Jolie Villegas is a Clean Energy and Grid Associate with WRI's U.S. Polsky Energy Center. She leads the PJM Cities and Communities Coalition (PJMCCC), a group of local governments driving decarbonization at the wholesale electricity market level. She also conducts research and provides education and technical assistance to municipalities on a diverse array of issues including data center impacts, Western energy market regionalization, transmission planning, and more.

Outside of WRI, as a 2026 E2 1 Hotels Fellow, Jolie investigates the environmental, economic, and equity considerations of data center expansion across the Midwestern US. She also consults on various environmental and climate justice issues and was a 2025 Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI) Fellow.

Prior to joining WRI, Jolie was a Clean Power Analyst at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) where she conducted research and technical analyses that supported the Legal & Regulatory team's advocacy to advance federal climate protections under the Clean Air Act. Previously, she served as the EDF Climate Corps Fellow with Harris County, Texas' Office of Sustainability to help develop their Climate Action Plan.

Jolie was an inaugural graduate from Columbia University's Climate School where she received her master's degree in Climate & Society, an interdisciplinary program integrating climate science, policy, mitigation, adaptation, and justice. She received her bachelor's degrees from Wesleyan University in Environmental Studies and Biology.