Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

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  • Ann Patterson

    Ann Patterson

    Policy Scholar, Sustainability Accelerator

    BioAnn Patterson is a policy scholar at the Woods Institute for the Environment and the Sustainability Accelerator at the Doerr School for Sustainability, where she focuses on issues related to climate and energy.

    She recently served as Senior Counselor for California Governor Gavin Newsom, where she advised the Governor regarding the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires and emerging energy-sector and insurance issues. She also advised the Governor on policy solutions to stabilize the state’s electric utilities in the wake of the catastrophic 2025 fires, which resulted in enactment of Senate Bill 254 (Becker, 2025). Patterson’s experience led to a focus on the wide-ranging societal and economic consequences of catastrophic wildfires in California and the implications for insurance accessibility and energy affordability.

    Until March of 2025, Patterson served as Cabinet Secretary for Governor Newsom, where she oversaw the work of all state agencies and departments within the administration as well as development of the state budget. Prior to her appointment as Cabinet Secretary, Ann served as Governor Newsom’s Legal Affairs Secretary, providing legal advice and counsel to the Governor and the Governor’s office, as well as overseeing litigation to which the Governor or the State of California was a party. She also served as legal counsel to the Governor’s energy team, formed to stabilize the state’s utility sector in the wake of PG&E’s 2019 bankruptcy filing.

    Prior to joining the Newsom Administration, Ann was a partner in the law firm of Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe, where she practiced from 2005 until 2018.

  • Charlotte Pera

    Charlotte Pera

    Executive Director, Sustainability Accelerator

    BioCharlotte Pera has worked for more than 30 years in clean energy, climate change, and philanthropy. In 2023 she was named one of the 50 most powerful women in U.S. philanthropy by Inside Philanthropy magazine. In July 2024, she became the first Executive Director of the Sustainability Accelerator at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. Previously, she served as Vice President and Deputy CEO at the Bezos Earth Fund, a philanthropic organization created by Jeff Bezos that is spending $10 billion this decade to address climate change and protect and restore nature. Before joining the Earth Fund, Charlotte served for nearly nine years as President & CEO of the ClimateWorks Foundation, a leading philanthropic organization that works globally to advance climate solutions through intelligence services, convening, and grantmaking. Earlier in her career, Charlotte advanced clean energy technology and policy in the U.S. and China at the Energy Foundation and at engineering consulting firm Acurex.

    Charlotte serves on the advisory board of the 100X Impact Accelerator at the London School of Economics, the governing board of the International Council for Clean Transportation, and the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Philanthropy for Climate and Nature. She is a Senior Fellow at the Bezos Earth Fund and a Senior Fellow with the Mission Possible Partnership. She holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.