The Center for Energy Science & Policy (CESP)

Leadership

Bubbosh, Paul
Co-Director, Local Climate Action Planning
Adjunct Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, College of Science
Adjunct Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government
pbubbosh@gmu.edu

Paul Bubbosh has 25 years of experience working in the environmental sector. He was the former Director of the Energy Security Division in the U.S. Department of Energy where he spent 8 years leading foreign intelligence analysis on global energy and environmental issues. Prior to his service in DOE, he spent 13 years in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he worked in the Offices of Transportation and Air Quality, Radiation and Indoor Air, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, and in the Office of the Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation. At DOE, he published several Presidential Daily Briefs, and at EPA he published air quality guidance on State Implementation Plan credits for voluntary programs. He served as an environmental legal advisor in the U.S. Peace Corps serving in Costa Rica for 2 years. He also worked in The Nature Conservancy conducting legal analysis of Central American environmental laws. Locally, he spent 5 years as Chair of the Montgomery County Energy and Air Quality Advisory Committee and he clerked for the Honorable F. Bruce Bach of the 19th Judicial Circuit in Virginia (Fairfax Circuit Court).

Areas of Expertise/Interest:

  • Environmental Law
  • International Environmental Law
  • Energy Law & Policy
  • Environmental Policy
  • Environmental Security
  • Environmental Politics
Photo of Paul Bubbosh

Hicks, Joel, Ph.D.
CDR, USN (Ret)
Co-Director, Local Climate Action Planning
Adjunct Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government
jhicks19@gmu.edu

Mr. Hicks received his Ph.D. (Public Policy) from George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. He is a former U.S. Naval Officer who served in the nuclear submarine community as well as completing multiple assignments in DoD space acquisition and operational communities. He obtained his Nuclear Engineer credentials through Naval Reactors, and his last active-duty assignment was as Deputy Director, Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC), Vandenberg AFB, CA. Mr. Hicks has also taught two graduate courses, “International Issues in Energy Policy” and “Science, Technology, and Energy Policy” at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs (ESIA).

His dissertation “Behavioral Interventions in Energy Consumption” examines aspects of prospect theory applied to energy consumption behavior. He frequently writes about demand side management (DSM) of energy systems with a focus on energy efficiency, behavioral economics, and public sector energy governance/institutions. In 2019, he successfully ran for a seat on the Carlisle Borough Council for a four-year term and was selected as Chair, Climate Action Commission for Carlisle Borough.

He lives with his partner, Megan, and dog (Ginger) in Carlisle, PA.
He currently teaches two undergraduate classes at the Schar School, “GOVT 366 – Public Policy Analysis” and “GOVT 464 – Governance and Energy Policy”.

Areas of Expertise/Interest:

  • Energy Governance and Policy
  • Behavioral Economics
  • Public Policy Analysis
Photo of Joel Hicks