Marion S. Gold, PhD

Commissioner | Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources

Marion S. Gold is the Commissioner of the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources (OER). As leader of the OER, Commissioner Gold is dedicated to working with public and private sector partners to provide sustainable, secure, and cost‐effective energy services to all areas of the community.  She is Vice Chair of the Governor’s Executive Council on Climate Change, represents Rhode Island on the New England States Committee on Electricity (NESCOE) and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Inc.

Commissioner Gold was appointed to the State Energy Advisory Board to the Department of Energy in 2013 and serves on the Executive Committee and as Treasurer of the National Association of State Energy Officials.  In her capacity as commissioner, she is the Executive Director of the RI Energy Efficiency and Resources Management Council. Prior to joining the OER, she was the Director of the Outreach Center at the University of Rhode of Island (URI) where she established the URI Partnership for Energy and directed extension programs in energy, environmental horticulture, and urban agriculture. She continues to serve as an adjunct professor of Environmental and Resource Economics at URI.

Commissioner Gold has been a leader in environmental issues throughout her career of public service beginning with her work at the Department of Environmental Management and the RI Resource Recovery Corporation where she lead in launching the first statewide recycling program in the country. Commissioner Gold holds a BS with honors in Natural Resource Science and Policy from the University of Michigan, a MS in Environmental Economics from Michigan State University, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Rhode Island.