Brian Levite
Senior Analyst
National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL)

Biography
Brian Levite, Senior Analyst, brings analysis expertise in policy, strategic planning, program design, and market transformation to the National Renewable Energy Lab’s Washington, D.C. office. Brian’s primary research interests include improving the use of policy analysis in decision-making, efficacy of policy tools (RPS, RECS, etc.) for renewables, and the intersection of renewable energy and economic development.

With a B.A. in environmental policy and political science and a M.P.P in public policy, both from American University, Brian’s past work includes project management for SENTECH Inc., senior analysis for ICF Consulting Inc., and research for Alliance to Save Energy. Brian actively publishes and presents in the fields of policy, energy, and environmental sustainability.

Mark Jurkowitz
Associate Director, Pew Research Center’s Project for
Excellence in Journalism

Biography
Mark Jurkowitz is the Associate Director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, and has spent nearly two decades covering the news media. He was the press critic and author of the Boston Phoenix’s “Don’t Quote Me” column from 1987-1994 and again from July 2005 until June 2006. In between, he spent 10 years at The Boston Globe, initially as the paper’s ombudsman and then as its first full-time media beat writer. A graduate of Boston University, Jurkowitz has taught a course on media ethics at both Northeastern University and Tufts University and has been a commentator on media-related issues on outlets ranging from CNN’s “Reliable Sources” to NPR’s “On the Media.” He has also made more than 300 appearances as a regular panelist on “Beat the Press,” a weekly program on Boston’s WGBH-TV that scrutinizes the journalism profession. In the 1990’s, he spent a number of years as a radio talk host on WHDH-AM and WRKO-AM in Boston.

Professor Scott T. Shipley
Director of WxAnalyst
Research Professor of Geography, George Mason
University

Biography
Prof. Scott T. Shipley is Director of WxAnalyst, a scientific and technical consulting company. He is also Research Professor of Geography with George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Scott has a PhD in Meteorology with minors in Physics and Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Prior experience includes work with NOAA (National Weather Service, NESDIS and the National Marine Sanctuaries), NASA (Ozone Lidar and IceSAT Missions), Raytheon (Program Manager and Chief Scientist for NPOESS satellite), and the USDA World Agricultural Outlook Board. Scott is a co-inventor of the High Spectral Resolution Lidar, cockpit weather displays, and the new WxAzygy™ Interface for Google Earth.

Dr. Shipley is a Climate AGNOSTIC. He is not a big fan of numerical models, and has dedicated his career to atmospheric measurements and their analysis. He was inadvertently drawn into the Shuttle Challenger accident investigation (January 1986), which led in part to his resignation from NASA. Current research interests include shortcomings of the Nation’s weather radar system, and hidden assumptions in numerical models and remote sensing algorithms. Scott appears to have a nose for trouble, and has no problem finding it, which is why Mason students call him “Dr T”.