Dam!

On this episode of Dam!, we're joined by Rebekah Anderson, senior manager of communications at Tacoma Public Utilities and author of The Grand Promise. Her award-winning fiction novel captures life during the construction of Grand Coulee dam and illustrates the positive and negative impacts that it had on nearby communities. Of course, you'll have to read the book for yourself to get the full story, but Anderson shared the inspiration and history that were instrumental to the narrative, her writing process, how it changed her perspectives on hydropower and public works as a whole, and much more.

To know of hydropower and to love it go hand-in-hand. Today, the challenge is that less and less people actually know much about hydropower at all. The Foundation for Water & Energy Education, or FWEE for short, is tackling that challenge head on by bringing hydro to the classroom in creative and exciting ways. Sheila Corson, serving as acting the acting board chair, joins Dam! to share the important mission of FWEE, how they educate educators, the numerous ways students can get engaged and identify potential career paths, and the power of the PowerWheel and its ability to bring joy and excitement to people of all ages. Listen on, and you'll also hear how you can get involved and help bring hydro education to your community!

In January of 2024, a blanket of extreme cold and ice was cast over the Northwest. The winter storm presented many threats, and our grid was not immune to them. Despite extremely high energy demand, our abundance of hydropower ensured we never faced shortages and rolling blackouts. We reached out to the Bonneville Power Administration, who supplies that energy to public utilities across the region, to get the full scoop. On this very special episode, we were joined by Michelle Cathcart, vice president of generation asset management, who provided her insight and expertise on the January storm, how BPA tackles storms as a whole, and what lessons we can learn from this event.

Clearwater Power's Bob Pierce is not just their COO–he's also the author of "Ask Bob." In this podcast, we ask Bob what "Ask Bob" is, how he got started answering questions from the community, and revisit some of his most popular questions over the years to get his take. As you'll hear, there's a Dam! good reason he's the guy to go to when you've got questions about energy and hydropower!

Class is in session! "But hold on, what happened to my Dam! podcast?" Hey, no worries, Dam! isn't going anywhere. This week, we're releasing a special episode as part of a new sub-series of the regular podcast that aims to provide you with a fundamental understanding of hydropower and how it interacts with energy and the environment–particularly in the Northwest. That fundamental understanding is essential to grasping the more in-depth discussions we love having with our expert guests. We welcome those new to hydro and our regular enthusiasts alike, and hope you all learn a little something from tuning in.

We're joined by Bree Mendlin, program director at the Hydropower Foundation, to discuss the various pathways and opportunities available to those interested in joining the waterpower workforce. Along the way, we take a deeper dive into the education efforts, STEM programs, competitions, and college clubs all helping guide students on their career journey, and hear about those who have successfully made that transition from student to employee.

What do the three subjects in the title of this podcast have in common? They're all important aspects of the work being done by Sean Simmons and Angler's Atlas. On this episode of Dam!, Sean explains Angler's Atlas, discusses the importance of citizen science, how the MyCatch app and angling tournaments are bringing in valuable fish data, and how he hopes to use similar methods with the Salmon Prize–a competition aimed at producing models that can better predict salmon returns.

In our final episode of the year, we introduce Dam! listeners to Northwest RiverPartners' new interim executive director, Heather Stebbings. Transitioning from her prior role with the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, Heather brings a wealth of knowledge about the lower Snake River dams issue to the table. We discuss her background, her plans as interim, and the continuity she hopes to provide to the organization during this time of transition.

We bid farewell to our executive director, Kurt Miller, on our 21st episode of Dam! On this one, Kurt shares the memories made and lessons learned leading Northwest RiverPartners, where he's headed and what he'll be up to next, and he shares incredibly valuable career and personal advice that you won't want to miss. Of course, there are plenty of laughs and good times along the way.

We welcome a very fitting guest to Dam! this week with Brenna Vaughn, executive director of the Northwest Hydroelectric Association–or NWHA. As you can imagine, we covered all things hydropower advocacy, education, the challenges and opportunities that hydro faces, and compared and contrasted the work of both organizations.