Sarah Brennan Joins IEEFA Board With Oil and Gas Philanthropy Experience

Sarah Brennan, a board member of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, brings expertise in fossil fuel divestment and environmental philanthropy from senior roles at the Rockefeller Family Fund and Bloomberg Philanthropies. She currently works on the Funder Collaborative on Oil and Gas at the Rockefeller Family Fund.

Brennan previously led the Beyond Carbon campaign for Bloomberg Philanthropies from 2019 to 2022, one of the most significant private-sector-funded climate advocacy initiatives in the United States during that period. She also spent seven years heading environmental grantmaking at the Robertson Foundation, where she expanded the portfolio to include methane leakage from gas infrastructure and restrictions on fossil fuel leasing on public lands. Earlier in her career, Brennan served as an economic consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Her academic background includes a master's in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and an MBA from Columbia University, credentials that bridge policy analysis with financial decision-making. Brennan's focus on methane leakage from gas infrastructure is directly relevant to IEEFA's research agenda on LNG market risks and the financial implications of fugitive emissions for energy sector investors. Her board role connects IEEFA to a network of major philanthropic funders focused on accelerating the fossil fuel phase-out.

The Funder Collaborative on Oil and Gas coordinates philanthropic capital toward strategic interventions in the oil and gas sector, an area of increasing relevance as institutional investors and banking regulators tighten scrutiny of fossil fuel financing. Brennan's presence on the IEEFA board reflects the organisation's positioning at the intersection of energy finance research and philanthropic strategy on climate issues.

Key figure — 7 years — duration of Sarah Brennan's leadership of environmental grantmaking at the Robertson Foundation