Office of Sustainable Development

BEST staff

1. Andria Jacob

   

   Since 2005, Andria Jacob has been a program manager in the Office of Sustainable Development, where she oversees the design and delivery of resource efficiency programs to both residential and commercial audiences. Andria has over twelve years of experience working on energy and sustainability-related programs. Though she’s a seasoned program implementer, she’s a policy wonk at heart and has been fortunate to work on Portland’s peak oil and climate protection initiatives. Andria’s excited to bring her management and implementation expertise to the BEST Business Center.

   When she’s not working, Andria can be found playing with her family in their wonderful organic backyard garden, listening to music, or avidly reading. She plans to take up kiteboarding this summer. Andria and her husband Brian volunteer their time restoring conservation lands in the Columbia River watershed.

2. Jaimes Valdez

   Jaimes has over 5 years of experience in sustainability consulting, especially in helping non-profits, governments, and businesses make the shift to clean, renewable energy sources.  He has degrees in Physics and Environmental Studies, and particularly enjoys the quantitative details of energy efficiency and resource use.  In his role with the BEST Business Center he works to connect small businesses in Portland with the tools and resources that they need to incorporate sustainability into their operations.
   While an avid cyclist, he also is an enthusiast of efficient motorized vehicles powered by electricity and recycled vegetable oil.  He serves on the board of the Columbia Gorge Earth Center, volunteers regularly with Columbia Riverkeeper, and tends to his chickens and garden.
   

3. Marlowe Kulley

   

   Marlowe has a master’s degree in Sustainable Development and has helped a wide range of organizations implement sustainability including City and County governments, non-profits and for-profits.  During her experience with Portfolio 21, an environmentally responsible mutual fund based in Portland, she performed sustainability reviews of large cap, multi-national corporations.  Her current work with the BEST Business Center is focused on helping small businesses in Portland find resources and technical assistance that enables them to become more sustainable.

   Marlowe is an avid bike rider/commuter, rock climber, liveable city advocate ,and is an amateur vegan chef, web designer, and worm farmer.

Economic Development

1. Pam Neild

   

   A program design and communications specialist with more than ten years experience designing and implementing resource efficiency programs, Pam Neild has worked for the Office of Sustainable Development for the past three years.  Pam focuses on education and motivating change within organizations. 
   Pam is a year-round bicycle commuter, an organic gardener and avid recycler. Her remodeled 1940s home uses green building principles inside the walls and out.  She gives back to the community as a Board member of Portland-based non-profit, Growing Gardens. 

Green Building

1. Valerie Garrett

   

   Valerie is the face behind the Green Building Hotline, a service of the new Green Development Resource Center.  She has 16 years experience in the field of architecture, specializing in residential rehabilitation and historic preservation. As a designer and project manager for a local affordable housing developer, she came to green building over six years ago.  For the variety of Hotline inquiries, Valerie draws from her interest and experience in architecture and construction, community service, research, public outreach, and grant writing.
   While waiting for the availability and affordability of electric cars to manifest, Valerie continues her search for rockin’ Portland Tex-Mex food and rummages through salvage yards.  She enjoys inspiring others to connect with, and feed, their inner starving artist.  A visit to Machu Picchu and a float down the Amazon are among planned future trips. 

Portland Composts!

1. Andy Schneider

   

   Andy Schneider has over 20 years recycling and waste management experience. He is now the Commercial Compost Specialist for the City’s Portland Composts! program. Andy draws on years of experience working on San Francisco’s successful Fantastic Three program to help Portland businesses take advantage of this exciting new diversion opportunity.  Andy has two daughters, loves live music, home improvement and everything that Portland has to offer. 

2. Genevieve Joplin

   

   Having spent 8 years working in the natural and organic food industry, Genevieve now works with businesses to focus on completing the loop with food recycling by collecting food scraps for use as composting.  Impressed by the number of businesses who share the sense of doing the right thing, she enjoys seeing the “We Compost!” signs on restaurants around town.  Genevieve looks forward to the future when kids grow up knowing more reuses for waste than disposal options.
   

Recycle at Work

1. Paul de Block

   

   With 8 years in the recycling field, Paul has helped hundreds of businesses reduce their environmental impacts. He currently focuses on assisting commercial property managers, health care organizations, and food industries such as restaurants, caterers, grocery markets, and industrial kitchens.
   Paul lives his values through consciously making resource efficient choices in all aspects of his life; using public transportation, buying organic local foods, remodeling his small house with environmentally preferable products, for example.

2. Pete Chism

   

   Pete has 10 years experience in the field of waste management and prevention and has assisted hundreds of Portland businesses in making long-lasting changes in sustainability. As a recycling specialist, Pete provides hands-on assistance to law offices, events, hotels, restaurants and government agencies including colleges and universities.

   An active bicycle commuter, compost advocate and amateur reuse artist, Pete promotes a sustainable lifestyle at work, home and in between.
   

3. Yvonne Garcia

   

   Recycle at Work’s newest team member, Yvonne Garcia, is working with Portland businesses to improve recycling and waste reduction practices. Yvonne is a trained Master Recycler and works to educate the community on recycling issues through on-going volunteer opportunities. As a member of her neighborhood association she also works to raise recycling awareness and promote long-term sustainable change.
   

Solar

1. Lee Rahr

   

   Lee Rahr has over 10 years experience working in natural resource conservation and regional planning. She currently coordinates the Solar program at the Office of Sustainable Development. She works closely with Portland’s residential and business community explaining the benefits of solar energy. Lee is a mother of three, a Hoyt Arboretum board member, an avid gardener, skier, angler and open space advocate.
   

