President Joe Biden has made action on climate change a top priority. In doing so, his administration has called upon some of Berkeley’s top experts to help advance green jobs, renewable energy, and environmental equity and justice, among other areas. Rausser College affiliates who have been nominated or appointed to join the administration include:
Photo courtesy of the Berkeley School of Public Health.
Rachel Morello-Frosch joins White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council
Established by President Biden’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, the council confronts long-standing environmental justice issues and works to ensure that historically marginalized communities and communities facing high levels of pollution are more involved in federal policies and decisions. Morello-Frosch is widely known for her research on environmental health and environmental justice. She joins 25 other experts on WHEJAC, representing a wide set of geographic regions and specializations.
Photo by Teamrat A. Ghezzehei, Courtesy of UC Merced.
Alum Asmeret Asefaw Berhe nominated to direct Office of Science in the Department of Energy
In April, President Biden nominated alum Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, PhD ’06 Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, to lead the Office of Science, the lead federal agency supporting fundamental scientific research for energy and the nation’s largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences. Berhe is a professor of soil biogeochemistry and interim associate dean for Graduate Education at University of California, Merced.
Jane Flegal: Industrial policy for Biden's climate team
In March, Jane Flegal, PhD ’08 Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, joined the White House Council on Environmental Quality as senior director for industrial emissions. Breakthroughs magazine sat down with Flegal to learn more about her background, her time in the College, and her new policy-making role: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the industrial and manufacturing sectors.
Photo: James Block for Berkeley Haas
Economist Catherine Wolfram joins U.S. treasury to focus on energy & climate policy
Catherine D. Wolfram, an affiliate faculty member in both the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and the Energy and Resources Group, was appointed deputy assistant secretary for climate and energy economics at the U.S. Treasury Department in March. Wolfram, whose primary faculty position is in the Haas School of Business, is a world-renowned expert who has published extensively on climate and energy economics and led randomized controlled trials to evaluate energy programs in the U.S., Ghana, and Kenya.
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