Dr. Tony G. Reames, Director
Dr. Reames is the Tishman Professor of Environmental Justice and Director of the U-M SEAS Detroit Sustainability Clinic. Dr. Reames is former Biden-Harris Administration appointee in the US Department of Energy. He conducts research in the field of energy justice, investigating the fair and equitable access to affordable, reliable, efficient and clean energy, and seeks to understand the production and persistence of spatial, racial, and socioeconomic residential energy disparities. He has a PhD in public administration, a Masters in engineering management, and a BS in civil engineering. Dr. Reames is also a licensed professional engineer and a US Army Officer veteran.
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Olivia David, Doctoral candidate
In her research, Olivia is interested in how policy processes and outcomes can advance social and environmental justice and the role of activism in policy-making, with a focus on drinking water policy and politics. Her work draws on and integrates scholarship from multiple fields including environmental justice, policy studies, science and technology studies, and political ecology. Her dissertation research investigates the politics of drinking water policy and infrastructures, using cases of severe water access inequality in Detroit, Michigan and Cape Town, South Africa.
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Kyla T. Smith, Doctoral Student
Kyla’s (she/they) research as a scholar-activist focuses on community control of energy systems and resources. She prioritizes Community-based Participatory Action Research methods in her co-investigations of energy systems change with Black communities. They are also a member of the NAACP WI Environmental and Climate Justice Committee and Blacks for Political and Social Action of Dane County. Academically, she has a Masters in Environment and Resources with a certificate in Energy Analysis and Policy and a Bachelors in Biology with an emphasis in Cellular Biology and Physiology. Kyla is a U-M Rackham Merit Fellow.
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Andrew van BaAl, MS Student
Andrew’s research focuses on the intersection of the energy transition and justice-based economic development, investigating the role that Gen-AI plays in accelerating and/or hindering energy justice. Andrew is Co-President of the Student Sustainability Coalition at U-M Ann Arbor, and a Graduate Student Research Assistant with the Energy Equity Project.
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Affiliates
urbanenergyjusticelab.com 