For the Reporter

A wave of 38 women mayors – including Kent’s Dana Ralph and Auburn’s Nancy Backus – was elected in the state of Washington last year, and conference organizers have gathered a panel of them to speak in the opening plenary at the ninth annual GoGreen Conference on April 4 at the Conference Center in downtown Seattle.

The Washington Women’s Mayoral Forum will highlight the plans and initiatives for advancing sustainability in four regional cities.

Attendees will hear from Ralph, Backus, Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards and Issaquah Mayor Mary Lou Pauly, who will outline their sustainability goals and initiatives for their cities and discuss the importance of female voices in today’s political climate.

The program will also feature a keynote address from Gov. Jay Inslee on issues of clean energy and the environment.

Inslee co-wrote the book “Apollo’s Fire: Igniting America’s Clean-Energy Economy” about the job-creating potential of the clean tech industry. The governor will discuss his priority of growing Washington’s innovative industries such as clean energy, IT and life sciences in a sustainable way.

The GoGreen Conference will explore the theme of The Climate Commitment Leadership Imperative: Businesses and States Rise to Fill Federal Gaps. The program will showcase businesses and local leadership taking the lead on climate action.

For the full program lineup, featured speakers and to register for the conference, please visit seattle.gogreenconference.net/program.