Speaker:  Morgan Olsen Bowerman  

Bio: Morgan Olsen Bowerman is the Resource Recovery & Sustainability Manager for Wasatch Resource Recovery and has been working on recycling and waste diversion for 10 years.  She will speak about the new anaerobic digester facility creating energy from food waste.

Speaker:  Jeff Barrett

Bio: Jeff Barrett is Rocky Mountain Power’s Regional Business Manager for Salt Lake City and involved with RMP’s renewable efforts on the City’s behalf.

Speaker:  Vicki Bennett

Bio: Vicki Bennett is the Director, Sustainability and Environment at Salt Lake City Corporation. The project is a collaborative effort where Rocky Mountain Power is building an 80 MW solar farm, with Salt Lake City and other municipal, academic and private companies purchasing the energy through a rate schedule that assigns the energy directly to them. When completed, Salt Lake City will get over 80% of its electricity from renewable resources at almost no additional cost. We will also be locking in the price of the energy for 15 years, shielding us from increased costs in the case of future carbon fees. Overall, it is to the advantage of both City taxpayers and the environment.

Speaker: Matt Abbott

Bio: Matt Abbott is a Sustainability Director with more than 10 years’ experience identifying opportunities to create value across the supply chain using systems thinking for the real estate, pharmaceuticals, and food sectors. He has built pioneering programs, challenged assumptions, and driven revenues with a focus on renewable energy, waste, and water. For the last three years, Matt has been Deputy Program Manager for the University of Utah’s Sustainability & Energy program, where he has negotiated the largest US university renewable energy contract. He achieved the lowest energy consumption and cost in eight years, despite 23% growth. While Environmental Project Manager at City of Park City, Matt garnered national media attention from Outside Magazine, Powder, and Sundance Film Festival for Park City’s 2032 carbon neutrality goal.

Matt started his career as a Consultant in Waste & Sustainability at Cascadia Consulting Group and Solid Waste Solutions, where he mitigated reputational risk for clients, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Pactiv. Matt was the Board Chair and Founding Director of an energy efficiency nonprofit, Summit Community Power Works, as well as the Pinchot Alumni Association. Matt holds an MBA in Sustainable Business from Pinchot University and a BA in Biology from Colorado College. He is an active member of AASHE (The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education), the Utah Association of Energy Users, and was a founding member of the Utah Climate Action Network. He loves mountain biking, backpacking with his wife Peregrine, and staying engaged with their community in Park City, UT.