Westside Economic Alliance
10220 S.W. Nimbus Avenue
Suite K-12
Tigard, Oregon 97223
Damon Runberg – State Economist, Business Oregon
Damon Runberg is the Economist at Business Oregon, the State of Oregon’s economic development agency. He supports the statewide economic development goals by tracking and analyzing economic indicators critical to Oregon’s workers and businesses. He also evaluates the effectiveness of Oregon’s economic development strategies and incentives. Prior to working with Business Oregon Damon was a Regional Labor Economist with the Oregon Employment Department for the East Cascades of Oregon for nearly 12 years.
John Tapogna – Senior Policy Advisor, ECOnorthwest
John Tapogna is President Emeritus at ECOnorthwest, an economic consulting firm, and a consultant to the Oregon Business Council. In 1997, he founded ECO’s social policy practice, which has advised on education, welfare, disability, and pension policies for governments and foundations across the United States. John served as ECO’s president from 2009-2021 and oversaw a strategy that successfully transitioned the company into a second generation of ownership and expanded its presence along the West Coast and into the Intermountain West.
In addition to his consulting work, John serves as Board Chair of Oregon Public Broadcasting and Treasurer of the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation. Prior to joining ECO, John was an analyst at the U.S. Congressional Budget Office and a Peace Corps volunteer in Chile. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
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