ERICA KEEN THOMAS
 

Erica Thomas is the Vice President at CO2EFFICIENT.  She draws on her vast experience in energy, environmental and climate policy, including leadership positions at a premier technology trade association and over a decade as a U.S. diplomat.

Before joining CO2EFFICIENT, Erica served as the Director of The Green Grid, an industry consortium dedicated to data center efficiency and sustainability. Under Erica’s leadership, The Green Grid, an affiliate member organization of the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), welcomed 26 new members, increased revenues by 85%, and initiated several groundbreaking industry metrics aimed at enhancing global data center resource efficiency.

Additionally, Erica held the position of Senior Director of Policy, Environment, Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs at ITI. There, she led several industry committees focused on climate and sustainability issues. Erica guided each of her committees to develop consensus policy positions, which she advocated to governments around the world.  

Prior to her time at ITI, Erica served a career as a U.S. diplomat in the Foreign Service. Erica’s senior diplomatic tours included serving as Chief of Staff at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources (2017-2018) in Washington, DC and serving as the Counselor for Environment, Science and Technology at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium (2014-2017) and at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China (2010-2014). 

A highlight of Erica’s leadership as a career diplomat was the air monitoring program she ran at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. The program published pollution measurements from an air monitoring station on the Embassy’s roof and has been widely credited with instigating China’s environmental awakening and efforts to address air pollution and climate change. Erica’s leadership in this project has been spotlighted in the National Museum of American Diplomacy.

Erica received her Bachelor of Arts in international affairs and environmental studies from the University of Pennsylvania and her Master of Arts in Public Policy from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.