How dire is the situation for salmon here in this watershed? On September 13th, our presenters will describe the conditions and highlight the modeling and simulation that is underway. They will then speak to an emerging solution under consideration to solve the problem that integrates district energy for co-benefits and to spark investment in the enterprise.
Featured Speakers:
Eric Moe, Co-Founder & Partner, dJoule, LLC
Eric is an accomplished strategist, engineer, and integrator with decades of experience in competitive energy system design, justification, optimization, and growth. He develops district energy systems, enterprises, and supporting companies and is experienced in strategy, valuation and due diligence in the purchase, sale, and debt finance of related assets. Eric is keenly focused on broad integration of waste heat, renewable energy, and the grid to decarbonize new and existing communities.
Lucas Hall, Director of Projects, Long Live the Kings
Born and raised near the Skagit River, Lucas left the Seattle tech startup scene to return to his passion, environmental management in the Pacific Northwest. With previous experience working with agricultural nonpoint pollution inspectors and Washington State aquaculture, he brings a combination of stakeholder engagement, policy analysis, and entrepreneurship to LLTK. Lucas holds a B.A. in Political Science from Western Washington University and a Master of Public Administration degree and Environmental Management Certificate from the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington. With over 5 years at LLTK, Lucas now manages the Hood Canal Bridge Assessment, Survive the Sound education and outreach campaign, Lake Washington Ship Canal projects, and the organizations projects team based in Seattle.
Lauren Urgenson, Technical Coordinator, WRIA 8
Lauren Urgenson works at King County as Technical Coordinator for the Lake Washington, Cedar, Sammamish Watershed (WRIA 8) composed of twenty-seven cities and two counties working together to recover salmon and improve watershed health. As Technical Coordinator, Lauren oversees scientific aspects of the watershed’s Salmon Conservation Plan, ratified by local governments, and approved as a component of the federal Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Plan. Lauren has worked at the intersection of ecological science, policy, and community-based resource management for over 20 years and holds a PhD from the University of Washington, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences.
Moderator:
Rachelle Ames, Vice President of Economic Development, CleanTech Alliance
Rachelle Ames leads the BUILT Cluster focusing on decarbonizing infrastructure and built environment and one of the initial clusters launched by the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Innovation Cluster Accelerator Program. She also leads the Alliance’s entrepreneur support programs and has developed the new Lab2Launch resource focusing on breaking down barriers between industry and the Northwest’s academic institution resources.
In addition to entrepreneur support and commercialization activities, she leads member and sponsors development and engagement, and partnership outreach for the Alliance. Rachelle joined the CleanTech Alliance in 2018, after five years at Washington State University working within the Office of Research and focused on industry-academia engagement and technology transfer.
She has a Professional Science Masters (PSM) in Molecular Biosciences from Washington State University and is passionate about helping scientists, engineers, technical founders, and industry communicate their technologies and innovations to others to increase collaboration opportunities through shared understanding.
Introductory Speakers:
Susan Betcher, Partner, Firmwide Co-Chair, Clean Technology Practice, Perkins Coie
Patent Law practice partner Susan Betcher strengthens the business value of patent portfolios of publicly traded and privately held companies by creating intellectual property rights and then leveraging those rights via licensing agreements, competitive advantages in the marketplace, cross-jurisdictional partnerships and other arrangements. She helps clients define their IP strategies and how they can better commercialize their proprietary innovations.
Susan is a trained engineer and has experience in a broad range of technology sectors, with a concentration in clean technologies such as carbon capture, hydrogen production and storage, and alternative energy. Other technologies in her background include mechanical, electromechanical and medical device-related technologies. Among her clients are energy processors and retailers, natural resource suppliers and industrial manufacturers.
Susan maximizes her clients’ patent rights by negotiating intellectual property licenses, technology transfer agreements, sponsored research agreements, joint development agreements and supply agreements. She also advises clients on establishing internal patent procurement programs, analyzing and protecting competitive market advantages, and international patent prosecution strategies.
In the Clean Tech sector, Susan works with clients focused on renewables, efficiency, storage, smart grids and other areas of sustainable energy, advising them from startup to commercialization. She is a member of the Tech Advisory Council of the University of Washington Clean Energy Institute and a board member of the Washington Clean Technology Alliance.
Margaret Hupp, Senior Counsel, Perkins Coie
Marcy Hupp counsels clients assessing and pursuing environmental sustainability goals. She advises companies on strategic business decisions, industry trends, and policy matters related to climate change; carbon reductions; and other environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. Marcy works on transactions to support corporate sustainability pledges, including agreements related to greenhouse gas emissions reductions; water use, discharge, and accessibility; and clean technology development. She regularly works with environmental professionals at manufacturing facilities to implement corporate ESG goals through innovative emissions controls and water technologies.
With an LL.M. in sustainable international development, Marcy helps clients understand evolving climate change-related policies, carbon offset protocols, and environmental justice initiatives. She has assisted with the development and implementation of clients’ initial ESG programs and contributed to sustainability reports. Marcy advises clients complying with Washington’s Climate Commitment Act and other emissions cap-and-trade systems and has performed due diligence for transactions involving carbon offset projects.
Marcy also regularly counsels clients in environmental compliance and litigation matters. She assists them with evaluating and mitigating risks arising under federal, state, and local environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and Washington’s Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA). Marcy represents clients in federal and state courts and in mediation proceedings and defends clients against citizen suits.