People
Paul E. Williams, executive director
Paul is the founder and executive director of CPE. He founded CPE because he believes our public sector must be revitalized to overcome constraints in today’s economy and to provide high quality public goods and services. He formerly worked for the Jain Family Institute in New York, the City of Chicago’s Department of Housing, and the Economic Opportunity Institute in Seattle. He holds an MA in economics from John Jay College at CUNY and a BA in mathematics from The Evergreen State College.
Chirag Lala, energy policy
Chirag is a doctoral candidate in economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and specializes in macroeconomics, finance, and the economics of decarbonization and public investment. His project areas include public banking, public energy projects, and state climate programs. His experience comes from academic study, research for various public service interests, and his work as a consultant.
Yakov Feygin, public finance
Yakov previously worked as an Associate Director at the Berggruen Institute and as a Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He has a Ph.D. in Economic History from the University of Pennsylvania and is an expert on green bank design, public finance, and industrial policy.
Advait Arun, energy policy associate
Advait is a climate finance and energy policy analyst with experience evaluating strategies for mobilizing public and private finance toward the green transition. His project areas center on direct pay implementation and green finance modeling. He formerly worked for the United States Treasury Department's Office of Sustainable Infrastructure. He graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service with a degree in international political economy.