Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is responsible for governance of OSSIA and provides guidance to and oversight of the staff.
Amy Berg Pickett (Sunstone Energy)
Vice President
Amy has a BS in sustainability from Oregon State University that led to 5 years working in Utility Solar Scale development. The focus of this work is in the Northwest with a focus on Oregon. Amy is a Permitting and Stakeholder engagement specialist for solar farm development. Amy utilizes sustainable development theories to inform the development cycle of ground-mounted solar. This has been beneficial in working with neighbors, communities, and authorities having jurisdiction throughout Oregon counties. Amy has worn many hats during solar development and has a hand in project work from the ground up until the project is generating clean renewable energy. Amy found OSSIA due to her passion for a strong Oregon solar market and the desire to facilitate policy and education for all stakeholders.
Katie Martin (Elemental Energy)
Secretary
Katie has been working in the construction sector since 2005 - with a focus on sustainable construction methods and energy efficiency. After joining the solar industry in 2012, Katie found her passion with the blend of energy and construction. Since 2012 she has built an extensive portfolio of installations with a focus on commercial system design and installation. Her work in project management and operations has often included outreach around workforce development and technical knowledge.
Katie is currently the Construction Manager at Elemental Energy, a locally owned solar and electrical contractor in Portland, Oregon. She also sits on the Board of Directors for Twende Solar, a non-profit empowering communities by installing solar PV systems worldwide.
You can usually find Katie kayaking, traveling or hanging with her dog Rex when not at the office.
Ryan Sheehy (Fleet Development)
Treasurer
Ryan Sheehy founded Fleet Development to build a bridge between the renewable energy and multifamily affordable housing industries. He grew up on his family’s cattle ranch in Eastern Oregon in the Wallowa Valley and attended Oregon State University, graduating with a BS in Anthropology. Upon graduation he did a 20-year tour with the Marine Corps as a helicopter pilot and commanding officer. After moving back to Eastern Oregon, he joined the top-tier affordable housing management company, Viridian Management. While working with Viridian as an organizational leadership and structure consultant, he helped developed a way to bring solar and its benefits to the properties and tenants. Since 2017 he has been an Oregon Community Solar stakeholder representing low-income and affordable housing, while developing innovative affordable housing solar projects in Oregon and other states.
Aerel Rankin
Aerel Rankin is a mechanical engineer who has been working in next generation distributed power technologies for 14 years. After finishing his undergraduate degree, he worked in energy modeling research at Sandia National Labs on stationary fuel cells and at the University of New Mexico on wind turbines. Aerel has been with SunWize Power & Battery since 2013, where he's focused on stand-alone industrial solar and energy storage systems in a variety of applications such as wireless communication, security, environmental monitoring, transportation, and agriculture. Currently the VP of Sales and Technology, he received his BS Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington in 2009.
Aerel lives in Corvallis with his wife, 3 year old daughter, two Labradors, and a cat. In his free time he likes to enjoy the outdoors, travel, snowboard, and stay up-to-date on current political and energy trends.
Alison Adams (SOLV Energy)
Alison has been involved in sales and relationship building in the solar industry since 2006. A firm believer in, “its not just what you know, but who you know,” her passion is creating connections between people and opportunities to make clean energy happen. Having worked in residential installation and distribution as well as utility-scale site communications and controls, Alison enjoys the intersection of technology, policy, finance and relationships within the industry. When not working, you can find her chasing her kids and animals around their home outside of Bend, OR.
Brandon Gwinner (EZ Solar)
Brandon Gwinner is responsible for developing and implementing https://ezsolarproducts.com/ distribution and sales strategies for the West Coast. Brandon just joined EZ Solar in 2023 and brings to EZ Solar extensive experience in sales management, customer relations, support, service & lives and works by the golden rule, “Due unto others, as you want done unto you”.
Outside of work, he enjoys Snowboarding, Fishing, Camping in the NW, Surfing around the world and spending as much time as possible with his Brazilian wife, son Zachary and son Noah.
Dugan Marieb
Dugan Marieb is a young professional working in renewable energy policy at Pine Gate Renewables, specifically on state-level regulatory policy. I previously was a Solar Energy Innovator at the DC Public Service Commission as a part of a US DOE program. Before that I gained experience at two major renewable energy companies (SunPower and EDPR) as well as in the non-profit space (Renewable Northwest). In terms of education, I have a BA in Environmental Policy and Finance from Washington University in St. Louis. I grew up in Portland and now live in Washington D.C. but come back home often given Pine Gate's focus on the Oregon market.
