2008 Annual West Coast Collaborative Partnership Meeting

Speaker Biographies

Rick Albright
Rick Albright is the Director of the Office of Air, Waste, and Toxics in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Region 10 office. He has worked at the EPA for over 21 years. His previous work experience with the EPA includes the Director of EPA’s Office of Waste and Chemicals Management; Director of EPA’s Alaska Operations Office and Unit Manager of EPA’s Superfund Program, as well as various experience in EPA’s water programs (such as permitting, water quality standards, and TMDLs). Previous work positions outside of EPA include applied research at Washington State Department of Game and serving as a Staff biologist at University of Washington at the School of Fisheries. Mr. Albright’s educational background includes a BA in Zoology from the University of Washington and a MS in Fisheries, also from the University of Washington. Personal hobbies include gardening, kayaking, skiing, reading, camping, hiking, various home projects, and spending time with his family.

Rich Baden
Rich Baden began his environmental career operating his family farm, which provided grounding in conservation, an understanding of the agricultural community, and the need for new innovations in conservation equipment. He designed, developed and manufactured new conservation equipment in the early 70s, several of which are still in use today. Mr. Baden now serves as the Executive Director of the Spokane Conservation District with recognized expertise in conservation district issues at the local, state, regional and national levels. Mr. Baden has worked over a 16 year period to take the Spokane Conservation District from five employees and an annual budget of $285,000 to 15 employees with an annual budget exceeding $9 million. Through the WA State Revolving Fund program, Mr. Baden has secured $1.5 million to assist producers in finding alternatives to bluegrass field burning and $1.5 million to provide low interest loans to producers for the purchase of minimum tillage equipment. He has secured an additional $4 million to promote direct seeding assistance programs in Spokane and Adams Counties and developed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with thirteen conservation districts to administer another $4 million. Mr. Baden is also a professional facilitator and accomplished public speaker at the national level.

Sharon Banks
Sharon Banks is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cascade Sierra Solutions (CSS). The mission of CSS is to upgrade the legacy fleet of tractor-trailer trucks with fuel saving and emissions reducing technologies. CSS offers low-cost financing and coordinates incentives from three states and the federal government to assist truckers in upgrading.

Ms. Banks is actively involved in reducing diesel exhaust in Oregon, California and Washington. Sharon spent 16 years in governmental finance at the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency - a local agency with big ideas in Lane County, Oregon. She works in partnership with a variety of government, schools, and private enterprise stakeholders to improve air quality and sustainability on the I-5 corridor. Her passion is designing programs using collaborative processes and market-based approaches to improve air quality and energy efficiency. Her educational background is in business and transportation logistics. She also serves one weekend a month as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Oregon Army National Guard.

She is a team member of the West Coast Diesel Collaborative; an active member of Clean Cities Coalition; a member of Oregon Environmental Council; on the Board of Clean Air Northwest (CAN); and an affiliate member of EPAs Smart Way Transport.

Mike Boyer
Mike Boyer is the Washington Department of Ecology's lead planner for developing diesel retrofit programs. For twelve years, Mr. Boyer has worked for Ecology's Air Quality Program developing state and regional programs and policies that reduce emissions from transportation sources. He was the lead for developing the Washington Clean School Bus Program and Local Governments Diesel Grants Program. Prior to his employment with Ecology, Mr. Boyer worked for 10 years as a team coordinator at General Motor's Automotive Assembly Center in Wentzville, Missouri.

