Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors helps keep us on our toes as we try to reduce our collective carbon footprint. They bring years of experience in energy, business and watershed science to our foundation. Their vision and practical advice help BEF take steps toward a better tomorrow.

• Aldo J. Benedetti, Director Emeritus

• Ralph Cavanagh, Vice Chair and Founding Member

  Co-Director of the Energy Program and Senior Attorney
  Natural Resources Defense Council
  

  Ralph, a graduate of Yale College and the Yale Law School, has been with the NRDC since 1979. He has taught law classes at Stanford, UC Berkeley, Harvard Law School and the University of Idaho's Public Utility Executives Course. From 1993-2003 he served on the U.S. Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board. He is a member of the National Commission on Energy Policy.

• Bill Drummond, Member since 2001

  Manager, Western Montana Electric Generating & Transmission Cooperative, Inc.
  

  The Missoula, Montana, cooperative provides power planning and conservation services for its members. Prior to joining the Cooperative in 1994, Bill was the manager of the Public Power Council in Portland, an association of 115 publicly and cooperatively owned electric utilities in the Northwest. He has degrees in forestry from the University of Montana and in economics from the University of Arizona.

• Don Frisbee - Emeritus, Founding Member

  PacifiCorp, retired

• Mark O. Hatfield - Board Chair Emeritus, Founding Member

  U.S. Senator, retired

• Steve Hickok

  Director Emeritus
  

• Jim Lichatowich, Watershed Chair and Founding Member

  Principal Alder Fork Consulting
  

  Jim, a fisheries biologist, has worked on Pacific salmon issues as a researcher, manager and scientific advisor for over 30 years, specializing in the ecology and status of salmon and steelhead and the development of restoration plans. Jim was formerly the chief of Fisheries Research and assistant chief of Fisheries for the State of Oregon. He is chairman of the Independent Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB) for the Columbia River Salmon Restoration Program and has served on other independent scientific panels. Jim authored Salmon Without Rivers, a history of the Pacific salmon crisis.

• Jaime Pinkham

  Director Emeritus
  

• Walt Pollock, Chairman

  Portland General Electric (retired)
  

  Walt was senior vice president for power supply at PGE, responsible for the operation of hydroelectric, natural gas, coal and wind resources; purchasing and selling power and fuel in wholesale markets; developing new resources; relicensing hydroelectric facilities; and decommissioning the Trojan Nuclear Plant. Formerly vice president for marketing, conservation and production at the Bonneville Power Administration, Walt was responsible for developing and implementing BPA's marketing plan, developing product and pricing policies, and strategic direction. Prior to that, Walt worked in power sales and, when he first started with BPA, as head of the then newly formed conservation section. Walt grew up in Vancouver, Washington, and earned a chemical engineering degree from the University of Washington. He has served on the boards of the Cascade AIDS Project and the Oregon Zoo Foundation.

• Rachel Shimshak, Secretary and Founding Member

  Director, Renewable Northwest Project
  

  From its inception in 1994, Rachel has been the Director of the Renewable Northwest Project, launched by a coalition focused on renewable technologies. In 1996, Rachel served on the Comprehensive Review of the Northwest Energy System. Previously, she worked for the Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources, the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, and the Public Citizen's Congress Watch in D.C. A native Oregonian, she graduated from the University of Oregon.

• Bill Towey, Founding Member

  Fish and Wildlife Policy Analyst
  Colville Confederated Tribes
  

  Mr. Towey has been involved in watershed management within the Columbia River Basin for the past two decades. His experience includes serving as: staff biologist for the Northwest Power Planning Council, Director of the Kalispel Natural Resource Department and Policy Analyst for the Colville Confederated Tribes Fish and Wildlife Department. He was instrumental in shaping the model watershed and habitat components for the Northwest Power Planning Council's 1991 Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. Recently he co-authored a paper in the American Fisheries Society publication Fisheries describing watershed and fisheries management policies developed by the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. He also serves on the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board that provides regional leadership toward the recovery of listed anadromous fish species in the Upper Columbia River.

• Brett Wilcox, Treasurer and Founding Member

  President and CEO
  Summit Power Alternative Resources
  

  Brett is a consultant to a number of companies. He previously was owner and President of Golden Northwest Aluminum, Inc., and manager of Northwest Energy Development, LLC. In 1985, Brett founded Northwest Aluminum Company and Northwest Aluminum Specialties, Inc. He also served as Executive Director of Direct Service Industries, Inc., and as an attorney with Preston, Ellis and Gates in Seattle. He was Vice Chairman of the Oregon Progress Board and a member of the Governors' comprehensive review of the Northwest Regional Power System. Brett earned his Bachelor's degree in Public and International Affairs from Princeton and his law degree from Stanford.

• Tom Starrs

  Managing Director
  Utility & Power Plant Division, SunPower Corporation
  

  Tom has more than 25 years of renewable energy experience, with an emphasis on both distributed- and utility-scale solar technology. At SunPower Corporation, Tom is responsible for business development and strategic planning for the company's utility-scale solar project development business across North America. Prior to joining SunPower Corporation, Tom was Managing Director of Solar Power for Iberdrola Renewables, Inc., the U.S. arm of the global wind energy development company, where Tom launched the company's entry into solar power development in the United States. Tom has served BEF for many years, first as a consultant helping pioneer the retail green power market based on the Green Tags concept,then as Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Chief Operating Officer, and finally as CEO. Tom holds a Ph.D. from the Energy & Resources Program of the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall).