Patty Bowen Joins CVI as Environmental Justice Associate

We are pleased to welcome Patty Bowen to Conservation Voters for Idaho (CVI) as our new Environmental Justice Associate. In this position, Patty will be working with frontline communities across Idaho to ensure they are represented in Idaho’s transition to clean energy. 

Patty is an Idaho native, who grew up in rural Canyon County. They spent their childhood raising goats and hiking through Idaho’s wilderness.

Their passion for policy and the environment began early on in their career as a journalist. While getting their B.A. in English, they served on Boise State University’s student newspaper, The Arbiter, working their way up to Managing Editor and then Editor-in-Chief. After graduating, they served as the Meridian Press reporter for the Idaho Press. In this role, they focused on growth, local government, education and agriculture. 

Patty’s focus switched to energy when they were hired as a Marketing and Proposal Coordinator for POWER Engineers. In that role, they led the energy storage focus group and worked with staff to respond to client requests. During this time they began volunteering for the Idaho Sierra Club, advocating for local clean energy commitments.

In August, they graduated from CVI’s Boards and Commissions Fellowship Program, giving them additional tools in relationship building and advocacy work, as well as more background into the unique challenges in local and state government. 

In their free time, Patty loves exploring Idaho, reading and writing, and playing the guitar. They are an avid podcast and music connoisseur, and look forward to Treefort every year. 

Patty hopes to draw on their background in relationship building and clean energy to contribute to CVI’s goal of transiting Idaho to 100% clean energy by no later than 2050.