DEBORAH GORDON

 

Charlottesville, Virginia

434.960.5407 (phone) 208.330.1212 (fax)

dxgordon@gmail.com (email)

http://dxgordon.googlepages.com/home (website)

 

 

 

Professional Experience

 

     Policy Consultant

         1996 to present    

Specializing in transportation, energy and environmental policy for non-profit, foundation, academic, public, and private sector clients.  

·  Projects include: policy analysis; policy design and development; strategic planning; feasibility studies; technical and policy white papers; cost-benefit evaluations; technology transfer; technical assistance; technical and policy support to foundations and coalitions

·  Issues include: innovative transportation and energy policies; fiscal measures; economic incentives; congestion mitigation; environmental impacts of transportation, sprawl, land use; transportation energy efficiency; new mobility options; alternative transportation fuels

·  Clients include: Hewlett Foundation; Energy Foundation; National Commission on Energy Policy; California Energy Commission; International Council on Clean Transportation; Union of Concerned Scientists

 

     Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

          Senior Research Scholar/Program Director     1996 to 2000    

 

·  Co-Directed the Yale Transportation and Environment Program, conducted applied research on transportation policymaking

·  Designed and taught graduate seminar on transportation and the environment

 

     

        Union of Concerned Scientists

        Director of Transportation & Energy Programs/Sr. Policy Analyst   1989 to 1996  

 

·  Supervised and directed staff of 14 professionals in four different U.S. locations and managed a program budget of $1.5 million

·  Delivered expert testimony and advice on transportation, environmental, and energy policy issues to government, non-profit, foundation, media, academia, and private sector

· Developed precedent-setting transportation policies including clean-car incentive programs, alternative fuels proposals, and intelligent transportation system criteria

 

 

     Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (U.S. Department of Energy)

         Research Assistant     1988 to 1989    

 

·  Designed and analyzed a market incentive program to increase consumer demand for green motor vehicles and, under a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; drafted model legislation (DRIVE+) in California which was passed by the State Legislature and has served as a model for developing feebate programs in other states and nations

 

     Chevron U.S.A., Inc.

         Chemical and Regulatory Engineer     1982 to 1987    

 

·  Served as principal negotiator for environmental mitigation strategies and permit conditions for major off-shore oil development

·  Delivered public testimony, monitored regulatory developments, and advised Chevron staff to ensure environmental compliance

 

 

Education

 

     University of California, Berkeley

        Goldman School of Public Policy

            Masters of Public Policy, 1989    

 

        University of Colorado, Boulder

        Chemical Engineering

     Bachelor of Science, 1982

 

 

Current Projects

 

Two Billion Cars  (with D. Sperling), Oxford University Press, January 2009; paperback edition with new Afterword, March 2010

Blogs: New York Times, Wheels, December 17, 2008; Yale Environment 360, March 5, 2009; The Page 99 Test, January 21, 2009; OUP Blog, Time for Washington to Lead, January 8, 2009; OUP Blog, Countdown to Copenhagen, December 1, 2009

 

Publications (selected)

 

Steering a New Course: Transportation, Energy, and the Environment, (Washington, D.C.: Island Press), 1991, 236 pp. (currently used as a textbook in University transportation policy courses)

 

Managing Motorcycles: Opportunities to Reduce Pollution and Fuel Use from Two- and Three-Wheeled Vehicles, International Council on Clean Transportation (co-authored with Fatumata Kamakate), October 2009

 

Driving Transportation Innovation:  Findings from a Meeting with Venture Capitalists, Entrepreneurs & Industry Experts, Next 10, October 2009

 

Two Billion Cars: Transforming a Culture, TR News Cover Story, Transportation Research Board, January 2009

 

How High Gas Prices Can Save the Car Industry (with D. Sperling), New York Times, Opinion Editorial, November 16, 2008

 

Getting There Greener, Union of Concerned Scientists, December 2008

 

Advance Passenger Transportation Technologies (with D. Sperling), Journal of Transportation Technology, 2008

 

Sipping Fuel and Saving Lives: Optimizing Vehicle Safety and Fuel Economy Simultaneously, (co-authored), William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, June 2007

 

Climate Change Mitigation: Findings of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, (co-authored), Union of Concerned Scientists, IPCC Highlight Series, 2007

 

Passenger Vehicle CO₂ and Fuel Economy Standards: A Global Review (co-authored), International Council on Clean Transportation, 2007

 

Fiscal Policies for Sustainable Transportation: International Best Practices, In Studies on International Fiscal Policies for Sustainable Transportation, published in English and Chinese by the China Sustainable Energy Program, Packard Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, and the Energy Foundation, March 2005

 

Federal Oil Subsidies: How Can They Best Be Targeted?, National Commission on Energy Policy, April 2004

 

Dealer Incentives for Fuel Efficiency: Are They a Cost-Effective Way to Save Gasoline?, National Commission on Energy Policy, January 2004

 

California State Fuel-Efficient Tire Report: Volume II, Consultant Report, California Energy Commission, 600-03-001D, January 2003

Greening Garbage Trucks: New Technologies for Cleaner Air, INFORM, Inc., Spring 2003

 

New Transportation Partnerships: Advancing a Strategic Management Approach, Transportation Research Board Paper No. 00-0833, Presentation at the Transportation Research Board 79th Annual Conference, Washington D.C., January 10, 2000

 

Coastal Corridor Coalition, Strategic Options for Congestion Relief: Background Document, Southwest Corridor Study Update, Connecticut Department of Transportation, February 1, 1998

 

Intelligent Vehicle/Highway Systems: An Environmental Perspective, In Transportation, Information Technology and Public Policy Institutional and Environmental Issues in IVHS, 1992

 

DRIVE+: Promoting Cleaner and More Fuel-Efficient Motor Vehicles Through a Self-Financing System of State Tax Incentives, In Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Volume 9, Number 3, 1990

 

 

Advisory Boards

 

Transportation Research Board, Energy Committee, Appointed Member (1998 to 2004)

 

National Research Council, Committee on Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (1999 to 2001)

 

National Research Council, Standing Committee to Review the Research Program of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, (1994 to 1996)

 

American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Avoiding the Collision of Cities and Cars (1993)

 

 

Testimony, Addresses, and Keynotes (selected)

 

Federal Highway Administration, July 2009

 

The Miller Center for Public Affairs, April 2009

 

Virginia Festival of the Book, March 2009

 

The World Bank, January 2009

 

The World Affairs Council, January 2009

 

Rodman Engineering Fellowship Program, University of Virginia, 2008

 

Batten School for Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia, 2008

 

Advisory Council on Energy, National Conference of State Legislatures, December 1998

 

Climate Action Plan, White House Policy Dialogue Advisory Committee, February 1995

 

California Energy Commission, Testimony on Sustainable Transportation, 1994

 

U.S. House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy and Power, March 1991

 

Guest Lecturer at universities, including UCLA, Stanford, Yale, UC Davis, Northwestern

 

 

Awards and Fellowships

 

University of California, Institute of Transportation Studies, Visiting Fellow (2001-2)

 

Transportation Research Board’s Fred Burggraf Award (1992)

 

L.B.J. Congressional Fellow (1988)

 

Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honorary Society) (1981)