Directors
The EEMI has a unique agenda dedicated predominantly to pragmatic and implementable solutions for environmental, energy, and sustainability challenges.
Jonathan Deason
Executive Director
jdeason
gwu [dot] edu (jdeason[at]gwu[dot]edu)
Eric Dano
Deputy Executive Director
ericdanogwu [dot] edu (ericdano[at]gwu[dot]edu)
Ed Saltzberg
Dir. Professional Education
esaltzbergemail [dot] gwu [dot] edu (esaltzberg[at]gwu[dot]edu)
Mark Pollins
Dir. of Food and Water
Scott Sklar
Dir. Sustainable Energy
Alex Beehler
Dir. of Innovative Energy Strategies
Rachael Jonassen
Dir. of Climate Change
rachaeljgwu [dot] edu (rachaelj[at]gwu[dot]edu)
Salah Hassan
Dir. of Global Business Sustainability
hassangwu [dot] edu (hassan[at]gwu[dot]edu)
Caitlin Grady
Dir. of Science and Innovation
caitlin [dot] gradygwu [dot] edu (caitlin[dot]grady[at]gwu[dot]edu)
Saniya LeBlanc
Dir. of Energy Innovation
sleblancgwu [dot] edu (sleblanc[at]gwu[dot]edu)
Payman Dehghanian
Dir. of Smart Grid Technologies
paymangwu [dot] edu (payman[at]gwu[dot]edu)
Bob Orttung
Dir. of European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies
rorttunggwu [dot] edu (rorttung[at]gwu[dot]edu)
Donna Attanasio
Dir. of Energy Law and Policy
dattanasiolaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (dattanasio[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu)
Joe Cascio
EEMI Emeritus Co-Founder
casciogwu [dot] edu (cascio[at]gwu[dot]edu)
Our colleague Joe Cascio served as EEMI Co-Director and Deputy Director from 2012-2025. Joe, who still remains active, now lives in Mission Viejo, California. He previously served the United States as the Federal Environmental Executive in the White House and has many other honors and accolades in his distinguished career.