Welcoming New Leadership to CLEE’s Advisory Board
The Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment (CLEE) is thrilled to welcome three new board members in 2025: Mary Creasman, Leuwam Tesfai, and Robert Uram. Each brings a wealth of experience in law, advocacy, and executive leadership. They were chosen for their impressive professional achievements, strong dedication to environmental causes, and how well their vision aligns with CLEE’s mission and goals. Their expertise will be vital in driving our work and research, especially as climate policy becomes more critical than ever before. As we celebrate these exciting additions, we also honor the impactful contributions of a departing member.
“We are so excited to have Mary, Leuwam, and Robert join the Advisory Board,” said Samir Abdelnour, Chair of the Board’s Nominating Committee. “Their diverse personal and professional experiences truly complement each other and will strengthen the Board’s to advance CLEE’s mission. We are also so grateful to Sky for all her work on the Advisory Board – including helping us bring in our three newest members – and for her continued participation on the Emeritus Board.”
Mary Creasman is the CEO of California Environmental Voters, based in Oakland, California. She brings an impressive wealth of experience in environmental conservation, having served on the California Wildlife Conservation Board, as well as on the Bay Area Open Space Council. Involved in political and nonprofit organizing since 2006, Marywas previously the Chief Strategy Officer for Green For All, an organization working to build an inclusive green economy. Mary also serves as the California Director of Government Affairs for the Trust for Public Land, and the Chair/President of the California State Assembly Committee for Water, Natural Resources, and Parks.
Leuwam Tesfai is the Deputy Executive Director for Energy and Climate Policy at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), a role she has held since 2022. She leads the CPUC’s Energy Division staff of over 200, responsible for regulating key energy and climate sectors such as the development of clean energy and transmission, distributed energy resources, electric and natural gas reliability, utility ratemaking and finance, environmental permitting, building and transportation electrification, energy efficiency, and decarbonization. In 2023, Leuwam was recognized by the US Department of Energy with the Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) Government Award for outstanding leadership and extraordinary achievement in the energy sector. With extensive leadership experience in the environmental space, Leuwam also serves on the board of the Environmental Law Section of the California Lawyers Association and the League of Women Voters of San Francisco. She earned her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law and has worked across the field of environmental and energy law since 2006.
Robert Uram is a retired partner and Of Counsel at Sheppard Mullin. Throughout his legal career, he has worked on complex issues related to habitat conservation, public lands, land use, mining, water quality, endangered species, wetlands and organic farming food law. A recognized expert in the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Water Act, Robert has played a key role in California’s adoption of habitat conservation plans. From 1994 to 1996, Robert served as the Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, appointed by President Clinton and confirmed by the Senate. In this federal role, he managed a staff of more than 1000 people and a $300 million budget. He also created important programs like the Appalachian Clean Streams Initiative, bringing together over 100 organizations to combat acid mine damage. He earned his J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law cum laude and is a fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers.
A Fond Farewell and Continued Partnership
As we welcome new members, we also acknowledge the years of service given by an exiting board member.
Sky Stanfield, a partner at Shute, Mihaly, & Weinberger, has served on the CLEE board since 2019. After serving her maximum two terms on the board, she is now terming off. Sky practices renewable energy law, focusing on regulatory policy, compliance, and permitting. In 2025, Lawdragon’s Green 500 named her among the top environmental lawyers in the country. She is an alumna of the UC Berkeley School of Law, where she was active in the Ecology Law Quarterly and the Environmental Law Society. During her tenure at CLEE, Sky chaired the Nominating Subcommittee, overseeing the recruitment of eight excellent new board members. We are delighted that Sky will continue her connection with CLEE as an Emeritus Advisory Board member. We deeply appreciate her many contributions and look forward to her continued guidance.