Montpelier, VT. — Richard Sedano, principal and director of U.S. programs, will take the reins as president and chief executive officer of the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) effective immediately, the organization announced Tuesday morning.

As president, Mr. Sedano will lead the organization’s work in the four largest power markets in the world—China, the European Union, India, and the United States.

“After thorough planning for a leadership transition, the RAP board is pleased to have found a leader within our organization to champion RAP’s tradition of innovation and to grow its transformative work in the energy sector,” said Dr. Catherine Mitchell, chair of the RAP board and professor of energy policy at Exeter University in the U.K. “Rich brings broad industry experience, cutting-edge thinking, and a proven track record of working with regulators and others to move toward a clean, reliable, and efficient energy future.”

Mr. Sedano, a 16-year veteran of RAP, said, “As I turn my efforts to our global work, I look forward to working collaboratively with our regional leadership to advance power sector reform and environmental policy, cost-effective paths to a low-carbon energy sector, and practical solutions to the challenges of integrating renewable energy sources into the grid and scaling up energy efficiency resources.”

Mr. Sedano, who will retain some work assignments in power sector transformation in the U.S., will be succeeded by Kenneth Colburn as the director of U.S. programs. “Ken brings a fresh and much-needed perspective to our efforts to transform the power sector to accommodate clean energy, competitive markets, demand-side resources, and customer choice,” said Mr. Sedano.

Mr. Colburn, who previously led RAP’s efforts to more closely align energy and environmental regulation in the U.S., said, “I am excited to lead RAP’s U.S. team and look forward to continuing to work closely with Rich in his new role.”

Prior to joining RAP, Mr. Sedano served as commissioner for nine years and held various engineering positions with the Vermont Department of Public Service. Earlier, he was an engineer at Philadelphia Electric Company. He received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Brown University and his master’s degree in engineering management from Drexel University.

Mr. Colburn was executive director of the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) and led the Air Resources Division of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services before joining RAP in 2011. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and master’s degrees in business administration and education from the University of New Hampshire.

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