Staff

The Pace Energy and Climate Center has a multi-disciplinary professional staff comprising attorneys, economists, planners and scientists.  In addition, student interns are involved in all of the Center’s activities.

The Center’s staff is as follows, with links to their biographies:

Franz Litz, Executive Director

Franz Litz is the Executive Director of the Pace Energy & Climate Center. Franz has advised more than 30 states and provinces in North America on climate change and energy policy matters.  His recent work has focused on the potential for greenhouse gas reductions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the states under the Clean Air Act, as well as other federal authorities. Franz is an accomplished and sought after facilitator who has convened state and provincial officials, environmental advocates and business interests around climate and energy policy.  He has advised all three regional climate initiatives in North America, including the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) and the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord. Franz remains active in bringing states and provinces together from across the U.S. and Canada to cooperate on energy and climate change policy issues.

Before joining the Energy & Climate Center in 2011, Franz was a senior fellow at the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C. He led WRI’s state and regional climate change initiatives, as well as WRI’s engagement with the U.S. EPA.

He also previously led the climate change efforts of New York State from a post within the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, where he was instrumental in forging the 10-state RGGI program to reduce emissions from the power sector.  Prior to that, Franz was an energy and clean air lawyer for New York’s environmental agency and for the large Boston law firm Brown Rudnick.  Franz is a graduate of Boston College Law School, cum laude, and Union College, magna cum laude.

Thomas G. Bourgeois, Deputy Director

Mr. Bourgeois has provided economic, financial analysis and database services to the Pace Energy and Climate Center for more than 10 years. He is Co-Managing Director of the Northeast Regional CHP Applications Center (NERAC), a project of the U.S. Department of Energy. His work on CHP includes development of an online Guidebook on Codes, Siting & Permitting for Small Distributed Generation, Emission Reduction Credits and small DG, and market assessments of CHP potential. Mr. Bourgeois has been the primary author of reports on issues of energy efficiency, renewable energy policy and regional economic development. He has been contributing author on numerous briefs and other submissions to the Public Service Commission in New York and the Department of Public Utilities in New Jersey. He has supplied testimony as an expert witness on behalf of the Energy Project in proceedings before the Public Service Commission in New York and the Department of Public Utilities in New Jersey. Prior to working for the Energy and Climate Center, Mr. Bourgeois was the Director of the Economic Information Unit of the New York State Data Center, housed within the former New York State Department of Economic Development (now the Empire State Development Corporation). Mr. Bourgeois also served as Principal Economist of the New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee, where he was responsible for econometric modeling and preparing state and national economic forecasts for use by the tax policy and budget staff of the Assembly. He holds a masters degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from the School of Regional Planning (with a concentration in Economic Development). He has successfully completed all coursework and exams leading to the completion of a Ph.D. in managerial economics at RPI in Troy NY, a joint degree program offered by the Economics program and the School of Management at RPI.

Tim Banach, Energy Policy Associate

Mr. Banach joined the Pace Energy and Climate Center in 2009 while pursuing his master’s degree in Environmental Policy.  Tim is an expert in demand-side measures to improve efficiency and reliability of energy supply, including energy efficiency, distributed generation, and combined heat and power (CHP).  He has also researched and written extensively on issues pertaining to wind energy, biofuels, local climate action planning processes, and market-based environmental programs.

Timothy holds an M.S. in Environmental Policy from Bard College’s Center for Environmental Policy and a B.S. in Biology from Loyola College in Maryland.  In 2010, Timothy was nominated to participate in New York State’s Climate Action Planning process as a member of the Integration and Advisory Panel.

Alex Casadonte, Ottinger Energy Research Fellow

Alex Casadonte is the Pace Energy and Climate Center's current Ottinger Energy Research Fellow.  Alex received a J.D. cum laude and Certificate in Environmental Law from Pace Law School in May 2011, and a B.A. from Dickinson College.  While completing his J.D., Alex interned for the Energy and Climate Center and RGGI, Inc., the organization of 10 U.S. states operating a regional program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.  He also clerked for the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

The Ottinger Energy Research Fellowship was established in 2009 in honor of the Center’s founder and Dean Emeritus Richard L. Ottinger.  Each year, the Center awards a one-year fellowship to a graduating student who wishes to pursue an L.L.M. in environmental law from Pace Law School. The Fellow receives a full tuition waiver and a stipend from the Center.  While pursuing the L.L.M., the fellow works half-time at the Center to advance the Center’s work on cutting edge energy and climate policy issues, and to gain valuable experience in the field.

