Our Experts

John Bailey

Senior Advocate, Federal and State Transportation, People & Communities Program

John Bailey has over two decades of experience as an advocate for sustainable and equitable communities at the national, state, and local levels. Bailey works to ensure that transportation investments and policies benefit people of all ages, abilities, and incomes…

Catherine Cox Blair

Director, SPARCC, Resilient Communities, People & Communities Program

Catherine Cox Blair provides communities with technical assistance and expertise regarding city-led innovation and the forging of private-public partnerships. Prior to joining NRDC, she worked at Reconnecting America, where she managed sustainable-development projects in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Denver, and Atlanta and…

Donna De Costanzo

Director, Eastern Region, Climate & Clean Energy Program

Donna De Costanzo advocates for the implementation of policies that increase energy efficiency and renewable energy deployment as well as promote sustainable communities and smart growth, with a primary focus on New York State and New York City. Prior to…

Hilary Firestone

Senior Policy Advisor, City Energy Project, Resilient Communities, People & Communities Program

As a senior city policy expert for the City Energy Project, a collaboration between NRDC and the Institute for Market Transformation, Hilary Firestone works to advance policies and programs that cut energy waste in large buildings and make American cities…

Ericka Flores

Advocate, Clean Energy & Equity, Climate & Clean Energy Program

Ericka Flores provides technical and advocacy expertise for local and state-level equitable building decarbonization, building energy efficiency, and energy equity policies, programs, and initiatives. She works to develop and strengthen partnerships with diverse groups to collectively build a strong, inclusive…

Stephanie Gidigbi Jenkins

Director, Policy & Partnerships, People & Communities Program

Stephanie Gidigbi Jenkins champions public policy solutions that promote economic, social, and environmental benefits for communities. She fosters strategic partnerships to advance federal campaigns, coalition efforts, social equity, and climate justice. She also coordinates NRDC's effort in advancing a federal…

Laura Goldberg

Midwest Director, Energy Equity and Affordability, People & Communities Program

Laura Goldberg oversees NRDC's Midwest strategy for energy equity and affordability. This includes increasing energy efficiency, clean energy, and equitable climate solutions in affordable housing and underserved communities across the region, especially in low-income communities and communities of color. She…

Eric A. Goldstein

Senior Attorney and Director, New York City Environment, People & Communities Program

More than three decades ago, Eric Goldstein helped create NRDC’s Urban program and spearheaded the nationwide public campaign to get lead out of gasoline. Since then, he has been one of New York’s leading environmental advocates on such issues as…

Ashok Gupta

Senior Energy Economist, Climate & Clean Energy Program

Ashok Gupta focuses on policies relating to global warming, energy efficiency, renewables, sustainable building design, smart growth, and transportation. During former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration, Gupta served as NRDC’s representative to the Mayor’s Sustainability Advisory Board and Energy…

Becky Hammer

Deputy Director, Federal Water Policy; Senior Attorney, Nature Program

Becky Hammer focuses on stormwater runoff, green infrastructure, low-impact development, water-pollution permitting issues, and climate change preparedness. Before joining NRDC in 2009, she interned at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Hammer is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law…

Darby Hoover

Senior Resource Specialist, Food Waste Initiatives, Health and Food, People & Communities Program

Darby Hoover specializes in issues related to food waste reduction, composting, anaerobic digestion, plastics, zero waste, recycling, paper industry reform, and sustainable packaging. Her primary focus at NRDC is helping to create strategies to improve the efficiency of the food…

Mark Izeman

New York Regional Senior Strategist and Senior Attorney, People & Communities Program

Mark Izeman has worked at NRDC for 25 years on a wide range of environmental and public health issues, primarily in the greater New York–Northeast region. He has focused on such issues as local food, recycling, natural gas drilling, drinking…

Madeline Keating

City Strategist, People & Communities Program

Madeline Keating is a core member of the Food Waste team, where her work is focused on implementation of city-level solutions and strategies for food waste prevention, surplus food rescue, and food scrap recycling. Keating approaches food waste work with…

Caroline Keicher

Director, City Energy Project and Policy Advisor, Buildings and Energy, People & Communities Program

Caroline Keicher directs the City Energy Project, a national initiative to create healthier and more prosperous American cities by improving the energy efficiency of buildings. She also works across cities in the American Cities Climate Challenge to advance energy efficiency…

Patrick King

Advocate, Southeast Mobility Choices, People & Communities Program

Patrick King leads NRDC's work to create and advocate for low-carbon, equitable transportation choices in the Southeast, focusing on partnerships and policy opportunities in North Carolina and Georgia. Prior to joining NRDC, King worked regionally as an electric transportation and clean energy…

Deron Lovaas

Senior Policy Advisor, EEFA, Resilient Communities, People & Communities Program

For 20 years, Deron Lovaas has closely monitored public policies pertaining to the built environment. He oversees advocacy for efforts related to energy efficiency, housing, smart growth, and transportation. He previously served as NRDC’s director of federal transportation policy, as…

Prima Madan

Senior Advocate, Cooling and Efficiency, India, International Program

Prima Madan leads the work on cooling and energy efficiency for the India program. Her work is focused on advocating for climate policies that reduce emissions from air-conditioning and refrigeration and fluorinated chemicals (HFCs, CFCs). She works on promoting building…

Alana Miller

Director, Colorado Climate Policy, Climate & Clean Energy Program

Alana Miller leads NRDC’s climate and clean energy policy in Colorado. She develops and advocates for policies to reduce emissions, advance equitable solutions, and build a clean, renewable future. Prior to this role, she helped accelerate climate action in Denver…

Rob Moore

Senior Policy Analyst, People & Communities Program

Rob Moore works on a range of issues related to the water-related impacts of our rapidly warming climate, including the rising risks of flooding and the effects of sea-level rise. Prior to joining NRDC in 2013, he spent nine years…

Yerina Mugica

Managing Director, People & Communities Program

Yerina Mugica leads multidisciplinary teams to advance strategies that support strong, just, and resilient communities—communities that bring together economic, social, and environmental solutions to help maintain health and prosperity in the face of climate disruption. Mugica’s work is centered on…