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Staff Biographies
Judy Barnes On a part-time basis in the mid 90s, Judy built, trained, and managed a nationwide sales distribution network worth half a million dollars in annual gross sales. Early this decade, she helped lead ballot measure campaigns to create People's Utility Districts in the five counties surrounding Portland served by Portland General Electric, which was then owned by Enron. Coordinating these grassroots efforts involved public education, recruitment, and coalition building. Although the grassroots campaigns were heavily outspent, the efforts created considerable awareness of local energy issues and the potential for local decision-making about Portland's energy future. In December 2008, Ms. Barnes helped found Oregonians for Renewable Energy Policy with the aim of bringing European-style Feed-In Tariffs to Oregon in order to speed up the deployment of distributed renewable energy at the local level, enabling ordinary Oregonians to become part of the solution to climate change.
Mark Pengilly
Kathleen Newman As a parent of young children and deeply concerned about a sustainable future, Kathleen became interested in the modeling efforts of Dennis Meadows ("Beyond the Limits") and their application to Systems Thinking Education. She became an early trainer for the groundbreaking educational computer simulation game, "Fishbanks," and facilitated learning sessions for teachers and college students. This experience impressed upon her the power of the free market, acting to maximize individual profits and unrestrained by policy, to devastate common resources, and similarly, the power of good policy to align incentives and move a system just as inexorably toward favorable outcomes. Kathleen thinks of herself as a native Oregonian – just not lucky enough to have been born here! She moved from Massachusetts to Oregon with her husband and daughters in 1997. After a decade focused on child-rearing, educating, and local community, Kathleen studied Architectural Design and Drafting with an emphasis on sustainable design at Portland Community College. Kathleen currently consults for Oregon Interfaith Power and Light (a project of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon) as an energy auditor for religious facilities, and assists with the OIPL Solar Congregations Program. She is passionate about the power of community-owned solar to foster education, engagement, and empowerment for change. Kathleen became involved with OREP through OIPL's involvement in the PUC Rulemaking for the Solar Pilot Program in the fall of 2009 and sees a comprehensive feed-in tariff policy as the best way to rapidly deploy renewable energy at all scales and be a vital part of a sustainable energy economy for Oregon and the nation. Ray Neff Ray continued his education and received a Master of Community and Regional Planning (MCRP) degree from the UO in 2009. A 2007 sustainable community development study abroad program in Kefalonia, Greece introduced him to renewable energy feed-in tariff policy. There he co-authored Renewable Energy for Old Farsa, a Comparison of Technologies: A Report Prepared for the People of Farsa, Greece. His graduate research compared the potential impacts on and benefits to Oregonians, of two feed-in tariff bills in the 2009 Oregon Legislature, with a business-as-usual approach to climate change. Ray was introduced to OREP while conducting his graduate research and has been a staff member since November 2010. He was active in the Oregon Public Utility Commission’s rulemaking process for HB3039, a Solar PV Feed-in Tariff Pilot Program passed during the 2009 legislature. In his current work with OREP he produces digital communications, writes media responses on renewable energy issues, explores research opportunities, and has supervised graduate student interns. Ray provides a bridge between OREP, academia, policy makers, and local energy interests in the South Willamette Valley, building community and utility industry support for feed-in tariff policy. When he's not working on energy issues, Ray enjoys riding his recumbent bike, walks along the river, music and family, and working on neighborhood and community issues as a River Road Community Organization board member.
Jon Roschke Since 2009 Jon has been a Board member and Education Coordinator for the Oregon Small Wind Energy Association, managing education geared towards installers, consumers, and the general public. In 2011 Jon founded Roschke Renewables, a renewable energy consulting and education firm based in Portland, Oregon. Jon has been a KidWind Wind Senator since 2010, providing hands-on training for teachers to bring renewable energy education into the classroom, and is a volunteer member of the Portland Public School District Career Pathways Advisory Council (2012). |
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