Carnegie Mellon University’s Clay Elected President of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is pleased to announce the election of Karen B. Clay, the Teresa and H. John Heinz III Professor of Economics and Public Policy at CMU’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, as President of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE). Clay, a 2025 AERE Fellow, previously served on the AERE Board of Directors, co-chaired the 2017 AERE Summer Conference, and served as a mentor in the AERE Scholars Program.

“I’m grateful to my colleagues at AERE for electing me to serve as their next President,” said Karen Clay. “AERE’s current President Sheila Olmstead has set a strong precedent of working with colleagues across our field to support innovative scholarship, strengthen mentorship, and expand the impact of environmental economics. I look forward to carrying on her work.”

Clay holds a joint appointment in CMU’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy and the Tepper School of Business, with courtesy appointments in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy; she is also a Senior Fellow at the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, an affiliated faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

Her research, funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Sloan Foundation among others, has been published in leading journals including the Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economics and Statistics and American Economic Review, Papers & Proceedings. 

“Karen has led a distinguished academic career and demonstrates a deep commitment to advancing research at the intersection of environmental, energy and health economics,” said Kirsten Martin, Dean of Heinz College. “We congratulate Karen on her election as President of AERE and we are confident she will lead AERE with the same enthusiasm and dedication as she has at CMU.”

Clay was elected to the office of President-Elect for one year (January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2026). She will become AERE President on January 1, 2027. As President-Elect, Clay will be a voting member of AERE’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

“We welcome Karen as President of AERE and look forward to her leadership as we continue to advance our mission of exchanging ideas, stimulating research and promoting graduate training in environmental and resource economics,” said Olmstead. “Karen’s election by our more than 1,000 members is a testament to her leadership within AERE and the greater community.”

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About Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy
The Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy is home to two internationally recognized schools: the School of Information Systems and Management and the School of Public Policy and Management. Heinz College leads at the intersection of people, policy, and technology, with expertise in analytics, artificial intelligence, arts & entertainment, cybersecurity, health care, and public policy. The college offers top-ranked undergraduate, graduate, and executive education certificates in these areas. Our programs are ranked #1 in Information Systems, #1 in Information and Technology Management, #8 in Public Policy Analysis, and #1 in Cybersecurity by U.S. News & World Report.  For more information, please visit www.heinz.cmu.edu.