Jeff Canaan
After ten years of fresh-market fruit and vegetable production (and the bad back to prove it), Jeff Canaan started work at Washington State Department of Agriculture in the agency’s Livestock Nutrient Management Program. Two years later, Jeff became the agency’s first Biofuels Standards Coordinator, tasked with establishing quality and labeling standards for biofuels in Washington, and designing a biofuels quality assurance program. In 2007, Mr. Canaan began work as Bioenergy Coordinator, completing the Department’s Energy Freedom Loan agreements and administering bioenergy program efforts at the agency. He has moved the program’s focus from loan administration to grower-focused bioenergy and energy conservation efforts. Current projects include:

Kevin Downing
Kevin Downing graduated with a B.A. in psychology from Reed College. He began work on environmental policy matters as a legislative assistant in the Oregon Legislature and on statewide political campaigns. He has worked for the Department of Environmental Quality since 1992 where he initially led the efforts of the Department to respond to the challenges of the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act by meeting every one of the requisite deadlines on time. He has also been responsible for the development and implementation of multiple air and water quality programs including nonpoint source pollution reduction projects, vapor recovery from marine loading of petroleum products and air quality regional maintenance plans. In the past few years he has been leading the state’s efforts to reduce the impact of diesel emissions through the creation of a public/private partnership effort to support installing advanced pollution controls on existing diesel vehicles in public and private fleets across the state. He is a founding member of the steering committee of the West Coast Diesel Collaborative and chairs the Western States Regional Air Partnership Mobile Sources Forum. He has made numerous presentations on the application of clean diesel technology to citizen, business and academic groups in Oregon as well as elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest and nationally. 

Kerry Drake
Kerry Drake is an Associate Director in the Air Division of the EPA Region 9. He focuses on permitting, enforcement, and agriculture as well as general air quality issues in the San Joaquin Valley and Sacramento metropolitan areas of California, and in the state of Hawaii. He came to the EPA after serving for more than a decade with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Mr. Drake graduated, with honors, from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, and is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Texas.

Wayne Elson
Wayne Elson works in the Office of Air, Waste, and Toxics in the EPA Regional Office in Seattle, Washington. Wayne serves as the Mobile Source Air Quality technical expert in support of EPA’s review of State Implementation Plans under the Clean Air Act. He is a member of the Regional Diesel Team which supports the diesel emission reduction efforts of Region 10 and the West Coast Collaborative. His is lead for the Construction Sector for the Collaborative. He also a member of the Steering Committee for the Puget Sound Clean Cities Coalition. Wayne’s technical expertise includes mobile emissions modeling, transportation control measures and transportation planning, and transportation conformity under the Clean Air Act.

Wayne has held a variety of positions over the last 30 years in EPA’s Region 10, Chicago and Region 10 in Seattle. Under the Clean Water Act he has administered projects in wastewater treatment, water quality management planning, clean lakes, rural clean water, and nationwide urban runoff programs. As part of EPA’s responsibilities for environmental review of Federal Actions under the National Environmental Policy Act he has helped resolved conflicts around proposed destination ski resorts, hydroelectric dams, highways, airport development, forest plans timber sales and fire salvage.

Mr. Elson’s recent accomplishments include helping to start up a diesel retrofit program in Idaho. He helped resolve carbon monoxide mobile source emissions modeling technical issues regarding the Maintenance Plan for Fairbanks, Alaska. He was part of EPA teams to teach the “Principles of Environmental Assessment” EPA’s international training course in Yerevan, Armenia and Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He worked on the President’s interagency team of scientists to create a scientifically-credible forest management plan for federal lands in western Oregon, western Washington, and northern California to protect anadromous fish and endangered species. He instigated EPA entry into an administrative appeal of the Bureau of Land Management’s environmental review process for timber sales in Oregon.

Mr. Elson’s educational includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography-Planning from Northern Michigan University, Marquette Michigan.

Pam Emerson
Pam Emerson has worked with the U.S. EPA since 1998 and currently serves as the Northwest lead for the West Coast Collaborative and as the Agency's Northwest Ports Advisor. Prior to this position, Ms. Emerson completed a two-year special assignment to assist the City of Seattle design and implement its municipal-level community engagement strategy to address climate change. This strategy focused on improving home energy efficiency and transportation efficiency. Ms. Emerson previously served as the Environmental Protection Agency's Northwest Children’s Environmental Health Coordinator for eight years, working to minimize the environmental component of preventable childhood illnesses like asthma and learning disabilities. In this capacity, she assisted state and local governments, tribal governments, health care professionals, education & child care professionals and community leaders address children's special vulnerabilities to poor air quality and neuro-developmental toxicants like lead and organo-phosphate pesticides. Before her tenure with EPA, Ms. Emerson worked as an environmental educator, biology teacher and community engagement specialist in the U.S. and South America. She holds a BS in biology and an MA in science education from Cornell University.

