Faculty

Prof. Banks teaches Global Electricity Markets, Energy Transitions in the US, and leads the Energy and Environment Practicum, an innovative course in which second-year MAIR students work with external client organizations on projects addressing environmental and energy policy challenges. Banks also designed and teaches the first course in the new Master of Arts in Sustainable Energy online degree program at SAIS, launched in Fall 2020.

Banks recently oversaw two student research field projects: examining electricity access challenges in Myanmar, and assessing the city of Seoul, South Korea’s efforts at deploying clean energy, especially solar PV. Professor Banks was selected by the student body to receive the 2019 Excellence in Teaching Award.

His research focuses on the ongoing transformation of the global electricity sector, with a particular interest in the intersection of technology innovation, policy, and regulatory trends as they impact de-carbonization approaches and evolving business models. In 2019, he published a co-authored assessment of alternative, sub-national electricity service models in the U.S., specifically community choice aggregation, the sustainable energy utility, and municipal utilities. In another peer-reviewed, research overview article (2022) he assessed how different types of electricity markets in the U.S are impacted by variable renewable resources and distributed energy resources, and how these markets are adapting and innovating to accommodate these resources.

For nine years (2009-2018), Banks served as a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at the Brookings Institution. He contributed to the formation of, and helped run, Brookings’ Global Electricity and Technology Roundtable, a bi-annual, private meeting of senior utility and technology industry executives, state and federal government officials, financial institutions, regulators, academia, and others designed to discuss major developments in the electricity sector globally. While at Brookings, he played a leading role in developing and carrying out research efforts dealing with nuclear power, the transition of the electricity sector in Germany and Japan, the role of distributed energy resources in the US, electricity access in emerging markets, and the future role of coal.

Prior to working at a think tank and in academia, Banks was a consultant for over 20 years, advising governments, companies, and regulators throughout the world on energy policy, security, and governance issues. He has worked for a number of firms, including Nexant, Inc. the successor company to Bechtel Technology & Consulting, and BearingPoint (now Deloitte) in New York.

Banks has authored or co-authored dozens of energy reports, published numerous articles, and provided expert testimony. He has worked in more than 30 countries outside the U.S., and holds an MS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

She previously served as the director at the Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI), energy economist and statistician at Tetra Tech, and an ORISE Fellow at the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) at the U.S. Department of Energy. As a member of the executive council of the United States Association for Energy Economics (USAEE), Anna holds the position of Vice President of Communications at the USAEE and oversees the USAEE annual conference plenaries. She holds BAs in Economics and Linguistics, an MA in International Economics, and a Ph.D. in Economics, Policy, and Human Dimensions, which she received as part of her Fulbright studies. She completed post-doctoral training at the University of St. Gallen and at the University of Maryland College Park.

Stuart served in four different offices within the Executive Office of the President across three different administrations, most recently as a Senior Advisor in both the White House National Economic Council and the Council on Environmental Quality. Stuart worked for 10 years in the White House Office of Management and Budget, first as a program examiner and later as a deputy branch chief in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Stuart served as a Sea Grant Fellow on the staff of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard. He also managed a local agroforestry program as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana.

Stuart received his PhD from University of California, Santa Barbara, studying the ecology of kelp forests, and B.S. in biology and political science from the University of Michigan. He is based in Washington, DC.

In addition to his role at Johns Hopkins SAIS, Goksenin is also an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, where he teaches a master's-level course on renewable energy project finance and modeling.

Goksenin is a scuba diving instructor, explorer, and conservationist. He has introduced hundreds of students to the underwater world through PADI and SSI since 2021. He is actively working with organizations like The Explorers Club and Blue Endeavors to protect our marine ecosystems towards a sustainable future.

He received his master's degree in Energy & Environment from Columbia University and dual bachelor’s in Chinese Studies and International Affairs from Istanbul Okan University as a Valedictorian. He received his CFA charter in 2021 and Advanced Financial Modeler certification in 2019. As a first-generation immigrant in the US, Goksenin is fluent in Turkish and English and conversational in Chinese and Spanish.