Environmental and Energy Policy

JR DeShazo is the 12^th dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs. He previously served as the founding director of the Luskin Center for Innovation at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), one of the nation's leading environmental policy research centers.

He is a distinguished scholar focusing on clean technology policies, policy design to enhance environmental equity, methods for valuing changes in environmental quality, and the performance of public agencies.

In his leadership roles, Dr. DeShazo has made faculty research and student experience key priorities. He led campus-wide interdisciplinary research efforts, enhanced training and mentorship of students, and spearheaded efforts to increase representation among bothfaculty and students. Dr. DeShazo was also responsible for fostering strategic partnerships with leading organizations, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute and the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies.

Through his research and appointments, he has served as a policy adviser to international organizations such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations, as well federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Dr. DeShazo earned a doctorate in Urban Planning from Harvard University, a master's in Development Economics from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and a bachelor's degree from the College of William & Mary.

Aldo Flores-Quiroga is former deputy secretary of energy for hydrocarbons at Mexico's Ministry of Energy (2016–18), where he led a team of more than 180 government officials to implement the historic opening of Mexico's hydrocarbons sector. He launched an oil exploration strategy and production auctions, helped liberalize Mexico's markets for refined products and natural gas, helped create strategic inventories for gasoline, diesel and natural gas, and negotiated Mexico's role in the unprecedented OPEC-Non OPEC pact to stabilize oil markets.

Previously, Dr. Flores-Quiroga was secretary general of the International Energy Forum (IEF) (2012–17), assistant secretary for international affairs at Mexico's Ministry of Energy (2007–11) and assistant secretary for bilateral economic relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2001–05). He represented Mexico at the International Atomic Nuclear Agency (IAEA), the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the International Energy Forum (IEF), the Latin American and Caribbean Energy Organization (OLADE), and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). He served as the executive secretary at the National Institute of Public Administration, as the director general for international affairs for Mexico's Secretariat of energy, and as the director general for bilateral affairs at Mexico's Secretariat of Foreign Affairs.

Dr. Flores-Quiroga taught courses in international political economy, comparative politics, economic theory, public policy and economic development at the School of Politics and Economics of the Claremont Graduate University in California (1996–2009). He has published books and articles in English and Spanish on Mexican trade, exchange rate and energy policy, and has been featured on CNN, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC and other media outlets.

Patrick Bixler is an assistant professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs with a joint appointment in the Community and Regional Planning program in the School of Architecture. His interdisciplinary appointment contributes to the work of Planet Texas 2050 and he serves as a core faculty member of the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service. His current research focuses on climate and environmental governance, urban sustainability and resilience, hazard preparedness and response, and network science. Dr. Bixler is particularly interested in how public, private and nonprofit institutions collaborate to solve complex social and environmental problems and promote social innovation. Through his research and teaching he emphasizes the importance and impact of civic and community engagement.

Dr. Bixler co-leads a Planet Texas 2050 Flagship Project and leads the Austin Area Sustainability Indicators project, which won the 2020 Community Impact Award from the Community Indicator Consortium. His research has recently been published in Cities, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Environmental Science and Policy, Sustainability and Nonprofit Policy Forum.