Jamal Russel Black serves as San Diego Regional Policy & Innovation Center’s (PIC) senior officer of analytics and impact. His extensive knowledge and experience researching and creating equitable plans to combat climate change and decarbonization allow him to create cross-sector innovation opportunities and improved economic, environmental, and social impact conditions for underserved populations in San Diego. Jamal’s relentless dedication and enthusiasm for climate research and the improvement of conditions for marginalized communities make him a valuable addition to the PIC team.

Prior to his work with PIC, Jamal held various positions focused on advancing the environmental health of the global community. These include working for some of the most forward-thinking organizations, such as ENGIE Impact, where he served as a sustainability consultant and assisted companies, nonprofits, cities, and countries in achieving their decarbonization goals by leveraging data analytics and geospatial techniques; and Hanover Research as a data science consultant, responsible for the production of quantitative research reports and strategic briefings related to primary and secondary education as well as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

Locally, Jamal has served as a labor economist for the San Diego Work Force Partnership, where he analyzed a wide variety of data to inform the decision-making process, including gender and racial wage gaps, unemployment among veterans, and the greening of the regional workforce.

In 2017, Jamal also founded Veridian Analytics, a consulting and research firm that partners with city, state, other stakeholders to advance the zero-emission vehicles transition in pursuit of a sustainable future.

Jamal is currently pursuing a doctorate degree through University College London focusing on issues surrounding energy poverty and building decarbonization. He earned his master’s degree from UC San Diego in econometrics and quantitative economics and a bachelor’s degree from Regent’s University, London in international business and human rights.