POWC Advisory Committee

The POWC will support interdisciplinary understanding across academia, industry, agencies, community organizations, and Tribal Nations. This breadth is reflected in the consortium’s Advisory Committee, which recently convened for its inaugural meeting. As a non-governing committee, the advisory group will provide guidance and advance discussion and collaboration in the offshore wind space. Founding members include representatives from:

Tribal Nations: 

  • Jason Ramos, Council Member, Blue Lake Rancheria (alt: Heidi Moore-Guynup, Director of Tribal and Government Affairs)
  • Linnea Jackson, General Manager, Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District
  • Michael Gerace, Director, Department of Planning and Community Development, Yurok Tribe (alt: Council Members Lana McCovey and Philip Williams)

State agencies: 

  • Jenn Eckerle, Deputy Secretary for Oceans and Coastal Policy, California Natural Resources Agency, and Executive Director, California Ocean Protection Council (alt: Justine Kimball, Senior Climate Change Program Manager)
  • Katerina Robinson, Chief of Staff to Chair Hochschild, California Energy Commission (alt: Jessica Eckdish, Climate Initiatives Branch Manager)
  • Andy Lanier, Marine Affairs Coordinator, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development
  • Jason Sierman, Senior Policy Analyst, Oregon Department of Energy

Federal labs, agencies, and Sea Grant partnerships:

  • Alicia Mahon, Wind Energy Program Manager, of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (alt: Ryan Calkins, Advisor on Offshore Wind and Maritime Infrastructure)
  • Karina Nielsen, Director, Oregon Sea Grant
  • Shauna Oh, Director of California Sea Grant
  • Eric P. Bjorkstedt, NOAA Fisheries, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Science Division, and Department of Fisheries Biology at Cal Poly Humboldt

Philanthropy: 

  • Curtis Seymour, Co-Founder, AC Strategies

Offshore wind industry:

  • Ciara Emery, Local Government and Stakeholder Engagement Manager, and Joel Southall, Manager of Environmental Affairs and Sustainability, RWE Offshore Wind Holdings, LLC
  • Laura Nagy, West Coast Permitting and Environmental Lead, and Erik Peckar, Director of External Affairs – West Coast, Vineyard Offshore

“The Blue Lake Rancheria recognises the urgency of the climate crisis and intends to leverage their knowledge and resources to continue to advance clean energy innovations,” says Heidi Moore-Guynup, Director of Tribal and Government Affairs at the Blue Lake Rancheria (BLR). “At the same time, BLR understands the imperative need to coordinate scientific inquiry and research and believes that Traditional Ecological Knowledge must be part of such inquiry. BLR is honored to serve on the POWC advisory committee and looks forward to uplifting the findings of this consortium.”

“Oregon Sea Grant understands the broad spectrum of challenges and opportunities that floating offshore wind energy brings to the US West Coast. There is a clear and urgent need for regional integration of science and knowledge across many disciplines to enable responsible development of offshore wind energy,” said Karina Nielsen, Director of Oregon Sea Grant. “We look forward to partnering with POWC, our sister Sea Grant programs in California and Washington, the National Sea Grant Offshore Wind Energy Liaison, and other partners to support co-developed research and community education to help our coastal communities and marine ecosystems thrive.”

Advisory and core team members stand in front of a solar array
Core Team and Advisory Committee members at the Blue Lake Rancheria in April 2024