Ernest J. Moniz

Former United States Secretary of Energy

Ernest J. Moniz is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) and president of EJM Associates. The Energy Futures Initiative advances science-based solutions to climate change through evidence-based analysis, thought leadership, and coalition-building. EFI conducts rigorous research to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy through innovation in technology, policy, and business models.He served as the 13th United States Secretary of Energy where he advanced energy technology innovation, nuclear security and strategic stability, cutting-edge capabilities for the American scientific research community, and environmental stewardship. In that role, he strengthened the Department of Energy (DOE) strategic partnerships with its seventeen national laboratories while producing energy policies that attracted bipartisan support. Since 2017, he has also served as Co-Chair and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse 

United States Senator for Rhode Island 

Sheldon Whitehouse has earned a reputation in the Senate as a fierce advocate for progressive values and a thoughtful legislator capable of reaching across the aisle to achieve bipartisan solutions. 

Representing the Ocean State, Whitehouse plays a key role in crafting policies addressing climate change, environmental protection, and a price on carbon.  He passed into law a dedicated fund to support ocean and coastal research and restoration and bipartisan legislation to confront the crisis of marine plastic and other waste polluting our oceans.  He has worked to enact bipartisan measures to reduce carbon pollution and boost America’s clean energy economy.