Our Team
Board Staff
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Executive Director |
A native Oregonian, Claire graduated from Portland State with a degree in Political Science and studied European Economic Policy at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain. She spent several years working in the legal field specializing in litigation defense before returning to school to pursue GIS. As Executive Director, Claire works to provide individuals, businesses and municipalities across the state with the resources and connections they need to make informed decisions then implement their solar energy goals. Claire has also worked closely with both communities and businesses on group solar purchase programs which have been hugely successful in increasing residential solar installations throughout the state. Prior to serving as Executive Director, Claire was Education Coordinator and Programs Manager for Solar Oregon. When she’s not at work you can find her with her family, going up mountains, down rivers or behind her cello. |
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Imogen Taylor
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Imogen has eight years of experience in policy and campaign work, and has worked on several solar consulting projects. She received her MBA and MS in Environmental Science from the University of Michigan in 2010,and subsequently moved to Portland to join the Oregon solar revolution. Imogen is thrilled to be a member of the Solar Oregon team, and looks forward to putting down roots in one of the best places in the country to go solar. |
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Adam Sage
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After years of painfully paying $.90 a KWh on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Adam Sage finally acted on his discouragement and attended solar installation/design classes with Solar Energy International and Solar Living Institute. He first became involved with Solar Oregon in 2010 by volunteering his time coordinating the monthly networking meeting known in PDX as Solar Drinks. A social creature and avid solar enthusiast, Adam brings an element of excitement about solar energy everywhere from networking events to the streets of PDX. Be warned that if you see Adam out anywhere talking about solar energy, you may find yourself writing a check to become a Solar Oregon Member before he is finished speaking.
Adam has a B.A. in Anthropology from SUNY New Paltz. He enjoys surfing and chess. |
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Joe Balich
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Joe Balich recently moved to Portland from Washington DC where he spent a year working in the U.S. Senate for a Congressional Leadership office. In 2010, he received his Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Environmental Policy from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA. Being a conservationist at heart, Joe has worked as a zoo keeper in Oakland, CA (his hometown) and conducted hands on research in Rainforest Management in the jungles of Queensland, Australia. He has participated in ecological restoration projects ranging from the rivers that feed the Great Barrier Reef to salmon spawning habitats in the Puget Sound region. Having a passion for alternative energy and sustainable development, he found a perfect match in working for Solar Oregon and looks forward to spreading the word about the benefits of solar energy in Oregon!
In his spare time you can find Joe fishing and camping throughout the Northwest.
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Emily KrafftVolunteer & Outreach Coordinator emily@solaroregon.org
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Emily is excited to be part of the movement for a renewable energy future at Solar Oregon and hopes you all will join her. A graduate of Lewis and Clark College and an enthusiastic volunteer, she has enjoyed working with many excellent non-profits including the North Portland Tool Library, Food and Water Watch and SCRAP. She was previously The ReBuilding Center's Education Coordinator and in house furniture maker, where she taught scores of teenage girls how to handle power tools. Emily loves berry picking, wandering Oregon's forests and travelling. | |
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Hadley Price
Technology & Databases |
Former Development/Marketing & IT Director for Solar Oregon, Hadley joined the Solar Oregon team in 2007 after having founded and sold two successful high-tech companies; West Connect Internet Services, Inc. and 101 Computer Center. In his nearly 25 years of technology service he has developed a variety of industry-specific applications and programs. Solar Oregon projects include the development of cloud databases in support of Oregon's Solarize programs, Solar Ambassadors, membership and other online services. In 2010 Hadley returned to his hometown of Gainesville, Fla. where he is the Information Officer for Clean Energy Logistics Lab. Hadley enjoys composing music and being surrounded by nature. His goal is to spread the word about solar and increase market outreach. LinkedIn |
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Ron "Mac" McDowellPresident
President, Solarize USA |
Mac is a solar advocate and sustainability consultant who lives and works in Portland, Oregon. He has experience advocating for and helping to develop renewable energy programs and policies. Mac has experience leading and managing teams and implementing market transformation programs. As a community leader, he provided project management capabilities for the nationally-recognized Solarize Portland program. Mac helped initiate our Solar Ambassador program and currently conducts Basic Residential Solar classes across the state. Mac also serves on Earthshare Oregon’s Board of Directors and is considered a thought leader on the subjects of residential solar energy and sustainable living. His blog www.solarflareblog.com, and articles written for solar e-newsletters, are widely read. A certificate-holder from the University of Oregon’s Sustainability Leadership Program, Mac also received a B.A. in Political Science from University of California-Santa Barbara and has obtained professional development credentials from Portland State University (Advanced Project Mgmt) and UCSB (Management). |
