National Leaders in Sustainable, Equitable Energy to Help Launch UMass Amherst’s Energy Transition Institute on Feb. 28

National Leaders in Sustainable, Equitable Energy to Help Launch UMass Amherst’s Energy Transition Institute on Feb. 28

Guest speakers include U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and Bezos Earth Fund’s Danielle Deane-Ryan

The University of Massachusetts Amherst Energy Transition Institute (ETI) will mark its official launch with a virtual, open-to-the-public celebration on Monday, Feb. 28, at 4 p.m. Participants will include two national leaders in sustainable, equitable energy — U.S. Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Danielle Deane-Ryan, director of equitable climate solutions for the Bezos Earth Fund.

ETI brings together energy technology research and social justice to advance new investments in green technology and infrastructure in the U.S. benefit all members of society through its ELEVATE graduate training program and other activities.

The public is invited to attend; a Zoom link will be sent to registrants in advance.

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“The U.S. is facing overlapping crises of climate change, global pandemic and systemic inequality,” says Anna Goldstein, executive director of ETI. “As we move toward a low-carbon energy system, we need to be intentional about righting the injustices in our current energy system, while also supporting job creation and economic recovery.”

UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy will make opening remarks at “Energy Transition Institute – Envisioning a Clean and Equitable Energy Future.” Also speaking is Markey, who has long been a Congressional champion in both the House and the Senate for unleashing a clean energy revolution.

Deane-Ryan is one of the national leaders who will participate in a panel discussion about shared commitment to ETI's mission of a sustainable and equitable transition to a decarbonized energy system based on interdisciplinary research. Deane-Ryan served in the Obama Administration as senior advisor for external affairs and acting director for stakeholder engagement at the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. She directed the inclusive clean economy efforts of the Nathan Cummings Foundation and she also served as a member of the National Academies Committee on Accelerating Decarbonization in the United States.

Moderating the discussion will be Amilcar Shabazz, professor in the university’s W. E. B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies.

Other panelists will include Erin Baker, professor of industrial engineering and faculty director of ETI; UMass Amherst alumnus Elvis Mendez ’09, executive director of the community activist organization Neighbor to Neighbor; and Cielo Sharkus ’21 MS, UMass Amherst Ph.D. candidate in environmental and water resource engineering.

“Energy Transition Institute – Envisioning a Clean and Equitable Energy Future” is co-sponsored by the UMass Amherst School of Public Policy, the Wind Energy Center, the Institute for Social Science Research, and the departments of anthropology, civil and environmental engineering and economics.