Vicki Ekstrom High
Vicki Ekstrom High is the Senior Director for Communications and External Engagement for EPIC. Prior to coming to the University of Chicago, Vicki created and led the media and public relations efforts for the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) and the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change. She was also a speechwriter for the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa Jackson, and a Press Secretary for the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship under the chairmanships of Senators Mary Landrieu and John Kerry. Vicki started her career in Washington D.C. as the national beat reporter for the Bangor Daily News.
Sam Ori
Sam Ori is the Executive Director at the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth as well as the Executive Director at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). He is a contributor to the Wall Street Journal Energy Experts section and Forbes, and has commented on topics ranging from oil markets and hydraulic fracturing to fuel economy standards and EVs in outlets such as CNN, NPR’s 1A, Vox’s Today, Explained, Marketplace, BBC, The Guardian, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, among others. Sam was formerly the Executive Director of the Becker Friedman Institute. From 2013 to 2015, he served as Executive Vice President at Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), a Washington, DC-based organization dedicated to reducing American oil dependence in order to enhance economic and national security. From 2007 to 2013, Sam led SAFE’s policy work on a variety of topics, ranging from global oil and natural gas markets to transportation technology. Prior to joining SAFE, Sam spent four years working in the federal government at the Broadcasting Board of Governors and Department of State, including at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India.