NYSERDA’s 50 Years of Energy Innovation & Leadership

Abstract: New York State Energy Research and Development Authority President & CEO and chair of the State Energy Planning Board, Doreen Harris will reflect on NYSERDA’s 50 years of leading New York State energy planning, and the development of this year’s State Energy Plan, which provides broad policy direction guiding energy-related decision making within New York State.

Bio: Doreen M. Harris was appointed President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) on April 7, 2021, after serving as Acting President and CEO since June 2020.

President Harris is leading NYSERDA’s role to advance the policy frameworks, clean energy technologies, and solutions to help further New York’s clean energy transition while creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying clean-energy jobs and building an equitable economy.

Under President Harris’s direction, NYSERDA is supporting New York’s clean energy initiatives through advancing infrastructure and innovation, large-scale and distributed renewables, building decarbonization, advanced nuclear, energy storage, transportation electrification, clean fuels, transmission and resiliency.

President Harris joined NYSERDA in 2010 and served as Vice President of Large-Scale Renewables, where she spearheaded the strategic development of New York’s land based renewable and offshore wind resource, including the execution of the State’s offshore wind master plan. Prior to her career in public service, President Harris spent more than a decade in the private sector, serving in management and engineering roles.

President Harris serves as chair of the State Energy Planning Board, and on the boards of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC), Alliance to Save Energy, National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium, and NY BEST; and is a member of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Leadership Council and an ambassador for the Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) Initiative.

President Harris holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rochester and a Master of Business Administration from the University at Albany, State University of New York.

Registration is required, as seating is limited.

Hosted by the Cornell Climate Impact Speaker Series and the Energy Engineering Seminar Series. Sponsored by the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, The 2030 Project: A Cornell Climate Initiative, Cornell CALS, Cornell Energy Transition Initiative, and the R.F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.