Schwartz will oversee the 120-employee agency and be responsible for implementing the state’s new 10-Year Energy Action Plan, which outlines a road map for improving energy efficiency and clean energy infrastructure while maintaining competitive energy rates for all Oregonians.
“I am excited that Lisa will be returning to public service as the new director of this important agency,” said Governor Kitzhaber. “With her extensive experience in energy policy, regulation, and education, she will bring steady leadership to ODOE’s talented group of energy experts, and I look forward to working with her to implement
“Oregon’s Department of Energy has an impressive record of innovation, from developing the nation’s first statewide energy code for homes to leading the effort to provide stable funding for energy efficiency programs that help reduce utility bills for residents and businesses,” said Schwartz. “I look forward to working with the talented ODOE staff and with Governor Kitzhaber, agencies, and stakeholders to achieve the goals in the statewide 10-Year Energy Action Plan.”
Schwartz has 25 years of experience in the energy sector. Most recently, she was a senior associate at the Regulatory Assistance Project, a global nonprofit for energy and environmental issues, where she advised states on clean energy programs, worked with the Western Governors’ Association on renewable energy and transmission initiatives, and offered technical expertise on federal studies.
She began her state service in 1997 as assistant administrator of the Oregon State University Extension Energy Program. In 1995, she joined ODOE, where she helped reform energy efficiency programs for utility customers, led an annual conservation campaign with electric and natural gas utilities, and chaired a committee that developed renewable energy and market-based options for electricity consumers. At the Oregon Public Utility Commission from 2002 through early 2009, she helped develop the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard and oversaw work on renewable resources, distributed generation, and peak demand management.
Schwartz serves on the Western Electricity Coordinating Council’s Transmission Expansion Planning Policy Committee.
