Dzau Distinguished Lecture in Global and Population Health - Ali Zaidi
This year's Victor Dzau and Ruth Cooper-Dzau Distinguished Lecture in Global and Population Health will feature Mr. Ali Zaidi, former United States National Climate Advisor and renowned expert on global resilience and clean energy economy.
WHEN: Monday, May 12, 2025, at 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Faculty Club Ballroom (3450 McTavish) and online
Meet our keynote speaker:
Ali Zaidi
Ali Zaidi is an internationally renowned expert in climate innovation and investment who served, from 2022 to 2025, as the United States National Climate Advisor and head of the White House Climate Policy Office, which coordinated policy development and the U.S. government’s overall strategy on climate and clean energy. During his tenure, Zaidi advanced pathbreaking efforts to improve public health outcomes by reducing pollution and bolstering the resilience of communities and the U.S. health care sector. Most notably, Zaidi helped design, negotiate, and implement landmark legislation – the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the largest investment in American infrastructure in a generation, and Inflation Reduction Act, widely regarded as one of the most consequential efforts to accelerate clean energy manufacturing and innovation anywhere in the world.
Before joining the Biden-Harris Administration, Zaidi served as the state of New York’s Deputy Secretary for Energy and Environment and Chairman of Climate Policy and Finance, where he led the state's efforts on climate change. Zaidi also taught graduate courses on technology policy as an adjunct professor at Stanford University and co-founded Lawyers for a Sustainable Economy, a Stanford-coordinated initiative that equips sustainability-focused startups with pro bono legal services.
Over the course of his career, Zaidi has advised non-profits, including as a Trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and counseled the private sector, as an attorney who helped launch a sustainable investment practice focused on fund formation, M&A, and governance in the climate and clean energy arena. Zaidi received an A.B. from Harvard University and J.D. from Georgetown University.
