DECARBONIZATION ACTION PLAN FOR MARYLAND

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Decarbonization Action Plan for Maryland

Guest speakers will set the stage to open the conference, providing overviews of programs, strategies, policies, and partners focused on decarbonization goals and action in Maryland.

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GUEST SPEAKERS

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Sen. Brian Feldman

Maryland District 15
Chair, Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee

District 15,

Chair, Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee

Maryland State Senator Brian J. Feldman, both an Attorney and a CPA, is Chair of the newly-formed Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee. In 2019, Brian was the lead sponsor of the landmark Maryland Clean Energy Jobs Act.

Additionally, Brian is the Senate Chair of the Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Protection Commission and serves as a member of the Executive Nominations Committee and the Rules Committee. He is also a member of the Maryland Economic Development Commission.

Nationally, as a member of the National Conferences of State Legislators, he serves on two task forces – the Executive Committee Task Force on State and Local Taxation and the Task Force on Energy Supply.

Currently, Brian sits on the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Senator Feldman and his wife, Janice, have two children who graduated from Montgomery County public schools.

 

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Serena McIlwain

Secretary
Maryland Department of the Environment

Secretary,

Maryland Department of the Environment

Serena McIlwain was confirmed as the Maryland Department of the Environment’s 11th Secretary on March 2, 2023. Prior to that, Secretary McIlwain was the Under Secretary at the California Environmental Protection Agency. A native of the Washington Metro area, Sec. McIlwain also worked for the federal government as a Senior Executive for numerous Executive Branch agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as Assistant Regional Administrator for Region 9 in San Francisco, California, Performance Improvement Officer and Director of Continuous Improvement at U.S. EPA Headquarters, and Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy. Sec. McIlwain holds two Master’s degrees. She received a Master of Public Administration from George Mason University and a Master’s degree in Administration & International studies from Central Michigan University.​

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Frederick S. Kelley

Deputy Director
Power Plant Research Program, Maryland Department
of Natural Resources
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Paul Pinsky

Director
Maryland Energy Administration

Director,
Maryland Energy Administration

Paul Pinsky was appointed by Governor Moore to be the Director of the Maryland Energy Administration and he took office on January 18, 2023. Prior to his appointment as director, he was elected to the Maryland state senate seven times. As a senator, he chaired the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee. He has also served on the Maryland Commission on Climate Change since its inception. Pinsky has been a long-time champion in the fight to address climate change and clean up the Chesapeake Bay. He is the principal author of dozens of environmental laws that have helped shape most major state environmental policies in Maryland over the last two decades. Paul Pinsky served on the Commission on Innovation & Excellence in Education (the Kirwan Commission) and was a major architect of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future which aims to transform Maryland’s education system. He is also a longtime advocate for social, economic and environmental justice. Director Pinsky worked in the education field for over 40 years, teaching high school history, advocating for teachers and their working conditions and consulting and developing policy focused on improving teacher quality.

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Tom Peterson

President and CEO
Center for Climate Strategies Adjunct Professor and Lecturer
Johns Hopkins University

President and CEO, Center for Climate Strategies,

Adjunct Professor and Lecture, Johns Hopkins University

Tom Peterson is the President and CEO of the Center for Climate Strategies (CCS) and an Adjunct Professor at the Johns Hopkins’ University Energy Policy and Climate program. Since founding CCS in 2004, Tom has directed more than 100 high impact projects and collaboration initiatives in the US, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, including numerous stakeholder-based policy planning and assessment processes for national and subnational governments that developed multi objective approaches for climate change mitigation and adaptation. He has authored many studies on climate change and energy solutions and innovation. At Johns Hopkins University he teaches graduate courses in climate adaptation, international climate policy, and energy and environmental security. Tom previously served as Senior Advisor to the White House Climate Change Task Force, Legislative Fellow to US Senator Joe Lieberman, Economist with the US EPA, and Vice President of DSL Capital Corporation. He holds a BS in Biology from the College of William and Mary, an MS in Environmental Management from the Duke University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

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