Jorge Garcia
Jorge Garcia was born in Honduras, Central America. He grew up in Tegucigalpa with his maternal grandparents and two siblings. He attended the Honduran public school system, where his mother worked as a teacher for over 30 years. In 1982, Mr. Garcia graduated as a forester from the International School of Forestry “ESNACIFOR” with classmates from every country in Central America, the Antilles and most of South America. Mr. Garcia then worked for 7 years for the Honduran Forest Service and lately as a government counterpart for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) World Food Program (WFP) and the Finnish International Development Agency (FINNIDA) implementing rural development projects in the central and south eastern regions of Honduras. In 1990, Mr. Garcia graduated with a BS in Forestry from University of Idaho and went back to Honduras to continue working for the Honduran Forest Service. In 1992, after his son Joshua was born, he moved to live in Idaho. In 1998, He graduated from University of Idaho with a M. S. in Occupational Health and Safety. Mr. Garcia is very proud he became a US citizen a month after the 9/11 attack and that his oldest daughter Jessica joined the US Army and spent 4 years as a soldier in Iraq. Mr. Garcia is happily married to Karen who, at the beginning of next year and after 24 year of working as a nurse, is graduating with a M.S in Nurse Midwifery fulfilling her long waited dream. For the last ten years, Mr. Garcia has worked as an Air Quality Analyst for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. His current job responsibilities include managing the diesel retrofit projects for the State. Mr. Garcia loves traveling back to the Caribbean with his US friends and family to share the hospitality of his mother and siblings who gracefully enjoy living in this tropical paradise.

Larry F. Greene
Larry F. Greene is the Executive Director of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, based in Sacramento, CA. The District staff consists of over 100 employees who operate programs in air monitoring, planning, compliance, enforcement of air quality rules and regulations, review of land use projects, and public education. The District covers the County of Sacramento, and is a special district governed by an elected board of 14 officials representing the County and City of Sacramento, as well as City Council members from the 5 incorporated cities within Sacramento County. Mr. Greene has twice served as President of the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association (CAPCOA), which represents air quality issues for 34 California Air Districts. He currently serves as the Local Agency Vice-President and the Local Co-Chair for the Global Warming Committee for the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA), a national organization, which represents air quality issues for state and local agencies. Mr. Greene has earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Science Education from North Carolina State University; and Master’s Degrees in Logistics Management from Florida Institute of Technology, and Human Resources Education from Boston University.

Olof Hansen
Olof Hansen is an Environmental Protection Specialist at the U.S. EPA. He received a B.S. and M.S. at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany, and did post-graduate work at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Before working at the U.S. EPA, Mr. Hansen worked as a scientific consultant in Washington, D.C., at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Geological Service, the San Francisco Bay Ecological Studies Program and as an academic researcher, trainer, and college instructor.

Ryan Hembree
Ryan Hembree worked in Snohomish County’s Washington’s Planning and Development Services Department before taking a position as Agriculture Coordinator, for Snohomish County Economic Development Department where he focused on agriculture viability, farm policy and public involvement. He has served the Snohomish County Agricultural Advisory Board for six years and is leading a County-wide project to identify prime farmlands and plan for sustainable agriculture.

Shan Hoel
Shan Hoel joined Seattle-based TransGroup Worldwide Logistics in 1995, where he has progressed through various operational and administrative positions. Mr. Hoel directs TransGroup’s branding and marketing efforts and is also responsible for developing the company’s green initiatives, including its involvement with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport Partnership.