Evan Ramsey (Bonneville Environmental Foundation)
Evan is a specialist in renewable energy systems and leads the project development and management activities for the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), a 501(c)3 non-profit, which breaks down barriers to renewable energy adoption with innovative and creative solutions. BEF seeks to expand renewable energy access to enable a more equitable and sustainable energy system. Prior to BEF Evan worked 8 years at SolarCity in engineering, operations, and project management roles. Evan has worked on hundreds of small scale renewable projects with partners such as Fortune 500 companies, local governments, universities, non-profits, and utilities. Evan is an accredited solar installation professional certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). Evan hopes to grow Oregon's solar industry into an meaningful and integral part of our clean energy economy.
Jerry Samaniego
Oregon LRT and NABCEP certified Solar PV Installer. Over 25 years experience in solar installations of all types, 10+ in sales and management.
Specialties: Grid Tied PV, Off-Grid PV, Solar Pool Heat, Solar Hot Water
Marie Barlow (NewSun Energy)
Marie is a renewable energy attorney with experience advising utility-scale independent power producers, trade groups, non-profits and local governments on a variety of energy issues before state and federal commissions and courts. Her expertise centers around integrated resource planning, utility acquisition, power purchase agreements, interconnection and transmission issues, the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, and resource capacity and adequacy. Prior to becoming an attorney, Marie became a first-generation college graduate with a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and economics from Western Washington University and worked on energy, environmental and conservation issues that affect low-income individuals as an AmeriCorps Volunteer In Service To America. Marie received her law degree from the University of Oregon School of Law. In her spare time, Marie enjoys backpacking, travel, trying new restaurants, and creating art or do-it-yourself craft and home improvement projects.
Mike McArthur
Mike McArthur is the Executive Director for CREA, the Community Renewable Energy Association. Mike McArthur served as Sherman County Judge from 1992-2004. He then took on the Executive Director position for the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC), which he held until 2018. He chaired the Governor's Renewable Energy Work Group from 2005-2007 and has been involved with and supportive of CREA since it's formation.
Patrick Sterns
Patrick has been in the solar industry since 2009 and has worked in almost every part of it. He has led sales teams in residential, multifamily, and commercial market segments in CA, OR, WA, HI, and in partnership with tribal communities throughout the Western US. As a former installer and project manager who now oversees policy and strategy for SunPower for West Coast states, he has a deep background in distributed solar, battery storage and electrification. Prior to his career in solar, he ran political campaigns and was an organizer and fundraiser. He grew up in Oakland CA and has a BA in International Political Economy from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. When he is not advocating for pro-distributed solar and storage policies, he enjoys exploring the gorgeous natural wonders of the Western US. He lives in St Johns with his two daughters, Magnolia and Laurel, and his wife Martha, who is also a clean energy leader in California working for the California Coalition of Community Choice Aggregators.
Shannon Souza, P.E. (Sol Coast Consulting & Design, LLC)
Based in Coos Bay, Shannon supports strategic growth, responsible development, and sustainable living by serving as OSSIA’s Policy Chair, on Gov. Brown’s Resilience Mitigation Activity Council, Board Member for the Professional Engineers of Oregon, Executive Director of Oregon Coast Energy Alliance Network and Policy Director for Pacific Ocean Energy Trust.
Sara Sayles (Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt)
Sara Sayles is an experienced real estate, land use and renewable energy attorney. Her practice is focused on rural development and utility scale renewable energy project siting, and she is active in renewable energy development throughout the Pacific Northwest. She has the unique distinction of being both an experienced transactional attorney and a seasoned litigator in diverse areas of law. In the course of her career, Sara has represented developers, property owners, local governments, insurers, financial institutions, business owners, and individuals. In addition to her legal practice, Sara is active in real estate and land use matters locally and on a regional level, including serving on the membership committee for CREW Portland (Women in Commercial Real Estate) and acting as a committee member of the Women’s Leadership Initiative for ULI Northwest (Urban Land Institute). Sara is excited to bring her utility-scale perspective and experience to OSSIA’s board and assist in local and state-level policy and regulatory initiatives.
Shaun Franks
Shaun is a community developer and solar advisor at True South Solar. He found his passion for solar at Southern Oregon University (SOU), where he had the opportunity to study renewable energy in Germany. He led the establishment of the SOU Green Fund to invest student dollars in local energy, water, and campus sustainability projects. The fund has helped establish various solar installations on campus, the Farm at SOU, and a variety of other sustainability initiatives on campus.
He serves on the Southern Oregon University Board of Trustees and is a founding member of Rogue Climate, a local climate change non-profit. He lives in Ashland with his wife and two boys; they all enjoy spending time as a family, preferably at Lake of the Woods, the Rogue River, or the coast.
