Featured Speakers
Emcee
Johnell Bell – Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Espousal Strategies
Johnell Bell is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Espousal Strategies LLC, a government, community, and public affairs firm. Through his extensive work in the office of U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and his tenure helping lead public entities, he has developed a reputation as a thoughtful, creative strategist and balanced, passionate leader who understands the needs of diverse stakeholders. Johnell is also the Principal Equity Officer for the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) program.
Prior to founding Espousal Strategies, Johnell served as State Field Director for Senator Merkley where he led the senator’s forward-facing outreach and state field operations. Johnell also served as Director of Diversity and Transit Equity for TriMet where he was the agency’s Chief Diversity Officer overseeing small business, equity, and civil rights. His efforts received national recognition, and he helped to set Oregon’s record of awarding over $150 million to DBE firms during the construction of the Orange line. Johnell also served as an advisor to Portland Mayor Tom Potter and Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler. In those roles, Johnell created an economic development office and co-created an office of diversity and inclusion.
A sought-after speaker on public engagement, business development, and equity, Johnell has presented and served on panels for organizations including COMTO and MPACT. He is a member of the National Small Business Leadership Council as well as a COMTO National Board Member and Chair of the COMTO HUB Committee.
Energy Planning: What is the energy system, what do we need to meet needs safely, reliably and affordably?
Dan Kirschner – Consultant, Northwest Gas Association
Kirschner recently retired as the CEO of the Northwest Gas Association (NWGA) and continues to work with the organization to foster understanding and informed decision-making on natural gas and energy issues more broadly across the Pacific Northwest.
A lifelong resident of the Northwest, Kirschner is the principal at DSK Advisory, LLC, a consulting firm that provides Northwest energy expertise and connections. Kirschner spent the first half of his professional career working at the Washington State Legislature, for U.S. Senator Slade Gorton (R-WA) and as an executive at the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce (now Greater Spokane Incorporated) before relocating to Oregon almost 25 years ago to take the helm of the NWGA. Kirschner holds a BSc in Government and Economics from Eastern Washington University and an MBA from the University of Washington but remains a die-hard WSU Cougar fan.
Jimmy Lindsay – Director of Resource Planning & Strategy, Portland General Electric (PGE)
Jimmy is the Director for Resource Planning & Strategy at Portland General Electric. Jimmy’s team is responsible for forecasting demand, distributed energy resource deployment, and the need for generation resources for PGE’s customers. He previously worked as PGE’s Manager for Commercial Structuring and Origination and in a variety of commercial and renewable power roles.
Case Studies, Power and Innovation
Christian Youngerman – Senior Director of Facilities/Engineering & Learning/Development, Genentech
Christian currently works within Genentech’s Hillsboro Innovative Therapies (HIT) division in Hillsboro which focuses on the next generation of cell and gene therapies to meet unmet medical needs. In this capacity, he oversees critical site functions, including facilities, engineering, and workforce strategy. Previously, he worked in engineering, reliability and EHS functions across the biotech, petroleum, and chemical industries, bringing over 30 years of technical and leadership experience. He currently serves on the national biopharma advisory board for Apprenti, a national apprenticeship program.
Alison Hoagland – Architect and Principal, Mackenzie
Alison Hoagland is a Principal, Architect, and member of Mackenzie’s Board of Directors. She has designed and delivered projects in a variety of markets, including ecommerce, industrial, retail, commercial, hospitality, educational, and public safety facilities. Throughout her career at Mackenzie, she has been involved in many of Mackenzie’s Green Globes and LEED projects, including our headquarters in Portland, Oregon at the River East Center. She was also the principal-in-charge for Mackenzie’s work on one of the world’s largest electric vehicle battery factories, located in De Soto, Kansas. As a leader, Alison fosters a strong team atmosphere that extends across consultant and client teams. Her attention to detail and grasp of the big picture of every project enables her to lead her team to success.
Christopher Binder – Sr. Manager of Policy & Program Development, Green Building Initiative
Christopher Binder is the Sr. Manager of Policy & Program Development at the Green Building Initiative (GBI). In this role, he advances GBI’s mission to improve the built environment’s impact on climate and society through advocacy with state and local decision-makers.
Christopher possesses an in-depth understanding of GBI’s assessment programs and green building policy trends. During his tenure at GBI, he has worked with a wide range of clients in their efforts to achieve their sustainability goals.
He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Specializing in forest management and environmental policy, Christopher conducted extensive research on wildfire risk mitigation efforts in southern Oregon.
Energy and Business, Meeting the Needs
Nick Triska – Business Development, Greater Portland, Inc.
Nick serves as Head of Business Development at Greater Portland Inc, where he leads regional efforts to advance equitable economic prosperity. He coordinates responses to global business relocation and expansion needs through close collaboration with public and private partners, champions regional industry interests, and articulates the competitiveness of the Portland Metropolitan Area to businesses and site selectors worldwide. Nick built his 9-year economic development career in positions at the City of Hillsboro and Prosper Portland, with experience spanning business development, industry cluster strategy, land use and site readiness research, and foreign direct investment. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon and lives in Southwest Portland with his wife, Luna.
Mike Colgrove – Executive Director, Energy Trust of Oregon
Michael Colgrove is Executive Director of Energy Trust of Oregon, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping communities in Oregon and Southwest Washington save energy and benefit from renewable power. Michael joined Energy Trust in 2016, after 15 years with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) where he was director of their New York City office and director of Multifamily Programs. He has extensive experience designing, developing and implementing energy-efficiency programs that accelerate broad market adoption of clean energy solutions.
