Sonia Hamel

As Senior Advisor in the Climate Policy Program at the New America Foundation, Sonia Hamel brings to bear her extensive experience in the development and implementation of public policy to energy and environmental issues.

Most recently, Ms. Hamel served in the Massachusetts Office for Commonwealth Development, which was created by Gov. Mitt Romney to integrate the policies and programs of the state environmental, transportation, housing, and energy agencies. She was the state lead for climate action and was responsible for developing, coordinating, and implementing the Massachusetts Climate Protection Plan. She also helped develop and was the state lead for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

Previously, Ms. Hamel was Director of Air Policy and Planning in Massachusetts, in which capacity she guided state policy on vehicle emissions standards and facilitated the enactment of the nation's first four-pollutant regulations for power plant cleanup. She was the principal coordinator of the New England Governors/Eastern Canadian Premiers Climate Change Action Plan in 2001 and subsequently served on the organization’s international Climate Change Steering Committee. Ms. Hamel represented the Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs on various boards and commissions, including the Ozone Transport Commission and the Energy Facilities Siting Board. From 1980 to 1992, she managed transportation, environmental, and public participation programs for the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization. She was awarded a German Marshall Fund Fellowship in 1998 to work on ways to make airports more environmentally sustainable.

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