SWET Members

Nick Goulette, Executive Director, The Watershed Research and Training Center (Hayfork, CA)

Core Team Role: Cooperative Agreement Administrator

Nick Goulette is the Executive Director of The Watershed Research and Training Center where he has worked in a wide range of roles over the past 10 years. He has worked on biomass development and policy in a number of capacities. In development, he worked first as a forester developing and securing feedstock supply from federal forest lands, and later in exploring biomass energy technologies suitable for applications in Trinity County, CA, including densified product manufacturing, thermal installations, and small combined heat and power systems. In policy, he has spent the past 7 years helping to lead the Biomass Working Group of the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition and nearly 3 years staffing and coordinating the CA Forest Biomass Working Group, advocating in Sacramento and Washington DC for biomass policies that work for rural forest communities and the environment.

Larry Swan, USDA Forest Service, Wood Utilization & Marketing/Biomass Specialist

Core Team Role: Cooperative Agreement Program Manager

Larry has over 20 years experience providing technical assistance for wood utilization projects with small businesses and community groups, ranging from harvest to markets. His experience with wood energy systems began more than 15 years ago because of the need to examine alternatives for disposing of western juniper and early projects involving ethanol production. Larry also has a long-term agreement with the State of Oregon to provide wood utilization and marketing expertise through the Oregon Business Development Department, and another through the Forest Service International Office to assist US AID, primarily in Latin America.

Robert Goodwin, USDA Forest Service, Tribal Relations

Core Team Role: lead, tribal liaison

Robert has over 15 years of experience in tribal government and over 20 years of experience facilitating government to government communication and collaboration. As a Forest Service Tribal Liaison, Robert maintains and strengthens relationships between FS Region 05 and 110 federally recognized tribes in California. He is responsible for training FS personnel in regards to federal trust responsibility and FS policies and handbooks in regards to tribal relations.

Kim Carr, Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Sustainable Initiatives Coordinator

Core Team Role: lead, state community and economic development representative

Kim Carr has 20 years of experience in community development and environmental planning and 4 years of experience in biomass and bioenergy project development and policy. She is responsible for overseeing policy development and special initiative coordination at the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, and is responsible for the organizations’ responsibilities under the CA Bioenergy Action Plan. She has played a major role in negotiations regarding sustainable harvest criteria, and has been involved in other related policy development issues. Before the SNC, her most recent work was in environmental planning and community development for the Tahoe Conservancy.

Elissa Brown, Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Consultant

Core Team Role: lead, financing options

Elissa Brown has been on contract with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy since 2010 as a grant writing and project development consultant. She has initiated discussions with Community Development Financing Institutions regarding the application of New Market Tax Credits and other financial assistance programs to community-scale bioenergy projects. She has also been directly engaged in project development, providing assistance to several of the wood energy projects at the forefront of the development process, and has applied lessons-learned from these projects to statewide assistance and education programs.

Peter Tittmann, University of California, Woody Biomass Center Utilization Staff

Core Team Role: lead, outreach, education and extension

Peter has 10 years of experience developing techno economic models for bioenergy from wood residues. His experience with wood energy systems began 10 years ago because of resulting from involvement with local FireSafe councils on California’s North Coast. Peter also has a long-term agreement with the Forest Service to provide technical assistance and conduct outreach through a Cooperative Agreement.

Garry O’Neill, California Energy Commission, Renewable Energy Programs

Core Team Role: lead, state biomass energy rep.

Garry has 6 years of experience providing technical, political, and research assistance for wood utilization projects with small businesses and community groups, ranging from harvest to markets. Garry’s experience also includes serving as the lead of the California Energy Commission’s Existing Renewable Facilities Program, principle author of the 2011 Bionenergy Action Plan and project manager of the 2012 Bioenergy Action Plan.

Doug Wickizer, CAL FIRE, Special Projects, Resource Branch, and Biomass Collaborative

Core Team Role: lead, state and private lands and Biomass Collaborative

Doug has over 13 years of experience in forest product utilization. He is largely responsible for CAL FIRE’s Department of Environmental Protection, Regulation, and Forest Product Utilization’s interest in biomass utilization and climate change. Doug contributed to the 2006 California Bioenergy Action Plan, the 2004 and 2010 Fire Resource Assessment Program report and the current Forestry Protocols for the California Climate Action Registry. He was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for the California Biomass Collaborative and is a member of the California Bio-Energy Interagency Working Group as well as the Biomass Working Group.

Tad Mason, TSS Consultants, Chief Executive Officer

Core Team Role: lead, biomass energy industry representative

Tad Mason has 32 years of experience in the fields of bio-energy project development, natural resources management, cellulosic fuels/feedstock supply chain development, and hazardous forest fuels reduction. He and TSS Consultants have managed bio-energy project assessments throughout North America (24 states and 6 provinces) for a diverse set of clients, including public resource management agencies, Indian tribes, private sector enterprises, public utilities, private investment firms and community stakeholder groups.

Jonathan Kusel, Sierra Institute, Executive Director

Core Team Role: lead, non-profit community and environmental group representative and liaison

Jonathan has over 30 years of experience in socioeconomic improvement and natural resources management. He has worked closely with the Clinton Administration to pioneer community assessment and public involvement in community well being. With the Sierra Institute, he pursued biomass utilization in Plumas County by facilitating effective communication and information sharing, completing supply assessments and addressing supply chain challenges, and fostering policy support of small biomass markets. Jonathan is the founder and Executive Director of the Sierra Institute.

Angie Lottes, Biomass Project Manager, The Watershed Research and Training Center (Hayfork, CA)

Core Team Role: core team activities, facilitation & coordination, BWG coordination

Angela has 7 years of experience with ecosystem health and restoration projects. With those projects, she has conducted team organization and coordination activities as well as public outreach and project implementation. In 2011, Angela began working with biomass power plants on the California coast to evaluate their greenhouse gas emissions. She has continued to advocate for appropriately scaled biomass energy projects through the Watershed Research and Training Center.

Additional participants from the BWG will perform activities for SWET as an adjunct member as needed.