Prior to NYSERDA, Michael worked with low-income multifamily programs throughout New York, including implementing a program to encourage the installation of electricity reduction measures, developing environmental education programs for inner-city youth, and providing building energy assessments with the Weatherization Assistance Program. He is a graduate of the New York Institute of Technology’s Energy Management master’s program and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He is board president of the New Buildings Institute Board of Directors and a member of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance Board of Directors.
Stefan Bird – President, BrightNight
Stefan Bird leads BrightNight’s U.S. commercial functions, encompassing origination, market analytics, marketing, and communications. With three decades of experience in the energy industry—25 years in C-level roles—he has shaped strategy, innovation, and execution for vertically integrated utilities, independent power producers, commodity trading operations, large-scale acquisitions, and international development.
Before joining BrightNight, Stefan served as President and CEO of Pacific Power, a division of PacifiCorp, where he was responsible for retail service to 800,000 customers in Oregon, Washington, and California; wholesale transmission and renewable operations across ten Western states; and corporate services from PacifiCorp’s Portland headquarters.
Stefan is recognized for driving transformative change in Western energy markets. He championed the launch and expansion of the California ISO’s Energy Imbalance Market, delivering more than $5 billion in savings to customers over its first nine years, and led PacifiCorp to be the first utility to commit to the CAISO’s extended day-ahead market. Under his leadership, PacifiCorp expanded its renewable portfolio from under 100 MW to over 7,000 MW, built 630+ miles of interstate transmission, and pioneered innovative green tariffs to supply over a gigawatt of renewable power to data centers. He also oversaw due diligence for more than $10 billion in utility acquisitions.
Previously, Stefan was President and CEO of CalEnergy, managing a U.S. portfolio of geothermal, natural gas cogeneration, and mineral facilities. As VP of Acquisitions and Development for Berkshire Hathaway Energy, he played a key role in closing $5 billion in interstate natural gas pipeline acquisitions and structuring complex distressed company financings. Earlier in his career, he worked for Koch Industries subsidiaries across the U.S., Europe, Mexico, and South America, co-founding one of the first U.S. power trading companies and negotiating one of the nation’s first retail wheeling agreements for refinery power supply.
Growing Oregon’s Clean Economy – Clean Tech & Green Jobs and Tying it All Together, Policy Outlook and What’s Next
Andrew Desmond – Director of Economic Development Policy, Oregon Business Council
Andrew Desmond leads the Oregon Business Council’s economic development work. In that capacity he led the staff work involved in the Oregon Semiconductor Competitiveness Task Force and led the coalition that pushed successfully for state policy and investment support in the 2023 legislative session. He also helped form and staff the Clean Tech Task Force, another effort that focused on developing policy recommendations for how Oregon can be a clean tech manufacturing leader.
Moderators
Melissa Rogers – Account Manager, PowerX
Melissa Rogers is an Account Manager at PowerX, a national provider of electrical testing, engineering studies, and preventative maintenance solutions that help ensure the reliability of mission-critical power systems. She brings more than 20 years of experience in the energy industry, including two decades with Oregon’s largest investor-owned electric utility, where she led business development efforts supporting the recruitment of major traded-sector industries such as data centers, semiconductor manufacturers, and food processors. Melissa serves on the 7×24 Exchange Oregon & SW Washington Board of Directors as Chapter Secretary and is co-founder and chair of WiMCO (Women in Mission Critical) in Oregon.
Zach Hyder – CEO + Co-Owner, Hubbell Communications
Zach is a veteran communications strategist with a background in facilitating community conversations about energy, climate, and economic development. Throughout his career, Zach has worked on grassroots advocacy and community outreach campaigns on issues from clean technology and air quality to regulatory frameworks for carbon reductions in key manufacturing sectors.
Zach also has extensive experience working across complex regulatory processes with local and state environmental agencies in Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho. He has helped guide land use projects through numerous Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council reviews and worked closely with officials from the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Business Council for Sustainable
Tom Rinehart – Founder and CEO, Rinehart Strategies
Tom Rinehart is the founder and owner of Rinehart Strategies, a consulting firm supporting private sector companies, government agencies and non-profit organizations, With 25 years of leadership experience, Tom has worked at the highest levels of the public sector and launched two successful companies. At the core of Rinehart Strategies’ work is creating and sustaining healthy, purpose-driven organizations.
Tom was raised in a family committed to social justice. He brings these values to the work and prioritizes long-term relationships. As a result, no client is ever truly a former client.
Tom’s work is unique because he has deep leadership experience in each of the professional sectors: non-profit, government and business. With these different lenses, he can make connections and help you solve problems.
Tom holds a BA in Government and International Studies from the University of Notre Dame and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Portland. He and his wife, Dr. Christi Hancock, are proud parents of three children and live in Northeast Portland.
Closing Remarks Speaker
Mayor Beach Pace – City of Hillsboro
On January 7, 2025, Beach Pace became the 51st Mayor of Hillsboro. She is the second female Mayor and first LGBTQAI+ Mayor for Hillsboro.
Mayor Pace was first elected to serve on the Hillsboro City Council in November 2018 and re-elected in November 2022. She also served as the Transportation Committee Chair during her time as Councilor. Prior to joining the Council, Mayor Pace served on the City’s Planning Commission and participated in the Hillsboro Civic Leadership Academy.
Mayor Pace holds a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MPA from Northern Michigan University. She served in the US Army Bomb Squad, both domestically and overseas.
Her corporate experience comes from the pharmaceutical industry where she worked in sales and marketing for 9+ years. She was a regional manager and led a highly successful team covering the Pacific Northwest.
Mayor Pace has been in the social change/non-profit sector for 17+ years, all in service to youth and families. She currently serves as the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Portland.
Mayor Pace and her wife Jincy have two adult children and their rescue dog Jack. In her free time, she enjoys walking and hiking.