Johanna (she/her) is the Executive Director at the Climate & Community Institute. She directs the network of researchers and experts to develop crucial and justice-based climate policy. Her research focuses on extraction and fossil fuels, energy justice and democracy, and the political economy of transitions. Prior to joining the Climate and Community Project, Johanna managed the Climate and Energy Program at the Democracy Collaborative, a think tank focused on designing a more democratic economy. Johanna cut her teeth organizing in the Netherlands against fossil fuel infrastructure, influence, and finance, particularly against Royal Dutch Shell. Her work has been published and cited in outlets such as the Nation, the Guardian, Huffington Post, and the Hill.
All Contributions
Building Power for Public Power with Sarahana Shrestha
A webinar hosted by the Climate and Community Project and Lead Local on April 19, 2023 to discuss New York’s Build Public Renewables Act featuring Johanna …
A New Era of Public Power
In 2019, New York State lawmakers passed the most ambitious state-level climate legislation in the country—and among the most ambitious in the world. The Climate Leadership …
The Power of Community Utilities
Publicly and cooperatively owned electric utilities (community utilities) have the potential to demonstrate what an equitable, clean energy system looks like in the United States. They …
A Progressive Take on Permitting Reform
The climate crisis is hitting communities across the United States with increasing force—wildfire seasons become more extreme each year, hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast with more …
Just Disaster Response
The 2022 hurricane season exposes the trend of increasing extreme weather due to the climate crisis. Scientists cataloged six named storms, four hurricanes and two major …
Inflation Reduction Act
After an excruciating year of negotiations and ceaseless pressure from the climate movement, Senators Manchin and Schumer came to a deal: the Inflation Reduction Act. If …
Ceasefire now, ceasefire forever: No climate justice without Palestinian freedom and self‑determination
Climate crisis in Palestine cannot be detached from the Israeli occupation. The brutal and extensively documented apartheid regime that Israel imposes and maintains over Palestinians is …
Who Owns Power in the Energy Transition?
Governments globally have privatized and marketized the electricity sector as part of the larger economic trend toward neoliberalism over the past 50 years. Fully decarbonizing the …
Planning to Build Faster: A Solar Energy Case Study
Energy analysts suggest that the United States will need to build millions of acres of solar capacity—totaling an area potentially as large as West Virginia—to reach …
The 2023 People Power for Public Power Summit: The State of the Movement
At this pivotal moment—of climate crisis, utility failures, and climbing prices—people from all walks of life in the United States are once more looking toward public …
