Season 2, Episode 2: Professor Joel Eisen, University of Richmond

Diana Hernandez, PhD is a tenured Associate Professor of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Hernandez conducts research at the intersection of energy, equity, housing and health. A sociologist by training, her work focuses on the social and environmental determinants of health and examines the impacts of policy and place-based interventions on the health and well-being of socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. An innovator in the field, Dr. Hernandez has operationalized and conducted foundational research on the concept of 'energy insecurity' which reflects the inability to adequately meet household energy needs. Her pathbreaking work on energy insecurity has explored the multiple dimensions of this phenomenon identifying sociodemographic disparities, adverse consequences and promising interventions toward energy justice.

In this episode, Dr. Mansoor and Mosby have an in-depth conversation about EPRI’s history, work, and mission on advancing our generation, deployment and use of electricity in the United States and around the globe.  Arshad talks in-depth about wind, solar, and hydrogen and how EPRI is thinking about distribution and storage.  Arshad discusses next generation nuclear power plants, how that technology will continue to evolve, and how we can harness AI and new technologies to produce safer and cheaper nuclear-produced electricity, steam, and hydrogen.  Dr. Mansoor explains his focus on climate change and how it is personal for him, coming from a densely populated country that is largely at sea level.

David O. Dardis, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Constellation Energy Corporation, former legal advisor to Chairman Joseph Kelliher of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and attorney at Hunton & Williams LLP and Balch & Bingham LLP.

In this episode, David talks to Mosby about his new role at the recently spun-out Constellation Energy.  He discusses leadership, what he has learned from trial and error, and how he is approaching the challenges ahead.  Mosby asks David about his base-stealing record at Pomona College where he played varsity baseball and they reminisce about the mighty FERC kickball team.  David shares his views on the future of clean energy, the imperatives created by global warming, and how Constellation seeks to navigate those waters.

Meredith Jolivert, Vice President and General Counsel at Politico, In-House Counsel with Perpetual Capital and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, Attorney with Verner Liipfert, Sullivan & Worcester, and Dentons.

In this episode, Meredith talks about life as General Counsel at Politico and some of the issues that she has helped the company navigate from advising reporters during the storming of the Capitol in January 2021 to the current crisis of Russian attack of civilians in the Ukraine.  She discusses with Mosby her life in private practice at large law firms working on cutting edge issues.  Meredith shares insights about some of the work she did in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.  She gives Mosby very-much-solicited advice on raising his newly minted teenage daughter and showing up for the family.  They discuss some of Meredith’s favorite books, a new meditation practice for managing life, attorney wellbeing, and the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Dr. Tony Reames is a Senior Advisor for the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity with the Department of Energy.  He is on leave from the University of Michigan where he is a professor of Environment and Sustainability and where he established the Urban Energy Justice Lab to conduct research and develop solutions on racial, income, and geographic disparities in energy access, affordability, decision making, and participation.  Reames served in Iraq as a commissioned officer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  He has worked in the public and private sectors as a licensed professional engineer.  He earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, a Master of Engineering Management from Kansas State University, and a Ph.D. in Public Administration from the University of Kansas.

In this episode, Mosby asks Tony about his roots in South Carolina and how that shaped the way he thinks about energy and the environment.  A champion of energy and environmental justice, Tony discusses some of his ground-breaking research on disparities in the cost of energy, the efficiency of living space, and the effectiveness of programs aimed at reducing energy poverty.  He reflects on his service in Iraq as a commissioned officer with the Corps of Engineers and the ability of professional norms to connect cultures.  Tony shares his perspective on the Infrastructure Bill which provides DOE and other government agencies with billions of dollars.  Tony and Mosby discuss the Justice40 Initiative, its goal of delivering 40 percent of the overall benefits of relevant federal investments to disadvantaged communities, and what that might look like for projects and timelines.  They also dig in to what he has learned over his dynamic career in the private sector, government service, and academia.

