Warren Leon has been active in the United States on energy and environmental issues for more than two decades, and works with state government agencies to increase their effectiveness on a variety of subjects.. He is executive director of the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA), a national coalition of state clean energy agencies working with the federal government, industry groups, and other stakeholders to advance clean energy markets and technologies. He oversees CESA's day-to-day operations and leads strategy development. In recent years, he has also served as a consultant to other organizations. From 2003 to 2009, he held several positions at the quasi-public Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, including serving as director of the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust, a state fund that annually awarded $40 million to advance clean energy.. Before that, he was executive director of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association and deputy director for programs at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Warren is co-author of the influential book "The Consumer’s Guide to Effective Environmental Choices" (1999), with over 100,000 copies sold, and also co-authored "Is Our Food Safe? A Consumer’s Guide to Protecting Our Health and the Environment" (2002). He was lead author and project coordinator for "An International Strategy for Massachusetts" (2010), a report recommending ways for the state to expand exports and foreign direct investment. He was also lead author for the MassINC/CESA report "Rising to the Challenge: Assessing the Massachusetts Response to Climate Change" (2012). He serves as head of IBS's sustainability specialization.
Current and recent projects include:
--Direct the national State-Federal Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Collaborative.
--Wrote a report for the Clean Energy States Alliance on how states can best evaluate their renewable portfolio standards.
--Headed a team for MassINC describing and assessing Massachusetts efforts to address the threat of climate change
--Served as conference chair for Brandeis International Business School's Global Trade Summits in 2011 and 2012
--Helped the Massachusetts eHealth Institute to design and implement activities to develop the workforce necessary to implement electronic health records in Massachusetts.
--Managed a project to educate state policymakers about fuel cells.
Degrees:
Harvard University, Ph.D.
- Leon, Warren. The State of State RPSs. Montpelier, VT Clean Energy States Alliance: 2013.
- Leon, Warren and Lewis Milford. "Manhattan Institute Flunks Energy Policy 101." Huffington Post 2012. March 6 (2012): <www.huffingtonpost.com/lewis-milford/manhattan-institute-renewable-electricity-report_b_1321716.html>.
- Leon, Warren et al.. Rising to the Challenge: Assessing the Massachusetts Response to Climate Change. Boston MassINC: 2012.
- Leon, Warren. Designing the Right RPS: A Guide to Selecting Goals and Program Options for a Renewable Portfolio Standard. Montpelier Clean Energy States Alliance: 2012.
- Leon, Warren. Evaluating the Benefits and Costs of a Renewable Portfolio Standard. Montpelier Clean Energy States Alliance: 2012.
- Charles Kubert and Warren Leon. Hydrogen Production and Energy Storage. Montpelier Clean Energy States Alliance: 2011.
- Leon, Warren and Alexei Ponomarov. Fuel Cells for Supermarkets. Montpelier Clean Energy States Alliance: 2011.
- Leon, Warren et al.. Analysis of Renewable Energy Policy Options for Vermont: The SPEED Program and Renewable Portfolio Standard. Washington National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners: 2011.
- Leon, Warren. Evaluating Renewable Energy Programs: A Guide for Program Managers. Montpelier Clean Energy States Alliance: 2011.
- Leon, Warren. Renewable Energy Results for Massachusetts: A Report on the Renewable Energy Trust Fund 1998-2008. Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. Westborough: 2011.
- Leon, Warren et al.. An International Strategy for Massachusettts: A Report for the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. Westborough: 2010.
- Leon, Warren. "Clean Energy in Perspective." Perlmutter Institute Leadership Practitioner Brief 1. Fall 2010 (2010): <http://www.brandeis.edu/global/pdfs/centers/Perlmutter_institute/Leon_web_REV.pdf>.
- Leon, Warren. "Differing Shades of Green (about 2 books)." Rev. of Eaarth and Power Hungry, by Bill McKibben and Robert Bryce. Philadelphia Inquirer vol. April 22, 2010 April 22, 2010: 2.
- Leon, Warren and Caroline Smith DeWaal. Is Our Food Safe? A Consumer's Guide to Protecting Your Health and the Environment. First ed. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2002.
- Michael Brower and Warren Leon. The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists. First ed. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1999.