Every month, millions of Americans face an impossible choice: turn the thermostat up/down (heat) or put food on the table (eat). Cities are increasingly on the front lines of the energy affordability crisis. In this talk, Dr. Diana Hernández, leading energy equity scholar and author of Powerless: The People's Struggle for Energy, will bring America’s hidden crisis of energy insecurity to light. Drawing on insights from her landmark mixed-methods national study, Dr. Hernández will weave together rigorous national data coupled with the stories of impacted households to reveal the true scale of this phenomenon. Funneling from the national to the local and from problems to solutions, Dr. Hernández’ talk will focus on the unique positioning of cities. Her Cities Uniting to Reduce Energy Insecurity (CUREi) initiative has convened key municipalities to explore the range of pathways available to local governments, from delivering programs and improving housing conditions to shaping policy, and building the institutional and political conditions needed for more ambitious action. This talk will reveal a practical roadmap that helps cities identify strategies that fit their current context while outlining pathways to build more equitable, resilient, and affordable energy systems.
Dr. Diana Hernández is a tenured Associate Professor and Founding Principal Investigator of the Energy Equity, Housing and Health Program at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. She is also a co-Director of the Energy Opportunity Lab at the Center on Global Energy Policy. Dr. Hernández is a University Fellow at Resources for the Future and she was most recently a Climate Justice Fellow at Harvard University’s Radcliffe and Salata Institutes. Professor Hernández is a pioneering sociologist who originated the concept of energy insecurity and has advanced research on the links between housing and health through innovative mixed-methods research and strategic partnerships. Rooted in community engagement and policy innovation, her work addresses systemic barriers to healthy housing and household energy for disadvantaged populations while proposing and testing promising interventions. Professor Hernández is the lead author of Powerless: The People’s Struggle for Energy (with Jennifer Laird), the first and most prominent book on energy insecurity in the US published by Russell Sage in 2025. Her current projects include translating research to promote policy and programmatic action towards housing and energy justice in cities, states and with utility and clinical partners.
This event is approved for 1 AICP CM credit
This series was created in partnership with OSUCCC-James and Nationwide Children's Hospital