EBA Energy Exchange

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.