Biography

Hillary O’Brien leads ClearPath’s clean power and natural resources policy team and its energy-agnostic research team. In this role, Hillary guides the development of innovation, financing, and regulatory policies for clean power technologies like advanced geothermal, hydropower, and grid-scale energy storage, as well as the infrastructure and mineral supply chains necessary for their broad deployment. She also oversees ClearPath’s agricultural innovation portfolio and directs resources for the organization's cross-cutting research projects and external partnerships.

Before joining ClearPath, Hillary served as Staff Director of the Energy Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology where she directed and managed legislative priorities across the Committee’s Department of Energy jurisdictional portfolio. During her nearly seven years with the Science Committee, Hillary supported the passage of various clean energy bills including the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the Energy Act of 2020, and the National Quantum Initiative Act of 2018. Hillary also brings to ClearPath a unique understanding of infrastructure projects thanks to her years of experience as a project engineer in the commercial construction industry in Washington D.C. and Boston, Massachusetts.

Education

M.Sc. in Geological Sciences, Brown University

B.A. in Geology, Colgate University

Area of Expertise

Clean Energy Research and Development, Carbon Management Strategies, Subsurface Science