Nancy Skinner is a commissioner on the California Energy Commission, where she serves as the Commission’s engineer/scientist member. Appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in January 2025, she is the lead commissioner for clean transportation, ports, and industrial decarbonization and serves as associate commissioner for efficiency.
Before joining the California Energy Commission, Skinner served in the California State Legislature for more than a decade. She represented the East Bay in the California State Senate from 2016 to 2024 and previously served in the California State Assembly from 2008 to 2014. Earlier in her public-service career, she served on the Berkeley City Council from 1984 to 1992.
Skinner has extensive experience working at the intersection of public policy, climate, energy, and sustainability. She previously served as a senior advisor at the Energy and Efficiency Institute at the University of California, Davis, and as a lecturer at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. Her earlier work also includes leadership roles with The Climate Group and ICLEI–Local Governments for Sustainability, where she worked on climate protection and sustainability initiatives in the United States and internationally.
Skinner earned a Bachelor of Science in Conservation and Resource Studies and a Master of Arts in Education from the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in Berkeley, California.
