This expert panel will unpack:

• The good news on policies passing and being upheld in court.

• The ongoing challenges facing the movement.

• Panelists’ visions, concerns, and predictions for the next 5, 10, and 20 years of policy development

• The roles of government, utilities, advocates, and industry in accelerating or obstructing progress

Panelist and Moderator: Anne Pernick, SAFE Cities Senior Advisor at Stand.earth 

Anne works with local government and community leaders across the United States and beyond to support them in stopping fossil fuel expansion and phasing out fossil fuels at the local level. Prior to joining the SAFE Cities and Treaty teams, Anne led the Business Ethics Network (BEN)/Campaigners Connect project for more than a decade, providing trainings and other resources to a diverse network of corporate campaign activists and community leaders. Anne has also worked at the Oregon League of Conservation Voters and as a freelance journalist. She has a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Yale University and a Master’s degree in biology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Panelist: Marnese Jackson, Executive Director of Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition

Marnese is an Environmental and Climate Justice activist, advocate, trainer and educator from Pontiac, Michigan where she is a mother of two children London and Dawson. Marnese is the inaugural and first Black Woman Executive Director of Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition. Prior to her appointment, Marnese was the Co-Director of Equity and Community Engagement at Midwest BDC. Marnese was previously with Mothers Out Front in December 2018 as the Frontline Organizing Program Manager where she focused on building the base of Mothers in Frontline communities. Marnese also managed the Youth Global Climate Strike (2019) and Earth Day Live (2020). She is the former Midwest and Great Plain States Regional Organizer for the NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program. Marnese is also an appointee for the State of Michigan Governor's Climate Council on Solutions.

Panelist: Emily Levin, Policy and Program Director for Clean Buildings at NESCAUM

Emily Levin is the Policy and Program Director for Clean Buildings at Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), an association of state air quality agencies promoting multistate collaboration and action to improve air quality and address climate change. She leads NESCAUM’s Building Electrification Initiative, providing states with technical and policy support to accelerate the transition to zero-emission buildings. Emily previously worked at VEIC for 15 years, where she designed and advised on building decarbonization and energy efficiency programs in multiple states and helped launch the TECH Clean California initiative to advance statewide adoption of clean space and water heating. Emily also serves on the Building Performance Association Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

Panelist: Allison MacMunn, Program Director at Sunstone Strategies

Allison brings more than 15 years of strategic communications experience to her role leading campaigns and driving national media narratives around healthy air and pollution-free, resilient buildings. She helps coalitions drive public action and campaign wins by making the health impacts of hidden air pollution sources visible, highlighting the health and economic benefits of clean energy policies and healthy air regulations, and developing and applying message testing and public polling to create effective framing, messaging and campaign strategies. Prior to joining Sunstone Strategies, Allison served as the national communications and media relations lead for the American Lung Association. She lives in Chicagoland with her partner and daughters.

Panelist: Carra Sahler, J.D., Green Energy Institute at Lewis and Clark Law School

Carra Sahler is the director and one of four staff attorneys at the Green Energy Institute, a grant-funded climate policy and energy law organization housed at Lewis & Clark Law School Carra engages in proceedings at the Oregon Public Utility Commission to avoid fossil fuel lock-in, implement equitable decarbonization measures, and encourage a transparent and open process for new participants. She also develops and vets policy options for Oregon local governments. She regularly speaks on implementation of Oregon’s Climate Protection Program, Oregon’s 100% Clean Energy for All (HB 2021), utility planning and investments, and local government decarbonization pathways.

Panelist: Nancy L. Seidman, Senior Advisor at the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP)

With more than 35 years in energy and environmental policy, Seidman works with RAP’s US team advising policymakers, advocates, and other utility sector participants on the intersection of equitable environmental and energy policies leading to a clean energy future. Her work focuses on air quality and climate change policies, the benefits of energy efficiency, and beneficial electrification of buildings and transportation. Seidman has worked at state, regional and federal agencies.