(RICHLAND, WA) -- Washington state joint operating agency
Energy Northwest, located in Richland, Wash., recently announced Mike Paoli as
its new public information officer and manager of public affairs. Paoli has
been with the agency since late 2009, and served previously as the public
affairs assistant manager. He brings more than 24 years of experience to the
job.
“We’ve been very pleased with how his team has responded to
attempts by anti-nuclear groups to spread misinformation about Columbia
Generating Station,” said Brent Ridge, vice president and Energy Northwest
chief financial and risk officer. “He’s speaks honestly and plainly, a style we
feel is essential for maintaining public trust and support for the value Energy
Northwest and public power bring to the region.”
Prior to Energy Northwest, Paoli directed the Air Force
Press Desk at the Pentagon, where he was part of a team that earned the Public
Relations Society of America’s Best of Silver Anvil award for the dignified
transfers of service members killed in combat and returned to American soil. He
also commanded a NATO support squadron in Norway; directed public affairs for
the Air Force’s largest combat wing in Okinawa, Japan; and directed the Air
Force’s National Media Outreach office in New York, NY.
Paoli is a graduate of New Mexico State University and holds
master degrees in human relations from the University of Oklahoma, and military
operational art and science from the Air Force’s Air University. He is an Air
War College graduate, has served as adjunct professor at the Defense
Information School, and currently volunteers as an employee communication trainer
for the City of Kennewick.
