Montina Cole brings decades of experience to her role as Executive Director of the Climate Center for Energy and Environmental Justice (Center), grounded in her passionate belief in the power of people to bring change. Cole leads the Center, which provides critical support and training for frontline community advocates. As Principal at Jai Green Consulting, she has worked at the intersections of integrated climate policy, racial equity and resilience, providing clients with holistic tools and solutions for sustainability.
Cole served as the first Senior Counsel for Environmental Justice and Equity at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), where she led the unprecedented initiative to integrate environmental justice and equity into the agency’s work, including creation of the agency’s first Equity Action Plan. She is also a past Open Society Foundations Leadership in Government Fellow. Previously she was a Senior Attorney in the Climate & Clean Energy program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, where she led the gas pipeline policy advocacy work and helped lead the initiative to incorporate racial equity considerations into the organization’s advocacy work across all programs.
Before entering the nonprofit arena, Cole spent almost 20 years practicing energy law in corporate law firms, representing a wide variety of clients and concentrating on electricity industry regulation. She represented clients before the FERC, Securities and Exchange Commission, courts, state and local regulators, and on Capitol Hill. She has also served as Special Counsel to the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where she was a political appointee, and on the staff of former U.S. Representative Jim Slattery.
Cole is a frequent speaker on various topics including environmental justice, equity and climate policy. She is a co-author of the 2020 Unimplemented Development Synthesis Workshop Report, How is the World Shaped by Infrastructure Projects That Have Been Cancelled or Stalled?
Cole approaches her work with a holistic lens. She is certified to teach Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, Meditation, and Stress Management. She is a member of the 2026 Beloved Community Cohort, and a past fellow in the GreenFaith Fellowship Program for religiously based environmental leadership.
Cole received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she served on the Senior Editorial Board of the Journal of Law and Politics. She graduated from Washburn University, where she received her B.A. in political science, cum laude, with University and Departmental honors. She is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia and in Pennsylvania.
Cole serves on the Board of Directors of EduSeed. She also serves on the Advisory Council of the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at NYU School of Law.