Sustainable Food

1. Steve Cohen

   

   Over the past 30 years, Steve has played key roles in establishing indoor and outdoor festival markets, performing arts venues, and community events in Oregon. He has extensive experience in food buying, distribution and marketing and currently manages Food Policy and Programs for the Office of Sustainable Development. Steve is eager to work with BEST businesses who want to make their food purchasing more sustainable.

   Steve is a volunteer with area anti-hunger organizations and serves on the board of the Hollywood Farmers’ Market. He’s an avid bicycle commuter and finds it helps diminish the effect of consuming way too many calories. 

Metro

1. Mary Ann Aschenbrenner

   

   Mary Ann Aschenbrenner administers CarpoolMatchNW, the rideshare matching service for Oregon and SW Washington. Since she accepted the CarpoolMatchNW crown her marketing efforts and promotions have increased the number of commuters registered by 30% annually. As part of her royal duties she coordinates Metro’s DriveLessSaveMore outreach and markets Metro VanPool. She helps area businesses enjoy a regal savings by solving their commuter and parking challenges. Reduce your company’s carbon footprint in a month by calling Mary Ann today.

   Mary Ann commutes eight miles each way by bike or bus. Her family of four does just fine with one car. She also reduces air pollutants by enlisting domestic geese to mow the lawn.
   

Pacific Power

1. Trig Soleim

   Trig has worked with Pacific Power’s commercial and industrial customers throughout its 6 state service territory for the past 13 years assessing their energy efficiency needs.  As Project Manager for the “Energy FinAnswer” program, he has worked with corporations, schools, and various governmental entities assessing energy efficient equipment upgrades and providing Pacific Power incentives to assist in the implementation strategy.  The LEED program is growing rapidly and Trig and Pacific Power play a key role in identifying “points” available for efficiency options.
   

Portland Development Commission

1. Megan McCarthy

   

   Megan McCarthy coordinates strategy and research projects in the Economic Development Department at Portland Development Commission (PDC). She is your go to person at PDC if you want information about how PDC can assist your business. She can also connect you to people within PDC so you can take advantage of our Sustainable Business Assistance Program and other programs designed to help your business become more efficient or offset the investment you make when you expand your business in the city. In the three years Megan has been with PDC, she has worked internally and with our regional partners to develop data resources for private, public and non-governmental sectors. Megan has been working in economic development since 2003. 
   

2. Pam Neal

   

   Pam Neal is a Senior Project Coordinator in Portland Development Commission’s Economic Development Department. She works closely with sustainable businesses looking to expand or locate in the Portland area. Pam also manages the Sustainable Business Assistance Program, a program developed for businesses to identify and implement sustainable operations that will reduce risk, lower operational costs and have less of an environmental impact. She brings more than 15 years experience in economic development to develop solutions and innovative approaches to support business expansion efforts.

Portland General Electric

1. Gregory Nelson

   

   A mechanical engineer with more than twelve years experience in commercial and industrial systems design and operation, Greg’s focus is on energy efficiency within businesses.  He specializes in identifying opportunities for efficiency improvement and qualifying those projects for Energy Trust of Oregon incentives and State of Oregon Business Energy tax credits. 

   Greg raves about his Honda Civic hybrid vehicle that he has driven for the past four years. He is a novice organic gardener.  Greg gives back to the community by participating in SOLV beach clean-ups, low income weatherization activities through Community Energy Project, and Oregon Food Bank events.

2. Josh Halley

   

   As the Oregon Commercial Market Manager for Green Mountain Energy, Josh is focused on getting small to large businesses in PGE service territory to make the switch to cleaner renewable energy.  Since moving to Portland from his hometown of Philadelphia, he has worked extensively over the past 5 years in the renewable power market as both a sales representative and manager, working with passion to spread the good word of renewable power to the people of Oregon. 

   In his free time, Josh is an avid skier/mountaineer who enjoys the great outdoors and traveling to far off lands as often as possible.  Whether your topic is wind power, mountains, or both, Josh would be excited to hear from you!
   

3. Mark Whitney

   

   Mark has more than 12 years of professional lighting experience at PGE. He currently provides technical lighting support for commercial and industrial customers. Mark conducts site visits to review or recommend lighting upgrade strategies, concepts and appropriate technologies. Mark has been an instructor for all levels of lighting courses offered through the IESNA as well as lighting classes offered through PGE for its customers and employees.  As far back as 1978, Mark has been facilitating business as well as residential customer participation in energy efficiency programs.

   Mark gives back to the community by participating in SOLV beach clean-ups; he coordinates some of PGE’s low income weatherization activities through Community Energy Project. As a LEED Accredited Professional, Mark is familiar with and communicates sustainability issues and solutions to PGE customers.

4. Verlea Briggs

   

   With an M.B.A. and 28 years of utility experience, Verlea currently works as a Senior Energy Specialist.  She has promoted energy efficiency to PGE customers for over 16 years.  Prior to joining Portland General Electric, Verlea was an energy representative for a gas utility in Illinois.  Her focus has always been finding solutions to customer energy problems. 
   
   Verlea volunteers in the community by participating in SOLV beach clean-ups, low income weatherization activities through Community Energy Project, and Oregon Food Bank events.

Water Bureau

1. Jeff Sandberg

   

   During the last seven years Jeff Sandberg has worked for the Portland Water Bureau’s award-winning Business, Industry and Government (BIG) Water Efficiency Program.  Jeff has completed numerous water efficiency surveys in the commercial and multi-family sector.  These surveys have resulted in millions of gallons of reduced water consumption along with the associated reduction in water and sewer costs for customers.  Jeff has helped Portland Parks, Portland schools, and private industry to reduce peak summer use.  Jeff has a Bachelor’s degree in Physics with coursework in water treatment operation, cooling tower operation and irrigation efficiency.