Harold Holmes
Mr. Harold Holmes has nearly twenty-seven years of experience with the California Air Resources Board (ARB). Harold currently serves as manager of the ARB’s Engineering Evaluation Section which has primary responsibility to develop and implement the ARB’s railroad air pollution control programs. These programs include the 1998 Locomotive NOx Fleet Average Agreement for the South Coast Air Basin, the 2005 railyard diesel PM Agreement, the CARB diesel fuel regulation extended to intrastate locomotives, the preparation of 17 railyard health risk assessments and technical review of 17 railyard mitigation plans, and serving as project manager for the AB 1222 remote sensing pilot program for locomotives. In his career, Harold has worked on the ARB’s motor vehicle fuels programs, stationary and indirect source permitting programs, and a wide variety of other air pollution control programs.

Kevin W. Krick
Kevin W. Krick is employed by APL as their Director of Environmental Affairs, Global. In this newly created role, Mr. Krick helps develop strategies that support the NOL Group’s Environment Policy that allows the company to be a leader on environmental issues. This includes engaging industry stakeholders in pursuing a shared responsibility for environmental excellence. APL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), a global transportation and logistics company engaged in shipping and related businesses.

Mr. Krick has two decades worth of experience in the maritime industry, both afloat and ashore. A 1991 graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, he holds a Chief Mate’s license as well as a Third Assistant Engineer’s license. For six years, he sailed with Keystone Shipping Company as a deck officer. Upon coming ashore, he served as the Director of Public Affairs for the Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay where he was responsible for governmental affairs activities in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania as well as nationally. Following that position, he was appointed by the President as the Special Assistant to the Administrator for the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) in the Department of Transportation. Promoted to the Senior Advisor for Maritime Policy, another Presidential appointed position, Mr. Krick provided both policy guidance and leadership to MARAD. Most recently, he was employed by the Pacific Maritime Association as Assistant Director, Security & Accident Prevention and was a member of their 2008 negotiation committee, which successfully negotiated a six year contract with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

Mr. Krick received his Master of Marine Policy degree from the University of Delaware’s College of Marine Studies. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation and Marine Engineering from the United States Merchant Marine Academy. He and his wife Natasha currently live in Fairfax, CA with their two sons.

Tom Jelenić
Mr. Jelenić is a Senior Environmental Specialist for the Port of Long Beach and has over ten years experience in Environmental Planning and regulatory compliance. Technical specialties include air quality, CEQA/NEPA, and coastal land use planning. Mr. Jelenić is responsible for the day-to-day management and implementation of the Port’s environmental programs including the Port’s Green Port Policy and corresponding programs, the San Pedro Bay Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP), the Clean Trucks Program (CTP), and various CEQA/NEPA environmental documents in support of future Port redevelopment projects.

Deborah Jordan
Deborah Jordan was named the Director of EPA Region 9’s Air Division on November 3, 2003. Prior to her selection as Director, Ms. Jordan served as Associate Regional Administrator, acting as chief of staff for Regional Administrator Wayne Nastri. For the two previous years, she served as Chief, Federal Facilities and Site Cleanup Branch in the Superfund Division. She has extensive background in the air program prior to moving to Superfund, having served as Associate Director from 1995-2000. Her tenure in the Air Division includes having managed the Title V operating permits program from 1992-1995. Ms. Jordan holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Kansas and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, all in chemical engineering. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Air and Waste Management Association, Golden West Section.

Ben Machol
Ben Machol manages the Clean Energy and Climate Change Office for the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9. Prior to that, he served as the region’s Senior Energy Advisor. In his 18 years at the agency, Ben has served in several different capacities, including Guam Program Manager, where he oversaw EPA programs on the island and development of innovative infrastructure finance opportunities for U.S. island Territories.
                                                                                                    
Mr. Machol also spent many years in EPA's water programs, working with U.S. and Mexican officials to develop water and wastewater infrastructure along our border region. Mr. Machol is a licensed Professional Engineer, with a master's degree in environmental engineering, and a bachelor's in mechanical engineering, both from University of California, Berkeley.