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Linda BarnesPast President
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Linda Barnes, FAIA is a LEED accredited professional and a licensed architect in the states of Oregon and Arizona. Linda is a principal of the all women-owned architectural firm of Merryman Barnes Architects where every design decision has energy implications. Solar projects for the firm have included commercial, multifamily and single family residential projects. LEED certified projects have included new and remodeled buildings. Strategies have included energy efficient envelopes, passive design, Trombe walls, solar water heating and photovoltaics. Linda has been involved with Solar Oregon for over 20 years and has supported educational events and tours. Educated in Arizona, Linda is thankful for all the solar advocates in Oregon working diligently to demonstrate how solar works in Oregon. |
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Kacia BrockmanTreasurer
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Kacia is the Senior Solar Program Manager for Energy Trust of Oregon, a nonprofit organization that invests “public purpose funding” in energy efficiency and renewable energy resources in Oregon. Her program offers financial incentives for the installations of new solar energy systems, provides quality assurance, promotes solar training for the trades and supports public education to encourage the use of solar energy in Oregon. Kacia has served on the Solar Oregon board of directors since 2005, lives in an energy-efficient solar home in Portland and is a Master Recycler. She has a B.S. in Engineering Physics, having worked for 10 years in telecommunications engineering before redirecting her career toward renewable energy in 2003. |
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Ellen CrivellaSecretary
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Ellen J. Crivella is a project manager in the Environment and Permitting Services group at GL Garrad Hassan in the company’s Portland, OR office. Ms. Crivella specializes in operational compliance of wind and solar plants as well as the preparation of comprehensive environmental permits for wind, solar, and ocean energy facilities, including environmental impact statements/reports, state siting board permits, and local jurisdictional permits. Recently, Ms. Crivella worked to permit the US's largest utility-scale solar project, located in Kittitas County, Washington.
Ms. Crivella has written on legal and policy topics including wind leases and land rights, renewable energy developments on tribal lands, and the role of mentoring women in the wind industry. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Oregon Association of Environmental Professionals, a member of the Women of Wind Energy Mentoring Program Committee, and the Chair of the Professional Awards Committee for the Soil Science Society of America. Ms. Crivella earned her masters in energy law from Vermont Law School in 2007, her masters in environmental science from the Ohio State University in 2006, and her B.S. in natural resources from the Ohio State University in 2003, where she was a member of Phi Kappa Phi. |
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Robert Cross
Store Manager
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Doug Boleyn
Commercial Solar Program ManagerEnergy Trust of Oregon |
Doug is currently the Commercial Solar Program Manager for Energy Trust of Oregon. He got started with solar energy in 1974 when he and his wife built a solar heated home. Doug then went to work for Portland General Electric Company as their solar and renewable energy expert. He has also designed energy conservation marketing programs, performed reserach and development and worked in many roles relating to energy conservation and renewables. Prior to joining Energy Trust, Doug ran Cascade Solar Consulting, where he provided a wide range of solar energy-related services. Doug has been a member of Solar Oregon since its inception in 1981 and has served a number of roles with the organization. He's a Life Member of the American Solar Energy Society and a member of the Homebuilders Association of Metro Portland. | |
Bruce Barney
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Bruce is currently Project Manager for the
Portland General Electric Customer Energy Resources group. The majority
of his work at PGE is managing dispatchable generation projects, but he
also manages the net metering program. Net metering allows customers to
interconnect their electricity generation (solar, wind, etc) with PGE’s
grid to help offset their own power usage. Bruce works with many
different groups within PGE, in addition to many of the company's
customers, large and small, residential or commercial. His work also
takes him in front of the Oregon PUC, TV and radio audiences, and other
public forums. |
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Jeff Friedman
Energy ConsultantLive Light Energy
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Jeff is an Energy Consultant for LiveLight Energy, holds NABCEP Installer Certification and is a Tax Credit Certified Technician in Oregon. Formally trained in Mechanical Engineering from Brown University and as a Manufacturing Engineer from Boston University Jeff is attracted to technical challenges. At LiveLight Energy, an Oregon based Solar Installer, Jeff applies his skill set to design and configure Solar PV and Solar Hot Water systems for residence and commercial accounts. Jeff brings 20 years of Semiconductor industrial sales, marketing, product development, customer support and entrepreneurial experience to reach out to LiveLight customers and develop new business opportunities. Jeff volunteered his Board nomination in 2010 to help provide a grounded perspective and share his technical consultative approach and experiences with Solar Oregon and support the mission to educate and promote solar community-wide. Jeff has been heating his swimming pool with the sun for 15 years. |
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Erin Greeson
