Bill Schenken
Analyst


Bill joined the Northern Economics, Inc. Bellingham office in January of 2006. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Sustainable Business from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied and Computational Mathematical Sciences with a concentration in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington. Bill’s skills and experience can generally be divided into sustainability, analysis and information technology.

Bill’s sustainability experience includes student representation for President McCormick’s Sustainability Task Force at the University of Washington, which brought together staff from key departments across all three campuses to develop a sustainability plan for the school, and he modeled the thermal energy storage of a solar greenhouse. At BGI he worked with Port Madison Enterprises, a subsidiary of the Suquamish Tribe, to analyze the effectiveness of their organizational structure; he studied Mark Aneilski’s Genuine Wealth Model, a community-outreach-based approach to economic development, and he studied ShoreBank Pacific’s Triple Bottom Line indicators for their loans in the Strategic Management and Local Living Economies courses resulting in a proposal to incorporate principles of the Genuine Wealth Model.

Bill refined his business analytic skills at BGI through working on financial pro-forma’s using Crystal Ball, writing business plans for business cards made from biodegradable plastic and a sustainable business practices consulting firm, and developing an operations management plan for an organic dairy products producer. At Coastal Geologic Services, Bill learned the basics of Geographic Information Systems and worked with scientists to more efficiently analyze large volumes of spatial data. While working for Northern Economics, Bill has applied his analytical skills to a flood plain buy-out feasibility study for Skagit County. He conducted primary research for a project analyzing the socioeconomic and demographic assumptions behind the Puget Sound Regional Council’s transportation model. He developed a database for processing public comments collected for a proposed natural gas pipeline. He contributed to business plans for the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority and an RV park near Denali National Park. He conducted a statistical analysis to optimize the sampling needed for an energy utility.

Information technology is the common thread throughout Bill’s career. From his first job to company management tasks at Northern Economics, Inc., Bill has successfully implemented technology solutions that help his teams get work done more efficiently and effectively. At BGI, he worked in virtual teams that relied heavily upon technology to enable them to collaborate with team members in different states, time zones and countries. He brings these skills to all his project teams, enabling them to accomplish more than they thought possible given the geographic, budgetary and time constraints.

Bill's answers and reflections on some of life’s more important questions:

Claim to fame: My own parents cannot remember the title of my Bachelor’s degree. My degree is in Applied and Computational Mathematical Sciences with a concentration in Mechanical Engineering. It is deserving of the complicated name, too. I took classes from the Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Physics and Mechanical Engineering departments in addition to the normal batch of liberal arts coursework.

Curious about: The critical leverage points for a transition to a sustainable, life-affirming economy.

Why Bellingham: I could not decide if I liked Seattle, WA or Vancouver, BC better, so I settled for the middle. Just kidding. Living in Bellingham feels like living in a giant resort; the North Cascades one way, the Puget Sound to the other. What more could a person desire?

Idea of fun: Have people over for dinner. Get into a wild conversation about politics, sustainability, philosophy, etc. Wait for a straight forward question to arise and get everyone’s best guess. Then let Google - increasingly the Wikipedia - settle the issue.

Memorabilia: I have a big bag of ticket stubs to remind me of all the concerts and shows that I have been to.

Brain Candy: Besides beer, I would have to say documentaries. A personal favorite is Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy – even though I do not agree with everything that is said in the film.

Favorite fish story: In hopes of being able to catch a fish that was worth eating, my father and I traveled to the famed salmon filled rivers of Alaska during the height of the Chinook run. The guide told us that two days before, the day we arrived in Alaska, the fish stopped biting. He was not sure why, but they were not catching any. He assured us he would find the fish and said he would take us to his extra special, super reserve spot where there are always fish. Let’s just say that I really enjoyed seeing the scenery from the boat that day.

Pastimes: Snowboarding, Climbing, Music, Philosophy, Computers

Click here for Bill's full resume.