Earth Week at Columbia Business School

Alexis Abramson is the dean of the Columbia Climate School and a Professor of Climate. She is a climate thought leader and an expert in sustainable energy technology, with extensive experience in academic administration. Professor Abramson’s research has focused broadly on thermal transport, from designing nanostructured materials to addressing building energy efficiency. Before coming to her role at Columbia in January 2025, Professor Abramson served as the dean of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. Prior to her tenure at Dartmouth, she was the Milton and Tamar Maltz Professor of Energy Innovation at Case Western Reserve University and served as a director of that university’s Great Lakes Energy Institute where she focused on creating sustainable energy technology solutions. Abramson also co-founded Edifice Analytics, a start-up that conducts virtual energy audits and manages building efficiency optimization.

During the Obama administration, Abramson held the role of chief scientist and manager of the Emerging Technologies Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office. She has previously served as a technical advisor to Breakthrough Energy Ventures, established by Bill Gates to invest in startup companies with significant potential to mitigate climate change. Professor Abramson’s research has included novel techniques for thermal characterization of nanostructures, the design and synthesis of unique nanomaterials for use in alternative energy applications, and strategies to accelerate technology commercialization at universities and research institutions. She has also written about gender imbalances in academic settings and the importance of taking a human-centered and multidisciplinary approach to education and research, particularly in STEM and related fields. Professor Abramson earned her BS and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Diana Hernandez conducts research at the intersection of energy, equity, housing and health. A sociologist by training, her work examines the social and environmental determinants of health and has studied the impacts of policy and place-based interventions on the health and well-being of socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Her foundational research on energy insecurity- defined as the inability to adequately meet household energy needs- has explored the multiple dimensions of this phenomenon identifying sociodemographic disparities, adverse consequences and promising interventions toward energy equity and justice. 

Much of her community-oriented research has been done in collaboration with community groups and government agencies around the country, including in the South Bronx, where she has led small-scale housing redevelopment projects. Dr. Hernandez has published over 75 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in leading academic journals such as Social Science & Medicine, Journal of Urban Health and Energy Policy. Her work been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the JPB, Robert Wood Johnson, and Alfred P. Sloan Foundations, among others. Professor Hernandez teaches graduate level courses on qualitative research methods, design and analysis; public health leadership; and energy justice. She is a Mayoral Appointee to NYC's Environmental Justice Advisory Board. Dr. Hernandez has written for and been featured in various media outlets including the NY Times, USA Today, BBC, NY Daily News and CityLab. Her first book about energy insecurity in the US is due to be published in 2024.

Chris Levesque is president and chief executive officer of TerraPower, and also serves as a member of the TerraPower Board. He was appointed to that position in November 2018 after having served as president of TerraPower since 2015. Levesque leads this nuclear innovation company in the pursuit of nextgeneration nuclear energy solutions and also oversees TerraPower’s new venture into therapeutic medical isotopes. His proven track record in scoping, planning and implementing complex projects began with his service in the U.S. Nuclear Navy and features more than 30 years of experience in the nuclear field.

Prior to joining TerraPower, Levesque led major new reactor build efforts at both Westinghouse and AREVA, overseeing projects in both the U.S. and Finland. Before his assignment in Finland, he led the formation of AREVA’s joint venture with Newport News Shipbuilding, AREVA Newport News, for which he served as chairman of the Board and president.

Levesque has extensive experience with the nuclear industrial base and nuclear component manufacturing. Earlier in his career, Levesque served as the manager of engineering and manufacturing at Westinghouse’s Newington, New Hampshire, component manufacturing facility, and he has served in multiple management positions at two nuclear-capable shipyards. Levesque began his career as a nuclear submarine officer and served on both the USS Boise (SSN 764) and the USS Will Rogers (SSBN 659). On Boise, he supervised initial criticality and reactor startup testing, and qualified as chief engineer.

Levesque holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a Master of Science in mechanical engineering and a Naval Engineer degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He currently serves on the Department of Energy’s Energy Workforce Advisory Board that advises the Secretary on workforce issues; and serves on the Board of the Nuclear Energy Institute.

Peter Malinowski is executive director of the Billion Oyster Project, which over the last 10 years has restored over 120 million oysters to the bottom of New York Harbor and engaged over 100,000 New Yorkers in hands-on ecosystem restoration work. Prior to this, his passion for the environment and education led him to the New York Harbor School, where he founded the school’s aquaculture and oyster-restoration programs and taught for five years. This work at Harbor School led to the development of Billion Oyster Project in 2014. He grew up farming oysters with his parents and siblings on the Fishers Island Oyster Farm. Pete spends as much of his free time as possible on the water or in the woods with his three children.

Nando Rodriguez is an award-winning community gardener and organizer who serves as Senior Manager for Environmental Programming at The Brotherhood Sister Sol (BroSis). He is a first-generation Dominican-American, born and raised in New York City’s Lower East Side. In 1995, he joined BroSis as a founding member. As a teen, he also participated in Open Road of New York, which works with youth on outdoor environmental projects.

Since joining the BroSis staff in 2005, he has played a key role in overseeing and expanding its environmental programming. He leads and manages the 6,000-square-foot NYC Parks Department Green Thumb Garden and Environmental Education Center. Additionally, he has co-facilitated BroSis’ International Study Program, traveling to Ghana, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.

He holds certifications in Green Living Technology (GLT), Participatory Design (PD), and Edible Walls and Green Roof design. From 2003 to 2008, Nando served as the Director of Open Road Park, one of the larger green spaces created in the East Village due to community organizing.

Rodriguez holds a B.A. in Liberal Studies with a minor in Environmental Science from the State University of New York at Purchase College, where he received the Highest Community Service Award for his work. He has also been awarded the Catalog for Giving’s Urban Star Award and the Urban Hero Award.

In collaboration with Open Road, Rodriguez is leading BroSis’s 1,000 Composting Initiative, which would establish dozens of local composting sites in community gardens, parks, and public spaces throughout the five boroughs, increase environmental education amongst community residents, and create green jobs. 

David M. Schizer served as a dean of the Law School from 2004 to 2014 and is one of the nation’s leading tax scholars. His research also focuses on nonprofits, energy law, and corporate governance. He is the author of How to Save the World in Six (Not So Easy) Steps: Bringing Out the Best in Nonprofits as well as a co-chair of the Columbia Task Force on Antisemitism, a founder and co-director of the Richard Paul Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy, a founder and co-chair of the Center for Israeli Legal Studies, and a founder and co-chair of the Charles Evans Gerber Transactional Studies Center. 

Gernot Wagner is a climate economist at Columbia Business School and faculty director of its Climate Knowledge Initiative. He has written six books, including Climate Shock and, most recently, Geoengineering: the Gamble. His teaching, research, and writing focus on climate risks and climate policies. Gernot writes a monthly, globally syndicated column and is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, Washington Post, and elsewhere.