“Motivational speaking is definitely one of your gifts. Your expertise in combining passion, with ethics and sharks — a definite thought provoker for the students.”
Prof. Lois ChapinWarner Pacific College
Crystal Ball - Senior Advisor
Crystal Ball is a senior advisor to SML Consulting and provides legislative, communication and marketing support in the areas of energy and technology.
She has 15 years of public policy and communication experience in the electric utility industry. Over her long career with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), she gained a thorough understanding of the Pacific Northwest high-voltage transmission network and the Federal Columbia River Power System. This included working for BPA in its Washington, D.C. office at the height of the West Coast electricity crisis. Crystal also participated in Energy Secretary Bill Richardson's energy emergency team and worked with DOE officials charged with tracking the problems and remedying the crisis.
In Washington, D.C., Crystal also built relationships with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and tracked FERC's actions on Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and Standard Market Design (SMD). In 2003, Crystal received the Administrator's Excellence Award for Exceptional Service. She was recognized for her relationships with the DOE, congressional staff and FERC staff, that helped provide BPA with information and insight into many of the current, important national energy issues. It was noted that she was committed and diligent in her efforts to build political support for BPA and its strategic direction.
Crystal joined BPA as a full-time public affairs specialist out of college and served as a BPA spokesperson. As such, she was responsible for answering questions about BPA from regional, national and trade reporters. In September 1999, Crystal took the lead for staging a national media event that would allow the U.S. Secretary of Energy to participate in a drill that would test the nation's electric utility industry's Y2K readiness. The Y2K ready story made the morning news programs and appeared on the front pages of newspapers nationally.
Crystal is an Idaho State native and graduated with honors from the University of Portland before moving to Washington, D.C. She now resides in Portland, Ore.