Anna Ziai

Project Director for State Implementation of Federal Climate Legislation

Anna Ziai (she/they) serves as CESA’s Project Director for State Implementation of Federal Climate Legislation. Her work supports the 100% Clean Energy Collaborative by helping states understand and implement the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (IIJA), including advising them of the most relevant funding opportunities and on the implications of their implementation.

Anna is a licensed attorney admitted to the Oregon State Bar. Before beginning at CESA, Anna served the Sierra Club’s federal Environmental Law Program, where she researched and drafted memoranda, briefs, and formal comments under a wide range of federal environment legislation. Anna also researched and reported on the causal relationship between high energy insecurity for Black households and access to weatherization and energy efficiency programs in the South.

Prior to the Sierra Club, Anna earned her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in June 2021. Anna completed associate positions with major law firms and worked with the UChicago Abrams Environmental Law Clinic. She helped spearhead cases under federal environmental legislation for clients such as the Center for Biological Diversity. She also led cases before the Michigan Public Service Commission representing Soulardarity, a frontline community organization working to bring community solar to low-income and people of color communities in Highland Park, Michigan.

Anna is passionate about helping states make concrete progress on climate change and environmental justice. Outside of work, she likes to spend time in the ocean, play with her cat outside, and practice the art of resting.