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• Energy Policy and Regulation
• Environmental Policy and Regulation
• Private and Public Sector Fiscal Policy

Kurt Schuparra works at the convergence of energy, environment and business, drawing on his energy policy experience as an advisor to Governor Gray Davis during the 2000-01 energy crisis and following, as California's green energy sector began expanding.

Kurt Schuparra provides California Strategies' clients a keen understanding of the micro-and-macro economic consequences of government policies, particularly regarding energy, environmental and business issues, and an understanding of how policy is developed and implemented in Sacramento.  He is also an authority on California's political and social history, which can serve as a prism for framing both issues and potential solutions.

Since joining California Strategies, Schuparra has helped secure considerable state bond funding for the Port of Los Angeles' Clean Air Action Plan, and has worked to bring about regulatory changes allowing biodiesel in California to be stored in underground tanks. He also has been involved in numerous efforts to aid green businesses.

Schuparra served as the Senior Policy Analyst in the Office of Governor Gray Davis, initially handling "smart-growth" issues, taxation and other economic matters. With the energy crisis, he was directly involved in mitigating the crisis and resolving long-term challenges, serving as the administration's key negotiator on the two landmark energy conservation and efficiency bills in 2001 and on the Renewable Portfolio Standard legislation in 2002, which committed California to the most ambitious renewable energy requirement in the nation.

Schuparra was instrumental in developing policies that spurred expansion of California's green energy industry.  As Deputy Secretary for Policy at the California Environmental Protection Agency, he played a key role in forging an alliance between California, Oregon and Washington to combat global warming.  He also co-chaired the administration's "Driving Green" Task Force and worked with federal, state and local officials on a variety of complex issues, including air and water pollution, and toxic-substance problems.

Clients benefit from Schuparra's first-hand knowledge of the state's legislative process.  He joined the Office of Assembly Member Joe Canciamilla in 2004 and served as his principal consultant, advising Assemblyman Canciamilla on energy, environmental, education, transportation and business matters, and helping to attain agreements on important legislation in each of these subject areas. He also was involved in addressing critical economic considerations during deliberations on AB 32, the 2006 legislation that mandates reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in California.

Schuparra is the author of Triumph of the Right: The Rise of the California Conservative Movement, 1945-1966 (1998), which received many positive reviews. Schuparra has also published commentaries in the San Francisco Chronicle and Orange County Register and penned an award-winning essay on the 1958 California gubernatorial election for the Pacific Historical Review. His most recent essay is titled, "'A Great White Light': The Political Emergence of Ronald Reagan" in The Conservative Sixties (2004).

Schuparra earned a bachelor of arts degree in history from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and a Ph.D. in history in 1995 from the University of Arizona, Tucson. He is a member of the American Historical Association.