RFF Welcomes Fellows Suzanne Russo and Milan Elkerbout
Russo and Elkerbout join a team of almost 100 researchers and university fellows dedicated to improving environmental, energy, and natural resource decisions.
Resources for the Future (RFF) is pleased to welcome distinguished scholars Suzanne Russo and Milan Elkerbout as fellows. Russo and Elkerbout join a team of almost 100 researchers and university fellows dedicated to improving environmental, energy, and natural resource decisions.
“We’re incredibly excited to have Suzanne and Milan join the team,” RFF President and CEO Richard G. Newell said. “They bring almost 30 years of valuable expertise and insights to RFF’s research and policy work. I’m glad that they have both chosen RFF as the place to continue their missions of helping our climate and economy.”
Suzanne Russo is the former CEO of Pecan Street Inc., a nonprofit working to advance data and technology solutions for the climate crisis. She comes to RFF following a 13-year tenure at the Austin, Texas-based organization, during which time she helped grow the company into a nationally renowned research organization and founded its Center for Race, Energy, and Climate Justice. Prior to Pecan Street, Russo served as director of sustainability for New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, where she led the development of healthy building and energy efficiency policies for affordable housing.
Russo’s work at RFF will focus on equitability and justice in the climate transition.
“I’m delighted to be joining RFF,” Russo said. “I’ve been continuously impressed with the people and the mission that drive this organization. We’re at a pivotal moment in the climate crisis, and I’m looking forward to continuing my work at RFF alongside new colleagues to help advance an equitable transition.”
Milan Elkerbout joins RFF from the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, Belgium, where he worked since 2014 as a research fellow and head of the organization’s climate policy program. In 2019 and 2020, Elkerbout was based at the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute in Stockholm, Sweden and worked with RFF Senior Fellow Dallas Burtraw as part of the ongoing Mistra Carbon Exit research program.
Elkerbout’s research interests focus on European Union (EU) climate policy, especially with regard to industrial decarbonization policies and the EU emissions trading system.
“Coming to Washington, DC, after spending the first part of my career in Europe will be an exciting change of pace,” Elkerbout said. “The United States is a major force in the international climate change debate—I’m looking forward to bringing my expertise in EU policy here and working with other RFF scholars to help inform transatlantic policy discussions and international climate policy. RFF has had a long-standing impact on the EU climate policy debate and I’m excited to be able to contribute to deepening these linkages further.”
RFF continues to recruit new staffing capacity for many of its programs and initiatives. For more information on RFF’s research priorities, publications, events, editorial resources, and more, please check out our website.
Resources for the Future (RFF) is an independent, nonprofit research institution in Washington, DC. Its mission is to improve environmental, energy, and natural resource decisions through impartial economic research and policy engagement. RFF is committed to being the most widely trusted source of research insights and policy solutions leading to a healthy environment and a thriving economy.
Unless otherwise stated, the views expressed here are those of the individual authors and may differ from those of other RFF experts, its officers, or its directors. RFF does not take positions on specific legislative proposals.
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