Adam Cohn, Energy Research Analyst

Adam Cohn is an Energy Research Analyst for the Center.  Adam conducts research and quantitative analysis across a wide range of projects, including the Center's engagement on state and regional climate change and energy initiatives, building energy efficiency and combined heat and power, among others.  Adam holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and environmental studies from Tufts University.

Laurence B. DeWitt, Senior Economist

Dr. DeWitt has been a consultant to the Pace Energy and Climate Center for the past decade, working on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) with a focus on allowance auctions and markets.  He has also been involved in New York and other state efforts to dramatically increase the size and effectiveness of energy efficiency programs. He represented consumer and environmental groups as a market participant at the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) from 2001-2006, serving as Co-Chair of the NYISO Management Committee during 2005.  He served as Director of Environment and Energy Efficiency at the New York Public Service Commission from 1989 to 1999; prior to that he was a Program Director for Economic Development and Energy Efficiency at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, from 1978 to 1988. Dr. DeWitt also operates his own consulting firm, The Commons, which conducts energy and environmental policy analysis.  Dr. DeWitt holds a PhD in economics from Syracuse University and a BA in Political Science from Amherst College.  

Anne Marie Hirschberger, Climate Change Law and Policy Advisor

Anne Marie is the Climate Change Law and Policy Advisor at the Pace Energy and Climate Center.  She is currently drafting a white paper on combined heat and power (CHP) and mandatory hourly pricing (MHP) in New York State.  She is also assisting with a Renewable Fuels Roadmap and Biomass Feedstock Supply study for co-sponsors NYSERDA, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets.  Anne Marie received a J.D. and Certificate in Environmental Law from Pace Law School and a B.A. from Fordham University.  While in law school, she interned with the NYSDEC focusing on air issues and with the U.S. EPA at the New York/Caribbean Superfund Branch.  She also participated in Pace's Environmental Litigation Clinic where she was assigned a Clean Water Act permit violation case.  Through Pace's Environmental Diplomacy Practicum, she interned with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Observer Mission to the United Nations and with the Permanent Mission of Papua New Guinea to the United Nations where she researched, drafted documents, attended meetings and advised on climate change, energy, and environmental issues.

Jackson Morris, Director of Strategic Engagement

Jackson Morris joined the Pace Energy and Climate Center in November 2009 as Senior Policy Advisor. Based in Albany, he represents the Center in advancing clean energy policies in the state capital, through direct engagement with state agencies, the Executive Chamber, the New York State legislature, and the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), as well as working with other energy, environmental, health and consumer organizations.  Mr.  Morris works to further the Center’s mission by advocating for policies that will reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, increase investments in energy efficiency, and aid in New York’s transition to a clean energy economy.

Mr. Morris holds a B.A. in Sociology and certificates in Primatology and Markets & Management from Duke University, as well as an M.S. in Environmental Policy from Bard Center for Environmental Policy. He has taught environmental science at bilingual schools in the Caribbean and studied sustainable development in Central America. In his former position as Air & Energy Program Director at Environmental Advocates of New York, he worked on complex air quality and energy issues with several broad coalitions to effectively implement the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Portfolio Standards, as well as a wide array of clean energy and efficiency projects in Albany.

