Teryn Norris is President and Founder of Americans for Energy Leadership and one of the nation’s leading young policy strategists. He has developed and advanced policy at the federal and state level, appeared on national television and radio, and published in New York Times Dot Earth, Harvard Law & Policy Review, National Journal, Forbes, San Francisco Chronicle, Baltimore Sun, Issues in Science & Technology, Yale Environment 360, Huffington Post, Grist, and other publications.
As the former Project Director and Senior Advisor at Breakthrough Institute, a public policy think tank, he helped create the Obama Campaign’s $150 billion clean energy investment plan and co-authored the National Energy Education Act proposal, which shaped the Obama administration’s RE-ENERGYSE initiative. Teryn is co-author of several reports, including the widely acclaimed “Rising Tigers, Sleeping Giant” report on global competitiveness, and his work has been featured by NYT, TIME, WhiteHouse.gov, WSJ, FT, Newsweek, CNN, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, and other outlets. He currently sits on the Board of Advisors to Focus the Nation and is the founder of Breakthrough Generation, the young leaders initiative of Breakthrough Institute, which has trained dozens of young thought leaders.
Teryn previously worked with Environment California to advance the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB-32) and served as class president at Johns Hopkins, where he led a successful campaign to achieve a university-wide climate initiative, and served on the Johns Hopkins President’s Task Force on Climate Change. In 2009, Teryn was selected as one of 23 out of 1,400 applicants to transfer to Stanford University, where he is currently a senior public policy student. Contact: Email and Twitter
Daniel Goldfarb (Program Director) previously served as Policy Fellow at Americans for Energy Leadership, where he managed an energy security policy project to examine the Department of Defense’s role in energy technology innovation. In summer 2008, Daniel worked for a public relations and communications firm to organize the SeaChange Ideas Forum at the 2008 Democratic Convention in Denver. Daniel graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a double major in Political Science and English Literature and spent his junior year studying at Oxford University. At Washington University he served on the Executive Board of the Roosevelt Institution, a think tank, and published a comprehensive policy proposal for regional agricultural certification in Roosevelt’s 2010 “Midwest 2.0″ journal. Daniel is trained in quantitative political analysis and served as research assistant in the Political Science Department studying the impact of political institutions upon behavior. Throughout his life Daniel has had a passion for progressive politics and believes that clean energy policy is essential for our nation’s economy, security, and health.
Sydney Baloue (Policy Fellow) is a rising senior at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is a Political Science major with minors in French Studies and Africana Studies. In summer 2009 she interned for Senator Burris (D-IL) in Washington, DC through the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, where she worked with the office’s energy and environmental legislative assistants. She wrote briefs on energy policy and technology, attended Congressional hearings and lobby meetings, and observed the debate and passage of the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy & Security Act. At Penn she works with the Penn Democrats and in 2008 she worked to advance the Obama Campaign on her campus and around Philadelphia. Sydney is interested in public policy as it relates to alternative energy research, and she hopes to pursue a public policy degree after graduation. She recently finished studying abroad for a full academic year in Paris and is nearly fluent in French. Sydney plays the alto saxophone in a ska band at Penn and is learning to play the guitar.
Jeremy Cohn (Policy Fellow) recently graduated from Stanford University with a major in Public Policy and a concentration in energy and technology policy. As a sophomore, Jeremy focused on energy development while working for the domestic policy branch of the Smith Richardson Foundation. In 2008, he worked as an organizer for his Representative’s reelection campaign in Connecticut. In summer 2009, Jeremy worked as a research assistant at Stanford University studying the global uranium enrichment market, the nuclear fuel cycle, and the privatization of the U.S. uranium enrichment enterprise. During his senior year Jeremy researched intergovernmental cooperation at Environmental Protection Agency nuclear Superfund cleanup sites, as well as the economics behind the California nuclear moratorium. Jeremy has been a longtime proponent of responsible energy development, diversification, and education, and he is looking forward to working with Americans for Energy Leadership.
Kimberly Munoz (Policy Fellow) recently graduated from Claremont McKenna College with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, where she was an Edward J. Sexton fellow and graduated cum laude. She previously worked in Washington, DC as a Lloyd Meeds Policy Fellow at K&L Gates, a leading U.S. and international law firm, where she researched alternative energy companies, energy tax subsidies, and nuclear regulation, and she developed a guide to the 111th Congress and Energy Secretary appointment. Kimberly previously worked for Ashoka in Mexico City and Infosys Technologies in Bangalore, India. Her marketing experience includes Director of the Web Advisory Committee for the Claremont Democrats, Director of Social Media Promotion for CMC Information Technology, and other capacities, and she wrote her senior thesis on trends in marketing and outreach. Kim is a Southern Californian native who lived in the Colorado Desert during the 2000 California Energy Crisis.
