NYSERDA Announces Richard Kauffman Reappointed as Board Chairman

Two Current Board Members Also Reappointed, Three New Members Join Board

June 11, 2021

The New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced Richard Kauffman has been reappointed as NYSERDA’s Board Chairman after being confirmed by the New York State Senate. In addition, two current Board members, Sherburne “Shere” Abbott and Jay Koh, were also reappointed, while Arturo Garcia-Costas, Sarah “Sadie” McKeown, and Frances A. Resheske were confirmed as new appointments to the NYSERDA Board.

”I am honored to be reappointed as Chairman of the NYSERDA Board, and to be given this opportunity to further assist the Authority with carrying out its critical mission and vision as we implement New York’s transition to a clean energy economy,” said Richard Kauffman, Chairman of NYSERDA’s Board. “I look forward to continuing to work with our existing members and welcome our new members in joining our important work. I also want to express our profound gratitude to Kate Fish, Mark Willis and Ken Daly, who will be concluding their service on the Board, for their insight and guidance over the years, and for their contributions to help shape New York’s clean energy future.”

“I sincerely congratulate Richard on his reappointment as Chairman of NYSERDA’s Board as his extraordinary leadership, diligent oversight and seasoned guidance is invaluable to NYSERDA as we work to execute New York’s nation-leading climate agenda in our fight on climate change,” said Doreen M. Harris, NYSERDA President and Chief Executive Officer. “I also extend a warm welcome to our newest members whose diverse sector knowledge will complement the expertise of our existing members to help New York advance new major clean energy initiatives and transition to an equitable, clean economy that benefits all New Yorkers.”

Mr. Kauffman has served as Chairman since 2013. In his service to NYSERDA, he has helped guide and oversee NYSERDA’s implementation of New York’s nation-leading climate change and carbon emission reduction goals as outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). Signed into law in 2019 by Governor Cuomo, the CLCPA is the most aggressive climate and clean energy initiative in the nation and places the state on a path to economy wide carbon neutrality. Through his leadership as Chairman, Mr. Kauffman is helping the Authority protect communities from climate change and ensure a sustainable future while creating green jobs, stimulating the economy, and ensuring that the benefits of clean energy investments are realized by disadvantaged communities.

In addition to his current role at NYSERDA, Mr. Kauffman is an Adjunct Senior Scholar at Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy and also serves as Chair of Generate Capital, a leading financier of clean energy projects.

NYSERDA Board Reappointments:

Sherburne “Shere” Abbott

A member of NYSERDA’s Board since 2014, Sherburne “Shere” Abbott has been reappointed. Ms. Abbott is the Professor of Sustainability Science and Policy and Director of Environment, Sustainability and Policy at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Her research and teaching interests lie at the interface of science and society—principally on issues related to climate change, energy and sustainability.

Previously, she was a senior advisor to President Barack Obama and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 30, 2009 as the associate director for environment and energy in the President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, serving as a deputy to the President’s science advisor. She was responsible for coordinating the research and development portfolio for environment and natural resources, including overseeing the $2.4 billion U.S. Global Change Research Program, and the interagency committees on earth observing systems, air and water quality, disaster reduction, ecological services, toxins, the Arctic, and ocean science and technology.

Jay Koh

Jay Koh, also appointed to the NYSERDA Board in 2014, has been reappointed to fill the economist seat on the Board. Mr. Koh has over 20 years of experience in investing and public policy in the public and private sectors and is Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Lightsmith Group. Prior to co-founding Lightsmith in 2016, Mr. Koh was a Managing Director and Partner of Siguler Guff, a global alternative investment firm with over $10 billion under management. Prior to Siguler Guff, Mr. Koh was the Head of Investment Funds and Chief Investment Strategist at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), where he led the agency’s $2.6 billion active emerging markets private equity program.

In addition to serving on NYSERDA’s Board, Mr. Koh serves on the Private Sector Advisory Group to the UN Green Climate Fund and the advisory committee to the NY Green Bank. He is also Founder & Chair of the Global Adaptation & Resilience Investment Working Group (GARI), a private investor-led initiative that was launched at Paris COP21 and is an official partner of the UN Secretary General’s A2R Climate Resilience Initiative.

