What Andrea Has Done:

Andrea is an expert on Environmental Policy, Renewable Energy and Climate Science- who will bring that expertise to Congress and demand that we invest in the future.

As the Director of the Department of Environment, Andrea:

• led the development of a transformational Climate Action Plan for Prince George’s County
• brought in over 100 million dollars in grant investments to protect the environment in our community- preserving open space, restoring streams and forests, and increasing public access to green places.
• increased environmental education for our children and adults
• oversaw the rollout of one of the nation’s largest residential composting programs.

As Chief of Staff for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Andrea:

• brought investment in green infrastructure to towns and communities across America,
• led the development of programs that brought investment,  jobs and businesses to vulnerable communities.
• developed programs that empower communities to solve the challenges of housing, employment and environmental injustice holistically.
• developed the Department of Energy's first program focused on partnering with HBCUs and MSIs as both research partners and to attract their graduates to roles in the DoE

As an environmental activist, Andrea has fought alongside her neighbors to

• adopt and implement a Green New Deal,
• eliminate disposable and single use items from schools and communities,
• improve community resilience to floods and extreme heat,
• bring community solar to our neighborhood,
• broaden availability of electric vehicle charging,
• keep energy costs low and hold utilities accountable to be a part of climate solutions,
• municipalize utilities,
• restore the urban tree canopy,
• bring green space to the concrete jungle, 
• right current and past environmental injustices, and to step out of the way so that those most impacted by environmental racism were directing the design and implementation of solutions.

What Andrea Will Do:

Andrea believes that the cost of mitigating Climate Change and Environmental degradation is no longer a factor- we are in an emergency and we must come together as a world to protect ourselves and our future. Climate Change cannot be solved simply by technology, there are trade-offs, and we must be willing to invest in the future and prevent companies from using up the earth’s resources. She will work to implement a Green New Deal and ensuring that we look at community solutions to environmental challenges, not just big corporate solutions.

Maryland is a gem of green forests and blue rivers and coasts. Many of us depend on the Chesapeake Bay for our livelihoods- whether by harvesting her bounty, welcoming neighbors and tourists to our local businesses, or simply being part of a coastal community. We have a bounty of farms large and small, and an agrotourism industry that has great potential to grow. Our natural environment is under threat from unfettered development and corporate greed. We need the support and legal framework to bring investment to our communities, while also protecting the ecosystems around us.

Recent laws have made a start towards moving the needle on climate change, however, only public investment will solve this challenge at the speed and scale necessary to support a high quality of life for us, and future generations.

• Adopt and Implement a Green New Deal
• Divest from fossil fuels immediately and support the workers in those industries to ensure they can maintain quality of life through retirement
• Regulate extraction and destruction of natural resources in a sustainable, forward thinking way
• Invest in clean water and clean air
• Invest in green infrastructure
• Restore our rivers and streams to a more natural condition, to manage flooding and ensure clean water for generations to come
• Modernize and Nationalize the Electric Grid
• Create a pathway to Community control of utilities, with Federal oversight and technical assistance- change utility business model to build resilient infrastructure that provides safe, clean water and electricity
• Invest in a Chesapeake Bay that supports recreation and fisheries
• Support farmers and fisherman to produce and harvest our food locally, and in environmentally sustainable ways
• Curtail unfettered development, and unrestrained extractivism with law and regulation
• Develop and implement a national zero-waste plan
• Limit packaging and non-reusable, fully recyclable or compostable products, reduce waste generation by 75% by 2035 through extended producer responsibility legislation
• Invest in our national laboratories- the world’s most powerful scientific research institutions- and identify real solutions to these challenges
• Invest in robust public transportation everywhere- reduce the need for cars and the costly, environmentally damaging infrastructure to support them. Electrification of single passenger vehicles is not the only solution
• Increase staffing in the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy to provide the support and technical assistance to communities to make public investments in environmental priorities