive climate action in Oregon. Previously, Miller served as the CEO of Enhabit, a leading non-profit program that helped over 6,000 families improve the energy efficiency and health of their homes. Prior work includes strategic consulting for over 30 non-profits, agencies, and clean-tech companies, advancing sustainability and climate solutions, as well as high-tech and low-tech industry roles (at Intel, CitySearch, O’Neill, and others) in manufacturing and operations, marketing, sales, and general management. Tim also serves on the Board (formerly as Board Chair) of Climate Solutions, the Northwest’s leading equitable climate policy and advocacy organization, and previously on the Board (and as Board Chair) of Forth, a leading equity-focused transportation electrification organization. He earned his MBA and BA (economics), both with honors, from Stanford University. Read less

Priya Sreedharan

Secretary

Priya has been a program director with GridLab since May 2020 working to scale up GridLab’s efforts on electricity sector transformation. Drawing from a research and analysis foundation, she has held multiple technical leadership roles, and was most recently at the U.S. Agency for International Development–India for 5 years where she helped launch clean energy and air quality efforts, including India’s seminal Greening the Grid renewables integration study.

Earlier, she was at Energy and Environmental Economics (E3) for 5 years, where she led some of the sector’s early studies on distributed energy resources, deep decarbonization, and air quality impacts; and initiated E3’s India efforts. Prior affiliations include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Integral Group.

Priya has a PhD and MS in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, where she developed “data science” (Bayesian statistics and optimization) techniques for environmental sensing and energy efficiency diagnostics applications.

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Nora Apter

At Large

Nora Apter is Senior Program Director for Climate at the Oregon Environmental Council (OEC), where she leads policy development and coalition engagement to advance progress for climate and communities in Oregon. Nora joined OEC in March 2020 after eight years working on federal environmental policy in Washington, D.C.. Nora previously served as Deputy Director of Federal Affairs for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and as a legislative aide for U.S. Senator Ron Wyden. Nora holds a B.A. International Affairs and Economics from Lewis & Clark College in Portland. She also serves on a number of state and local government advisory committees, including the Oregon Climate Action Commission and Department of Environmental Quality's Equity Advisory Committee.

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Abby Arnold

At Large

Abby S. Arnold, Principal at MGC Partners. For over thirty years Abby has managed and provided facilitation services and strategic advice to nonprofit and for-profit organizations investing in the energy transition using Clean Technologies to meet the growing demand for electricity in the US and abroad. She specializes in crafting and leading private and public sector collaboratives at the national, regional and local level dedicated to producing results to address challenges associated with developing renewable energy resources and Transmission – including, for example, siting/operating energy and transmission projects; addressing community acceptance, and other conservation, social and economic concerns. Sixteen years ago, she helped found and for fourteen years served as the Executive Director of the non-profit, Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute (REWI). Prior to committing full time to managing REWI, Abby was a Mediator and Principal at Kearns & West for 9 years and at RESOLVE for 17 years.

At MGC Partners Abby provides strategic business, advice and facilitation & engagement services. Abby holds a Master’s in Public Administration, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. in Environmental Planning and Politics from U.C. Santa Cruz, with Honors. She is a proud mother of three adult children, lives in Washington D.C. with her husband, and annually returns to Juneau, AK, a second home, where she enjoys the great outdoors.

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Jennifer Gardner

At Large

Jennifer Gardner is an attorney and policy analyst with over a decade of experience in the electric power sector. Today, she serves as Director of Regulatory and External Affairs for Hydrostor, a Canadian-based energy storage company specializing in Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage (A-CAES). Prior to joining Hydrostor in February 2024, Ms. Gardner provided consulting services to western clients through Envision Energy, LLC, which she founded in November 2020. Through Envision Energy, Ms. Gardner provided guidance and expertise in the areas of wholesale electricity market design and governance, renewable energy procurement and deployment, distributed energy resource integration, transmission system planning, and electric grid reliability. Ms. Gardner has also served as a member and Vice Chair of the Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) Governing Body – a five-member independent board overseeing the reliable operation of a real-time energy market in the West. Prior to her roles with the Western EIM Governing Body and Envision Energy, Ms. Gardner directed the work of the Regional Energy Markets Program at Western Resource Advocates – an environmental non-profit headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. In this role, she oversaw a team advocating for market frameworks that can provide decarbonization solutions for the western power grid. Additionally, Ms. Gardner has held previous roles with the Utah Governor’s Office of Energy Development and the Western Interstate Energy Board. Ms. Gardner resides in Park City, Utah, with her young son and enjoys hiking, biking, and skiing in her free time.

