About Us

The Sustainable Living Center program was established in July 2005, with a grant from Washington State Department of Ecology. After operating as a 2-day renewable energy festival from 2002 to 2005, the organization determined that a year-round facility was needed to serve the region's growing interest in renewable energy conservation, green building, waste reduction, and other topics related to sustainability.

The SLC has established a reputation in the Walla Walla region as the clearinghouse for information and resources for making more sustainable lifestyle decisions. With funding from government and private sources, we maintain five successful programs that help us achieve our mission of conserving resources for the future, through encouraging and facilitating sustainable living practices in our community!

Our Board of Directors

Click on BOD name to read their bio.

Todd Blackman

President

Todd is a founding board member of what is now the SLC and currently working as an energy professional advising the board on energy efficiency and alternative energy matters. He is currently serving as a fire commissioner with Franklin 3 in Pasco WA and have been a longtime volunteer and past president with the Tri-Cities Water Follies Association. Todd tries to be a good steward of the private and public funds we work with and match these resources to the unserved or underserved needs in our community. He does his best to ensure the SLC remains an inclusive and non-political entity focused on solid energy & environmental educational and inspirational endeavors open to all and void of partisan political influences that can divide a community and dilute our mission. Todd is very proud of the SLC and everything the organization does from farm to school & educational workshops to energy efficiency and alternative energy programs and more!

Tom Osborn

Vice President

Tom Osborn earned his BS Mechanical Engineering from Gonzaga University in Spokane. Tom works with the US Department of Energy - Bonneville Power Administration. Toms 20 plus years of experience includes renewable energy project management, power planning, customer service engineering, nuclear plant oversight, asset management, power sales contract negotiations, project representative with Army Corps, and energy efficiency. Tom is experienced in energy efficiency strategies in the commercial, industrial, Federal, and agriculture segments. Tom assists utilities served by BPA to develop energy efficiency opportunities and demand response portfolios. Tom resides in Walla Walla, WA; is very active in Rotary International service club as a past president and Assistant Governor; Junior Achievement classroom instructor, sings at church and the Walla Walla Choral Society, and is also the very proud father of a wonderful daughter who is teaching high school math.

Andy Gomez

Board Member

Andy Gomez is currently the Executive Director at the Walla Walla Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization. Andy has worked in the transportation planning field in the South, Midwest, Mountain West, and Pacific Northwest areas for more than 25 years, in both the public and private sector. He is a also a Transportation Research Board committee member where he reviews research papers and provides recommendations for publication and presentation at national conferences. He earned an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Miami and graduate degrees in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Iowa and in Economics from Colorado School of Mines. In his free time, he enjoys strength training and walking to various activities which helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions. He particularly likes the Sustainable Living Center’s Walla Walla Valley Farm to School program because the children learn early in their life to make healthy choices while also supporting the local agricultural community.

Dave Stockdale

Board Member

Dave Stockdale is the recently retired Director of the WWCC Water & Environmental Center where he worked for ten years. His previous positions included serving as the Executive Director of the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (since renamed) in San Francisco, the Executive Director of the San Antonio Botanical Garden, and as Coordinator at the University of Washington Center for Urban Horticulture, plus additional nonprofit, governmental and for profit entities. Dave earned his BS in Agriculture from Purdue University and his MS in Biology from University of Houston. He is an avid gardener, photographer, hiker and traveler who enjoys savoring the local wines and making beer with his home grown hops.

Lydia Caudill

Board Member

Lydia has spent the most of her life in Eastern WA, both in and around Spokane and has now been in the Walla Walla area since 2016. Other parts of her life have found her living in alternative communities in Europe and living in South America - which included serving in Peace Corps Paraguay and nearly two years wandering northward through S. America on her bicycle with the goal to learn from communities democratizing and diversifying their food system. She is most curious about innovative ways for families and communities to interact more deeply and more responsibly with their natural environment, natural resources, and with each other. She explored this formally through food systems research and planning programs in her undergrad and master’s degrees, working with refugee farmers, and with the WW Valley Food System Coalition. She is glad to be exploring responsible resource use and community relationships in Walla Walla, both through her current work at the City of Walla Walla and through adventures with her son.

Our Employees & Staff

Erendira Cruz

Executive Director

Our Valued Partners & Sponsors
Click on Organization Name to be linked to their website.

Thank you to our Partners:
BMAC ● Cascade Natural Gas ● Columbia REA ● Franklin PUD ● Pacific Power ● PSCCU ● WSU Energy Program
WA State Dept. of Commerce ● WWCC & WEC ● Energy Trust of Oregon

Special Thanks to Our CEEP Sponsors:
Cascade Natural Gas ● PSCCU ● Alex's Quality Maintenance Properties ● American Air ● Smith Insulation Inc.
College Place Heating ● A+ Quality Insulation

Please Note: CEEP sponsors mentioned above with logos and links to websites are a benefit made available solely as part of the SLC’s CEEP sponsorship program. The Sustainable Living Center does not endorse or guarantee any products or services associated with these companies.

About Us

Our Board of Directors

Click on BOD name to read their bio.

Our Employees & Staff

Our Valued Partners & Sponsors Click on Organization Name to be linked to their website.

Our Valued Partners & Sponsors
Click on Organization Name to be linked to their website.