CleanTech Advocacy Day 2024

2024 CleanTech Day in Olympia offers CleanTech Alliance members the opportunity to meet their legislators, network with the sector, and learn about the state energy and cleantech policies impacting their organizations.

The CleanTech Alliance is pleased to announce the return of a fully in-person CleanTech Advocacy Day in Olympia. Save the date for Wednesday, January 31st from 12:30pm-5:30pm PT in Olympia.

Agenda

12:30-1:00pm | Check in, networking, and lunch – John A. Cherberg Building, First Floor, Conference Room ABC (304 15th Ave SW, Olympia, WA 98501).

1:00-2:00pm | Lunch Panel Discussion: the intersection of energy production, the supply chain, and cyber security

2:00-3:30 | Small group and one-on-one meetings with legislators

3:30-5:30 | Networking reception at the Boeing House (311 16th Ave SW, Olympia, WA 98501)

Our Speakers

Matt Boehnke, Senator, Washington State Legislature

Sen. Matt Boehnke is serving his first term representing the 8th Legislative District in the State Senate, after serving two terms in the Washington House of Representatives.

Matt was raised in Kennewick, graduating from Kamiakin High School in 1986. He then attended Eastern Washington University, where he graduated as an ROTC-Distinguished Military Graduate and received his active-duty commission in the U.S. Army Aviation branch in 1990. He spent the next 21 years in the service, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring and moving back to Kennewick.

Since 2015, Matt has served as the director and lead professor of the cybersecurity division at Columbia Basin College. He also owns a cybersecurity consulting business. Before joining the Legislature, he served for three years on the Kennewick City Council.

Matt currently serves  on the Senate Human Services (Ranking); Business, Financial Services, Gaming & TradeEnvironment, Energy & Technology; and Ways & Means committees.

Darin Durante, Senior Leader of Supply Chain, Boeing

Darin has seventeen years of progressive experience in Supply Chain, Logistics, Procurement and Business Operations/PMO with a demonstrated history of success working in a large diverse Fortune 500 company.

He is highly skilled in Supplier Management, Business Operations and Project/Program Management and his strengths include building strong relationships, cross-functional team leadership, collaboration, communication and problem solving.

Darin is a strong project manager and planning professional with a Certificate in Project Management from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from University of Redlands.

Rick Heath, Vice President, Western Regional Accounts, Framatome

After graduating from Oregon State University in nuclear engineering and health physics in 1991, Rick began his 32 year career with Framatome designing nuclear reactor cores in Richland, WA. 

Using his engineering base as a stepping stone, he soon entered the commercial side of the nuclear fuel business, managing reload fuel contracts with utility customers.  After receiving PMP certification, Rick transitioned from project management to a corporate role as Regional Manager and then Vice President, Western Regional Accounts, representing Framatome Fuels, Reactor Services, Instrumentation & Controls, Cyber Security and Advanced Reactors in the West.

To round out his North American experience base, Rick spent two years as Director, Federal Services Business Development with responsibility for the DOE Hanford Site and the Canadian Market.

Rick is passionate about solidifying the role of nuclear power in our nation’s clean energy transformation and avidly supports local and state efforts to deploy advanced reactor and clean energy technologies in the Northwest to facilitate decarbonization. 

Outside of work, he is known as the Ice Cream Man at the Tri-City Cancer Center, bringing smiles and hope to patients fighting cancer, their families and the staff.

Innovation Cluster Insights and Q&A Moderation

Mel Clark, President & CEO, CleanTech Alliance

Mel Clark is a leader with 20 years of nonprofit experience, as well as for-profit business experience in real estate and human resources.  She has a demonstrated track record of strong fiscal stewardship and program development.  She joined the CleanTech Alliance in April 2020.

She has two adult children, one in college studying computer science, the other a theatre lighting and pyro technician at Disney World.

She was born in Massachusetts, raised in Kansas, spent summers on the beach in Connecticut, and attended colleges in New York and Washington.  She is a life-long learner, and loves to read, travel, cook, bake, and garden, and enjoys hiking, yoga, swimming, diving, and tolerates running (long enough to finish a marathon in 2017).

Diahann Howard, Executive Director, Port of Benton

Ms. Diahann Howard is the Port of Benton’s executive director.  She served as the Tri-Cities Research District, Innovation Partnership Zone (IPZ) as its Executive Director 2007-2020, Richland Rotary president (2017-2018) and was named Rotarian of the year (2011-2012).  In October 2018, Ms. Howard was awarded a Professional Port Manager (PPM®) certification from the American Association of Ports Authorities.

She is on the board of Visit Tri-Cities, Eastern Washington University President Advisory Board, as well as various others.  During her last sixteen years at the Port of Benton, her activities have resulted in over $22M of grant and legislative funding; examples include $5M to support the Wine Science Center at WSU Tri-Cities, $5.4M to complete Delta High School, $2.2M and $1.5M for rail bridge improvements.

Ms. Howard is a Tri-Cities native and holds her B.S. degree in International Affairs from Eastern Washington University.  She is the first female to hold the Port of Benton executive director position and the first executive director with Latina heritage among the 75 port districts within the state of Washington.

A special thank you to our Sponsor!

Event Partners

Thank you to our partners for their collaboration to make this event possible.


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