Varun Sivaram Joins Breakthrough's Board of Directors

We are pleased to announce that Varun Sivaram has joined the Breakthrough Institute’s Board of Directors.

Varun is a physicist, policy advisor, and expert in innovation systems. He most recently held the position of senior advisor to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. He previously held academic positions at Georgetown and Columbia, was the director of the energy and climate program at the Council on Foreign Relations, and served as CTO for ReNew Power, India’s largest renewable energy developer.

He has been a board member or advisor for the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, Stanford's Woods Institute and Precourt Institute, the Aspen Institute, ITIF, the Energy for Growth Hub, and the cities of Los Angeles and New York City. He is the author of Taming the Sun: Innovations to Harness Solar Energy and Power the Planet, and coauthor of Energizing America: A Roadmap to Launch a National Energy Innovation Mission, along with numerous other reports and essays.

“We have been fellow travelers with Varun for years, and we’re really excited to now have him on our board,” said Breakthrough’s Executive Director Ted Nordhaus.

Previously, Varun has offered counsel on Breakthrough Institute research projects, spoken on panels at Breakthrough events, and been published in the Breakthrough Journal.

Breakthrough’s Board is also comprised of Bill Budinger, Chris Foreman, Jennifer Hernandez, Ross Koningstein, Ray Rothrock, Tisha Schuller, Matt Winkler, Ted Nordhaus, and Board Chair Rachel Pritzker. You can learn more about the individual Board members here.

“Varun has that rare combination of vision and pragmatism,” said Rachel Pritzker. “We know he will be a valuable addition to the organization, especially to Breakthrough’s new policy staff in Washington, D.C.”