Dennis McLerran
Dennis McLerran is the Executive Director of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, the regional air quality agency for King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. He has led the Agency in developing a number of national award winning programs. These innovative programs include Diesel Solutions, a broad-based voluntary diesel retrofit and clean fuels program; the Puget Sound voluntary summer clean gasoline program; and developing legislation creating the Washington State Clean School Bus program, making $5 million per year available to clean up 9,000 school buses. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Mobile Sources and Fuels Committee of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies and is a past President and Board member. He is also a member of US EPA’s Clean Air Act Advisory Committee and the Mobile Source Technical Review Subcommittee. He is currently helping to lead the West Coast Collaborative, a group of stakeholders promoting retrofitting of diesel engines. Mr. McLerran is also a past recipient of the Municipal League of King County’s Public Employee of the Year award.

Elin Miller
Elin D. Miller is the Regional Administrator for EPA Region 10, which has jurisdiction in the Pacific Northwest states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska. EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson announced the appointment of Ms. Miller to serve as Regional Administrator, effective October 30, 2006. With over twenty years experience in environmental and agricultural issues, Ms. Miller brings a wealth of knowledge to the Agency. Most recently, she served as President and CEO of Arysta Life Science North America & Australasia, a crop protection company based in Tokyo. From 1996-2004, she held various positions at the Dow Chemical Company including Global Vice President of Public Affairs, Vice President of Global Pest Management and Vice President of Asia Pacific. Prior to joining Dow, Ms. Miller served as the Director of the California Department of Conservation, where she was responsible for regulating oil and gas production, as well as the state's mining, recycling and agriculture land conservation initiatives. She also served as the Chief Deputy Director of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation at Cal EPA. She has served as the Chair-Elect for the Sponsor's Board of the Future Farmers America, was a member of the President's Cabinet at California Polytechnic State University, was on the board of the American Farmland Trust, and was the Chair of Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment. Ms. Miller holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy/Plant Protection from the University of Arizona, where she was a Rhodes Scholarship finalist and was recently recognized with their 2006 Outstanding Alumni Award in her profession. She and her husband Bill own a working farm in Umpqua, Oregon.

Allen Mitchell
Allen Mitchell has been the Fleet Manager of the Snohomish County Public Works Department, Fleet Management Division in Washington State, for fourteen years. He is responsible for managing a broad range of fleet assets including over 1,400 vehicles/equipment and 1,200 radios and serves all county departments. He supervises a staff of 49 fleet personnel at 4 locations and manages a $22-$25 million annual budget. In August 2007, Mr. Mitchell received the Certified Public Fleet Professional accreditation.

Matt Miyasato
Dr. Matt Miyasato is the Technology Demonstration Manager for Science and Technology Advancement at the South Coast Air Quality Management District. In this role, Dr. Miyasato leads the group responsible for the Clean Fuels Program, which evaluates, funds, and monitors pre-commercial, clean, advanced technologies for both mobile and stationary sources.

Dr. Miyasato has worked at Southern California Edison in the Nuclear Engineering Department and at General Electric, where he designed burners and combustion modifications for utility boilers. He was also a research scientist at UCI, where he managed the industrial burner research program and has publications on combustion phenomena, active control, and laser diagnostics. Dr. Miyasato has also been a lecturer at UCI for the undergraduate air pollution control course. Dr. Miyasato received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering, and his Masters and Ph.D. in Engineering, specializing in combustion technologies and air pollution control – all from the University of California, Irvine.

Peter Moulton
Peter Moulton is a senior energy policy specialist and serves as the WA State bioenergy coordinator for the Washington Department of Community, Trade & Economic Development (CTED). Mr. Moulton’s responsibilities include interagency coordination of bioenergy policy development and implementation, and management of the Energy Freedom Program, which provides economic and technical assistance to biofuel and biopower projects.

