Kerry C. Duggan is a nationally recognized policy leader, strategist, founder, five-time independent corporate board director, and global public speaker with over two decades of experience at the vital intersection of environmental stewardship and economic development. She specializes in translating complex policy into execution, breaking down the silos that prevent markets and governments from acting at speed.
In 2017, Kerry founded ESP.earth, a strategic advisory firm counseling CEOs, boards, investors, and public-sector leaders on energy, resilience, and complex-system strategy. She operates in high-stakes environments where execution risk is paramount. She serves on the corporate boards of Perma-Fix (NASDAQ: PESI), One Detroit Credit Union, Aclima, Inc., and BlueGreen Water Technologies, and on several clean-tech advisory boards, as well as on the boards of Arctaris Impact Investors and Commonweal Ventures. She was previously a Partner at the firm of Hon. Tom Ridge.
Kerry’s career is anchored by service at the highest levels of the U.S. government. At the White House, she served as energy, environment & climate advisor to Vice President Joe Biden and as the deputy of President Obama’s Detroit Federal Working Group (2010-2016). There, she helped coordinate 20+ federal agencies, proving execution at scale is possible under extreme constraints by prioritizing community engagement over top-down approaches. At the U.S. Department of Energy, she held senior roles including Director of Legislative, Regulatory & Urban Affairs, and served on the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board under Secretary Granholm.
A three-time appointee of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Kerry serves on the Michigan Council on Climate Solutions and was on the inaugural Detroit Women’s Commission. She serves on the boards of Alliance for the Great Lakes and the Moe Norris Foundation.
Her work today is driven by this core thesis: the Great Lakes, anchored by Detroit, represent a unique region of long-term stability. As market and physical risks reshape migration patterns, Kerry advances a deliberate strategy to ensure growth strengthens communities rather than displacing them.
A former Division I basketball player at St. John’s and the University of Vermont, Kerry earned her B.S. from UVM and her M.S. from the University of Michigan, where she now holds a faculty appointment at the School for Environment and Sustainability.
She was the one coaches wanted on the court when the team was down with only seconds on the clock.
Not much has changed.