2009 SPEAKER BIOS

Joan Crooks
A long-time leader in Washington’s environmental community, Joan started working at WEC in 1992 and has served as Executive Director since 1995. Joan was instrumental in developing the nationally recognized Environmental Priorities Coalition, the successful collaborative of over 20 groups that work together for strong state environmental protections. State policy makers, other advocacy groups, and foundations call upon Joan for her insight and judgment on environmental issues. Her guidance and vision have helped WEC combine its 40 years of experience with innovative strategies resulting in strong environmental protections for WashingtonState. Prior to joining WEC, Joan served as Administrative Director of Earth Share of Washington. Joan has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from MiddleburyCollege, as well as a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Washington Evans School of Public Affairs. She has served on numerous boards including Sierra Club Seattle Inner City Outings, the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition, the State Environmental Leadership Program, and two terms as Board President for ONE/Northwest. In addition to working for environmental protection, Joan also enjoys spending time outside, be it hiking or skiing with her husband and 6-year-old, or chasing her twin toddlers around the park.

Alan Thein Durning
Alan founded Sightline Institute in 1993. Sightline Institute is a not-for-profit research and communication center–a think tank–based in Seattle. Sightline monitors key trends shaping the future of Cascadia (a region that includes British Columbia, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and adjoining parts of Alaska, Montana and California)—and solutions for the region to implement. Prior to founding Sightline, Durning was a senior researcher at Worldwatch Institute in Washington, D.C., where he studied the relationships between social and environmental issues. While at Worldwatch, Durning wrote How Much is Enough? The Consumer Society and the Future of the Earth (1992), which was translated into seven languages and given two awards. He also coauthored seven State of the World reports along with Worldwatch Papers on topics ranging from animal agriculture to indigenous peoples. Durning is the author or co-author of more than ten Sightline books including This Place on Earth 2002: Measuring What Matters; This Place on Earth 2001: Guide to a Sustainable Northwest; This Place on Earth: Home and the Practice of Permanence (winner of the Governor’s Writers Award in 1996); The Car and the City; and Tax Shift. Currently, he’s also writing two series on Sightline’s blog, "The Year of Living Car-lessly," and "Bike Neglect," both of which have influenced the local and national debate about urban transportation. Durning’s articles have been published in over 100 periodicals A sought-after keynote speaker, Durning has lectured at the White House, major universities, and numerous conferences. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Oberlin College and a Bachelor of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory. He also holds a certificate in nonprofit leadership from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.

Michael Hightower
Mike is a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff in the EnergySecurityCenter at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is a civil and environmental engineer and has over 25 years experience in and research and development projects. This includes structural and geomechanics research in support of space and weapons systems, research and evaluation of innovative environmental technologies for industrial and nuclear waste treatment and cleanup, and security and protection of critical infrastructures. His current work includes research and evaluation of innovative environmental and energy technologies and security and protection of critical water and energy infrastructure. The work includes developing novel water treatment technologies, developing models and techniques to improve water resource use and management, desalination and produced water treatment research, assessing the impact of water availability on energy security and reliability, and conducting research to improve security and protection of water, electric power, and energy pipeline infrastructures. One of his current activities is as project leader for development of a Science and Technology Roadmap for DOE for Energy-Water research and development. With scientists from Los Alamos, NETL, EPRI, and Sandia, he also helped write a Report to Congress on current and emerging energy and water interdependencies and challenges. Mike holds Bachelor and Master degrees in civil engineering from New MexicoStateUniversity. He serves on the Executive Committee of the New MexicoPollutionPreventionTechnicalResourceCenter, is past-Chair of the Waste Management Education and Research Consortium (WERC) Industrial Advisory Board, and past-Chair of ASME’s Environmental Engineering Division.

Steve Malloch
Steve has been involved with water resources issues for the last 25 years, in a variety of capacities – hydrogeologist, attorney, federal lobbyist and advocate. He became involved with hydropower in the 1990’s as a consultant for conservation organizations on federal legislation to privatize the Power Marketing Authorities and devolve California’s Central Valley Project to the state. As a consultant to American Rivers, he helped shape the strategy for the Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI), which certifies environmentally preferable hydropower projects, and continues to serve on its Board of Directors. Steve joined the National Wildlife Federation in January 2008 as Senior Western Water Program Manager. His responsibility at NWF is to create a program that links providing water for fish and wildlife with adapting to climate disruption. Prior to joining NWF, he consulted with foundations and nonprofit organizations on water policy and campaigns, served as Executive Director for the Western Water Alliance, and worked as Washington D.C. counsel for Trout Unlimited’s Western Water Project. Before shifting to the non-profit sector, Steve practiced environmental law and litigation in San Francisco with Graham & James, and worked as a hydrogeologist in the western United States. His undergraduate degree in geology and law degree are from the University of Californiaat Davis, and his Master’s in water resources is from the University of Arizona.

Jason F. McLennan
Jason is the CEO of Cascadia Region Green Building Council and a nationally recognized leader in the sustainable building industry. He is the author of the Living Building Challenge an international green building program and co-creator of Pharos, the most advanced building material rating system in North America. Jason is known as an international thought leader in the green architecture movement and has lectured on sustainability across the U.S. and Canada. His work in the sustainable design field has been published or reviewed in dozens of journals, magazines conference proceedings and books including Architecture, Architectural Record, Dwell, Plenty, Metropolis, NY Times, The Globe and Mail, The World and I, Ecostructure and Environmental Design and Construction Magazine. He is the author of three books including The Philosophy of Sustainable Design that is used as a textbook in over 40 universities and colleges. He is a former Principal at BNIM Architects, one of the founders of the green design movement in the United States, where he worked on many of the leading high performance projects in the country including LEED Platinum, Gold and zero energy projects. At BNIM he created the building science team known as Elements, which set new standards for energy and resource efficiency on many of its projects in various building types. Jason is also the founder and CEO of Ecotone Publishing, the only dedicated green building publisher in North America. Jason was recently named one of the “top 40 under 40” most influential individuals in the design and construction field by Building Design and Construction magazine. He is personally connected to the Northwest and Lower Mainland as someone born and raised in Canada who received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Oregon.

Philip Mote
Philip is the Washington State Climatologist and a Research Scientist with the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington. He is also an Affiliate Professor in the Atmospheric Sciences Department at UW. His research interests include observed variability and change in Northwest climate and mountain snowpack, influences of climate on water resources and wildfire, and dynamics of the tropical tropopause and lower stratosphere. He has a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Washington and a B.A. in Physics from HarvardUniversity. The Climate Impacts Group is an interdisciplinary research group studying the impacts of natural climate variability and global climate change on the Pacific Northwest. Through research and interaction with regional policymakers and stakeholders, the CIG works to increase the resilience of the PNW to fluctuations in climate. The CIG’s research focuses on four key sectors of the PNW environment: water resources, aquatic ecosystems, forests and coasts.