Wayne Nastri
Wayne Nastri, a lifelong westerner, was appointed Regional Administrator for Region 9 in October 2001. Mr. Nastri has led the Region to real progress in meeting the west's environmental challenges, especially in improving air quality in the Central Valley and Southern California and in protecting of scarce water resources throughout the arid west. Clear communication, strong enforcement and accountability to the public for a measurable "bottom line" have been the hallmarks of his tenure. A strong proponent of partnership as the best route to environmental protection, Mr. Nastri has launched many creative collaborations to protect the health and environment of all those who live in the Pacific Southwest. Most recently, Mr. Nastri partnered with EPA's Seattle region to launch the West Coast Diesel Emission Reduction Collaborative which will speed voluntary reductions of diesel emissions from ports, trucks and other federally regulated sources in a significant assault on one of the West's gravest air quality problems. Mr. Nastri also created EPA's Southern California Field Office in Los Angeles -- a major improvement in EPA's local presence for the region's largest metropolitan area. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Nastri held various environmental leadership positions, including Board membership for California's South Coast Air Quality Management District (covering Southern California), as well as participation in advisory boards for California's state air quality and waste management agencies. His fifteen years of environmental consulting experience culminated in his presidency of Environmental Mediation Inc. before accepting his position at EPA.

Michelle Pirzadeh
Michelle Pirzadeh is the Deputy Regional Administrator (DRA) for EPA Region 10, which has jurisdiction in the Pacific Northwest states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska. Ms. Pirzadeh was named to this position in April 2008 by Elin Miller, Regional Administrator. As DRA, Ms. Pirzadeh continues in her role as the Executive Chair of the Regional Incident Coordination Team (RICT). The RICT was established in the aftermath of 9/11 to bolster the Region’s capacity to respond to emergencies. In this position she helps lead the Region's support of Agency-wide response actions, such as the response to the devastation left in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

Prior to her position as DRA, Ms. Pirzadeh served as the Director of Region 10’s Office of Ecosystems, Tribal & Public Affairs (ETPA). Ms. Pirzadeh became ETPA’s first Director in 2004, guiding its formation and implementation, and charting its strategic direction. ETPA's work takes place in all four Region 10 states and touches virtually every major program within the Agency, including Water, Air, Waste, Toxics, Superfund, and Tribal Environments. Before moving to ETPA, Ms. Pirzadeh served as Associate Director of Region 10’s Office of Environmental Cleanup for five years, overseeing both administrative and programmatic operations of the Superfund, Brownfields and Emergency Response programs. She also spent 10 years in the Region 10’s Community Involvement Program, assisting all of the Region’s programs in the communications and public meeting dimensions of their work. Ms. Pirzadeh has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington in communications. She is an avid cook, gardener, and boater. She resides in Edmonds, WA along with her husband Dave and her yellow lab Fleetwood.

Spencer Reeder
Mr. Reeder holds the position of Lead Policy Strategist for Climate Change at the Washington State Department of Ecology.

Mr. Reeder is a former Bosch and McCloy Fellow, and holds degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington and in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has worked extensively in the private sector in the fields of Aerospace and Telecommunications and is former Executive Director of the SRCW, a NOAA funded scientific non-profit organization. Prior to that, he worked as a senior staff member for a National Science Foundation funded earth sciences institution in Boulder, Colorado that focused on global geophysical research, including work on Sea Level Rise.

Dan Reich
Dan Reich is an Assistant Regional Counsel for EPA Region 9. He has worked on many of the Regional and national enforcement cases that have resulted in diesel retrofit projects. In addition to his enforcement responsibilities, he has provided support for the West Coast Collaborative since its inception. Mr. Reich was formerly a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice.

