Prior to that, he was the Government Affairs Director at Snohomish County Public Utility District for 11 years, where he covered local, state and federal government relations. He joined the PUD in 1984, first serving as the Senior Manager for Energy Conservation for eight years and then the Senior Manager for Communications and Marketing for three years, before becoming Government Affairs Director in 1995.
Al holds a BA degree in Communications from the Murrow School of Communications at Washington State University, and an MBA degree from Portland University.