Adam Sieff (Policy Fellow) is a rising senior at Columbia University majoring in political philosophy and international politics. He is Editor in Chief of the journal Publius, contributor to the Columbia Daily Spectator, columnist for Politicizer, delegate to the Ivy Council, and previously served as Co-Coordinator for the Obama Campaign at Columbia. Adam previously worked as a Legislative Intern in Congress, and last summer he worked as a federal policy analyst for the Mayor of Los Angeles. In this capacity, he developed and advanced federal legislation to secure $45 million for the city pension fund and advocated for the city before Congressional and White House staff, including a Clean Tech Corridor project. As a field organizer with Obama for America, Adam developed a successful initiative to register hundreds of college students in key swing-states. Adam was recently awarded the Edwin Robbins Research Fellowship by Columbia’s Political Science Department, and his commentary has appeared in several undergraduate journals, the Los Angeles Daily News, and the New York Times. Adam recently represented the U.S. at an international business and policy conference at the Warsaw School of Economics. He is currently working on a senior thesis in international political theory, and plans to pursue a postgraduate degree in international legal theory before attending law school.
Clifton Yin (Policy Fellow) currently attends the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, where he is pursuing a Master of Public Policy degree, Environmental and Regulatory Policy Track. He is a graduate of Claremont McKenna College, where he majored in Government and History. He previously worked at the Bovée Company, a political fundraising firm, and the California State Assembly, serving as a Jesse M. Unruh Fellow and then Legislative Assistant for Assemblyman Bob Huff. In the latter capacity, Clifton staffed the assemblyman on issues pertaining to energy and the environment, among other policy areas. Clifton was the youngest Asian-American delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention. Most recently, he conducted research on geo-engineering for climate change mitigation as an intern at the American Enterprise Institute. Born in San Jose, California, Clifton spent much of his childhood in Beijing and Taipei, Taiwan, where he graduated from high school. A political junkie and avid Star Wars fan, in his free time Clifton enjoys eating, traveling, writing on contemporary political issues as a blogger for FrumForum.com, and waxing nostalgically about Taiwan.
Yan Zhu (Policy Fellow) graduated from the University of California Berkeley in May 2010 with a Master’s Degree in Public Policy, and she previously graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University with Dual-Bachelor’s Degrees in International Economics and Trade, and English and International Studies. Originally from China, Yan’s interests include energy efficiency, renewable energy, environmental policy, financial management, and business development. At UC Berkeley, Yan was very active in the International Public Policy Group and has been constantly enhancing her problem-solving skills by analyzing global issues through a public policy lens. Yan previously worked with a senior economist at the World Bank as a consultant in the Development Economics Research Group, Finance Team, and also worked for Alameda County Office of Acquisition Policy as a Policy Consultant to evaluate the impact of the Small, Local and Emerging Business Program on Alameda County from cost and employment perspectives. Yan is currently working with the California Public Utilities Commission on a research paper exploring the appropriate government role in electric vehicle infrastructure development, and evaluating financing models for public charging infrastructure in California.
T.J. Augustine (Adviser) recently completed a Ph.D. in Bioinorganic Chemistry from Stanford University, where he was a John Stauffer Stanford Graduate Fellow, and previously graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in Chemistry. His research focused on enzymes that catalyze reactions important to generating carbon free energy. He has published articles in a variety of scholarly journals, including the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Biochemistry, and Dalton Transactions, and has also presented his research at several national conferences. T.J. is now working to bridge the gap between science and policy. He is obtaining a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Stanford, as well as leading the development of a science and technology policy curriculum within the Public Policy Program. In addition to working with Americans for Energy Leadership, he is founding the Stanford chapter of Scientists and Engineers for America, a group dedicated to promoting debate of science and policy related issues and encouraging those with scientific backgrounds to become in engaged in the political process. T.J has worked as a volunteer with the Obama campaign and been active in California politics. Contact: Email
Ashley Carlisle (National Outreach Coordinator) is currently a senior at Stanford majoring in Public Policy with a concentration in energy and the environment. Aside from her work with Americans for Energy Leadership, she is helping to develop policies that promote energy efficiency at Stanford through the sustainability subcommittee, a branch of the Stanford student body government. She is working on the Stanford University Solar Initiative, an effort within the Stanford Solar and Wind Energy Project to assess the potential of a solar photovoltaic installation on Stanford’s campus. Ashley conducted research and provided recommendations for Redwood City’s Climate Action Plan for a class project in the fall of 2009. Specifically, she focused on programs and incentives for decreasing residential energy consumption in Redwood City. Right now, she is working on a group project for Joint Venture to develop infrastructure for electric vehicles throughout Silicon Valley cities. Contact: Email
Eli Pollak (National Outreach Coordinator) is a sophomore at Stanford University majoring in Atmosphere and Energy Engineering. He is currently the Co-Director of Students for a Sustainable Stanford’s climate program, where he has led an effort to strength the administration’s energy and climate plan and improve the university’s curriculum related to clean energy and sustainability. In summer 2009, Eli worked for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on climate change policy, and in the past he worked with the 1Sky campaign. Eli recently attended the Copenhagen COP15 negotiations, where he served as part of the delegation from Stanford University. Eli is originally from Washington, DC, where he grew up immersed in the world of United States politics, and he considers himself an avid political junkie. Contact: Email