R. Dennis Roe
Mr. Roe raised grain, hay and livestock on 6000 acres near Goldendale, Washington from 1960-65 on a fourth generation dryland farm. He received his degrees from Washington State University. In Whitman County, Washington he served as USDA-NRCS conservationist and agronomist for 41 years and served for two years in Washington, D.C. on a USDA Farm Bill Team 1995-96. Mr. Roe served as adjunct crop scientist at WSU for 11 years, completed research on 7 farms 1998-2004 on effects of canola and mustard on soil quality and erosion. Mr. Roe studied oilseed technology with Dr. Charles Peterson, Dr. Joe Thompson, and Dr. Jon Van Gerpen at U of I, and facilitated 20 tours with >200 people to the U of I oilseed crushing and biodiesel lab. Mr. Roe also provided numerous presentations on oilseeds in the past 5 years. He operated the Whitman Conservation District oilseed crusher in the fall and winter of 2006-2007 at Colfax, Washington. Mr. Roe has worked the past 6 months with Dr. Hans Kok at WSU and U of I as conservation tillage specialist.

Jean Roggenkamp
Jean Roggenkamp is a Deputy Air Pollution Control Officer for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Her responsibilities include overseeing the Planning, Policy and Public Outreach functions of the agency. She joined the Air District staff in 1985 in the Planning and Research Division and has been a member of the management team since 1990.

Prior to joining the Air District, Ms. Roggenkamp was an environmental planning consultant. Her primary focus was using geographic information systems for natural resource planning. Ms. Roggenkamp holds a Master of City and Regional Planning and a Master of Environmental Planning from the University of California at Berkeley and a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Economics from Cornell University.

Dr. Eric Salathé
Dr. Eric Salathé is an Affiliate Assistant Professor at the University of Washington and is a Senior Research Scientist with the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group. Dr. Salathé develops techniques for simulating the regional climate to support applications research within the Climate Impacts Group. He also studies the relationship between upper-tropospheric moisture and the climate. Prior to his current positions at the University of Washington, Dr. Salathé was a National Research Council Associate at the NASA Goddard Laboratory’s Climate and Radiation Branch and a NASA Global Change Research Fellow at Yale University. Dr. Salathé received his doctorate in geology and geophysics from Yale University and his Bachelors’ degree from Swarthmore College.

Jerry Scheele
Jerry Scheele was born and raised on a farm in southern Spokane County near Waverly, Washington. After graduating from Pacific Lutheran (Tacoma) in 1960 with a BA in Business Administration, he began his career as a farmer raising wheat, barley, lentils, canola, dry peas, Kentucky blue grass, hay and cattle. Mr. Sheele retired in 2004 and is now doing volunteer work in the natural resource arena. Over the years he has held various board positions with commodity commissions, grain cooperatives and the county Conservation District. Presently, Mr. Scheele is the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for the Spokane County Conservation District and Treasurer of the Upper Columbia (RC&D) Resource Conservation and Development Council (a 501c3). The RC&D just completed, in December 2007, the Diesel Emission Reduction Grant for Eastern Washington Farmers, of which he was the Project Manager. The emphasis was on using direct seed/no-till as a way of reducing diesel emissions.

Samir Sheikh
Samir Sheikh is director of the Emission Reduction Incentive Program at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. This program has been widely recognized for its efficiency and cost-effectiveness, and includes components that address emissions heavy duty engines (off and on-road), motor vehicle emissions, school buses, and other sources of emissions critical to the District's mission of cleaning the San Joaquin Valley's air. Mr. Sheikh has a mechanical engineering background, and has also been involved extensively in the regulation of stationary sources as an engineer and manager in the District's permitting department.

Ron Sims
Ron Sims is the Executive for King County. He has a national reputation for boldness and vision, and is a champion of reforming government processes to better serve the people of the dynamic, forward-thinking Puget Sound region. His accomplishments have earned him two national leader of the year awards, the most recent in July 2008 from American City and County Magazine.

