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.

Jay Larson-Treasurer

Jay's long time interest in solar energy led him to earn a Master’s Degree in Solar Energy Engineering in Sweden. Not only is it a cool technology harnessing free energy, it has great potential to have a lasting impact for the environment as well as having a positive impact on the social-economic statuses for developing countries and developing communities. Based in his native city of Spokane, he is currently working with PCI Renewables Inc. as a sales & design engineer and desires to see a greater implementation of renewables in our state.

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.

Jack Newman-Immediate Past President

Jack is a Certified Renewable Energy Professional with the Association of Energy Engineers, and serves as President of the Board of Directors for Solar Washington. Working as the Director of Clean Energy Solutions with Säzän Environmental Services (SES), Jack specializes in net zero energy consulting services for high performance buildings, which includes renewable energy, battery storage and microgrid project development. With a focus on energy resiliency for tribal and indigenous communities, Jack is committed to helping the industry become free of fossil fuels. He would like to help Solar Washington engage new audiences on behalf of Washington State's rapidly changing solar industry

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.

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 masters 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.

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.