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Damien Hall

At Large

Damien Hall is a partner at Dunn Carney LLP, where he focuses his practice on utility-scale renewable energy projects, along with real estate, land use and urban development. Damien worked with clients on renewable energy facility siting, and has participated in local and state level rulemaking for utility scale photovoltaic solar energy generation projects in both Oregon and Washington. His clients include solar project developers throughout the Northwest that operate utility-scale projects. He is also deeply involved in the community. Damien recently served as co-chair of the governor’s Housing Production Advisory Council, making recommendations on how to dramatically increase housing production in Oregon. He was appointed by the Metro Council to the Metropolitan Exposition and Recreation Commission (MERC), which oversees the region’s visitor venues, including the Convention Center, Expo Center, and Portland’s performance arts venues. He is also on the Board of Directors for CareOregon, a nonprofit providing health plan services to four Coordinated Care Organizations, serving about 500,000 Oregonians.

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Anne Hedges

At Large

Anne Hedges is the Executive Director for the Montana Environmental Information Center where she has worked for nearly three decades. MEIC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the land, air, water, and life-sustaining climate of Montana. MEIC advocates, educates, and empowers people in service of a clean and healthful environment for present and future generations....Read more

Anne received her B.S. in environmental policy analysis and planning from the University of California at Davis and a Master’s of Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School.

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Ben Otto

At Large

Ben Otto is an independent consultant helping public interest groups engage in the clean energy transition. Based in Boise, Idaho, he spent a decade representing a local non-profit in utility planning forums and regulatory proceedings. Along with energy work, Ben has served on the Board of Directors of the NW Energy Coalition, Renewable Northwest, the Idaho Clean Energy Association, and the NW Energy Efficiency Alliance. Ben holds a Juris Doctorate from Lewis and Clark Law School, a Master of Studies in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School, and a B.A....Read more

Eileen V. Quigley

At Large

Eileen V. Quigley is the Founding Executive Director of the Clean Energy Transition Institute, which aims to accelerate an equitable clean energy transition in the Northwest. Eileen led the team that produced the technical analysis for the Washington 2021 State Energy Strategy. She is the author of several papers on clean energy solutions, including Meeting the Challenge of Our Time: Pathways to a Clean Energy Future in the Northwest.

Eileen is a seasoned manager of for-profit and nonprofit businesses, and a former magazine and newspaper journalist and editor in Washington, DC and New York, NY. She co-taught a course on the clean energy transition at Western Washington University’s Institute for Energy Studies, where she now serves on the Advisory Board. She also serves on the Board of Stockholm Environment Institute-US as well as the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.

Eileen received her Master of Science in Journalism from Columbia University and her Bachelor of Arts in Literature from Yale University.

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Sarah Qureshi

At Large

Sarah Qureshi is a dedicated clean energy professional. She currently serves as Sr. Director Policy with Plus Power. Previously she worked as Sr. Director Regulatory & Political Affairs at NextEra Energy Resources. Sarah began her career as a legislative aide to U.S. Representative Mike McIntyre (NC) in Washington, D.C. and has also worked in U.S. Representative Judy Chu’s office (CA) as a legal fellow.
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Mark Thompson

At Large

Mark Thompson is the Senior Director, State Affairs at Form Energy. Previously, Mark was a Commissioner at the Oregon Public Utility Commission, a legal practitioner on energy regulatory matters, and has worked in-house managing regulatory affairs and policy at NW Natural. Mark also served as Staff Counsel at the Public Power Council and has been involved in the region’s energy industry for the past 20 years....Read more

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Matt Traldi

At Large

Matt Traldi is founder and CEO of Greenlight America, a nonprofit that mobilizes local community members to win approval for clean energy deployment. Before Greenlight, he founded the Election Sabotage Response Network and related nonprofit State Democracy Defenders after leading a movement-wide election crisis boiler room involving hundreds of organizations, in 2022. In 2016, he was a co-author of the Indivisible Guide and a co-founder of the Indivisible organizations, for which he was named one of TIME Magazine’s “25 Most Influential People on the Internet” in 2017. Previously, he worked for more than a decade in the labor movement as an organizer and campaigner, including serving as co-founder and Secretary-Treasurer of a local union.

