Our Team - Policy Institute

Daniel Sperling

Acting Executive Director

Daniel Sperling is Distinguished Blue Planet Prize Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science and Policy, founding Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies, and founding chair of the Policy Institute for Energy, Environment, and Economy at the University of California, Davis.

Austin Brown

Executive Director (on Leave of Absence until Summer 2022)

Austin builds strong connections between the research and policy communities at the local, state, and national levels with a focus on clean energy and sustainable transportation.

Colin Murphy

Deputy Director

Colin helps guide research and outreach on issues relating to transportation, energy, air quality, and carbon markets.

Mollie Cohen D'Agostino

Policy Director

Mollie directs the 3 Revolutions Future Mobility Program at the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis. Her work spans several sectors and includes environmental policy, community development, and transportation planning.

J.C. Garcia Sanchez

Environmental Justice Policy Analyst

J.C. is an Environmental Justice Policy Analyst focusing on responsible urban development and the equitable distribution of public recreation spaces. He came to UC Davis after working as an Adjunct Faculty for several Community Colleges in Southern California, and as a Lecturer at Cal Poly Pomona.

Brian Harold

Policy Evaluation Specialist

Brian specializes in program evaluation. He focuses on evaluating the design, implementation, and impact of a diverse array of energy, transportation, and natural resources initiatives.

Sara Schremmer

Program and Outreach Manager

Sara manages the Policy Institute’s portfolio of policy research projects and executes engagement strategies to connect research to appropriate policy audiences.

Sam Fuller

Graduate Student Researcher

Sam’s research for the Policy Institute focuses on political behavior. He is interested in how incentives, ideology, and other factors affect behaviors that often influence policy outcomes.

Jerel Francisco

Graduate Student Researcher

Jerel is a graduate student in Transportation, Technology, and Policy. He is focusing his research on the policy implications of new and clean mobility options in the context of local and regional planning.

Amber Mace

Policy Fellow

Amber is Executive Director of the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) and a Policy Fellow with the Policy Institute.

Ingrid Behrsin

Affiliate Researcher

Ingrid works on the processes through which energy technologies and fuels are classified as renewable.

Mark Delucchi

Affiliate Researcher

Mark’s research involves economics (mainly cost-benefit analysis), environmental science, analysis of energy technologies, systems engineering, and town planning.

Julia Ekstrom

Affiliate Researcher, Climate Change Program

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Julie Witcover

Assistant Project Scientist

Julie’s research for the Policy Institute and the Institute of Transportation Studies focuses on transportation and climate policies.

Joshua Stark

Policy Analyst

Joshua focuses on connecting the Policy Institute with decision makers in transportation, land use, air quality, and environmental impacts. Prior to working at UC Davis, Joshua worked in a variety of advocacy and education roles at TransForm, the National Parks Conservation Association, California State Parks, and as a high school teacher.

Anaya Ward

Undergraduate Student Intern

Anaya is currently a 4th year at UC Davis, majoring in Environmental Policy, Analysis, and Planning. Interested in climate change action and transportation-related GHG emissions.

Jin Wook Ro

Graduate Student Researcher

Jin Wook’s research for the Policy Institute focuses on transportation and climate policies. His research focuses on life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) on renewable energy and their implications for related policies.

Casandra Cortez

Graduate Student Researcher

Casandra is an Environmental Policy and Management graduate student. She is working to catalog transportation policies from local and regional governments across the country and quantify greenhouse gas impacts of city policies.

Pedro Liedo Orozco

Graduate Student Researcher

Pedro is a 3rd year Ph.D. student in Agricultural and Resource Economics. His research focuses on energy and environmental economics.

Katherine Turner

Graduate Student Researcher

Katherine is a Transportation Technology and Policy graduate student. She is interested in transportation equity and climate impacts of transportation policy.