Derek Walker

Work

Previously, Derek was Director of EDF’s California Climate Initiative and Deputy Director of EDF’s States Climate Program. In that role, he managed EDF’s engagement in the implementation of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB32) and helped lead successful campaigns to pass statewide greenhouse gas policies in New Jersey and Connecticut and to strengthen the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) regional cap-and-trade program. He has testified on climate change legislation before several state legislatures and state and federal regulatory bodies.

Derek is an accomplished speaker on climate change and energy issues. He has made presentations at several major conferences, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in Bali, Indonesia (December 2007); the Governor’s Climate and Forests Task Force meeting in Belem, Brazil (June 2009); the Harvard Electricity Policy Group Plenary in Santa Monica, CA (March 2010); the California State Senate Select Committee on the Environment, the Economy and Climate Change field hearing in Los Angeles, CA (August 2010); the annual Business for Climate event of the Centre for Sustainability Studies at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Sao Paulo, Brazil (October 2011); and the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, UAE (January 2013). In April and May 2010, he conducted briefings on energy efficiency policy for senior members of the Vietnamese Parliament and senior officials of Vietnamese federal and provincial regulatory agencies in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Danang, Vietnam.

He serves on board of the California Foundation for the Environment and the Economy (CFEE); the American Climate Registry (ACR) Advisory Council; the Steering Committee of the Bay Area Climate Collaborative; and the Board of Directors of the Clean Power Campaign. He is a past member of Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC) Research Committee. Derek also co-chairs EDF’s Diversity Committee.

Background

Prior to joining EDF, Derek was Executive Director of the Maryland Democratic Party and Senior Vice President of the Hawthorn Group, L.C., a public affairs firm. He was trained by former Vice President Al Gore as a presenter on global warming science and solutions for The Climate Project.

Education:
He received a B.A. in English from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and spent a year studying at University College, Oxford.