Joel Hicks, Ph.D. is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the School of Planning, Public Policy and Management (PPPM) at the University of Oregon. Before that, he was a Research Professor at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government and a fellow at the Center for Energy Science and Policy. He also served as an elected Councilman in Carlisle, PA, from 2019 to 2024. During that time, he chaired the Climate Action Commission, which drafted the borough's first Climate Action Plan. Joel is a former U.S. Naval Officer who served in the nuclear submarine community.