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Ali Zaidi
Former White House National Climate Advisor, Assistant to the President of the United States, and Head of the White House Climate Policy Office,
The White House
Ali Zaidi served as Assistant to the President of the United States and National Climate Advisor. In this role, he led the White House Climate Policy Office, which coordinated policy development and the U.S. government’s overall strategy on climate and clean energy. During his White House service (2021-2025), Zaidi advanced a broad effort to re-establish U.S. climate and clean energy leadership by designing and implementing a wide range of executive actions and key legislation, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.
Before joining the Biden-Harris Administration, Zaidi served as the state of New York’s Deputy Secretary for Energy and Environment and Chairman of Climate Policy and Finance, where he led the state's efforts on climate change. Zaidi also taught graduate courses on technology policy as an adjunct professor at Stanford University and co-founded Lawyers for a Sustainable Economy, a Stanford-coordinated initiative that equips sustainability-focused startups with pro bono legal services.
Over the course of his career, Zaidi has advised non-profits, including as a Trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and counseled the private sector, as an attorney who helped launch a sustainable investment practice focused on fund formation, M&A, and governance in the climate and clean energy arena. Zaidi received an A.B. from Harvard University and J.D. from Georgetown University.
Before joining the Biden-Harris Administration, Zaidi served as the state of New York’s Deputy Secretary for Energy and Environment and Chairman of Climate Policy and Finance, where he led the state's efforts on climate change. Zaidi also taught graduate courses on technology policy as an adjunct professor at Stanford University and co-founded Lawyers for a Sustainable Economy, a Stanford-coordinated initiative that equips sustainability-focused startups with pro bono legal services.
Over the course of his career, Zaidi has advised non-profits, including as a Trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and counseled the private sector, as an attorney who helped launch a sustainable investment practice focused on fund formation, M&A, and governance in the climate and clean energy arena. Zaidi received an A.B. from Harvard University and J.D. from Georgetown University.