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Tony G. Reames
Associate Professor; Tishman Professor of Environmental Justice; Director SEAS Detroit Sustainability Clinic
Environmental Justice
Climate + Energy
Cities + Mobility + Built Environment
Cross-cutting
Office
Dana 2572
Lab website
Websites
About
Dr. Tony Reames is the Tishman Professor of Environmental Justice and an Associate Professor, widely recognized for his scholarship and senior government leadership in environmental and energy justice.
Dr. Reames founded the Urban Energy Justice Lab and the Energy Equity Project and currently serves as Director of the U-M SEAS Detroit Sustainability Clinic. His research centers on advancing fair and equitable access to affordable, reliable, and clean energy, and on examining the root causes and persistence of energy disparities across race, income, and geography.
From 2021 to 2023, Dr. Reames was a Presidential appointee in the Biden-Harris Administration, serving in several senior roles within the U.S. Department of Energy. He began as Senior Advisor in the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, and as Deputy Director for Energy Justice, he established and led the first-ever Office of Energy Justice Policy and Analysis, overseeing research and evaluation of federal energy policies and programs to advance racial and socioeconomic equity. Later, as Principal Deputy Director for the Office of State and Community Energy Programs, he partnered with state and local entities to accelerate place-based clean energy strategies in collaboration with government, community, business, and other stakeholders.
Dr. Reames holds a PhD in Public Administration from the University of Kansas, a Master of Engineering Management from Kansas State University, and a BS in Civil Engineering from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. He is also a licensed professional engineer with experience across the public and private sectors. Prior to his academic and government service, he served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, achieving the rank of Captain and completing a tour of duty in Iraq.
Publications
- Bouzarovski, S., Cedano-Villavicencio, K.G., Delina, L.L., Martiskainen, M., Reames, T.G. and Simcock, N., 2025. Reframing how we talk about ‘energy poverty’. Nature Energy, pp.1-5. (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-025-01794-w)
- Bouzarovski, S., Fuller, S. and Reames, T.G. eds., 2023. Handbook on energy justice. Edward Elgar Publishing. (https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/handbook-on-energy-justice-9781839102950.html)
- Bednar, D.J. and Reames, T.G., 2023. Fleeting energy protections: state and utility level policy responses to energy poverty in the United States during COVID-19. Energy Research & Social Science, 99, p.103045. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103045)
- Heleno, M., Sigrin, B., Popovich, N., Heeter, J., Figueroa, A.J., Reiner, M. and Reames, T., 2022. Optimizing equity in energy policy interventions: A quantitative decision-support framework for energy justice. Applied Energy, 325, p.119771. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.119771)
- Reames, T.G., 2020. Distributional disparities in residential rooftop solar potential and penetration in four cities in the United States. Energy Research & Social Science, 69, p.101612. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101612)
- Jenkins, K.E., Stephens, J.C., Reames, T.G. and Hernández, D., 2020. Towards impactful energy justice research: Transforming the power of academic engagement. Energy Research & Social Science, 67, p.101510. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629620300876)
- Bednar, D.J. and Reames, T.G., 2020. Recognition of and response to energy poverty in the United States. Nature Energy, 5(6), pp.432-439. (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-020-0582-0)
- Read more publications here. (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KOQp-PkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra)
Research
2024 Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy (EGLE). "Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Planning."
2021 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Exploring racial disparities in home energy services to shed new light on persistent housing inequity.”
2020 Energy Foundation. “Creating an Equity Metrics Framework for Energy Efficiency.”
2020 Sloan Foundation. “Creating an Equity Metrics Framework for the Clean Energy Industry.”
2020 National Science Foundation. “SCC-IRG Track 1: Reducing Barriers to Residential Energy Security through an Integrated Case-management, Data-driven, Community-based Approach.”
2020 Walker-Miller Energy Services/Ameren Illinois Company. “Diverse Customer Engagement in Clean Energy.”
2019 Natural Resources Defense Council. “Study on Energy Burdens and Evictions.”
Accolades
2024 Visiting Faculty, Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia University (https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/cgep-announces-dr-catie-hausman-and-dr-tony-reames-to-serve-as-fall-2024-visiting-faculty/)
2024 Michigan Chronicle Men of Excellence Honoree (https://seas.umich.edu/news/reames-receives-michigan-chronicles-men-excellence-award)
2022 Jan Brinch Award for Collaboration in Public Service, National Council on Electricity Policy, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (https://seas.umich.edu/news/tony-reames-honored-national-council-electricity-policy-brinch-award-collaboration-public)
2020-2021 Visiting Scholar, Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, University of Pennsylvania
2020-2021 Michigan Clean Energy Leaders Project, Michigan Institute for Energy Innovation
2019 Midwest Energy News 40 under 40
2019 Grist.org 50 Fixers
2019 Oakland County Michigan Elite 40 under 40
2018-2021 JPB Foundation Environmental Health Fellows Program. Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Education
PhD, University of Kansas (public administration)
MS, Kansas State University (engineering management)
BS, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (civil engineering)
Affiliations
Center for Sustainable Systems (https://css.umich.edu/)
UM Poverty Solutions (https://poverty.umich.edu/)
Center for Local, State and Urban Policy (https://closup.umich.edu/)
Graham Sustainability Institute (https://graham.umich.edu/)
Detroit Urban Research Center (https://www.detroiturc.org/)
In the News
In the Media