Oregon & SW Washington is pleased to announce our Spring, 2019 Chapter Meeting, with Monica Wright, Air Quality and Sustainability Senior Technologist at Jacobs and Portland General Electric. 

Come Join us at Bridgeport Brewing on March 5th!

Title: Cleaner Air Oregon: Implications for Datacenters

Description:

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) have partnered together as Cleaner Air Oregon (CAO) to develop a risk based permitting program for managing air toxics from industrial sources. The final CAO rules were approved in November 2018. These rules impact all new and existing sources in Oregon that have air toxic emissions. This talk will look at how the new rules will impact existing and new mission critical sources and how these sources can minimize regulatory risk and maximize opportunities while preparing to comply with CAO.

 Monica Wright, PhD. is an air       quality and sustainability senior   technologist with Jacobs in   Portland, OR. Dr. Wright has   over 15 years’ experience   helping   clients meet their   unique   environmental and air quality goals. Her work has included air dispersion modeling, odor modeling, analysis of air and odor control options, facility planning, support for New Source Review and Title V permitting and compliance projects, scientific field studies and regulatory compliance analysis.  In addition to air quality work, Monica performs data management and analysis of environmental data, and supports clients with corporate social responsibility and sustainability evaluations. Outside of work, Monica is an advocate for STEM education and increasing opportunities for women in STEM and environmental careers. Monica served as the vice president of the pacific northwest chapter of the semiconductor environmental safety and health association (SESHA) in 2016-2017 and is currently on the board of directors for women in environment (WIE). monica.wright@jacobs.com

Title: PGE Helping Data Centers Meet Renewable Goals

Description:

From carbon-free and 100% renewables goals to energy storage and the interconnected grid, there is no doubt that the way we use energy is changing in a multitude of ways.  The data center industry is not only paying attention to this evolution – it’s heavily influencing it as key digital players seek to operate more sustainably.  

Learn from Portland General Electric, Oregon’s largest investor-owned utility, about its new programs to help business customers, like data centers, meet their renewable and operational goals, while remaining cost competitive. 

Quisha Light is a Strategic Initiatives Program Manager at Portland General Electric Company. Quisha joined PGE in 2012 and during her six years she has worked in the Legal, Integrated Resource Planning, and Strategy Integration departments at PGE. In her work, Quisha leads cross-functional teams in developing and implementing long-term resource strategies. In late 2017, Quisha began leading PGE’s efforts to design and gain approval of a new green energy tariff. This collaborative process involved input from customers, regulators, and key internal and external stakeholders. Currently, she is the program manager for PGE’s Decarbonization Program, working to lead a team of subject matter experts in developing the Company’s roadmap to a an 80% reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Known for her ability to empower and gain consensus, Quisha brings clarity to ambiguous plans and to dissect aggressive project plans into workable and executable plans. She effectively utilizes her former legal training to navigate the traditional silos that inhibit the transformational change needed to execute on corporate strategic initiatives.

She is originally a native of Tennessee, where she received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of the South (Sewanee, TN) and her Juris Doctor from the University of Memphis School of Law.  After practicing law for eight years in Tennessee, Quisha and her spouse relocated to Eugene, Oregon in 2007 and ultimately, to Portland in 2011.