A Sierra Club conversation with the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental AffairsJoin Massachusetts Sierra Club leaders in conversation with Melissa Lavinson, Executive Director of the Office of Energy Transformation, and Weezie Nuara, Deputy Secretary for Federal & Regional Energy Affairs. Dialogue will focus on Gov. Healey’s proposed legislation to expand nuclear power’s contribution to the Commonwealth’s energy supply portfolio while eliminating the requirement for a statewide referendum on any new nuclear plant sited in Massachusetts.
Melissa Lavinson
Executive Director of the Office of Energy Transformation
Melissa Lavinson serves as the Executive Director of the Office of Energy Transformation for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She is charged with the hands-on execution of the clean energy transition, including ensuring the availability and readiness of electrical infrastructure, electric and gas transition coordination, and a just and equitable transition for impacted workers, communities, and businesses. Lavinson is also charged with convening an Energy Transformation Advisory Board comprised of industry, labor, environmental justice, technology, consumer, and supply chain representatives, among others, to accelerate cooperation, understanding, and action.
Prior to joining the Healey-Driscoll Administration, she served as Head of Corporate Affairs for National Grid, New England, leading state and municipal government relations, community and stakeholder engagement, media relations, municipal customer management, strategic communications, and the company’s philanthropic program in New England. Previously, Lavinson was Senior Vice President of Federal Government and Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy at Exelon Corporation and Senior Vice President of Governmental and External Affairs for Pepco Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Pepco, Delmarva Power, and Atlantic City Electric, which provide gas and electric service to Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and the District of Columbia. Lavinson also spent more than 20 years at California-based PG&E Corporation, including as Vice President of Federal Affairs and Policy and Chief Sustainability Officer. Earlier in her career, she worked at MRW and Associates and in ICF Consulting’s Climate Change Practice. Lavinson holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Hamilton College.
Mary Louise “Weezie” Nuara
Deputy Secretary for Federal and Regional Energy Affairs
Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Weezie Nuara serves as Deputy Secretary for Federal and Regional Energy Affairs at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs where she is focused on advancing the Commonwealth’s affordability, reliability, and clean energy priorities through state, regional, and federal collaboration. Prior to joining the Commonwealth, Weezie served as Dominion Energy’s State Policy Director for New England where she was responsible for all local, state, and regional policy matters impacting Dominion Energy’s Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Waterford, Connecticut. Prior to Dominion, Weezie was a Senior Policy Advisor for ISO New England, the region’s grid operator, where she was responsible for managing government affairs in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Prior to joining ISO New England, Weezie worked as an attorney and legal intern for Dominion Energy where she focused on environmental compliance for the company’s merchant generation fleet in New England.
Weezie sits on the Board of Directors for New England Women in Energy and the Environment (NEWIEE) where she serves as co-chair of the Mentorship Committee and is one of the organization’s past presidents. She received her undergraduate degree in Government from the University of Virginia and her Juris Doctor from the New England School of Law.