Columbia REA Director receives Director Gold Certification

WALLA WALLA–Columbia REA Board Director Patrick Dennis, PhD, has earned his Director Gold Certificate. The Director Gold Certification recognizes Directors who are committed to continuing their education beyond Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD) and Board Leadership Certification (BLC).

To earn Director Gold Certification, directors must first earn NRECA's CCD and BLC, plus three additional credits from the BLC courses. Director Gold demonstrates to co-op members and other stakeholders a directors' ongoing commitment to advancing their knowledge and performing their fiduciary duty to the best of their ability.

Patrick Dennis was appointed to the Board to fill a vacated position in 2017, and subsequently elected to the Board in 2019, then re-elected in 2022. Dennis has lived in Walla Walla since 2012 , following 27 years as a professor at the University of British Columbia and 10 years with the National Science Foundation (NSF).

"At the NSF, we were asked continuously to predict where science is headed. After 25 or 30 years, I developed a pretty astute sense to recognize where things were going and to always move forward," says Dennis.

"I've tried to bring that same philosophy to the Board," he continues, adding that as Columbia REA moves into the relatively new frontier of renewable energy sources, "it will become increasingly important to have a multitude of voices and opinions on the Board."

To maintain Director Gold level certification, Directors must earn three continuing education credits every two years.