Beth is a Senior Program Officer of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, where she leads consensus studies to inform government, private and public sector decisionmakers on key areas of domestic and global energy policy, such as technologies for vehicle energy efficiency and technical and policy needs for deep decarbonization. Recently, she co-directed a study of the status and research needs for carbon utilization, which provided an assessment of research and commercialization needs for carbon dioxide, methane and biogas utilization. Beth is trained as a chemist and has previously served as an AAAS STPF Fellow at the U.S. foreign assistance agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

Bob Perciasepe is President of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), a leading, independent voice for practical policy and action to address our climate and energy challenges.

Mr. Perciasepe has been an environmental policy leader in and outside government for more than 40 years, most recently as Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He has built a reputation for bringing diverse stakeholders together to solve problems.

While Mr. Perciasepe was Deputy Administrator from 2009 to 2014, EPA set stricter auto emissions and mileage standards, increased protections for the nation’s streams and rivers, and developed carbon emissions standards for power plants. He was previously assistant administrator for both the agency’s water and clean air programs, leading efforts improve America’s drinking water safety and reduce sulfur in gasoline and diesel fuel to reduce smog.

Mr. Perciasepe has held top positions in state and municipal government – as Maryland Secretary of the Environment and as a Baltimore senior planning official – and he was chief operating officer of the National Audubon Society.

Among his awards are the American University's William K. Reilly Award for Environmental Leadership, the American Lung Association’s Distinguished Service Award and the Walter G. Wells Conservation Award.