Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO, NYSERDA

Doreen M. Harris was appointed President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) on April 7, 2021, after serving as Acting President and CEO since June 2020.

President Harris is leading NYSERDA’s role to advance the policy frameworks, clean energy technologies and solutions that help New York advance toward the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by no less than 85 percent by 2050 while creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying clean-energy jobs and building an equitable economy.

Under President Harris’s direction, NYSERDA is making significant progress toward Governor Hochul’s nation-leading clean energy initiatives including advancing infrastructure and innovation, large-scale and distributed renewables, building decarbonization, energy storage, transportation electrification, clean fuels, transmission and resiliency. She has also directed NYSERDA to ensure that its programs are responsive to the diverse needs of all New Yorkers—and that historically marginalized communities are engaged as both partners and beneficiaries of the State’s growing clean-energy economy.

Work History

President Harris joined NYSERDA in 2010 and served as Vice President of Large-Scale Renewables, where she spearheaded the strategic development of New York’s land based renewable and offshore wind resource, including the execution of the State’s offshore wind master plan. She was also instrumental in advancing the Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefits Act, which is modernizing the siting of large-scale renewable energy projects. President Harris also co-chaired the New York State Climate Action Council, which in December 2022 finalized the State’s Scoping Plan.

Prior to her career in public service, President Harris spent more than a decade in the private sector, serving in management and engineering roles at Alcoa Advanced Technologies, Optimation Technologies and Global Water Technologies, Inc.

Nonprofit Boards

She serves on the boards of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC), Alliance to Save Energy, National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium, NY CREATES, and NY BEST. She is also a member of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Leadership Council.

Education

President Harris holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rochester and a Master of Business Administration from the University at Albany, State University of New York.