Our Experts

Rabi Abonour

Transportation Strategist, Resilient Communities, People & Communities Program

As an active transportation advocate, Rabi Abonour believes that promoting walking, bicycling, and public transit is vital for creating cities that are healthy, equitable, and sustainable. Prior to joining NRDC, Abonour worked on the bike share and open streets programs…

Zak Accuardi

Senior Advocate, Transportation, People & Communities Program

Zak Accuardi works across the U.S. to advance equitable, low-carbon transportation policies and projects. Previously, he consulted on transportation policy and climate change mitigation with organizations including the World Bank and Project Drawdown. He also worked as a senior program…

Sylvie Ashford

Schneider Sustainable Energy Fellow, Western Region, Climate & Clean Energy Program

Sylvie Ashford works on building decarbonization, electricity planning, and other clean energy issues in California. Prior to joining NRDC, she worked as a research assistant at policy think tanks in the Bay Area and Washington, D.C., and completed her capstone…

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…

Max Baumhefner

Senior Attorney, Climate & Clean Energy Program

Max Baumhefner works to make our nation’s cars, trucks, and buses zero emission vehicles. He focuses on electrifying the transportation sector in a manner that also accelerates the transition to a smarter, more affordable electric grid powered by renewable resources…

Jordan Brinn

Clean Vehicles and Infrastructure Advocate, Climate & Clean Energy Program

Jordan Brinn focuses on transportation policy and analysis. She advocates for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle transportation electrification regulations that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollution burdens, as well as policies that support a robust electric vehicle charging infrastructure network…

Britt Carmon

Senior Advocate, Federal Clean Vehicles and Fuels, Climate & Clean Energy Program

Britt Carmon focuses on reducing the environmental impact of the transportation sector by encouraging the government to adopt policies that advance clean fuels and the development of energy-efficient vehicles. Prior to joining NRDC, she worked for the White House, aiding…

Ralph Cavanagh

Energy Co-Director, Climate & Clean Energy Program

Since joining NRDC in 1979, Ralph Cavanagh has focused on removing barriers to cost-effective energy efficiency and on the role that electric and natural gas utilities can play in leading a clean energy transition. From 1993 to 2003, he served…

Julia de Lamare

Western Equitable Building Decarbonization Advocate, Climate & Clean Energy Program

Julia de Lamare champions policies that advance the equitable decarbonization of buildings, including building codes, utility regulation, performance standards, and air quality regulations with an emphasis on equity needs and affordability. Prior to joining NRDC, de Lamare was a senior…

Amanda Eaken

Director, Transportation, People & Communities Program

Amanda Eaken is responsible for managing and overseeing a team driving ambitious climate action in 25 U.S. cities to create transportation choices like walking, biking, and public transit, and to accelerate vehicle electrification. In 2020, her team helped to advance…

Jacqueline Ennis

Policy Analyst, Science Office

Jacqueline Ennis leads NRDC's net zero modeling work, using data to analyze decarbonization policies at the federal and state levels. She works on policy efforts related to clean electricity, transportation electrification, and NRDC's advocacy in the Eastern states. 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…

Meleah Geertsma

Director, Environmental Justice Policy; Environment, Equity & Justice Center

Meleah Geertsma works with communities of color and low-income communities to address environmental injustices, combining her background in public health with legal advocacy to support frontline partners. Her focus includes addressing the impacts of concentrated industrial sources and freight on…

Dr. David B. Goldstein

Energy Co-Director, Climate & Clean Energy Program

David B. Goldstein has worked on energy efficiency and energy policy since the early 1970s. He currently codirects NRDC’s Energy program. Goldstein has been instrumental in the development of energy efficiency standards for new buildings and appliances that are currently…

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…

Kathy Harris

Senior Advocate, Clean Vehicles and Fuels, Climate & Clean Energy Program

Kathy Harris leads NRDC's work on clean vehicle policies and programs that accelerate the transition to zero-emission passenger cars and trucks. Prior to joining NRDC, she worked for the state of Delaware as a planner, addressing a variety of statewide…

Meghan Hassett

Midwest Campaign Manager, Center for Policy Advocacy

Meghan Hassett manages and coordinates Illinois and Midwest campaign efforts on behalf of NRDC and NRDC Action Fund, working with NRDC’s policy experts and advocates, as well as coalition partners, to build the political support needed to protect public health…

Samantha Henningson

Advocate, Clean Transportation, People & Communities Program

Samantha Henningson advocates for transportation options that are affordable, equitable, low-carbon, and maybe even joyful. Previously, in Saint Paul, MN, Henningson managed the EV Spot Network program—the nation’s first renewably-powered, municipally-owned carshare and curbside public charging network. Prior to that…

Yeh-Tang Huang

Schneider Sustainable Energy Fellow, Climate & Clean Energy Program

Yeh-Tang “Ricky” Huang focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, as well as promoting building efficiency in the Northeast. Prior to joining NRDC in 2022, he was an intern at Fervo Energy and the SDGs Advisory Council…