Tim Profeta
Founding Director
Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions
Tim Profeta is the founding director of Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. Since 2005, the Institute has grown into a major non-partisan player in key environmental debates, serving both the public and private sectors with sound understanding of complex environmental issues.
In addition to his role at the Institute, Profeta serves as Chairman of the Board for 8 Rivers Capital, is a member of the Climate Action Reserve Board of Directors, is a member of The American Law Institute, and is an Associate Professor of the Practice at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy.
Prior to his arrival at Duke, Profeta served as counsel for the environment to Sen. Joseph Lieberman. As Lieberman’s counsel, he was a principal architect of the Lieberman-McCain Climate Stewardship Act of 2003. He also represented Lieberman in legislative negotiations pertaining to environmental and energy issues, as well as coordinating the senator’s energy and environmental portfolio during his runs for national office. Profeta has continued to build on his Washington experience to engage in the most pertinent debates surrounding climate change and energy.
Profeta earned a J.D., magna cum laude, and M.E.M. in Resource Ecology from Duke in 1997 and a .B.A. in Political Science from Yale University in 1992.