ALBANY, N.Y. — The board of directors of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has appointed Doreen Harris as its president and CEO.
Harris was appointed acting president and CEO of NYSERDA in June 2020, succeeding Alicia Barton, who is now CEO of Burlington, Massachusetts–based FirstLight Power.
“We have witnessed Doreen’s unparalleled leadership and passion for clean energy for more than 10 years at NYSERDA through her strategic approach to developing and executing on some of the largest clean energy initiatives in the nation,” Richard Kauffman, chair of the NYSERDA board of directors, said. “Doreen brings to NYSERDA a wealth of experience and accomplishments having served in both the private and public sectors which is needed now more than ever…”
Harris has more than 20 years of experience in public and private-sector leadership roles. Prior to her appointment as acting president and CEO at NYSERDA, she served in executive, technical, and policy positions at the authority, most recently as the VP of large-scale renewables.
She has been responsible for overseeing the state’s development of land-based, renewable resources, including spearheading the new siting legislation for large-scale renewable-energy projects. Harris also helped in developing New York’s offshore wind initiative, which is the “largest in the U.S.,” NYSERDA said.
Harris also serves as co-chair of the New York State Climate Action Council, which is responsible for the development of a scoping plan to reach New York’s greenhouse-gas reduction goals under the Climate Act.
Prior to NYSERDA, Harris served as project director for Global Water Technologies, Inc., where she developed and commercialized energy saving, water-treatment technologies. Before joining Global Water Technologies, she worked as an engineer at Alcoa Advanced Technologies and Optimation Technologies.
Harris earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Rochester and MBA degree from the University at Albany.