During his three terms as Executive, Mr. Sims has established a strong record of environmental protection. An ardent conservationist, Mr. Sims has protected more than 100,000 acres of green space in King County and increased the county's trails to 175 miles since 1997. King County’s Climate Plan, which is aimed at reducing and adapting to the effects of global warming, is lauded as one of the most comprehensive in the nation. In May 2007, Mr. Sims was among six individuals given the Climate Protection Award from the Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Sims has also pushed for increased use of new fuel technologies, resulting in King County Metro Transit being one of the greenest large transit agencies in the nation and, currently, the county is the largest purchaser of biofuels in the state. Already operating the largest fleet of articulated hybrid buses in the world, Metro Transit recently signed a contract for purchase of up to 500 additional articulated hybrids as part of a service expansion designed to get 50,000 drivers out of their cars and onto buses by 2016.

Mr. Sims was born in Spokane, Washington and is a graduate of Central Washington University. Prior to his appointment and subsequent election to County Executive in 1996, Mr. Sims served on the King County Council, worked as a legislative aide at the Washington State Senate, served as the head of the City of Seattle’s juvenile offender program, and worked at the Washington State Attorney General's office and the Federal Trade Commission on consumer protection issues.

Dave Sjoding
Dave Sjoding is a Renewable Resources Specialist at the Washington State University (WSU) Extension Energy Program. His current assignments include bioenergy, Clean Heat and Power (CHP), and hydrogen/fuel cells. Mr. Sjoding is the six state Pacific Regional Biomass Energy Partnership Team Leader and the Manager of the five state Northwest CHP Application Center. He has 29 years experience in the energy field focusing on the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy, climate change, energy policy, and distributed generation. He has served as an Assistant Director for many years at the Washington State Energy Office before coming to WSU in 1996. He chaired the Power Washington Review Committee, which ultimately allocated over $95 million in oil settlement funds. Mr. Sjoding has a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Washington. He has served on the staff of the House Appropriations Committee of the Washington State Legislature and in the Office of Financial Management. He is a strategic thinker with a focus on “roadmapping our energy future”. This is especially true for the bioeconomy. He brings a several decade perspective on how we got ourselves into our current position with oil, natural gas and electricity and pathways forward/solutions. Mr. Sjoding is a speaker at energy conferences.

Dan Smith
Dan Smith is the Principal of The Tioga Group, Inc. Mr. Smith has over 25 years of consulting experience in freight transportation strategy, policy, and planning, with particular emphasis on truck, rail, and marine intermodal transportation. His major clients have included ports, railroads, shippers, leasing companies, industry associations, and government agencies. Tioga’s projects have included five inland port feasibility studies, long-term cargo forecasts, and regional freight studies.

Mr. Smith has been a frequent contributor to trade journals and industry conferences, and has testified before Congress on anti-trust issues in the world shipping industry. Mr. Smith was previously with Mercer Management Consulting and Manalytics before cofounding Tioga.

Christopher Steele
Christopher Steele was born in Kahuku, Hawaii and grew up in the north shore of Oahu. He received his bachelor degree in business from Hawaii Pacific University in 1990. His career at Grace Pacific started in 1975, and as Labor, equipment operator, foreman, supervisor, dispatcher, laboratory technician, superintendent, marketing and sales, and finally to manager of environmental compliance, he expanded his knowledge and understanding of best management practices in the industry.

Mr. Steele, currently partnering with his wife Dana, devotes his time to pursue excellence in environmental compliance at Hawaii Stormwater Risk Management and, through the process, better Hawaii's environment. Since occupying his past position as Grace Pacific environmental manager, he has been initiating and actively promoting proactive environmental programs such as Hawaii Recyclers United for Change, Hawaii Storm Water Excellence Program, Environmental Management System and ISO 14001, EPA Smartway program, alternative fuel addressed primarily towards locally grown biofuels, idle reduction program, and diesel retrofit program partnering with the Hawaii Transportation Association, Hawaii Board of Water Supply, and other private trucking company.

Mary Traxler
Mary Traxler joined USDA Rural Development Business Programs in 2006 as the WA State Business and Cooperative Programs Specialist after an extensive career in commercial lending in rural markets throughout Western Washington. As Energy Coordinator for Washington State, she has responsibility for reviewing applications submitted under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) under Title IX of the Farm Bill.