Our Team
Seattle office: (206) 621-0094
Tamara Kennedy
Executive Director
Phone: (206) 621 - 0094 ext 116
Tamara Kennedy joined the NW Energy Coalition as Executive Director in 2025. Her previous role was the Director of Economic Development and Global Trade for the Port of Portland. In that role, she advanced equitable development initiatives, impact program investments and global trade strategies for industry clusters in Advanced Manufacturing with a particular focus in ClimateTech and Mass Timber ecosystems.
Tamara currently serves on the Portland Clean Energy Fund Advisory Committee, PCC Foundation as a Trustee, and Vice Chair of the board of directors for the Clean Tech Alliance. She holds an MBA in Nonprofit Management from the University of Portland and a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. Tamara’s passion is to align human potential with positive community and environmental impact.
Lauren McCloy
Utility and Regulatory Director
Phone: (206) 621-0094, ext 108
Lauren McCloy joined the NW Energy Coalition as Policy Director in 2021. Previously, Lauren worked as Senior Policy Advisor to Governor Jay Inslee, Washington State, where she led and managed a broad range of issues in support of the Governor’s energy agenda. Prior to serving in that role, Lauren was the Legislative Director for the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC), where she was the commission's liaison to the state Legislature and the Governor's office and was responsible for developing and coordinating the UTC's legislative activities. Lauren was previously a policy advisor at the UTC, where she advised commissioners on energy policy and legislative issues starting in 2014. Before joining the UTC's policy staff, Lauren worked as a Compliance Investigator in the UTC's Consumer Protection Division. She has experience working for the Washington state Senate Ways and Means Committee and several non-profit organizations focused on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and consumer advocacy. Lauren has a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.S. in International Development from Tulane University Law School.
Charlee Thompson
Charlee ThompsonSenior Policy Associate
Phone: (206) 621-0094, ext 104
Charlee joined the Coalition in June 2022. She has worked for clean energy nonprofits and an electric utility performing data analysis, research, and advocacy, spanning the implementation of the Washington Clean Energy Transformation Act, energy justice and low-income policy, and distributed energy resources. She has an M.P.A. in Environmental Policy & Management from the University of Washington and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois. In her free time, she enjoys weightlifting, running, hiking, writing, and reading Star Wars books.
Kat Plimpton
Outreach & Operations Director
Phone: (206) 621-0094, ext 107
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.
Beth Brooks
Beth BrooksDirector of Development
Phone: (206) 621-0094, ext 109
Beth Brooks joined the Coalition in 2022 as the Director of Development. Her previous work in Development includes Cancer Lifeline, Cascadia Art Museum, and Gage Academy of Art. A longtime arts marketer, Beth has worked with the Empty Space Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Pacific Symphony, and One reel. She lives in Seattle with her family and multiple cats. Whenever she can, she spends time on her family's tree farm up the North Fork in Montana.
Sara Burleson
Sara BurlesonCommunications Manager
Phone: (206) 621-0094 ext. 115
Sara Burleson has led communications on climate, conservation, and energy for more than a decade, and she joined the Coalition in July 2025. Previously, she led marketing and communications for The Nature Conservancy in Nevada, focusing on water, renewable energy, and resilient public lands. Sara began her climate career with Pono Home, an energy efficiency startup in Honolulu, and during her tenure the company greened more than 8,000 homes in Hawaii and California to help underserved families reduce their utility bills. Sara earned a B.A. in English and print journalism from the University of New Mexico and an M.A. in global leadership and sustainable development with an emphasis in communications from Hawaii Pacific University. In 2025, she was selected for and completed the Climatebase fellowship. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and biking around the beautiful Pacific Northwest, reading, weightlifting, and performing and teaching aerial circus arts in Tacoma and Seattle.
Elle Gasperini
Events and Membership Manager
Phone: (206) 621-0094 ext. 120
Portland Office
Fred Heutte
Fred HeutteSenior Policy Associate
Phone: (503) 757-6222
Office: (206) 621-0094, ext 103
Fred came on NWEC staff in February 2011 after being a co-founder and board member in the 1980s. He has a background in energy and climate policy, starting with the Oregon Solar Energy Industries Association (now OSSIA) and then at a firm that pioneered 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 climate work and was editor of ECO, the daily bulletin of the Climate Action Network at the UN climate meetings. He represents end use customers at the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC). On the side, he has broad interests in music and is a DJ streaming on the internet weekly.\
Alessandra de la Torre
Alessandra de la TorrePolicy Associate
Phone: (206) 621-0094
Alessandra joined the coalition in November 2023 as a policy associate after working with Rogue Climate advocating for energy justice and for community resilience. Over the past six years, she has led campaigns, organizing, and implementation in the Oregon Public Utility Commission, in the Oregon State Legislature, and in communities across Oregon. She previously served on Oregon's Wildfire Programs Advisory Council as the environmental justice representative and has a B.S. in Sociology from Southern Oregon University.
If there's flowers around, Alessandra is smelling and admiring them. One of her favorites are dahlias. You can also find her hanging out with her dog, dancing and making fun memories with loved ones in the Rogue Valley, SF Bay Area, Mexico, and beyond.
Montana Office
Derek Goldman
Derek GoldmanPolicy and Regulatory Associate
Office: (206) 621-0094, ext. 105
Derek joined the Coalition in 2024. Previously, he was the national field director and N. Rockies representative with the Endangered Species Coalition, advocating on wildlife issues in the region. For more than a decade, Derek was a campaign manager with M+R Strategic Services, where he worked to advance policy at the local, state and national level, on issues ranging from land and water conservation, wildlife, and climate, to campaign finance reform, transportation, and more. At M+R, Derek successfully managed seven county-wide ballot issue campaigns, securing voter-approved funding for open space conservation, public schools, a new library, and expanded public transit service. Derek initially entered the advocacy space as a volunteer organizer with a Latin American solidarity group. He has a M.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana and has worked as a river guide and a snowboard instructor. Derek lives in Missoula, Montana, where he enjoys adventuring on land, water and snow.
Idaho Office
Ben Otto
Ben OttoInterim Regional and State Policy Director
Office: (208)-724-1585
Ben Otto has been engaged with the NWEC for many years as a former board member, senior policy associate and now as interim Policy Director. Based in Boise, Idaho, he spent a decade representing a local non-profit in utility planning forums and regulatory proceedings. Along with energy work, Ben has served on the Board of Directors of the NW Energy Coalition, Renewable Northwest, the Idaho Clean Energy Association, and the NW Energy Efficiency Alliance. Ben holds a Juris Doctorate from Lewis and Clark Law School, a Master of Studies in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School, and a B.A. in Outdoor Experiential Education from Prescott College, where he developed his true passion for exploring the wilds of the West.