Newly Appointed NYSERDA Board Members:

Arturo Garcia-Costas

Arturo Garcia-Costas has been appointed to fill the environmental nonprofit representative seat on the Board.

Mr. Garcia-Costas brings 20 years of policy experience in environmental health, climate change, sustainable energy and biodiversity conservation, and is currently managing the New York Community Trust’s National and New York City Environment programs. He has worked at the local, state and federal levels of government, and ran a United Nations Development Program initiative focused on implementing the Rio Conventions. While at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the Clinton administration, he led an agency effort to engage with Latinos on their most pressing environmental concerns, and later worked on climate justice issues with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, where he co-authored the environmental justice analysis in the 2009 State Energy Plan. Mr. Garcia-Costas also serves on the board of Friends of the Earth .U.S. and is co-chair of the New York Environmental Funders Network.

Sarah “Sadie” McKeown

Sarah “Sadie” McKeown has been appointed to fill an at-large seat on the Board.

Ms. McKeown is Executive Vice President and Head of Construction Lending and Initiatives at The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC). In this capacity she leads the company’s construction lending activities including the operation of its six regional field offices located throughout New York State with an annual average originations production of $300 million. Sadie also oversees CPC’s numerous initiatives, which include its innovative sustainability practice, the ACCESS fund to strengthen and support minority developers and real estate entrepreneurs, and CPC’s partnership with New York State in providing COVID relief funding to small multifamily building owners.

Frances A. Resheske

Frances A. Resheske has been appointed to fill the electric utility representative seat on the Board.

Ms. Resheske is Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs at Con Edison, serving as both the voice of the company to external stakeholders and driving employee engagement internally. Ms. Resheske’s unique background combines corporate affairs, political and regulatory strategy, corporate philanthropy, community and grassroots organizing, and 30 years of experience in nonprofit board leadership. In 2002, she developed Con Edison’s first corporate affairs department, and currently manages 120 employees and a $50 million budget. She is a member of the Leadership, Strategy, and Financial Oversight Steering Committees, the Cyber and Emergency Management Steering Committee (including COVID-19 oversight) and the Diversity and Inclusion Council. Ms. Resheske is a corporate board member of Con Edison Transmission, Inc. and the Clean Energy Businesses and serves as a board member of BAM, GrowNYC, NYC & Co, the Building Congress, the Alfred E. Smith Foundation and the Association for a Better New York and its Foundation.

As required by New York State law, all NYSERDA Board reappointments, as well as new appointments, were confirmed during yesterday’s session of the New York State Senate.

For more information about NYSERDA’s Board, please visit: https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/About/Board-Governance.

New York State's Nation-Leading Climate Plan

Governor Cuomo's nation-leading climate agenda is the most aggressive climate and clean energy initiative in the nation, calling for an orderly and just transition to clean energy that creates jobs and continues fostering a green economy as New York State recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Enshrined into law through the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, New York is on a path to achieve its mandated goal of a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, and to reach economy wide carbon neutrality. It builds on New York's unprecedented investments to ramp-up clean energy including over $21 billion in 91 large-scale renewable projects across the state, $6.8 billion to reduce buildings emissions, $1.8 billion to scale up solar, more than $1 billion for clean transportation initiatives, and over $1.2 billion in NY Green Bank commitments. Combined, these investments are supporting more than 150,000 jobs in New York's clean energy sector in 2019, a 2,100 percent growth in the distributed solar sector since 2011 and a commitment to develop 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035. Under Governor Cuomo's leadership, New York will build on this progress and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, while ensuring that at least 35 percent with a goal of 40 percent of the benefits of clean energy investments are directed to disadvantaged communities, and advance progress towards the state's 2025 energy efficiency target of reducing on-site energy consumption by 185 trillion BTUs of end-use energy savings.

About NYSERDA

NYSERDA, a public benefit corporation, offers objective information and analysis, innovative programs, technical expertise, and funding to help New Yorkers increase energy efficiency, save money, use renewable energy, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. NYSERDA professionals work to protect the environment and create clean-energy jobs. NYSERDA has been developing partnerships to advance innovative energy solutions in New York State since 1975. To learn more about NYSERDA’s programs and funding opportunities, visit nyserda.ny.gov or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram.