Susanne Desroches

Susanne DesRoches is NYSERDA’s Senior Vice President of Clean and Resilient Buildings, leading the Authority’s work on building modernization to expand New York residents’ access to healthier, more comfortable homes and workplaces. Susanne leads NYSERDA’s programs and initiatives to retrofit buildings at scale, provide support for new clean technology innovation, develop and implement energy codes and product standards, and accelerate approaches that move beyond single-building solutions to effective deployment at the community level. Susanne also leads NYSERDA’s work on resiliency where she oversees the incorporation of climate resiliency measures into programming to strengthen and prepare New York’s infrastructure for future climate events. Through the Clean and Resilient Buildings portfolio of programs and policies, Susanne’s work is in service of lower energy bills for all New Yorkers and a cleaner, more modern built environment to benefit residents and communities.

Prior to joining NYSERDA in April 2022, she served as Regulatory Director for Energy Policy at the New York City Mayor’s Office. While there, Susanne was responsible for the City’s energy policy and regulatory affairs at the local, state, and federal levels, and directed the City’s policies and programs designed to adapt regional infrastructure systems to climate change. She also oversaw the development of the NYC Climate Resiliency Design Guidelines which was subsequently codified into local law. Additionally, Susanne previously served as the Chief of Resilience and Sustainability for the Engineering Department at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. 

She is highly regarded in the clean energy and resilience space, bringing expertise and rich experience in areas including climate policy, city and state partnerships, and building decarbonization. Susanne holds a Bachelor of Industrial Design from Pratt Institute and an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University and is a LEED Accredited Professional. She is on the faculty of Columbia University’s Earth Institute and School of Professional Studies.