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Staff

Nicole Hughes

Executive Director

Nicole Hughes, Executive Director, joined the organization in 2018. She has over 20 years of experience in the renewable energy industry; including work in project development, construction, finance, permitting and policy for utility-scale wind and solar. Previously, she worked at AWS Truepower, HDR, Element Power, RES Americas, Tetra Tech, and The Bonneville Power Administration. Through her diverse background in the industry, Nicole has learned the importance of relationship and coalition building among diverse stakeholders to move the region towards a clean energy future. Nicole has served in a variety of board and volunteer positions working on issues related to support for individuals with disabilities, environmental conservation and energy issues. She currently serves on the board of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies. Nicole lives in Portland, OR with her husband and two kids and spends most of her free time recreating in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest.

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Holly Ross

Operations Director

Holly Ross joined Renewable Northwest as the Operations Director in February 2025. Holly brings years of nonprofit management and private sector SAAS experience to the role. As Operations Director, she works to ensure that every staffer has the tools, process, and systems they need to decarbonize the Pacific Northwest. Holly is a proud UC Berkeley alumnus (Go Bears!) When not at work, Holly is either running, biking, or knitting.

Adam Capage

Outreach & Communications Director

Adam Capage, our Outreach & Communications Director, joined Renewable Northwest in January of 2024. Adam will build stakeholder networks around key topical issues, with the goal of understanding policy positions of other organizations, while communicating Renewable Northwest’s policy positions and related technical knowledge. Adam’s twenty five-year career in the energy industry has included work in both the public and private sectors. He began his career at the Colorado Energy Office and was most recently the Vice President of the Market Intelligence Team at 3Degrees; this role included oversight of competitive intelligence and regulatory affairs. Adam has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Colorado at Denver. Adam has been learning to play the drums for several years - one day he and his wife both hope he plays outside their basement in Portland, Oregon. Read less

Diane Brandt

Policy & Legislative Affairs Director

As the Policy & Legislative Affairs Director, Diane Brandt works with Renewable NW’s policy team to build and implement strategies that support our state and regional goals to decarbonize our electricity sector. This includes our policy and legislative work at the state level, as well as our engagement with the Northwest’s federal delegation members. Diane started with Renewable NW in 2021 working on Oregon policy and was most recently the Markets & Transmission Director. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Diane moved back to Oregon in 2018 after working internationally for nearly two decades where she worked in foreign policy for 13 years in the U.S. State Department as a Career Foreign Service Officer with postings in the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, India, and Saudi Arabia. Prior to joining the State Department, Diane taught sciences in the United States and internationally. Her undergraduate studies were at the University of Washington in Zoology, Spanish Language and Literature, and a minor in Chemistry. She currently lives in Corvallis with her family and completed her Master’s in Public Policy in 2021, with a focus on environment and energy, at Oregon State University. Outside the office, Diane can be found enjoying the many trails of Corvallis with her family or practicing her amateur gardening skills in the backyard. Read less

Mike Goetz

Regulatory Affairs Director

Mike Goetz, our Regulatory Affairs Director, joined Renewable Northwest in January 2025. In his role, Mike is responsible for leading the development of the organization’s state regulatory and markets and transmission strategy in Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Idaho. Mike engages in a wide variety of proceedings before state utility regulatory commissions, the Bonneville Power Administration, and regional forums related to electricity markets and transmission expansion. Previously, Mike served as Senior Policy and Regulatory Counsel at the NW Energy Coalition, and as general counsel for Oregon’s residential utility consumer advocate for eight years. Mike serves on the executive committee of the Oregon State Bar’s Energy, Telecom, and Utilities section and served on Renewable Northwest’s Board of Directors for six years, including one year as Board Chair. Mike attended the University of Oregon School of Law, graduating with a J.D. and a certificate of completion in Environmental and Natural Resources Law and received a B.S. in Earth Systems, Environment & Society from the University of Illinois. Originally from the Chicago suburbs, Mike has adopted the Pacific Northwest as his chosen home, where he spends his free time exploring wild areas on skis, bicycle, and by foot.

