Management Team
Margie Harris, Executive Director
Margie began work in November 2001 as the first permanent Energy Trust staff member. Margie first began work in the field of energy conservation and renewable energy development at the time of the 1973 oil embargo. She helped craft Oregon's first energy conservation legislation and programs while working at the Oregon Department of Energy. Subsequently, Margie was the marketing and outreach director promoting renewable energy with the Western Solar Utilization Network (Western SUN).
As assistant to former Portland Commissioner Mike Lindberg, Margie was instrumental in establishing the City of Portland's first energy policies and programs, including Portland Energy Conservation, Inc. (PECI). Prior to joining Energy Trust, Margie was a management consultant with Arthur Young & Company, finance and administration director for Portland Parks and Recreation and executive director of marketing and customer service at TriMet, Portland's regional transportation district.
A graduate of the University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources, Margie is the mother of twin daughters who attend college. Her recreational time is spent cooking up new recipes, making music with friends and kayaking in pursuit of whales.
Sue Meyer Sample, Chief Financial Officer
Sue has more than 30 years in the finance and accounting field. She is an Oregon CPA and has worked in both the for profit and not-for-profit environments in controllership and CFO capacities. Most recently she was the Controller for College Housing Northwest developing and operating student housing facilities. Some of their newer developments involved LEED® certifications. Prior to that she was the Chief Financial and Operating Officer for the Association for Portland Progress, a downtown development organization. There she was active in developing processes and procedures to provide efficiencies in operating an organization with many diverse business activities and constituents. Sue is a native Oregonian and a member of the AICPA, Oregon Society of CPA's, the Non-Profit Financial Managers group and is on the advisory committee for a human resources consulting group and was previously on the board of the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the Finance Committee for Loaves and Fishes Centers, Inc. She is currently working on her Master’s in Organizational Management and Leadership.
Steve Lacey, Director of Operations
Steve has 21 years of experience in the energy field. He comes to Energy Trust from ICF Consulting in Albany, NY, where he managed a statewide small commercial lighting program and helped run statewide streetlight and residential new construction programs. In addition, he served as primary ICF contact for energy-efficiency projects throughout the state. He spent most of the 1990s working for Green Mountain Energy Resources in Vermont, first as manager of field operations and later as director of efficiency technologies. His early career included stints as energy officer for public housing complexes, manager/engineer for an innovative lighting design and energy management business, and supervisor of international petroleum exploration projects. Steve has a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the University of Vermont.
Peter West, Director of Energy Programs
Peter is the Director of Renewable Energy Programs for Energy Trust. In 2005, the American Wind Energy Association presented its Special Achievement Award to Peter and Energy Trust.
Previously, Peter was the Assistant Director for Renewable Northwest Project, a leading renewable advocacy group for renewable energy. In 2002, he was awarded the national Green Power Leadership Award for innovative outreach efforts to promote renewable energy.
Peter was the founding President of the Climate Trust, an organization developing global warming mitigation measures and educational projects. He also helped launch the Oregon Rivers Council, now the Pacific Rivers Council.
Peter served as the Supervisory Regional Economist for Bonneville Power, overseeing economic and electrical demand analysis and forecasting. Prior to working at Bonneville Power, he was an Agricultural Resource Economist for Oregon State University working on cost-effective strategies to control soil erosion.
Peter has a graduate degree in Agriculture and Resource Economics from Oregon State University and a Bachelor's of Science degree in Economics from the University of Maine.
Amber Cole, Director of Communications & Customer Services
Amber has 14 years of communications experience in the nonprofit and public sectors. She came to Energy Trust after more than eight years as editor for the 48,000-member Oregon Education Association, where she was responsible for publications, including Today's OEA magazine, public and member websites, electronic communications, and communications strategy. Before OEA, Amber was senior associate at Livable Oregon, where she managed the annual Oregon Livability Conference, Governor's Livability Awards and outreach communications in support of transit- and pedestrian-friendly 'smart development" in Oregon cities and counties. Amber previously worked as a communications and outreach coordinator for C-TRAN, the transit agency serving Clark Country, Washington, and on political campaigns in Oregon. Amber has a Master's degree in Political Science from the University of Oregon, a second Master's degree in social and political sciences from Cambridge University and a bachelor's degree in political science from University of California, San Diego. Amber is an avid rower and competes in her single scull, as well as in team sweep and sculling events.
Fred Gordon, Director of Planning & Evaluation
Fred has worked with energy-efficiency program and policy development and evaluation since 1978. For 14 years before joining Energy Trust in 2002, he consulted nationwide and internationally on these issues as an associate and then president of Pacific Energy Associates, a Portland-based firm. Previously he served as a load forecaster and then efficiency program planner for the Bonneville Power Administration. In the late 1970s he formed and led the Montgomery County Community Energy Project in Montgomery County, Virginia, performed research for the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research and helped forecast gasoline tax revenues for the State of Virginia. He has a Master's degree in urban and regional planning from Virginia Tech and a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in environmental sciences from the University of Virginia.
Debbie Blanchard, IT Director
Debbie brings extensive experience in high quality software engineering, IT program/project management and business process improvement to Energy Trust. She was a founding member of a new strategic applications development group for a $3 billion Fortune 500 transportation and logistics company and drove the development of a high-performance IT team culture, which resulted in high morale, a lean organization structure and elevated visibility in a competitive market. She led a $15 million project which drove significant business operational improvements and achieved Information Week’s prestigious Top 100 ranking. She’s driven development and implementation of business-aligned IT strategic plans and developed and managed budgets of up to $20 million.
Debbie has an MBA from the University of Portland, a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University of Oregon, a Master's certificate in Project Management from George Washington University and an Associate's degree in Interior Design from PCC. She is a member of the Portland chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI).
Debbie loves to understand the business needs, pain points and drivers so that technology investments deliver timely, value-added business solutions.
John Volkman, General Counsel
John Volkman came to Energy Trust in 2004 from Stoel Rives LLP, a law firm in Portland where he was a partner in the firm's natural resource group. In addition to practicing law at Stoel Rives (1981-84 and 2001-2003) and Legal Aid (1973-74), John was Acting Assistant Regional Administrator and Senior Policy Advisor to the National Marine Fisheries Service, which administers the Endangered Species Act program for Northwest salmon (1999 to 2001); General Counsel to the Northwest Power Planning Council (1994-1999, senior counsel 1984-94); and law clerk to U. S. Court of Appeals Judge Otto Skopil (1978-80). While at the Power Planning Council, John consulted with the Western Water Policy Review Commission (1995-96) and was a Visiting Scholar at the Western Governors' Association (1990-91). He has written extensively on the Columbia River, water policy, the Endangered Species Act and adaptive management of natural resource policy. He teaches environmental policy at the University of Portland, is on the Advisory Board of the Natural Resources Law Institute at Lewis and Clark Law School, and is an honorary member of the Siletz Indian Tribe. His law degree is from the University of Colorado (1973) and B.A. from the Colorado College (1969).