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NW Natural Holdings General Counsel Announces Retirement

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NW Natural Holdings General Counsel Announces Retirement
Business

Business

NW Natural Holdings General Counsel Announces Retirement

2025-12-15 19:00 Last Updated At:12-16 15:32

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 15, 2025--

MardiLyn Saathoff, General Counsel for NW Natural Holding Company (NYSE: NWN) (NW Natural Holdings), announced her intent to retire on April 1, 2026, after nearly 18 years of outstanding service to the company. The Board of Directors has appointed Megan H. Berge to succeed Saathoff as SVP and General Counsel, as well as Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary, effective January 1, 2026.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251215092233/en/

Saathoff will serve as Chief Legal Officer for the company and will retain responsibilities for regulation, business continuity and corporate security until her retirement next year.

“MardiLyn has been a steadfast and trusted leader of the NW Natural companies for nearly two decades,” said Justin B. Palfreyman, President and Chief Executive Officer of NW Natural Holdings. “She has had a tremendous impact on our organization and played a critical role guiding the business through its evolution from a natural gas utility in the Pacific Northwest to what is now a diversified company with four distinct businesses operating across seven states.”

Saathoff joined the company in 2008 and served as Chief Governance Officer and Corporate Secretary. During her tenure, she was appointed to roles that also oversaw other legal, risk, compliance, and regulatory matters. She has served as General Counsel since 2015.

Prior to her role at NW Natural, Saathoff’s career included leadership roles with several other leading institutions in the region, including legal roles at Tektronix, Danaher Corporation and Stoel Rives. Saathoff also spent four years with the Oregon Department of Justice and the administration of Oregon Governor Kulongoski.

Saathoff previously served as Chair of the Oregon Lottery Commission and is a past Director of the Boards of the Northwest Gas Association, Oregon Health & Science University, the Portland Center Stage, United Way of Columbia-Willamette, Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, the Artists Repertory Theater, and the Classroom Law Project. She is also a past member of the Portland State University Business Advisory Council and previously served on the Oregon Public Officials Compensation Commission.

“We are fortunate to have benefited from MardiLyn’s counsel and breadth of legal, business and regulatory expertise for so many years, and we are now equally fortunate to welcome Megan into her new role,” said Palfreyman. “Megan is highly respected in the industry and a valued strategic partner among the leaders at our company. Megan’s addition to our team reflects our legacy of thoughtful succession planning that I believe sets us apart and positions us well across our growing businesses.”

Berge joined NW Natural Holdings in March 2025 as Deputy General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, as well as General Counsel of NW Natural, after a distinguished career with the international law firm Baker Botts, where she was a partner. Her practice included extensive rulemaking and advocacy work related to federal and state environmental law and civil litigation.

Berge has been nationally recognized by Chambers and Partners for climate law, as one of 500 Leading U.S. Environmental & Energy Lawyers by Lawdragon, and a Washington D.C. Super Lawyer-Rising Star by Thomson Reuters. She earned her law degree from the Francis King Carey School of Law at the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Delaware.

About NW Natural Holdings

Northwest Natural Holding Company (NYSE: NWN) (NW Natural Holdings) is headquartered in Portland, Oregon and has been doing business for over 166 years. It owns Northwest Natural Gas Company (NW Natural), SiEnergy Operating (SiEnergy Gas Utility), NW Natural Water Company (NWN Water Utility), NW Natural Renewables Holdings (NWN Renewables), and other business interests.

NW Natural Holdings through its subsidiaries provides critical energy and delivers essential water and wastewater services to over one million meters across seven states. We have a longstanding commitment to safety, environmental stewardship, and taking care of our employees and communities. NW Natural Holdings was recognized by Ethisphere® for four years running as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies®. NW Natural consistently leads the industry with high J.D. Power & Associates customer satisfaction scores.

NWN Gas Utility is a local distribution company that currently provides natural gas service to approximately 2 million people in more than 140 communities through approximately 807,000 meters in Oregon and Southwest Washington with one of the most modern pipeline systems in the nation. NW Natural owns and operates 21.6 Bcf of underground gas storage capacity in Oregon.

SiEnergy Gas Utility is one of the fastest growing natural gas distribution utilities in the nation, serving over 83,000 meters in the greater metropolitan areas of Houston, Dallas, and Austin, Texas.

NWN Water Utility provides water distribution and wastewater services to communities throughout the Pacific Northwest, Texas, Arizona, and California. Today NW Natural Water serves an estimated 195,000 people through approximately 78,600 meters and provides operation and maintenance services to an additional 40,000 connections. Learn more about our water business at nwnaturalwater.com.

