The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) announced an expanded State and Regional Policy team with the additions of Tim Raphael as AWEA’s Western Representative and Christy Omohundro as AWEA’s Eastern Representative. They will work with regional partners and member companies on state policy matters involving taxes, siting, transmission, renewable electricity standards, and other issues that influence wind energy development at the state and regional level.
“Tim and Christy have both earned a record of success achieving market and policy solutions in the field,” said Denise Bode, AWEA’s Chief Executive Officer, “The wind industry is at a crossroads today, and we look forward to their contribution to help us seize this historic opportunity for the U.S. to become a leader in wind power production and turbine manufacturing.”
AWEA’s State and Regional Policy team is headed by AWEA Director of State Relations Susan Williams Sloan, who joined AWEA in 2005. The team is expanding at a time when the wind industry’s state and regional activities are also expanding in scope, and touch on a broad range of energy, environment and economic development issues. AWEA promotes state and regional policies in close coordination with wind industry members and allied organizations in each state and region.
Raphael joins AWEA with 15 years of experience in local, state and federal environmental and energy policy and governmental affairs. Based in Portland, Oregon, he is member of Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski’s Renewable Energy Working Group and was a founding board member of the Renewable Northwest Project.
Based in New York, Omohundro comes to AWEA with 15 years in the energy industry—working with regulators, stakeholders, legislators and customers in California, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. Most recently, she was Managing Director of Regulation for PacifiCorp.
