Susanne DesRoches

Susanne DesRoches is NYSERDA’s Vice President of Clean and Resilient Buildings, leading the Authority’s work on building decarbonization and advancing programs and policies to deliver a carbon-neutral building stock. Before joining NYSERDA in April 2022, she served as Regulatory Director for Energy Policy at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate & Sustainability and the Mayor’s Office of Climate Resiliency. While there, she was responsible for the City’s energy policy and regulatory affairs at the local, state, and federal levels, and directed the City’s policies and programs designed to adapt regional infrastructure systems to climate change, including electric, gas, and transportation systems and the City’s efforts to transition to 100 percent clean electricity by 2040. Ms. DesRoches led the City’s long-term energy planning efforts, which centered on decarbonization while prioritizing a just and affordable energy transition for all New Yorkers.

Ms. DesRoches also led the City’s efforts to ensure climate resiliency was integrated into utility and bulk power system planning and oversaw the development of the NYC Climate Resiliency Design Guidelines. She led the NYC Climate Change Adaptation Task Force, which works to identify climate risks and coordinate adaptation strategies, and was a chapter author for the fourth National Climate Assessment. In addition, Ms. DesRoches previously served as the Chief of Resilience and Sustainability for the Engineering Department at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

She is highly regarded in the clean energy and resilience space, bringing expertise and rich experience in areas including climate policy, city and state partnerships, and building decarbonization. Ms. DesRoches holds a Bachelor of Industrial Design from Pratt Institute and an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University and is a LEED Accredited Professional. She is on the faculty of Columbia University’s Earth Institute and School of Professional Studies.