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WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
WILLIAM D. RUCKELSHAUS CENTER
THE
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Darren Nichols
Associate Director
Darren brings 12 years of public policy, land use planning and
community development experience, including local, state and regional
agency management experience. Prior to joining the Center, he served
as Executive Director of the Columbia River Gorge Commission, a
unique interstate compact agency between Oregon and Washington
that was established by act of Congress to protect and enhance the
scenic, cultural, recreational, economic and natural resources of the
Columbia River Gorge, and involves While at the Commission, he
worked closely with the bi-state regional community (two states, six
counties, 13 urban and rural communities, four tribal governments,
federal agencies and numerous other stakeholders and involved
parties) to foster a collaborative dialogue about regional priorities and
long-term stewardship of resources and communities. Darren has also
worked with the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and
served as a senior division manager and regional planner with the
Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development.
KEYS AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
Interagency Collaboration
Policy Development
Land Use Planning
Community Development
Urban & Regional Planning
Rural Economic Development
Legislative Relations
Tribal Government-to-Government Consultation
State and Interstate Agency Management
Grant Program Management
Community Engagement/Public Involvement
Law and Policy
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:
Association for Conflict Resolution - Environment and Public
Policy Section
American Planning Association
American Bar Association - Alternative Dispute Resolution Section
University Network for Collaborative Governance
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Lewis & Clark Law School, JD, Environmental and Natural Resource Law (anticipated 2015)
Portland State University, MURP, College of Urban and Public Affairs –
School of Urban Studies and Planning 2005
Willamette University, BS, Business Economics 1995
Pacific Program for Catalytic Leadership 2007
Selected Project Experience
Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, 2012
to 2015: Darren directed the Gorge Commission’s
work with neutral facilitators and a wide range of
diverse interests to assess regional priorities and
identify areas of shared interest for collaborative
regional planning and policy. Through Darren’s
leadership, the Commission worked closely
with Oregon Consensus and the Ruckelshaus
Center to reshape 25 years of internal and
external contention into a constructive, forwardlooking discussion about the long term health
of Gorge resources and the long-term future of
Gorge communities. The Commission is now
using collaborative training tools to improve
internal relations and to strengthen its role as a
collaborative regional planning agency.
Collaborative Public Planning, 2007 to 2011:
As the grants program manager for Oregon’s
Department of Land Conservation and
Development (DLCD), Darren worked with
the Land Conservation and Development
Commission’s (LCDC) grants advisory committee
and with Oregon Consensus to increase funding
for land use mediation services and produced
a documentary video outlining a model public
policy collaborative between ranchers, public
agencies and environmental interests in Malheur
County, Oregon. The video and the department’s
investment in alternative dispute resolution tools
informs and supports collaborative local and
regional decision-makers across the state.
Information for Collaborative Decision Making, 2006
to present: Darren is committed to providing
better information and innovative tools to help
public and private decision-makers at all levels.
During his tenure with the State of Oregon, Darren
helped the department design and invest in an
Information Management Modernization Initiative
– a system of organizing and storing forty years of
statewide natural resource, land use, conservation,
community development, and infrastructure
planning data in a publicly accessible library. The
land use data will help current and future citizens,
agency managers and elected officials make more
informed (and hopefully more collaborative)
decisions about the future of Oregon’s natural
resources and communities.
William D. Ruckelshaus Center • RuckelshausCenter@wsu.edu
PO Box 646248 • Pullman, WA 99164-6248 • (509)335-2937 • 901 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2900 • Seattle, WA 98164-2040 • (206)428-3021
Selected Project Experience, continued
Interagency Technology, Science and Policy Partnerships, 2012 to 2015:
Under Darren’s leadership, the Gorge Commission and several partner organizations advanced the collaborative
effectiveness of NW state and federal agencies through strategic partnerships with interdisciplinary monitoring, data
management, science, and policy organizations. Darren convened colleagues at Washington State University’s School of
the Environment, Portland State University’s School of the Environment, Oregon State University’s College of Forestry,
the United States Geological Survey, United States Department of Energy, the United States Forest Service and others
to jointly develop a shared information system concept. The resulting “decision support framework” is intended to
collect monitoring data and apply scientific analyses from multiple agencies, and then feed that shared information
into a collaborative planning and policy decision-making framework for the bi-state Columbia River Gorge National
Scenic Area. The decision support framework may serve as a model for other agencies and regions interested in working
together on collaborative public policy. Ultimately, the framework may serve as a model to inform the next generation of
national environmental policy, incorporating consistent information and science into local, state and regional decisions
as well as federal agency decisions.
Administrative Assessment, 2014:
Worked with the Evans School of Public Affairs (University of Washington) and the Hatfield School of Government –
Center for Public Service (Portland State University) to conduct a first-ever agency assessment of the Columbia River
Gorge Commission. The assessment identified administrative opportunities and constraints, unique legal tools, and
national comparisons to provide a series of recommendations for the future stability of the agency and the Columbia
River Gorge National Scenic Area.
William D. Ruckelshaus Center
121 Hulbert Hall
PO Box 646248
Pullman, WA 99164-6248
901 Fifth Avenue
Suite 2900
Seattle, WA 98164-2040
(509) 335-2937 (206) 428-3021
RuckelshausCenter@wsu.edu
4/28/15