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Kyle Unruh

Deputy Director, Montana & Idaho

Kyle is the Deputy Director, Montana & Idaho at Renewable Northwest. He engages state legislatures, commissions, and coalitions to facilitate responsible development of transmission and generation. Before joining Renewable Northwest, Kyle worked for NorthWestern Energy where he analyzed market options, quantified utilization of the transmission system in peak periods, and modeled flex ramp capability required to balance additional variable energy resources. Prior to his work in the energy industry, Kyle advanced research projects at CU Boulder through proposal development, project management, and industry relations with partners such as Lockheed Martin and Ball Aerospace. After earning his MBA working with the University, Boulder City, and Boulder County to help meet their targets through deployment of renewable resources and energy efficiency, Kyle took an opportunity to help grow the research enterprise and propel the University of Montana to R-1 classification as Director of Sponsored Programs and Research Development. Read less

Aaron Menenberg

Idaho Policy Manager

Aaron Menenberg joined Renewable Northwest in January of 2025 and serves as the organization's Idaho Policy Manager. In this role Aaron works closely with legislators and state leaders on advancing development in Idaho’s energy system. Aaron has over a decade and a half of experience crafting, shaping, and securing state and federal public policy through legislative engagement, executive branch outreach, state ballot initiatives, public persuasion campaigns, and election work. Most recently, he designed and oversaw a successful constitutional amendment ballot initiative in Nevada....Read more

Casey MacLean

Washington Policy Manager

Casey MacLean, Washington Policy Manager, joined Renewable Northwest in January 2024. She represents Renewable Northwest in the Washington legislative session, advocates for clean energy bills, and supports regulatory processes and market development across the state. Prior to moving to the Pacific Northwest, Casey worked in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. House of Representatives: first for the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, and then for Congressman Jared Huffman (CA-02) covering his natural resources work. She earned her Bachelor’s at the College of William & Mary, where she double majored in Public Policy and Environmental Science & Policy. Casey enjoys building meaningful connections, and is motivated by the need for a swift and just transition to a clean energy future. She lives in Seattle with her fluffy orange cat, and in her spare time you can find her running, hiking, and finding the best spots to read by the water. Read less

Kavya Niranjan

Markets & Transmission Policy Manager

Kavya Niranjan joined Renewable Northwest in February 2024 and serves as the organization’s Markets & Transmission Policy Manager. She supports policy activities and engagements with key stakeholders on the development of energy markets, transmission, and storage across the Western US. Kavya holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences from UC Berkeley and spent her senior year as a GIS Intern for a renewable energy developer, before going on to manage GIS projects for utilities clients at an engineering consulting firm in the Bay Area. Kavya moved to Seattle in 2021 to pursue her MBA from the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business and where, as a Global Innovation Fellow, she managed several research consulting projects for various teams at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Kavya is passionate about facilitating an energy transition that leaves no one behind, and spends her free time exploring her new home base in the PNW. Read less

Katie Chamberlain

Regulatory Manager

Katie joined Renewable Northwest in 2023 and serves as the organization’s Regulatory Manager. She engages in resource planning and procurement processes with utilities, public utility commissions, and advocacy organizations across the region. Katie earned her Master's of Public Administration at the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance with a focus on climate and energy policy. Before moving to the Pacific Northwest, she worked on electoral and environmental campaigns....Read more

Pam Mahon

Deputy Administrative Director

Pam was born and raised in New England and made her way out to the Pacific NW via Boulder, Colorado, and a Master’s degree in Voice Performance. No stranger to the renewable energy world, she has worked as an administrative specialist and development coordinator for RES America Developments and Element Power, US. Pam performs with the Oregon Symphony as a teaching artist in local schools and as a narrator for the Family Concert Series. When not performing or hiking Mt. Tabor with her dog, Zeke, she works as a bid assistant raising funds for incredible nonprofit organizations.

Emily Butterfield

Communications Manager

Emily Butterfield joined the team as Communications Manager in February 2025, leading efforts to highlight the impact of clean energy for communities across the Pacific Northwest. With a bachelor's degree in Advertising and Public Relations and a minor in International Studies from Loyola University Chicago, she has several years of experience in brand management, strategic campaigns, and content creation. Previously, Emily worked at an all-electric, net-zero homebuilding company, where she focused on promoting sustainable and energy-efficient housing solutions. She is dedicated to leveraging communications and marketing as tools for advocacy, with a strong focus on sustainability and social impact. In her free time, Emily enjoys wandering Seattle and the surrounding mountains, arranging (and rearranging) the art on her walls, and playing with her two very silly cats. Read less

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