Dr. Diana Hernández, a tenured Associate Professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, is the Founding Principal Investigator of the Energy Equity, Housing, and Health Program and co-Director of the Energy Opportunity Lab at the Center on Global Energy Policy.
Dr. Hernández is a pioneering sociologist and leading authority on energy insecurity, a concept she defined and operationalized through groundbreaking mixed-methods research. Rooted in community engagement and policy innovation, her work addresses systemic barriers to energy access for disadvantaged populations and tests promising interventions. She is lead author of Powerless: The People’s Struggle for Energy (with Jennifer Laird, Russell Sage, April 2025), the first major book on energy insecurity in the U.S.
Dr. Hernández has authored nearly 100 peer-reviewed articles as well as book chapters, and policy briefs in top-tier journals and secured nearly $10 million in competitive funding from federal agencies and philanthropies. A sought-after thought leader and speaker, Dr. Hernández has delivered more than 250 invited lectures and presentations. She is regularly featured in national media, has served in key leadership roles including as a mayoral appointee to NYC’s Environmental Justice Advisory Board and is the recipient of multiple honors, including induction into Columbia’s Academy of Community and Public Service.
As native of the South Bronx, Dr. Hernández has led small-scale social impact real estate projects where she has implemented clean energy and energy efficiency deep retrofits. A proud product of NYC public schools and Section 8 housing, she earned a BA from Hunter College and a PhD from Cornell University in Sociology.
