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Lydia Kubiak-Cardona

Senior Technical Specialist

Lydia works at the intersection of climate, human rights, and the environment. As a seasoned stakeholder engagement and environmental justice advisor, Lydia appreciates that her work supports clients in their efforts to build more resilient and sustainable communities. Her experience in strategic communications, conflict management, and community analysis, gained across diverse sectors, has taught her to think in interdisciplinary ways — a strength that is critical when working on complex social issues. This perspective has nurtured creativity and lateral thinking skills, which Lydia draws from to co-generate solutions that promote equity, transparency, and trust with clients.  

Lydia previously worked at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), where she worked to develop a community engagement strategy for OCED’s highest social risk projects, served as local engagement lead for various cutting-edge energy pilot programs, and advanced the federal government’s Justice40 implementation through community benefits negotiations. She has leveraged her expertise in environmental justice and human rights to develop tailored communications for diverse forums and audiences, including creating compelling knowledge products and curricula on human rights due diligence for multistakeholder supply chain programs. Over her career, Lydia has worked both domestically and internationally building partnerships and advancing equity through policy and community-centered programming.

“I believe that environmental justice and social responsibility can be embedded into any project in a cost-effective manner, bringing win-win solutions for clients and communities alike. I center my approach on building authentic relationships and listening deeply to find the space where there’s alignment between project goals and community needs.”