The CleanTech Alliance Lunch Series presents notable clean tech executive speakers for a monthly conversation followed by networking with cleantech industry leaders from across the region. A different speaker and topic is presented on the second Wednesday of each month (12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.) from September 2022 through October 2023 (except November and December).
October 11 – A Discussion on the Fusion Energy Policy and Regulation Landscape
12:00 – 1:30 PM PT
Perkins Coie Seattle Office
1201 3rd Ave #4900, Seattle, WA 98101
On October 11, 2023 from 12 P.M. – 1:30 P.M., join us for a special lunch event in conjunction with Fusion Week and learn how your community will benefit from fusion energy and fusion jobs!
The emergence of fusion energy represents a new frontier in the cleantech sector. This new source of clean energy could be ready to commercialize within the decade, but is the policy and regulatory landscape prepared? Register to learn about the unique federal and state policy needs of fusion energy and to discuss how fusion should be regulated differently than other technologies. Learn More About 2023 Fusion Week.
Introductory Speaker:
Stacey Bosshardt, Senior Counsel, Perkins Coie
Stacey Bosshardt litigates environmental and administrative law cases. She represents mining, transmission, renewable energy, real estate, and other business and governmental clients in environmental and natural resources litigation throughout the country. Stacey’s substantial experience includes positions as assistant section chief and senior trial attorney in the Natural Resources Section of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Environment and Natural Resources Division, where she litigated
and supervised dozens of cases brought in U.S. district courts. Her experience with cases involving public lands includes litigation under the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Clean Water Act, Federal Lands Policy Management Act, Mineral Leasing Act, National Forest Management Act, and Administrative Procedure Act.
In her positions at DOJ, Stacey supervised a team of 10 trial attorneys representing the federal government in lawsuits related to its management of public lands and natural resources. She was selected as lead attorney to defend federal agency high-profile decisions in U.S. district courts throughout the country, including loan guarantees, proposed land management decisions, and rights of way and special use permits for renewable energy facilities, transmission line upgrades, a groundwater development project, and cleanup of contaminated sites. Her client agencies in those challenges to federal approvals included the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. National Park Service U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Export-Import Bank, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. General Services Administration and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Stacey has also worked either as trial counsel or supervisor on the defense of challenges to multiple DOT-funded projects, including highways, interchanges, trail conversions, bridges, light rail, high-speed rail, and bus rapid transit projects.
Stacey served as ethics advisor to the White House Counsel’s office during the Obama administration. She was also recruited as counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs’ special investigation into the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, which focused on the intersection of climate-driven events and disaster preparedness. Before focusing on environmental and administrative law, Stacey was a trial attorney in DOJ’s Civil Division in the Torts Branch, where she defended the government in 16 cases arising out of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Boston Field Office’s handling of confidential informants over a 40-year period.
Moderator:
Senator Joe Nguyễn, Senator for Washington’s 34th Legislative District, Washington State Legislature
Born and raised in the 34th Legislative District, Sen. Joe Nguyễn has deep roots in the community. His experiences and his involvement with community makes him an ardent champion for investing in Washington families and residents, expanding economic opportunities, and marks him a bold leader in our fight against the climate crisis.
Joe is the Chair of the Environment, Energy & Technology Committee. He is also serves on the Ways & Means Committee, Human Services Committee, and is the Senate Democratic Assistant Floor Leader. Elected to the state Senate in 2019, he has spent his tenure advocating for working families and community members who historically have been left out of the political process. His priorities mirror the committees he serves on.
Joe has been a thoughtful and innovative leader in his efforts to mitigate the climate crisis. He knows only too well how marginalized communities experience environmental harm disproportionately, and that to ensure that our communities thrive as a whole, we need to act urgently. His sponsored legislation has increased availability of zero emissions vehicles and expanded the Clean Buildings Act.
Speakers:
Dr. Aditi Verma, Assistant Professor, Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan
Dr. Aditi Verma joined NERS in the Fall of 2021 as an Assistant Research Scientist and became an Assistant Professor in the Fall of 2022. She supports and interacts with the Fastest Path team as a Faculty Associate. Verma is a Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs’s Project on Managing the Atom, and former Stanton Nuclear Security Postdoctoral Fellow at the Belfer Center where she was jointly appointed by the Project on Managing the Atom and the International Security Program. At MIT, she was a Burchard Scholar and a Kelly-Douglas Fellow.
Andrew Sowder, Senior Technical Executive, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
Andrew has over two decades of experience in advanced nuclear energy policy and research. He joined EPRI in 2007 as a Technical Executive after working for the U.S. Department of State as a Physical Scientist and Foreign Affairs Officer. He received a B.S. in Optics from the University of Rochester in 1990 and a Ph.D. in environmental nuclear engineering from Clemson University in 1998. He is currently working on a research focus area on advanced nuclear technology energy systems to promote alignment of public sector investment in national R&D programs and private sector innovation efforts with the needs of the technology customer.
John Edwards, Senior Advisor, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
John Edwards is a Senior Advisor at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). John received his PhD in plasma physics from Imperial College London and has over 35 years experience in high energy density physics and inertial confinement fusion (ICF) with the majority of this time focused on national security applications. John was the ICF Program Director at LLNL for much of the last decade until 2021 and oversaw the development of the integrated design that eventually went on to achieve ignition. John is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, holds the Fusion Power Associates Leadership Award and is a co-winner of the American Physical Society’s 2022 Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research for the first laboratory demonstration of a burning deuterium-tritium plasma where alpha heating dominates the plasma energetics.
Save-the-Dates 2024 Lunch Series:
- January 10 – From 12:00 – 1:30 PM PT.
- February 14 – From 12:00 – 1:30 PM PT.
- March 13 – From 12:00 – 1:30 PM PT.
- April 10 – From 12:00 – 1:30 PM PT.
- September 11 – From 12:00 – 1:30 PM PT.
- October 9 – From 12:00 – 1:30 PM PT.
Sponsorship Opportunities
Sponsoring the CleanTech Lunch series is a great way to get your brand noticed or connect your organization to clean tech topic. Contact Rachelle@CleanTechAlliance.org for more info, or check out our infographic here.
Past Lunch Series Speakers:
2023 Lunch Speakers
- September 2023 – District Energy, Deep Lake Water Cooling, and Salmon Habitat Restoration in the Lake Washington Ship Canal
- April 2023 – C-Suite Roundtable on Developing a Skilled, Inclusive Workforce
- March 2023 – Wastewater Heat Recovery
- February 2023 – Future-Proofing Buildings: Sustainable, Efficient Design for Energy Retrofits
- January 2023 – The BUILT Cluster: Working Together for Infrastructure Decarbonization
2022 Lunch Speakers
- October 2022 – The Future of Fusion Regulations and the Need for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
- September 2022 – The Inflation Reduction Act’s Impact on the Clean Energy Industry
- May 2022 – Innovative Approaches to Organic Waste Management (Hybrid)
- April 2022 – Ocean Energy, Marine Fuels & the Blue Economy
- March 2022 – Trends in the CleanTech Funding Landscape
- February 2022– Salmon Conservation
- January 2022 – Hydrogen Technologies