Disclaimers: The views and opinions expressed by presenters at Deep Dialogues and Expert Series and chapter meetings are those of the presenters and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of Elders Climate Action Massachusetts.
We heard from Katherine Antos, Undersecretary of Decarbonization & Resilience, EEA, on resilience and energy affordability. We also heard from Rachel Boyce of the Make Polluters Pay campaign, along with other updates and news from members’ active local engagement, like participating in the Environmental Voter Project.
View the meeting video below.
Melissa Hoffer joined us to open the monthly Chapter Meeting with a motivational presentation. At the Chapter Meeting we discussed current and ongoing member advocacy, engagement and moving our work forward!
You can view the video of the Sep 8th Chapter Meeting HERE
Rick Collins, EEA Director of Siting and Permitting, provided an update on what’s been happening since the MA Energy Siting Bill was passed two years ago and on the newly created MA State Energy Siting Division’s work
Rick Collins is the Director of the Clean Energy Siting & Permitting Division within the Department of Energy Resources. He is charged with managing the department’s rulemaking process under the 2024 Climate Law to set up a more efficient and consistent local permitting process for small clean energy infrastructure facilities, as well as developing a technical assistance program to support municipalities, project proponents, and other stakeholders. He brings to the role more than 20 years of public affairs and corporate communications experience, with a particular focus on municipal governance and high-tech innovation.
Click here to view a recording of the meeting.
Click here to view Rick’s slides.
Mike Barrett is an elected member of the State Senate in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He serves as Senate Chair of the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy — effectively, the Legislature’s climate committee.
Since 2018, Mike’s been the chief architect of three major bills that position Massachusetts in the top rank of states responding to the climate crisis. The most recent of these, An Act Promoting A Clean Energy Grid, Advancing Equity and Protecting Ratepayers, eases the construction of electric power infrastructure, limits the construction of natural gas infrastructure, clears the way for installing EV chargers, promotes offshore wind, solar and battery storage projects, and does several dozen other things. The Act was signed by Gov. Maura Healey in November 2024.
A slide with ECA’s legislative priorities is available here.
A video of the meeting can be viewed below.
The Massachusetts Senate is writing its version of the energy affordability bill this month, and the House is taking up the environmental bond bill. These two bills will set the stage for statewide climate action in 2026 and beyond. We need to focus our advocacy and start reaching out to our legislators ASAP.
We reviewed and discussed ECA Mass and our allies’ priorities for these bills. Legislative and climate policy leaders shared their thoughts in a conversation about the bills and strategies for gaining support for our proposals.
Attendees are now prepared to jump start their own advocacy for the legislation we need to advance Massachusetts’ clean energy and decarbonization goals and to join in the efforts of ECA Mass and other climate groups working to get these passed.
Our ECA Mass March Chapter Meeting featured Katherine Antos (left), the Undersecretary for Decarbonization and Resilience at Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. She leads efforts to achieve Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and equip people, the environment and infrastructure to adapt to climate change.She presented on the “Resilience Finance Report.”
Melissa Lavinson (right) serves as the Executive Director of the Office of Energy Transformation for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She is charged with the hands-on execution of the clean energy transition, including ensuring the availability and readiness of electrical infrastructure, electric and gas transition coordination, and a just and equitable transition for impacted workers, communities, and businesses. Ms. Lavinson spoke about the Financing the Transition work group and the “Financing the Transition” report which will be released soon.
You can view the slides here.
View the video of the meeting below:
Our ECA Mass March Chapter Meeting featured Patrick A. Parenteau, a frequent guest and commentator on Public Radio’s environmental news program, Living on Earth with Steve Curwood. He joined the Chapter Meeting to share the latest news regarding climate accountability court cases, the Administration’s recission of the 2009 Endangerment Finding, and what these cases mean in terms of mitigating climate change impacts and how we manage the high cost of climate fueled impacts.
Patrick Parenteau is Emeritus Professor of Law and Senior Counsel in the Environmental Advocacy Clinic at Vermont Law School with an extensive background in environmental and natural resources law. His previous positions include Vice President for Conservation with the National Wildlife Federation in Washington, DC; Regional Counsel to the New England Regional Office of the EPA. Patrick is a Fulbright US Scholar and a Fellow in the American College of Environmental Lawyers.
A video of the presenter and his remarks may be viewed below.
Timmons Roberts, Ittleson Professor of Environment and Society at Brown University, Executive Director of the Climate Social Science Network, a network of more than 800 scholars across 49 countries. We learned from his description of the issue and the work being done to stop it.
In order to understand the climate crisis we face, it is important to understand how climate deception became established and entrenched. The effort to subvert, stall and kill policy to regulate the polluting impact of many industries is global, with a playbook for any situation that threatens the industry, and powered by a deep and seemingly infinite flow of money from vested interests into political systems. But there are emerging opportunities to change this trajectory.
Opening remarks were provided by Naomi Oreskes, Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University and author of Merchants of Doubt, co-authored by Erik M. Conway, Why Trust Science, and numerous other books and articles.
View the meeting video below:
Jamie Van Nostrand, Policy Director at The Future of Heat Initiative, joined us for our January 2026 kickoff meeting.
Jamie Van Nostrand served as Chair of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities from May 2023 to October 2025. Prior to his appointment to the DPU, Van Nostrand was a Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Energy and Sustainable Development at the West Virginia University College of Law. He is the author of The Coal Trap: How West Virginia Was Left Behind in the Clean Energy Revolution (Cambridge University Press, 2022).
Jamie spoke with us on Our Energy Future: Challenges on the Road to Net Zero. You can view the video of this meeting below.
After an in-person potluck lunch we heard from Ryan Kingston, Decarbonization Planning Manager for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation. The decarbonization efforts of Massachusetts state entities are guided by Leading by Example (LBE) Executive Order 594: Decarbonizing and Minimizing Environmental Impacts of State Government. Ryan presented on the Decarbonization of the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) which includes its buildings, fleets, EV charging stations, electrification of machinery and tools.
We will not hold a fourth Monday Deep Dialog this month – happy holidays! Deep Dialog will resume in January.
View Ryan’s slides here.
View the meeting video below.