Max Minzner is General Counsel at Arcadia Power. He previously served as General Counsel of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and was a partner at Jenner & Block. Minzner also spent over a decade teaching law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University and the University of New Mexico School of Law, where he also served as Associate Dean.

In this episode, Max describes his experience in New York as a prosecutor and what he learned trying criminal cases in the nation’s largest metropolis.  Max explains some of the research and writing he did during his as a law professor and how real-world experience and math informed his theories.  Mosby asks Max about his time as General Counsel for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, what it was like leading the legal team at a relatively young age, and key cases that were appealed during his tenure.  Max talks about the start-up he now works for and what it is like to be part of a growing company working on climatetech.  He reveals what he now looks for in his outside attorneys, how his team has coped with remote work, his company’s focus on technology and management as leverage.

Donna Attanasio is the Senior Advisor for Energy Law Programs at George Washington University Law School. She was previously a partner at White & Case LLP, in its Energy, Infrastructure, Project and Asset Finance practice, serving as chair of its renewable energy task force and co-chair of the DC Office’s Women’s Initiative. Prior to that, Donna was with the firms of Dewey Ballantine LLP and Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan. Before attending law school, she supervised load management programs and worked on conservation and customer service projects at Potomac Electric Power Company.

In this conversation, Mosby and Donna discuss transmission, microgrids, free markets and regulations.  Donna explains the challenge of having a transmission system designed for reliability and low costs evolving into a system that must also support a new generation mixed aimed at lowering emissions.  We talk about energy as a holistic problem cutting across disciplines and we define and discuss energy equity—who gets to decide who decides?  Donna walks through some of the great work her program at George Washington Law School is doing with communities and energy. We talk about the book Cadillac Desert and gifts from your kids, and Donna shares insights from her many decades of practicing law at high powered firms in DC. 

Juliana Garaizar is the Head of Houston Incubator and VP of Innovation for Greentown Labs. A Board Member of the Angel Capital Association, Juliana is a Lead Investor of the Portfolia Rising America Fund that invests in BIPOC and LGTBQ founders, as well as the Portfolia Consumer and Rising Tide Funds. She is also an Advisory Board Member of the University of Houston Cougar Venture Fund, the Houston Diversity Fund, the Investors of Color network and Impulse4women. Juliana is a Kauffman Fellow, and received MBAs from the London Business School and Haas School of Business in Berkeley, specializing in Entrepreneurship.

In this conversation, Mosby and Juliana do a deep dive into entrepreneurship, climate tech, the energy transition, and Houston’s place at the intersection of these threads. Juliana talks about being from the Basque Region in Spain, her father’s adventures travelling around the world, her early studies in France, and how those experiences have informed her life.  Juliana discusses her time in Singapore working first as an International Trade Consultant for the Trade Commission of Spain and then for Citigroup where she started thinking about going to business school.  Mosby asks Juliana about her mission in Houston, what Greentown Labs—an incubator for climatetech start-up companies—offers the city, and what the city offers the world.  They discuss why entrepreneurs might be the most important key in navigating climate change.

In this episode of The Energy Exchange, Mosby and Joel talk about his new book as well as several important articles that Eisen authored over the years.  They do a deep dive on start-up culture for energy, the differences between environmental justice and energy justice, and how progress on reducing energy insecurity will shape the next 25 years.  Joel shares his insights on how to become a law professor, what writing laws on Capitol Hill can teach you about statutory interpretation, and the benefits of hacking on a Les Paul Studio electric guitar during a global pandemic.  

In this episode, Regina talks about leadership, diversity, courage, and moving from big firm work to a small boutique private practice in the midst of a global pandemic. She provides insight on how to navigate private practice, and what young attorneys should look for in a law firm. Regina discusses race, why it can be difficult to talk about race, and why it is important to have those discussions. The conversation also revolves around Energy, and what large firm work taught Regina about the law and about herself.