Staff
Seattle office, (206) 621-0094
Nancy Hirsh, Executive director
Sean O’Leary, Communications director
Joni Bosh, Senior policy associate
Kat Plimpton, Outreach manager
Elena Door, Finance & HR manager
Amy Wheeless, Policy associate
Annabel Drayton, Policy associate
Portland office
Wendy Gerlitz, Policy director (503) 449-0009
Fred Heutte, Senior policy associate (503) 757-6222
Heather Moline, Energy and Environmental Justice Policy Associate
Helena office
Diego Rivas, Senior Policy Associate (406) 461-6632
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Nancy Hirsh
Executive Director
Phone: (206) 621-0094
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Policy Director
Phone: (503) 449-0009
Wendy is Policy Director for the NW Energy Coalition. Prior to joining the Coalition, Wendy worked as a policy analyst for Sustainable Northwest focusing on federal land management and rural economic development issues. She has also worked for Portland General Electric in the areas of greenhouse gas reporting and corporate footprint monitoring. Her work with the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission provided her with a deep appreciation for the importance of water, salmon and clean energy in our region. For fun, Wendy enjoys hiking, biking and exploring Portland’s wonderful farmers markets with her family.
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Joni Bosh
Senior Policy Associate
Phone: (206) 735-2720
Joni leads the Coalition’s efforts in Washington state. She moved to Washington from Arizona in 2013, where she worked in the solar industry and most recently with Arizona State University’s Global Institute on Sustainability. Besides working as an activist on public lands, energy/efficiency, clean air, water and wildlife issues, she has worked for local and regional governments, a regional planning agency and several non profits.
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Fred Heutte
Senior Policy Associate
Phone: (503) 757-6222
Fred came on board in February 2011, and is very pleased to be involved with the Coalition again after being a co-founder and board member in the 1980s. He has a background in energy and climate policy and worked at several firms involved with energy efficiency program evaluation in the Northwest and nationally. He later formed a database services business assisting nonprofit groups around the country. He has been active in the Sierra Club’s national energy and climate effort and leads their delegation at the UN climate conferences, and currently serves on the board of the Citizens Utility Board of Oregon.
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Sean O’Leary
Communications Director
Phone: (206) 621-0094
Sean joined the Coalition as Communications Director in August 2016. He is the author of “The State of My State”, a blog, newspaper column, and book that explores environmental and economic issues in his home state of West Virginia. Prior to joining the Coalition, Sean led MarketLab, a marketing communications consulting company that served numerous corporate clients. When not immersed in business and policy, Sean is also playwright with half a dozen professionally produced plays to his credit.
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Kat Plimpton
Outreach Manager
Phone: (206) 621-0094
Kat joined the Coalition in 2015 after interning with the Coalition in 2014. Prior to joining the Coalition, she worked with a variety of non-profit organizations including the YMCA, Cancer Research and Biostatistics, and Climate Solutions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Northwestern University, and in 2015 she completed her master’s degree in public administration and her environmental management certificate at the University of Washington.
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Amy Wheeless
Policy associate
Phone: (206) 621-0094
Amy joined the Coalition in 2017, where she is focusing on advocating for energy efficiency policies and programs. Prior to joining the coalition, Amy worked as a consultant on various environmental and energy issues for utilities, governmental agencies, and nonprofits. Most recently, Amy worked with small and rural utilities to create clean energy programs for their customers. She has a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Washington and bachelor’s degrees from North Carolina State University. When not in the office, Amy enjoys exploring the parks of Seattle with her family.
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Diego Rivas
Senior Policy Associate
Phone: (406) 461-6632
Diego joined the Coalition team in January 2010 after working on climate change issues at the federal level with Montanans for a Healthy Climate. Diego is also the owner of Play On Soccer, a soccer retail store in downtown Helena.
He enjoys spending his free time in Montana’s beautiful backcountry, traveling in Latin America, or playing any sport remotely competitive.
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Elena Door
Finance & HR Manager
Phone: (206) 621-0094
Elena joined the Coalition as Finance & HR Manager in 2018. She brings 14 years of experience in helping non-profit organizations and unions manage their finances. Elena has a degree in engineering and economics from St. Petersburg of Economics. She is a native of Kazakhstan and Russia and brings a great love of the outdoors and the Pacific Northwest to the Coalition.
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Annabel Drayton
Policy Associate
Phone: (206) 621-0094
Annabel joined the Coalition in 2019 to support transportation electrification and carbon policy work. Before moving to Seattle, Annabelworked in California at the Ventura County Regional Energy Alliance and as a Local Government Commissions, CivicSpark Climate Fellow. Her work included developing greenhouse gas inventories for local jurisdictions and local emission reduction measures. Annabel holds a BA in Anthropology and Sustainability Leadership from Penn State and spends her free time practicing yoga, hiking and climbing.
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Heather Moline
Energy and Environmental Justice Policy Associate
Heather joined the coalition in June 2019 as a bridge builder between the energy policy and regulatory process in Oregon and the interests of community groups, particularly low-income and communities of color. Before receiving a master’s degree in energy policy from Oregon State University, she worked in community and campaign organizing with faith groups statewide, in racial justice, food systems equity, and climate change resilience, and as a legislative intern for NWEC member Renewable Northwest. She also spent two years in Nicaragua in a popular education program. In her free time she enjoys wonky statistics, volunteering for immigrant and rural justice groups, and convincing new acquaintances to try Irish and salsa dancing.