Dean Emeritus Richard L. Ottinger, Founder and Faculty Advisor

Richard L. Ottinger is Dean Emeritus of Pace University School of Law and a former U.S. Congressman. He is Chair of the Energy Law and Climate Change Specialist Group of the Commission on Environmental Law of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is on the IUCN Energy Initiative Executive Committee. He also is Co-Director, with Professor Nicholas Robinson, of the Pace Center for Environmental Legal Studies. He is Board Chair of the Environmental and Energy Study Institute in Washington, D.C. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1965 to 1971 and 1975 to 1985, chairing the House Energy Conservation & Power Subcommittee in the latter period. During this time, he specialized in writing federal energy and environmental legislation. Ottinger then taught environmental law at Pace Law School from 1985 to 1994, after which he served as Dean until July 1, 1999. He founded the Energy and Climate Center and co-edited and co-authored the seminal work on environmental externalities, Environmental Costs of Electricity (Oceana Press, 1990). He has authored and edited some 100 books and articles on sustainable energy, including The Law of Energy for Sustainable Development and Compendium of Sustainable Energy Laws, both published in 2005 by Cambridge University Press.  He is currently writing the bioenergy chapter in a UN University Press book, International Environmental Law and its Role in Development.

Jordan Stutt, Energy Policy Analyst

Jordan Stutt is an Energy Policy Analyst with the Pace Energy and Climate Center. Jordan's work at the Center focuses on clean energy initiatives, cap-and-trade programs and climate change. Within this array of topics, Jordan conducts research, writes advisory reports and provides analytic support. Jordan is a graduate of Tufts University, with a B.S. in Environmental Studies and International Relations, magna cum laude.

Sam M. Swanson, Senior Analyst and Senior Policy Advisor

Mr. Swanson serves as a Senior Policy Advisor to the Pace Energy and Climate Center specializing in renewable energy technology and market analysis. Sam has more than 20 years experience directing integrated resource planning, energy efficiency programs and environmental regulation to achieve balanced economic and environmental goals. Mr. Swanson’s experience extends to a wide range of electricity market policy and regulation functions, including renewable resource assessment and planning, efficiency program planning and evaluation, the environmental impacts of electricity production, load management and energy research and development policy, utility planning, management audits of utility demand side management programs and rate regulation. Mr. Swanson leads the team at the Center that has developed the Power Scorecard consumer education program that rates the environmental quality of electricity products offered in retail electricity markets. The result of this effort is the Power Scorecard™ consumer education tool (www.powerscorecard.org), which offers consumers a means to compare the environmental quality of electricity choices offered in competitive retail electricity markets in several states. He also led the project team that recently completed for the New York Energy Research and Development Authority an analysis of the barriers local building and fire codes pose to the deployment of hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen transportation fueling facilities in New York State. He served as a senior policy advisor to the New York Public Service Commission and has presented expert testimony in proceedings before the New York, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Vermont and Quebec regulatory commissions.

Zywia Wojnar, Research Director for Science and Policy Partnerships

Zywia Wojnar, as Science and Policy Research Director at the Center manages a number of outreach and technical communications projects.  The multi-year New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) contract with the Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation, and Protection (EMEP) program addresses the effects on the environment from energy production and use by providing scientifically credible and objective information on these impacts to assist policy-makers in developing cost-effective and equitable policies to protect public health and the environment in New York.   As part of the EMEP contract, she coordinates the production of numerous written publications, web materials, and assists in the organization of EMEP conferences.  In this role, she also manages two major studies:  “The Environmental Impacts of Biofuels in New York State”, and “Market-Based Environmental Protection Mechanisms and the Impact on Energy Production and Use.” In addition, Ms. Wojnar leads a cross-functional, multi-institutional team in preparing a Renewable Fuels Roadmap and Biomass Feedstock Supply study for co-sponsors NYSERDA, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets. Ms. Wojnar’s science and management backgrounds combine to bring to the Center opportunities in promoting effective policies based on sound science. Prior to joining the Center, she worked in academia and the private sector where she acquired broad-based science, health-related, and industry expertise in diverse environmental areas, including health, ecological and property assessments, solid and hazardous waste management, energy efficiency, regulatory compliance, air emissions permitting and data analysis, and petroleum compliance. A specialist in data evaluation, technical report preparation, environmental health and safety and QA/QC protocols, she managed the technical investigation for New York’s first state-funded brownfields redevelopment project.

Loretta Musial, Office Administrator	Mary Cataneo, Accountant