Amherst, MA — December 11, 2025
UMass Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (CAFE) is pleased to announce the appointment of Kira T. Lawrence as the new Director of the UMass Clean Energy Extension (CEE). Lawrence will assume leadership of the program in January 2026, bringing extensive experience in clean energy policy, climate science, and sustainability leadership.
The Clean Energy Extension serves as a vital resource for advancing renewable energy adoption, energy efficiency, and workforce development across Massachusetts. Under Lawrence’s leadership, CEE will continue to strengthen partnerships with municipalities, businesses, and communities to accelerate the transition to a clean energy future.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kira to UMass Amherst,” said UMass College of Natural Sciences Dean Michael Fox “Her expertise and vision will help drive impactful solutions that support the Commonwealth’s climate goals and empower local communities.”
CAFE Director Lynne McLandsborough also expressed her gratitude to Dwayne Breger, the retiring founding director of Clean Energy Extension, for his visionary leadership and dedication. “Under Dwayne’s guidance, CEE established itself as a trusted resource for municipalities, businesses, and communities across Massachusetts. His efforts advanced renewable energy adoption, expanded energy efficiency programs, and fostered workforce development initiatives that will have a lasting impact on the Commonwealth’s clean energy transition,” McLandsborough said.
"I am very excited to be given the opportunity to lead the UMass Clean Energy Extension Program,” Dr. Lawrence said. I look forward to working with my new colleagues and partners across the Commonwealth to build on the amazing foundation Dwayne and the CEE team have already laid to accelerate the clean energy economy in Massachusetts."
Lawrence joins UMass Amherst after five years at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU), where she served in the Division of Clean Energy as Senior Scientist, Acting Deputy Director of Offshore Wind, and most recently as Senior Policy Advisor to the President of the BPU. During her tenure, she co-developed the New Jersey Research and Monitoring Initiative, led teams that designed offshore wind generation and transmission solicitations, managed awarded projects, oversaw the BPU’s Office of Federal and Regional Policy, and advanced policies supporting clean energy transition in New Jersey.
Prior to her work at BPU, Lawrence was the John H. Markle Professor of Geology at Lafayette College, where she chaired the Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, co-chaired the Environmental Science and Studies Programs, and served as faculty lead on Lafayette’s second Climate Action Plan. She holds degrees in Earth Sciences from Dartmouth College, University of California Santa Cruz, and Brown University, where she earned her PhD.
For more information about the UMass Clean Energy Extension, visit: https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/clean-energy