Meet Lauren
I won the primary for PUD Commissioner in District #2. I live about halfway between Twisp and Carlton with my husband, Kellar, and our daughter Ruby who just turned 3. We share a home with a smooth fox terrier, a small flock of chickens, a lively apiary, and many species of wildlife. I was raised in a conservative middle class family in North Carolina, where my family has lived for many generations. My grandfather was a rural postmaster for the US Postal Service and was a Colonel in the National Guard. My dad was the first member of his family to go to college. He served our community for 30+ years as a Rotary member and an attorney representing small business clients, and my mother worked as a dental hygienist, and active community volunteer. As the oldest of three kids and the only daughter, my parents instilled in me the values of hard work, family, community, and the importance of education as a means of being an informed and engaged citizen in our democracy.
I am not a politician and I have never run for public office before, but I have over a decade of experience in energy policy specifically, including 7 years as nonpartisan staff in Washington state government working with policymakers, regulators, budget writers, utilities, and consumers on all sorts of energy and utility issues - from energy efficiency rebates and long-term planning to pipeline safety. I’ve negotiated legislation with folks on both sides of the aisle. I served as nonpartisan staff to the Washington state Senate, and worked in several roles in the Consumer Protection and Policy Divisions of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) where where I provided guidance to the UTC commissioners on energy policy and led the Commission’s engagement with legislators and the Governor’s office. In these roles, I developed a strong understanding of the way utilities work, and the solutions that exist to help utility customers understand and manage their bills.
In 2017, I was appointed Senior Energy Policy Advisor to Governor Jay Inslee, where I managed a diverse portfolio of issues to support the Governor's energy agenda and coordinated work among state agencies, elected officials, businesses, and the public on energy and utility issues. I’ve helped secure millions of dollars for weatherization and bill assistance for low-income households, seniors and veterans. And I’ve worked with countless individual utility customers all over the state to help them understand and resolve issues they are having with their utilities. In 2019, I worked on behalf of the Governor with utilities, advocates, and legislators, to negotiate and pass the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA), to put Washington on a pathway to 100% clean electricity while preserving affordability and reliability and supporting hydropower's essential role as a clean and renewable energy resource in Washington. In 2021, I joined the NW Energy Coalition as Policy Director, where I guide the Coalition staff’s advocacy on energy efficiency, affordability, and regional energy markets in the four Northwest states. I’m running for PUD Commissioner because I want to use my skills and expertise to help ensure a prosperous future for our kids and our community here in Okanogan county.
My priorities are straightforward: keep our power reliable, our bills affordable, get more folks connected to high-speed internet. The PUD Commission approves the PUD’s budget and policies, and oversees the PUD General Manager, who is responsible for utility operations. I believe that my experience working on state policy and budgets, my education in economics, as well as my expertise in planning and utility programs will be an asset to the PUD commission as it navigates some challenging market conditions and makes important decisions about where our power is going to come from in the near future.
I’m a firm believer in public power and the importance of a nonpartisan board because it means our utility is accountable to its customers and the communities it serves - not shareholders, political parties, or other outside interests. In other words, the Commissioners work for you - the PUD customers. I believe that customers are best served by a board that brings diverse skills and perspectives to the table. I’ve had the opportunity to work with all different kinds of people, and I have served on boards and committees where the members don’t always agree on everything, but we have shared goals, we collaborate, and we listen to the people we represent in order to make the best decisions we can to get the job done. This is the approach that I would bring to the job, and I hope I have the opportunity to serve you as PUD Commissioner.
