National Offshore Wind Institute Speaker Series:

Speaker Bios

Cynthia Brown, PhD

Head of Training, Service Americas, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Inc.

Dr. Cynthia C. Brown is the Head of Training at the Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Wind Service Training Center in Orlando, Florida. In this role she is responsible for managing the Americas region’s training strategy for Siemens Gamesa Service business employees and customers, instilling a positive safety culture throughout the business, ensuring compliance with Siemens Gamesa policies and procedures and evaluating overall training effectiveness.

Dr. Brown has been with Siemens Gamesa since 2016 where she began as Safety Training Manager. Following a stint as Technical Training Manager, she was promoted in 2019 to her current position. She joined the company following 12 years at Lockheed Martin where she worked in Systems Engineering and Program Management supporting the Department of Defense. Her work focused on domestic and international contracts in missile systems, and training and logistics solutions.

Dr. Brown has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science Degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She obtained her Doctor of Philosophy in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

In addition to her work at Siemens Gamesa, Dr. Brown is also an Adjunct Professor at the College of the Florida Keys.

Amanda Schoen

US Policy Specialist, Global Public Affairs, Marketing & Communications, Sustainability & Public Affairs, Vestas

Amanda Schoen is the U.S. Policy Specialist for Vestas Wind Systems. There, she works to advance clean energy legislation and regulations at the state and federal levels, and she provides insight on political developments and regulatory changes with a special emphasis on impacts to offshore wind development. She also represents Vestas in key industry groups including American Clean Power, the Business Network for Offshore Wind, California Offshore Wind, and RENEW Northeast.

Prior to joining Vestas, Amanda served for two years as the Deputy Director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, an environmental nonprofit focused on advancing clean energy and climate priorities. In this position, she helped secure passage of the state’s 2 GW offshore wind procurement in 2019.

Amanda began her career working for Congress, first for Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) and then for Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05). She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Hartford with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English, and currently lives in Glastonbury, CT.

Rachel Pachter

Chief Development Officer, Vineyard Wind

Rachel Pachter is Vineyard Wind’s Chief Development Officer. Rachel has 18 years of experience in offshore wind development, specifically in permitting and regulatory compliance, environmental and site investigation, federal, state, and local regulations, stakeholder engagement, and public relations.

Rachel led and finalized the approval for the first fully permitted offshore wind farm in federal waters of the United States. Rachel oversees all of Vineyard Wind’s development, permitting, and environmental activities, as well as workforce development, community engagement, and cross-industry initiatives on environmental and fisheries matters. Rachel has a degree in Geology from the University of Alaska.

Julia Ren Jackson

Offshore Permitting Analyst, Mayflower Wind Energy, LLC

Julia Ren Jackson is an Offshore Permitting Analyst for Mayflower Wind. Before joining Mayflower, she studied environmental engineering at Dartmouth College and the Thayer School of Engineering. While in school, she specialized in renewable energy and sustainable development and also conducted marine research at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the New England Aquarium between academic terms.

Julia’s combined love for the ocean and passion for renewable energy served as an excellent starting point for a career in offshore wind. Over the past year, Julia has used her previous experience and new knowledge to tackle complex permitting challenges, and she looks forward to continuing to promote and advance the industry in years to come.

Bethany Clarke

US Offshore Wind Localization Leader, GE Renewable Energy 

Beth Clarke is the U.S. offshore wind localization leader for GE Renewable Energy. Beth has been with GE Renewable Energy for more than 11 years and has held roles in project management, supply chain operations, as well as assignments in product management and commercial operations while part of GE leadership programs.

In her current role, Beth collaborates with various functions and local stakeholders to define and implement supply chain localization activities. Beth is also a committee member for GE Renewable Energy’s African American Forum, which is GE’s longest-standing employee resource group. When not at work you are most likely to find Beth on the water or in the woods adventuring with her dog. 

 

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Orientation to Offshore Wind

2-day, 4-hour fully online course

Interested in learning more about working in the Offshore Wind Industry? Learn more at NOWI’s Offshore Wind Orientation Course.

Learn more and register here.