Solar Washington's Board of Directors is comprised of industry professionals, solar supporters and others who volunteer their time to help the organization with its mission to provide educational resources and opportunities. It is a working board where members provide general oversight but may also engage in the organization's programs and activities. Board members serve two year terms and are elected by the current Solar Washington members and sponsors. The Executive Director is generally responsible for the execution of Association's business. 

Contact [email protected] for more information. To contact a board member, mentions "to "board member name" in the re: line.  To send a message to the board, mention "To the Board" in the re: line.

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Alex Nephew - President

For the past several years, Alex, with Brown & Brown insurance, has worked alongside the construction community with insurance services. Being presented with a few unique opportunities to benefit members of the renewable energy community, he helped to create a Renewable Energy Team where he specifically focuses on solar. His local company now works with almost every facet of the renewable energy industry with the goal to connect different parties together and help grow the industry!  Alex is constantly educating himself and growing more each day; whether listening to podcasts, reading articles, or gathering information to further his knowledge of solar. "We need to be ready for what comes next and I look forward to being a part of the solution."

Anders Alexander - Vice President

Anders graduated from Western Washington University with an environmental degree in 2009 and immediately moved to California looking for an environmental career. As the solar industry develops he has learned that it needs an honest guiding hand to ensure it's integrated into our world in a way that truly helps humans and can be called "beneficial electrification." He started United Solar and wants to be a part of the movement of bringing solar to everyone in Washington.

Richard Hartung - Secretary

Richard is a consultant, writer, investor and volunteer board member focused on sustainability. He is the co-founder of Asia Sustainability Angels, serves on boards of non-profits including Solar Washington and the Centre for a Responsible Future, and writes about sustainability for Wealth & Society as well as blogs and non-profits. Richard is also a consultant on retail banking with more than 20 years’ experience in financial services and is the author of Changing Lanes, Changing Lives. He has installed solar and organized a neighborhood group to promote solar. Richard has a BA from Pomona College and an MBA from Stanford University.

Chris S Brown - Board Member

Chris is a tax and business attorney. He has been practicing law for about 27 years and is a shareholder at Karr Tuttle Campbell, a mid-sized law firm in Seattle. He is a big supporter of solar energy. When the Inflation Reduction Act was still being considered, he shifted his education and learning to really focus on solar and energy law along with the various tax incentives in the IRA. For the last 2 years, he has been studying solar energy policy and law, making contacts in the community, and learning about the development of solar law and policy in Washington. Along the way he has written a few articles (published on my firm's website) and given presentations.  He is convinced that solar energy has a big role to play in Washington, and wants to help make that happen. He has served on two non-profit Boards, on the Plymouth Housing Group board and the Seattle Alternative Investment Association.   

Shane Frye - Board Member

Shane is the lead for SnoPUD's net metering program and, as such he adds a valuable public utility perspective to the Board. Shane has been with the PUD for 15 years, and in his current position for about a year. In his short time working in solar, he has made significant progress towards streamlining utility processes for the benefit of solar customers and installers. Most recently, he has built on this experience to better define PUD standards and review processes for net metered solar projects that include battery energy storage, and is exploring how the PUD can better utilize solar for the benefit of income-qualified customers.

Dever Haffner-Ratliffe - Board Member

Dever began her career working at a solar installer and was a founding board member of WASEIA, where she served as the Legislative and Policy Chair. She then went to work for the state, including Department of Labor and Industries on labor topics, Department of Commerce on low-income housing, solar, electric vehicles, and energy efficiency, and then worked on utility scale renewable energy at the Department of Natural Resources. She now works in government affairs for a public utility district, where she gets to bring all of these subjects together. She recently launched a website to help consumers shopping for solar. 

Nora Hawkins - Board Member

Nora is a senior energy policy specialist at the Washington State Department of Commerce where she works on renewable energy and battery energy storage. She has worked on clean energy policy in several states and in the federal government, including at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). One of her most formative experience was working on the Solar for All program that is reducing energy burden of low income residents in Washington, DC through solar deployment. Nora is passionate about expanding access to solar and storage and finding new ways to bring the benefits of the clean energy economy to communities through innovative policy, regulation, and program implementation. Nora completed a Master of Environmental Management at the Yale School of the Environment.

Daniel Marshall - Board Member

Daniel works with Renewables on the Clean Energy team at PSE where he is a program coordinator for Net Metering and manages the day-to-day interconnection process for PSE customers. He has been collaborating with customers, solar installers, and other utilities since 2017, to ensure the utility interconnection process is as simple as possible. You may see him speaking at local community events, presenting at schools, as well as educating customers through solar webinars.

Chris Muench - Board Member

Chris has been an industrial professional for over 30 years starting his career in Germany as a Software Architect for Siemens. In 1996 he moved to Redmond to manage the relationship between Siemens and Microsoft, then joining Microsoft as a manager for Windows Embedded.  He started his own company focusing on the industrial IoT in 2009. He is very passionate about zero carbon and climate improvement with his goal to have his home carbon neutral by 2025. Last year he installed a large Solar System with battery backup on his home and was stunned by the fact how little these systems are integrated with other energy management systems. His hope is to not only extend the usage of Solar in Washington by working with partners and the legislative but also drive innovation and integration of Solar with other energy production, storage, distribution, and consumption systems.

Maina Mumbi - Board Member

Maina has been passionate about renewable energy, focusing on solar power, a field I've been involved in for over ten years.  Professionally, he has had the opportunity to work on diverse projects, ranging from residential solar installations to larger, community-based solar initiatives. He has been a solar technician and technical trainer. In addition, he has been an active member of solar advocacy groups like the Kenya Renewable Energy Association (KEREA), Lighting Africa, and Now Lighting Global, and Kenya Renewable Energy Licensing Board, participating in campaigns and workshops to increase public awareness and support policy changes favoring solar energy adoption.

Charlee Thompson - Board Member

Charlee advances distributed energy resources, energy equity, and clean energy policy at the NW Energy Coalition. She passionately advocates for and helps to design policies and programs that empower communities to engage in the clean energy transition, recognizing solar as a vital part of the solution. Charlee holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.P.A. in Environmental Policy from the University of Washington. Her expertise and commitment to fostering a clean energy future that both sustains the planet and benefits all communities make her a highly valuable prospective member of the Solar Washington Board.

Chantal Stevens - Executive Director

Chantal has over 25 years experience as a nonprofit executive director, including 8 years at the helm of Sustainable Seattle and over 10 years with the Community Indicators Consortium. She also held leadership positions at the King County Auditor's Office and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, and served on various boards and commissions including the Puget Sound Consumer Coop (PCC) and on the Issaquah Planning Commission.  Her areas of expertise include performance management, strategic planning, sustainability and placemaking.  She holds a BS, MMA and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management, all from the University of Washington.