Aimee Barnes

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, HUA NANI PARTNERS

2018 Government Award Winner

Aimee Barnes has nearly 20 years’ experience in climate, energy and sustainability, spanning the state, federal, and international levels and the public, private, and non-profit sectors. She is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hua Nani Partners, a consulting practice focused on seeding the next generation of climate and energy solutions. In 2024, Barnes was selected to be a 2024–2025 Obama Foundation Asia-Pacific Leader, and in 2022, she was appointed by Hawai’i’s Governor David Ige to serve on the Hawai’i State Board for Land and Natural Resources.

Barnes helped found the Policy Lab at Elemental Excelerator and advised former California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. at the California–China Climate Institute. She previously served as Senior Advisor to Governor Brown and as Deputy Secretary for Border and Intergovernmental Relations at the California Environmental Protection Agency. She Barnes was a Partner at Allotrope Partners and earlier in her career, she worked on climate issues internationally, in the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates, and at the carbon markets firm EcoSecurities. She started her career at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Barnes founded Powerwomen, a database of leading women in climate change and energy. She also co-founded Bright Spot Network, which supports parents facing cancer while raising young children. She is currently a Board Member of The Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society.

Barnes has an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and a BA in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College.