Communication ManagerRenewable Northwest Project
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Erin Greeson serves as communications manager at Renewable Northwest Project, a regional nonprofit advocacy organization that promotes the responsible development of renewable energy resources in the Northwest. Erin joined RNP in 2010 to administer communications strategy for the organization and its members. Previously, she served diverse corporate and non-profit clients through agency roles at Waggener Edstrom Worldwide and Grady Britton. Her passion for promoting sustainable cultures and economies includes a history of volunteer communications work; she co-founded a citizens’ coalition to promote shared road safety and provided public relations support for the International Towards Carfree Cities Conference during its inaugural North American visit. Erin is an avid cyclist, art enthusiast and serves on the Outside In Communications Committee. She holds a B.A. degree from Swarthmore College. | |
Steven McGrath
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Steven McGrath is founder and owner of Sustainable Solutions Unlimited, a Portland based contractor specializing in a holistic approach to sustainable energy, including energy efficiency and renewable energy for homes, farms, businesses and non-profits. Steve is active in the development of state and local energy policy and programs, serving on advisory committees for Clean Energy Works Portland and Clean Energy Works Oregon, the Governor's energy efficiency transition team, supporting the development of sustainable and inclusive, living wage green jobs and careers. Steve is also the current president of the Oregon Small Wind Energy Association (OSWEA), a board member of the High Road Contractors and Community Alliance (HRCCA), and a past officer of the Oregon Solar Energy Industries Association (OSEIA). Steve was active in the development of current net metering rules and is active in the ongoing public process around Oregon's pilot Feed-In Tariff. Steve holds an MBA and a certificate in Applied Energy Economics for Portland State, and an AB in Statistics from U.C.Berkeley. In his previous life he has been a software developer and aerospace research scientist in California's Silicon Valley. | |
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Jean P. Murray
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Jean Murray received her PhD in Mechanical Engineering (minor in policy from the Humphrey
Institute for Public Affairs) at the University of Minnesota where she performed experiments using the 8 kW solar furnace to demonstrate the feasibility of several processes to produce hydrogen: direct water splitting, the dissociation of hydrogen sulfide and the gasification of biomass with water to produce a pipeline-quality fuel (syngas). She was appointed in 1997 by the Department of Energy to represent the US to the IEA (International Energy Agency) in SolarPACES (Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems) Task II; (solar chemistry), a position she held for 5 years.
Jean taught at PSU for eight years before moving first to Colorado School of Mines to conduct experiments at NREL and then to France to work with the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) at the 1 MW solar furnace facility in Odeillo, France from 2000-2009. In France, as Director of Research, she was able to demonstrate the feasibility of using high-temperature solar energy to produce solar-grade silicon, and to produce primary aluminum from its ore. Jean also spent a year at the Paul Scherrer Institute, a Swiss Federal Lab near Zurich, as a visiting scientist. |
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David J. Petersen
Partner
Tonkon Torp LLP
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David is a partner in the Real Estate and Land Use Practice Group, and co-chair of the Energy Practice Group, of Tonkon Torp LLP, a 90-attorney business law firm in Portland. He focuses his practice on renewable energy, real estate development and local government law. David also represents non-profit entities in real estate matters including leasing, purchase and secured financing. His work for nonprofits includes the day to day real estate needs of Community Services, Inc., an operator of about 18 group homes for developmentally disabled adults in the Portland Metro area. David is also a member of CSI's Board of Trustees. Prior to joining Tonkon Torp, David practiced real estate law in California. A native of Buffalo, New York, he earned his law degree from the University at California, Berkeley where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and the 1998 recipient of the Jamison Award for excellence in scholarship and advocacy. He enjoys managing his son's Little League team and having his pointless shouting ignored at his daughter's soccer games. |
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Clifford Schrock
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Cliff has 31 years of experience in the high technology disciplines of instrumentation and digital optical transmission, and has designed city-scale interactive communications systems for various public, government and education agencies including those in Portland. He has published 5 books and over 160 articles on cable television and digital communications. Cliff is a frequent speaker on solar and thin-film technology, energy, and Stirling engines, at various local and national shows. He holds 9 patents. Since 2002, Cliff has designed over 120 small and medium size solar electric and solar hot water systems and has directly supervised the installation of more than 74 of these systems. He is a registered Trade Ally of the Energy Trust of Oregon and a Tax-Certified Installer for the Oregon Department of Energy. Cliff graduated from California State College, Long Beach with a Bachelors Degree in Industrial Technology, and attended the University of Portland’s MBA program. He holds certificates from the Ground Source Heat Pump Association and the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners. His hobbies include restoring and flying antique airplanes, and playing piano and guitar. |
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