Senior Fellows
About the Program
The Kleinman Center brings practitioners to Penn for year-long collaborative visits.
Our senior fellows program brings distinguished practitioners to the Kleinman Center for year-long fellowships to enrich their own learning and professional development—while expanding the center’s expertise areas and research agenda. A Kleinman Center senior fellow has proven expertise in their field with specialized experience as a policy maker, regulator, industry leader, or analyst.
A senior fellowship provides opportunities for exploring energy policy interests at the University of Pennsylvania, collaborating with faculty, and connecting with students.
For questions about the senior fellows program, please email Oscar Serpell.
Engagement
Senior fellows engage in programming opportunities at the Kleinman Center, through:
- Research: Leading a research project on a timely issue, participating in an ongoing research project, or collaborating with affiliated faculty on an existing project
- Workshops, Seminars, and Events: Organizing workshops, conferences, seminars, or public events; supporting Energy Week at Penn; inviting speakers to Penn; or speaking in a class or seminar.
- Commentary: Writing news articles, op-eds, or insight posts; or participating in the Kleinman Center’s Podcast Energy Policy Now.
- Teaching and mentorship: Teaching a class, speaking in a class, or presenting at a seminar.
2026-2027 Senior Fellows
Danny Cullenward is a Shleifer Senior Fellow at the Kleinman Center. He is an economist and lawyer focused on the scientific integrity of climate policy.
Noah Deich is a senior fellow at the Kleinman Center. He recently left the Biden Administration, where he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Carbon Management at the Department of Energy.
Carolyn Kousky is a senior fellow at the Kleinman Center and the founder and executive director of Insurance for Good. She is also a contributing economist at the Environmental Defense Fund.
Stephen Hammer is a senior fellow in climate finance. He advises governments and international institutions on climate finance and policy issues and has more than 30 years of experience working on climate issues at the global, national, and local levels.
Leslie Labruto is a Shleifer Senior Fellow at the Kleinman Center. She is CEO of Resolve Fund, an effort to build an ecosystem of working capital finance for companies building future systems in energy, agriculture, mobility, and industrials.
John Quigley is a senior fellow at the Kleinman Center and previously served on the Center’s Advisory Board. He served as Secretary of the PA Department of Environmental Protection and of the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Benjamin Schmitt is a joint senior fellow at the Kleinman Center and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Penn. He is also an affiliate of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and associate of the Harvard-Ukrainian Research Institute.
Nora Todd is a senior fellow at the Kleinman Center with the EconClimate Lab. She served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Economics and Labor to President Biden.
Jamie Van Nostrand is a senior fellow at the Kleinman Center. He is the policy director at the Future of Heat Initiative, a non-profit providing research and assistance to regulators, policymakers, and intervenors to support effective regulation.
Meet Past Senior Fellows
Kelli Joseph is a Kleinman Center Senior Fellow. She works at the intersection of policy, finance, and markets, with a focus on the reliable transition of the electricity sector.
Anna Mikulska is an expert on European energy markets and energy policy. She is a senior fellow at the Kleinman Center and a fellow in energy studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Jacqueline Patterson is the founder and executive director of The Chisholm Legacy Project, a resource hub for Black frontline climate justice leadership. She is the recipient of the 2024 Carnot Prize and is a former senior fellow at the Kleinman Center.
