Dorothy Barnett

Executive Director, Climate + Energy Project

2014 Advocacy Award Winner

As Executive Director of the Climate + Energy Project, Dorothy Barnett is leading the effort to address the Heartland’s energy future. With an approach based on finding common-ground solutions, Barnett has been successful in convening diverse voices in a conservative region of the country. Barnett has coordinated winning campaigns to protect the Kansas Renewable Portfolio Standard from special interest group attacks during four legislative sessions, allowing the wind industry to grow to 30% of the state’s power generation in just a decade. Barnett has been recognized with attention from the national media attention, including MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, and she is frequently invited to speak on a range of clean energy topics; for example, making a presentation at Yale on “The ‘C’ Words: Addressing Climate Change Without Talking About Climate Change—a Regional Perspective.” Barnett provides expert testimony at regulatory proceedings, and she has been published in The Electricity Journal.