Our Vision and Mission
Our Vision and Mission
The Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) believes solving our most pressing environmental challenges requires actionable research, training, and engagement to accelerate the implementation of solutions.
CLEE tackles climate change and other environmental challenges at the local to global scale through the development and implementation of equitable and effective legal and policy solutions. Our expert staff leverages the world’s leading public research university to engage community leaders, government, business, and other stakeholders; to lead timely and practical research initiatives; and to train leaders to take action on our most pressing environmental problems.
Our Values
- Pragmatism: CLEE focuses on answering “how” questions and implementing timely and practical climate and environmental solutions.
- Collaboration: CLEE convenes policymakers, stakeholders, and other interested parties to tackle complex problems.
- Integration: CLEE builds expert multidisciplinary teams to solve problems.
- Equity: CLEE is committed to representing and including diverse perspectives to design and implement equitable solutions.
- Experience: CLEE’s experienced team of government leaders and experts brings invaluable practical knowledge to our work.
Our Team
Executive Director
Faculty Director; Sho Sato Professor of Law
Senior Advisor
Program Administrator
Program Administrator, California-China Climate Institute
Research Fellow, Wheeler Water Institute
Climate Change and Methane Policy Fellow
Climate Policy Fellow, California-China Climate Institute
Director of Operations
Research Fellow, California-China Climate Institute
Director, California-China Climate Institute
Research Fellow
Director, Climate Program
Membership and Events Coordinator, GrizzlyCorps
Director, GrizzlyCorps
Research Director, California-China Climate Institute
Senior Research Fellow, Wheeler Water Institute
Research Fellow
Program Administrator
Director, Climate Risk Initiative
Director of Advancement
Director, Wheeler Water Institute
Research Fellow
Associate Director
Senior Research Fellow
Program Coordinator, GrizzlyCorps
Senior Advisor
Research Fellow, California-China Climate Institute
Research Fellow
Senior Advisor
Lead Methane Research Fellow
Research Fellow
Director of Programs, California-China Climate Institute
Our Advisory Board
Learn more about the Advisory Board Emeritus Circle here.
Read Advisory Board Updates here.
Samir J. Abdelnour
Attorney
Scott Birkey
Partner
Cox, Castle, & Nicholson
Mary Creasman
Chief Executive Officer
California Environmental Voters
Veronica Eady
Executive Director
West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project
Ruth Greenspan Bell
Visiting Scholar
Environmental Law Institute
Susan Hori
Partner
Manatt
Sharon Jacobs
Professor of Law
UC Berkeley Law
William Kissinger
Partner
Morgan Lewis
Liwen Mah
Conservationist
The Nature Conservancy
Letitia Moore
Partner
Holland & Knight
Harrison Pollak
Attorney
Casey Roberts
Attorney
NRDC
Terry Watt
Consultant
Leuwam Tesfai
Executive Director
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)
Robert Uram
Of Counsel
Sheppard
Matt Armsby
Executive Vice President
Resources Legacy Fund
Louise Gibbons
Partner, Deputy Leader of Orrick’s Energy and Infrastructure Group
Orrick
Andrea Ruiz-Esquide
Deputy City Attorney
San Francisco Attorney’s Office
Niran Somasundaram
Attorney
Hanson Bridgett
Our Work
Our Impact in 2025
Our Impact in 2025
2025 Snapshot: Annual Report
Amidst this year’s unprecedented challenges, CLEE’s mission remains vital. Our commitment to a sustainable, equitable future is unwavering. We continue to cultivate local and subnational partnerships, strengthen communities and infrastructure, and equip the next generation of environmental leaders to navigate our changing climate. Your partnership has been instrumental in our success, and we are grateful for the opportunity to share our impact.
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