Dr. Colette Kersten is Commissioner Sandoval’s Energy Advisor. Colette has spent the last nine years at the CPUC. In the Consumer Protection and Safety Division she spearheaded the development of electric generation performance standards and strategic planning initiatives. In the Energy Division she was Supervisor of the Federal Electric Policy, Markets, and Rates Section, and directed the completion of hundreds of CPUC public filings on behalf of California ratepayers and consumers at various federal, state, and regional organizations including the California Independent System Operator, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy, and California Energy Commission. Areas of focus were wholesale market design and implementation, transmission policy and planning, reliability standards, renewable integration, and transmission rate cases. Before joining the CPUC, Colette spent more than 25 years in the energy industry in increasingly responsible positions at Chevron Corporation, Chevron International, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Electric Power Research Institute, and Siebel Systems.
Colette has a B.A. in both International Relations and Spanish from the University of California, Davis and a Masters and Doctorate in Public Administration from the University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning and Development.
Since 2003, Colette has been a part-time Adjunct Professor at the University of San Francisco Graduate School of Business and Professional Studies where she teaches such courses as Public Policy, Strategic Planning, Managerial Economics, and General Management. She has also taught international marketing courses at the Golden Gate University Ageno School of Business.