Dr. Brian Toibin

Brian Toibin, a volunteer education advisor at EFI, recently obtained his PhD in the Public Policy and Administration program at the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences and Education from James Madison University and a Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of South Carolina. He believes that access to, and the application of, accurate information is critical in the move towards a sustainable future and that scientifically informed public policies need implementation in order to allow citizens to understand and act upon the challenges and opportunities that overcoming sustainability problems provide.

His current research focuses on the cross-ideological political coalitions that are forming to promote solar energy adoption in different political venues. This subject highlights how information, education, economics and public policy must correctly intersect in order to bring particular sustainability issues forward on the public policy agenda. This type of public policy research is applicable to many of the sustainability issues that the EFI mission strives to address. Brian is excited about the impact EFIs educational program has on students and is confident that they will help bring needed change as they take that knowledge into the world.