Area of Focus
Sophie represents the organization in state regulatory proceedings and other policy-making forums, with a particular focus on the Utah Public Service Commission. She advocates for policies that will transition the electric grid from the current inflexible and polluting fossil-fueled version to one that is clean, efficient, and smart. Her work emphasizes renewable resources, grid decarbonization, energy efficiency, and utility-regulatory policies that mitigate and adapt to the harms of a changing climate.
Sophie joined WRA in 2018 as a senior attorney. She works in tandem with other team members, including government affairs and policy staff, to ensure efforts are coordinated for the biggest possible impact, always with an eye to the interconnected nature of the policies they pursue and their impacts on the lives and livelihoods in the West.
Background
As a Salt Lake attorney and member of the Utah State Bar, she focuses on public utility law and the transition to cleaner energy. Prior work included private practice, as well as eight years at Utah Clean Energy, directing their regulatory intervention and representing them in regulatory proceedings related to integrated resource planning, net metering, renewable resource acquisition, and energy efficiency.
Accomplishments
Sophie was instrumental in the effort to set PacifiCorp (Utah’s primary electrical utility) on a path to faster decarbonization. When the utility wanted to expand Utah’s dependency on coal-based power, she helped to secure a settlement that meant the utility would have to prove the move would be in the public interest. She also successfully litigated before the Utah Public Service Commission, which resulted in one gigawatt of utility-scale solar development, making Utah the sixth in the nation for installed capacity at the time.
Education
- Juris Doctor from J. Reuben Clark Law School from Brigham Young University
- Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology with a sociocultural emphasis from Brigham Young University
Favorite thing about the West
Brine shrimp and June suckers.
