Our Experts

Andrew Wetzler

Senior Vice President, Nature Program

In his over twenty years at NRDC, Andrew Wetzler has been deeply involved in congressional and administrative efforts to defend and strengthen the U.S. Endangered Species Act and has fought to preserve a wide variety of species, including the gray…

Sam Whillans

NRDC-Yale Legal Fellow, People & Communities Program

Sam Whillans works on a range of issues at the intersection of climate and housing justice, including energy efficiency, utility affordability, and climate resilience. Before joining NRDC, Whillans worked with Earthjustice, the Clean Air Council, and as a developer of…

Matt Williams

Senior Advocate, Forest Protection, Nature Program

Matt Williams focuses on protecting forests and the climate from the harmful impacts of bioenergy by advocating for reduced reliance on burning biomass in the power sectors of the UK and EU—two of the world's largest bioenergy consumers—as well as…

Samantha Williams

Director, Midwest Region, Climate & Clean Energy Program

Samantha Williams manages regional strategy for a team of state advocates working at the regulatory, utility, and state legislative levels to further policies that cut pollution emissions and accelerate the Midwest’s transition toward an affordable, just, clean energy economy. Previously…

Samantha Wilt

Senior Policy Analyst, Climate & Clean Energy Program

Samantha Wilt has worked on a wide range of institutional and environmental assignments, specializing in those geared toward tackling climate change through improved transportation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable cities. Currently, she is focused on issues relating to regional…

Jackie Wong

Director, Industry, Hydrogen, and Innovation Group, Climate & Clean Energy Program

Jackie Wong leads NRDC's Industry, Hydrogen, and Innovation (IHI) Group, which focuses on the decarbonization of the industrial sector, the responsible deployment of green hydrogen in targeted applications, and the development and deployment of emerging technologies. Prior to joining NRDC…

Stacy Woods

Senior Data Scientist, Science Office

Stacy Woods specializes in the application of data science—from defining the problem domain to data collection, management, analysis, interpretation, and communication—in environmental litigation. She has served as an expert witness and science advisor on numerous state and federal cases with…

Michelle Wu

Attorney

Michelle Wu has worked on cases to safeguard clean water, advance energy efficiency, and protect communities from pollution. Prior to joining NRDC, she clerked for Judge Denny Chin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge…

Mende Yangden

Transportation Policy Analyst, People & Communities Program

As part of the National Policy team, Mende Yangden conducts technical and policy analyses, evaluates legislative and regulatory actions, and advocates for policies that address the intersection of transportation, equity, justice, environment, health, and the built environment. She is based…

Sami Yassa

Senior Scientist, Climate & Clean Energy Program

Sami Yassa currently leads NRDC’s domestic initiatives in the Forests Aren’t Fuels campaign, where he focuses on biomass policies and forest carbon accounting. In addition, he works on initiatives to secure and implement corporate environmental policies governing green building, sustainable…

Mona Yew

Deputy Director, China Program

Mona Yew leads NRDC’s efforts in implementing innovative pilots to scale up flexible demand side resources, connect electric vehicles to a clean power grid, deepen energy efficiency, and promote stakeholder collaboration to support the rapid transition to a decarbonized power…

Yiliqi

Scientist and Project Manager, People & Communities Program

Yiliqi focuses on reducing the use of toxic chemicals in consumer goods and manufacturing. She works to ensure that corporations take responsibility for the environmental impact of their products' whole life cycle, with a particular focus on international production and…

Jieqing Zhang

Country Director, China Program

Jieqing Zhang brings over 20 years of professional experience in environmental policy and governance at the national, regional, and global levels. Before joining NRDC in 2021, she served as deputy director-general of the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of…

Tom Zimpleman

Senior Attorney

Tom Zimpleman's work has focused on protecting communities from pollution, expanding the availability of clean energy, and defending the integrity of the scientific information used by federal agencies. He has served as counsel for NRDC on cases arising under the…