Jun 24, 2026
What did the Hood River County Energy Council accomplish in 2025? The Energy Council was focused on implementing projects that benefit our community and advance the goals of the Hood River County Energy Plan.
Read more at the link below!
Lindsay is the Energy & Project Manager at the Mid-Columbia Economic Development District (MCEDD). Lindsay’s role is focused on assisting the Energy Council in identifying, understanding, and removing barriers that limit access to beneficial energy scenarios within Hood River County communities and throughout the MCEDD five-county region. Lindsay grew up in Hood River, OR and is passionate about ensuring that all Hood River County residents have access to clean, affordable, and reliable energy.
Lindsay attended the University of Denver, graduating with honors with a B.A. in journalism, a concentration in photography, and a minor in business administration. She was also a member of the University of Denver’s NCAA Division I ski team and helped the team win two NCAA championships. Lindsay grew up in the Hood River valley. When she’s not advancing community-centered energy solutions, she can be found enjoying the area’s mountains, rivers, and trails.
Jessie is passionate about developing tangible and measurable progress towards the goals of the Hood River County Energy Plan. She has a strong interest in local, community scale action to drive decarbonization, particularly with transportation. She has a background in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia, where she became involved in the design and development of mechanical systems with small start-up companies. Jessie’s passion for serving the needs of others and health equity led her to also pursue a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of British Columbia, and she has most recently worked as a nurse in the Providence Hood River Emergency Department. Right now Jessie is focused on nurturing her young family, thinking ahead to build a more resilient future, and exploring nature in the Gorge.
Andrea Johnson is the Executive Director at Green Empowerment where she uses her diverse background to bring renewable energy and clean water infrastructure to rural communities across the globe. Andrea completed climate research during her undergraduate studies at Duke University and was a research fellow at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center before joining the Peace Corps. Andrea served in Ecuador, where she later worked on SocioBosque – a UN REDD+ ecosystem services program. After almost four years living in bamboo hut in coastal Ecuador, Andrea landed in Oregon where she worked for the Citizens’ Utility Board of Oregon and later at CLEAResult Consulting where she managed Energy Trust of Oregon’s residential energy efficiency program. In 2023, Andrea was awarded Executive of the Year in Social Impact from the Portland Business Journal.
As a working executive with two young children living in the Hood River Valley, Andrea is passionate about community centered development and is committed to bringing her global perspective to help build rural resiliency here at home. When not working or volunteering, Andrea can be found in the mountains, rivers and farmland with her family or coaching youth sports at Parkdale Elementary.
Jared currently serves as the Business Development Manager at The Climate Trust, a Portland-based non-profit carbon project developer. Jared’s work is focused on building relationships with organizations that are interested in taking responsibility for their emissions and helping them to support improved forest management, reforestation, and avoided grassland conversion carbon projects across Oregon and the United States. Previously, Jared has held roles performing investment due diligence and forming partnerships between climate technology startups and corporates at Elemental Impact, a non-profit climate tech accelerator; developing Oakland’s 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan and updating municipal greenhouse gas inventories at the City of Oakland, California; and supporting federal budget allocation and case development via data analysis at the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California. Jared holds a Bachelor of Science in Conservation and Resource Studies, with a minor in Energy and Resources Group from University of California, Berkeley, and is passionate about building local climate resilience and a bioregional culture. Jared loves spending days outside, whether backpacking, biking, or at a swimming hole, and gathering with friends to cook with the bounty the Gorge has to offer.
Alexia Kelly has worked for more than 18 years at the intersection of policy and finance to address the climate crisis. Alexia is the Managing Director of the Carbon Policy and Markets Initiative (CPMI) at High Tide Foundation. The CPMI accelerates ambitious climate action and capital mobilization through robust rules and guidance for voluntary corporate action and disclosures, and building the next generation of high-integrity carbon and environmental services markets. She currently serves on the Board of the Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets (IC VCM) and the Board of the Advanced and Indirect Mitigation Initiative, as well as on the Expert Advisory Group of the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI).
Prior to joining High Tide Foundation, she served as Director of Net Zero + Nature at Netflix, where she led the company’s inaugural greenhouse gas inventory, renewable energy strategy, Science Based Target and global carbon credit portfolio. Previously, she worked at the U.S. Department of State, where she served as lead negotiator to the UNFCCC on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. She has also held senior roles at the World Resources Institute, The David and Lucille Packard Foundation, The Climate Trust, and in private equity.
Matt King loves all things related to community energy, with extensive experience at the nexus of forestry, renewable energy, agriculture, and manufacturing. In his current role as the Director of Sales and Innovation at Heartwood Biomass, Matt’s work is focused on facilitating forest restoration, stewardship, and wildfire mitigation by converting woody biomass into a myriad of value-added products. In his former position as the Renewable Energy Program Director at Wallowa Resources, Matt oversaw a values- driven renewable energy program focused on community resilience, keeping energy dollars local, and decarbonizing our local energy systems. In his free time, Matt loves to cook, garden, and mess around in the woods and play in the rivers of the PNW.
Eric Strid is a cofounder and retired CEO of Cascade Microtech, a global semiconductor equipment company in Beaverton, Oregon (now FormFactor, Inc.). He is named inventor on 67 US patents. Eric is now working only for our children, on various climate mitigation research and volunteering, including co-convening the Columbia Gorge Climate Action Network; serving on the boards of Power Oregon and npArbor, Inc.; as councilor for the Hood River County Energy Council; and on the Advisory Boards of Food and Water Watch and the Green Energy Institute at Lewis and Clark College. Eric’s current research interests include clean energy policies and modeling, accelerating EV adoptions, seasonal energy storage developments, and artificial intelligence technologies. He lives in White Salmon and loves to run, bike, windsurf, and ski.
Bio coming soon.
Jennifer Euwer is the chair of the Hood River County Board of Commissioners. Jennifer represents the County on the Hood River County Energy Council.
Albert Nance is a local resident of Cascade Locks. He serves as a Commissioner on the Port of Cascade Locks and is a local business owner. While he wasn’t born in the Gorge, the first time he saw it he thought it was the most beautiful place on earth and moved here as soon as he could. He’s proud to call the Gorge home, be on the Energy Council, and looks forward to many more years living “that Gorge life” to come.