Lea Lupkin

Lea Lupkin
Behavioral Project Manager at ICF
Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Master of Environmental Management, 2016

Lea is currently a Behavioral Project Manager at ICF, where she oversees multiple medium to large behavioral energy and digital consumer engagement projects. She also supports efforts to grow ICF's IT business and pursue new opportunities in the utility and energy sectors. Previously, Lea was a Senior Project Manager, Energy & Behavior at SEE Change Institute. She graduated with an MEM from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 2016.

During her time at Yale she studied the connections between behavioral insights, energy systems, governance, social enterprises, and conflict resolution. At CBEY, Lea was project manager for the "Influence of Novel Behavioral Strategies in Promoting the Diffusion of Solar Energy" project led by Professor Ken Gillingham. She organized a new Applied Behavioral Science course at SOM focusing on the intersection of behavior and sustainability. Lea also wrote for the Clean Energy Finance Forum. For five years, Lea helped to grow a new company driving energy and sustainability solutions at higher education institutions in the Northeast U.S. At GreenerU, she developed behavior and organizational change strategies, managed implementation of sustainability programs at colleges and universities, and integrated optimal behavior cues and stakeholder processes into energy and water efficiency programs. Lea also previously worked with the Sustainable Endowments Institute researching innovative financing mechanisms for campus sustainability. She has held leadership positions with the youth sustainable development organization SustainUS, the Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition, and the Energy Action Coalition. Lea holds a BA in Environmental Policy from Roanoke College. She is a proud pitbull owner and trained Group Facilitator.

Authored Articles

Clean-Energy Aggregation Opens States’ Imaginations

By January 2016, New York’s Westchester County will procure clean energy for around 75,000 of its residents, according to Glenn Weinberg, manager of special projects at Joule . Over 15 municipalities are banding together to aggregate their demand for cleaner power sources and lower their energy bills through competitive bidding...

Solar Energy Finance Association Emerges on the Scene

What is hindering the availability of public capital and financing options for distributed solar? To some in structured finance, it seems like a great fit: solar assets produce reliable cash flows, backed by the good credit of customers. Those leases can be pooled and traded as liquid capital. In order...

Could Behavior Change Insights Drive Demand for Energy Efficiency?

Proven strategies for encouraging customers to use new technologies and seek financing are critical to the diffusion of energy efficiency solutions. Even with financing, energy efficiency programs face significant hurdles in driving customer demand, particularly in the small- and medium-scale markets. The recent Behavior, Energy & Climate Conference (BECC) 2014...