NWN Renewables is committed to leading in the energy transition by providing renewable fuels. Learn more at nwnaturalrenewables.com.

Additional information is available at nwnaturalholdings.com.

“World’s Most Ethical Companies” and “Ethisphere” names and marks are registered trademarks of Ethisphere LLC

MardiLyn Saathoff, NW Natural Holdings

MardiLyn Saathoff, NW Natural Holdings

NEW YORK (AP) — Kelsey Plum scored 31 points to lead short-handed Phantom BC to the Unrivaled championship game as the top seed beat Vinyl 83-75 in the semifinals of the 3-on-3 league at Barclays Center on Monday night.

Phantom will face Breanna Stewart and second-seeded Mist after it rallied to beat No. 5 Breeze 73-69 in the second semifinal on a 3-pointer by Arike Ogunbowale from the corner.

The championship game will be Wednesday night at Unrivaled's home arena in Miami. The winning team will take home a prize pool of $600,000 that will be split among the players from the championship club.

Phantom was missing star forward Aliyah Boston, who is out for the playoffs with a right leg injury.

After the success of taking the league to Philadelphia in late January for a weekend that drew over 21,490 fans, Unrivaled decided to move the semifinals to New York a few weeks ago. Playing at Barclays Center was a homecoming for Stewart, the Unrivaled co-founder who led the New York Liberty to its first WNBA championship in 2024.

The star-studded sellout crowd of 18,261 included basketball greats Carmelo Anthony and Sue Bird; actors Ashton Kutcher and Jason Sudeikis, and gold medal-winning U.S. hockey player Hilary Knight.

The crowd gave a loud ovation to Liberty guard Natasha Cloud, who walked down to the court through the fans as she was introduced before the first game.

She gave them a lot to cheer about as she rallied Phantom in the third quarter from a 59-50 deficit. Cloud drew an offensive foul on one end and then had a three-point play on the other. Her team was up 71-64 heading into the final quarter, which means it needed 11 points to win under the league's format.

Vinyl got within 78-75 before Phantom scored the final five points, including the game-winner by Plum on a fadeaway 3-pointer.

Vinyl was looking to get back to the championship game. The team lost to Rose BC for last year's title. Dearica Hamby led the way for Vinyl with 30 points.

Hamby's Los Angeles Sparks teammate Rickea Jackson got Breeze going early in the second game, scoring 13 points in the opening quarter as the team went up 26-10. Mist rallied to within 44-38 at the half as Stewart hit a floater in the lane just before the halftime buzzer.

Breeze extended its advantage to 62-55 after three quarters before Stewart rallied Mist. Trailing 67-60 in the fourth quarter — with 73 points needed to win — Stewart scored seven straight, including a three-point play to tie the game.

Alanna Smith then hit a 3-pointer to give Mist its first lead of the game, 70-67. After a layup by Cameron Brink brought Breeze within one, Ogunbowale — who was celebrating her 29th birthday — ended the game when she hit a tough 3-pointer from the corner.

Paige Bueckers had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Breeze.

Chelsea Gray of Rose BC won the league's MVP award on Monday. The guard, who won Unrivaled's 1-on-1 tournament last month, averaged 24.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists. Gray broke her own league single-season assists record with 85 in 14 games. She had nine games with 20 or more points and 10 contests with five or more assists. She also tied the league single-game 3-pointers record with 10 on Feb. 22.

Gray accepted the trophy before the start of the first game.

“I want to say thank you to everyone who voted. I love this game. Want to be great every night and that's always my goal,” Gray said. “Women's basketball is where it's at, shows by all you guys coming out and watching us compete every single night.”

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Breeze BC guard Paige Bueckers (5) celebrates after scoring during the first half of a semifinal an Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game against Mist BC, Monday, March 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Breeze BC guard Paige Bueckers (5) celebrates after scoring during the first half of a semifinal an Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game against Mist BC, Monday, March 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Phantom BC guard Kelsey Plum (10) shoots over Vinyl BC guard Erica Wheeler (17) during the second half of a semifinal in their Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game, Monday, March 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Phantom BC guard Kelsey Plum (10) shoots over Vinyl BC guard Erica Wheeler (17) during the second half of a semifinal in their Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game, Monday, March 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Vinyl BC guard Erica Wheeler (17) drives past Phantom BC guard Kelsey Plum (10) during the first half of a semifinal in their Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game, Monday, March 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Vinyl BC guard Erica Wheeler (17) drives past Phantom BC guard Kelsey Plum (10) during the first half of a semifinal in their Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game, Monday, March 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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