Cheryl A. LaFleur is an Advisory Board Member at the Center on Global Energy Policy. She is a nationally-recognized energy leader. She was previously a distinguished visiting fellow and adjunct research senior research scholar at the Center during 2020 through 2023. She also serves as chair of the Board of Directors of the Independent System Operator of New England (ISO-NE), the independent, not-for-profit organization that plans and operates the wholesale electricity markets and transmission grid for the New England region. She has been on the ISO-NE board since 2019.
Previously, LaFleur was one of the longest-serving commissioners on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). nominated by President Obama in 2010 and 2014 serving until August 2019. She served as Chairman was 2014-15 and as Acting Chairman from 2013-14 and during 2017. LaFleur helped lead the FERC’s work to adapt the nation’s energy markets and infrastructure to ongoing changes in the nation’s resource mix due to the growth of natural gas and renewables and to changing climate and environmental goals. She also played a leading role in FERC’s efforts to assure the reliability and security of the energy grid in response to emerging security threats.
Earlier in her career, LaFleur had more than 20 years’ experience as a leader in the electric and natural gas industry. She served as executive vice president and acting CEO of National Grid USA, responsible for the delivery of electricity to 3.4 million customers in the Northeast.
LaFleur has been a member of several nonprofit board and currently serves on the Trustee Advisory Board of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. She has been recognized with several awards for energy policy and leadership, including the Carnot Prize for leadership in energy policy and the Vanguard Award for leadership on energy market issues. She began her career as an attorney at Ropes and Gray in Boston. She has a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and an A.B. from Princeton University.
