The Hawaii State Ethics Commission selected ELP alumnus Robert Harris as its new executive director and general council on January 3, 2022.

“I am humbled and honored to have been selected for this role, and I am grateful to the Commission for placing its trust in me. I will do everything I can to help the Commission fulfill its mission of promoting integrity within state government,” Harris said in a statement.

For the last eight years, Harris has been the director of public policy at the Hawaiʻi office of Sunrun, a home solar, battery storage, and energy services company. Before that, he was the director of the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, where he oversaw the passage of one of the most aggressive renewable portfolio standards in the country as well as an innovative clean energy financing program.

Earlier in his career, Harris worked on cases involving environmental, business, and insurance coverage issues as an associate attorney at Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert. From 2006 to 2009, he taught appellate advocacy and legal writing at Richardson, where he graduated cum laude and served as editor of the school’s law review. 

“Robert Harris is a valued member of the ELP ʻohana who will continue to utilize his skills in service of our community as a whole,” said ELP Director David M. Forman, who added that “congratulations are owed along with our thanks for taking on this important role.” 

JU 1/26/22