David J. Hayes

David J. Hayes is a Professor of the Practice at Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability and the Stanford Law School. He served as Special Assistant to the President for Climate Policy in the White House’s newly-created Climate Policy Office for the first two years of the Administration, where he helped develop and implement President Biden’s ambitious climate agenda. Prior to joining the White House, Hayes was the founder and first Executive Director of the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at the NYU School of Law, where he worked with state attorneys general to advance climate, environmental and clean energy laws and policies. In both the Obama and Clinton Administrations, he served as the Senate-confirmed #2 official (Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer) at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Before and between his time in government, Hayes was a partner and Global Chair of the Environment, Land & Resources Department at the international law firm of Latham & Watkins, and Chair of the Board of the Environmental Law Institute. He is currently on the board of directors for the Coalition for Green Capital (a green finance non-profit) and Vaulted Deep (a carbon removal company). Hayes is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Stanford Law School.