Professional Staff

“I really enjoy mentoring staff and seeing them grow in responsibilities and capabilities.”

Finlay is a principal consultant with over 23 years of experience.  Finlay specializes in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) licensing and compliance of hydropower projects; Special Use Permitting; National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance; and Endangered Species Act consultation. He has extensive experience managing and facilitating technical teams representing agencies, non-governmental agencies, and utility clients. Finlay’s area of expertise includes strategic planning and communication with public and private sectors around natural resource issues and energy production, including fish passage, power production analyses, environmental reconnaissance and permitting. He provides planning and process support for and coordination of stakeholder consultation activities.

Some of Finlay’s most recent projects include FERC Relicensing; Part 12D FERC Dam Safety Inspection, Seismic Analysis; Part 12D Inspection, Follow-up and Strategic Project Consultation; Part 12D FERC Dam Safety Inspection; Value Engineering Study, Downstream Fish Passage; Project Decommissioning; Non-Capacity FERC Amendment; and Hydropower Site Evaluation at multiple sites.

Finlay has his M.S. in Marine Resource Management from the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University and a B.S. in Biological Services from the University of Puget Sound. He is a Board Member and Secretary of the Northwest Hydroelectric Association and an Associate Board Member of the West Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District.