PLENARY II

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Drawing Policy Priorities for Decarbonization

This session will address necessary policies and regulations in place and envisioned to advance clean energy and meet decarbonization goals. Join advocates, state and local policy makers, along with federal regulators who will get right to the point on what is needed to support decarbonization and achieve ambitious targets set to date.

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MODERATOR

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Dr. Ryan Opsal

Director of Policy
Maryland Energy Administration

Director of Policy,

Maryland Energy Administration

Dr. Ryan Opsal is the Director of Energy Policy the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA). Dr. Opsal previously served as an Energy Policy Manager at MEA. Prior to working at MEA, Ryan was an Adjunct Professor in the Politics and International Relations Department at Florida International University, where he recently completed his doctorate in International Relations. He taught and conducted research in many areas including energy and international political economy.

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PANELISTS

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Del. Marc Korman

Maryland District 16,
Chair,
House Environment & Transportation Committee

Maryland District 16,

Chair, House Environment & Transportation Committee

Marc Korman was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2014.  In 2023, he was named chair of the Environment & Transportation Committee, one of just six standing committees in the House.  Prior to that, he served on the Appropriations Committee where he previously chaired the Transportation & Environment Subcommittee and the Personnel Subcommittee.  In 2023, he served as Majority Leader of the House of Delegates.  From 2018 to 2022, Delegate Korman served as chair of the 24-member Montgomery County House Delegation, the largest delegation in the state legislature.

Delegate Korman has also passed major legislation related to transportation funding, the environment, government and budget transparency, education, and more.

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Saif Ratul

Deputy Legislative Officer
Office of Governor Wes Moore

Deputy Legislative Officer

Office of Governor Wes Moore

Saif Ratul is the Deputy Legislative Officer for the Moore Miller Administration, working on key policies, including transportation, energy, and environment. Previously, Ratul served as the Director of Political Engagement for Governor Moore's campaign during the Democratic primary and as the Coordinated Campaign Director for the Maryland Democratic Party in the general election. He has also worked on the campaign of U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and the White House campaigns of President Biden Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar

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Kim Coble

Executive Director
Maryland League of Conservation Voters

Executive Director,

Maryland League of Conservation Voters

Kim Coble joined Maryland LCV in 2019 after two years as the chief operating officer at US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment. Prior to her role at US SIF, Kim worked at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, including eight years as the Maryland executive director and then six years as vice president of environmental protection and restoration, where she oversaw CBF’s policy, outreach and restoration work throughout the watershed. Kim was selected as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women in 2015, appointed as an Admiral of the Chesapeake Bay, served as the valedictorian of her Leadership Maryland class, and was a member of the State Ethics Commission from 2015 to 2019.

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Jennifer Macedonia

Associate Deputy Assistant Administrator for Implementation, Office of Air and Radiation
EPA

Associate Deputy Assistant Administrator for Implementation, Office of Air and Radiation,

Environmental Protection Agency

Jennifer Macedonia serves as the Associate Deputy Assistant Administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where she is responsible for leading implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act for the Office of Air and Radiation. This includes transformative climate and air quality programs, such as the climate pollution reduction grants, clean ports, clean heavy-duty vehicles, and methane emissions reduction programs.

Macedonia has advanced environmental policy and clean energy solutions for more than 25 years, including a decade at the EPA. As principal of JLM Environmental Consulting, Macedonia advised non-profits, universities, and governmental organizations on decarbonizing the transportation, power, and industrial sectors. As a senior advisor for the Bipartisan Policy Center, Macedonia directed projects on clean energy and environmental regulation and advised on power sector policy and economic modeling. In her prior service at EPA, Macedonia oversaw climate change and environmental justice policy development for National Environmental Policy Act reviews, led work on critical supply chains, federal sustainability policy, and climate smart infrastructure, served as an expert on U.S. delegations to international climate negotiations, and led rulemaking and implementation teams for the Acid Rain Program, Macedonia received her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Villanova University.

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