Doreen Harris

Doreen HarrisDoreen Harris Headshot

President and CEO

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)

Doreen M. Harris was appointed President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) on April 7, 2021, after serving as Acting President and CEO since June 2020.

President Harris is leading NYSERDA’s work to advance the clean energy technologies and solutions that will help New York meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by no less than 85 percent by 2050 while creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying clean-energy jobs and building an equitable economy. President Harris co-chaired the New York State Climate Action Council, which in December 2022 finalized the State’s Scoping Plan. This plan not only provides the roadmap to achieve the Climate Act’s goals—it has set the standard for other states as they advance climate and clean-energy policies.

To meet the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act’s ambitious emissions targets, under President Harris’s leadership NYSERDA is making significant progress on nation-leading initiatives including clean energy infrastructure and innovation, large-scale renewables, building decarbonization, energy storage, clean fuels and transmission. She has also directed NYSERDA to ensure that its programs are responsive to the diverse needs of all New Yorkers—and that historically marginalized communities are engaged as both partners and beneficiaries of the State’s growing clean-energy economy.

President Harris joined NYSERDA in 2010 and served as Vice President of Large-Scale Renewables, where she spearheaded the strategic development of New York’s land based renewable and offshore wind resource, including the execution of the State’s offshore-wind master plan. She was also instrumental in advancing the Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefits Act, which is modernizing the siting of large-scale renewable energy projects.

Prior to her career in public service, President Harris spent more than a decade in the private sector, serving in management and engineering roles at Alcoa Advanced Technologies, Optimation Technologies and Global Water Technologies, Inc

She serves on the boards of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC), Alliance to Save Energy, National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium, NY CREATES, and NY BEST. She is also a member of the Sustainable

President Harris holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rochester and a Master of Business Administration from the University at Albany, State University of New York