Jolie Villegas is a Clean Energy & Grid Research Analyst within the U.S. Energy Program. In this role, she supports a diverse array of programs including the NREL Clean Energy to Communities cohorts and various transmission and markets work.

Prior to joining WRI, Jolie was a Clean Power Analyst at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). As a member of EDF's U.S. Legal and Regulatory Team, she produced research and technical analyses of federal power sector regulations to assess their impacts on climate, grid reliability, public health, and environmental justice.

Previously, Jolie served as the EDF Climate Corps Fellow for the third most populous county the U.S. where she supported the creation of Harris County's Climate Justice Action Plan. Additionally, she developed environmental curricula for an EdTech startup and conducted research for an advocacy campaign addressing the urban heat island effect through an equity lens that centered citizen science.

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 climate justice. She received her bachelor's degrees from Wesleyan University in Environmental Studies and Biology. Jolie currently lives in Chicago.