“Working with EEA’s six agencies and officials in other Secretariats, David was a key problem-solver and thought leader during Governor Patrick’s first term, providing expertise and counsel and helping to set policy on issues ranging from energy and climate change to land, water and fisheries management,” Secretary Sullivan said. “I am happy to announce that he will continue to enhance EEA’s senior staff through his expanded role as Undersecretary.”

“It is an honor to be able to continue to pursue Governor Patrick’s agenda of growing a clean energy economy, conserving our cherished natural resources, and assuring clean air and water in the Commonwealth,” Undersecretary Cash said. “I thank Secretary Sullivan for giving me this elevated role in advancing the Commonwealth’s national energy and environment leadership.”

As Undersecretary for Policy, Cash will build on his previous work developing and analyzing policy options to further EEA’s mission in areas such as energy; land, water, and ocean management; wildlife and fisheries; air and water quality; climate change; transportation; and waste management. Chair of Governor Patrick’s Sustainable Water Management Initiative and the Congressionally-established Boston Harbor Islands Partnership, Cash’s achievements during the first Patrick-Murray administration include helping to develop a package of landmark legislation signed into law in 2008 – the Green Communities Act, Clean Energy Biofuels Act, Green Jobs Act, Massachusetts Ocean Act, and Global Warming Solutions Act (GSWA).

Recently, he led the Secretariat’s effort to comply with an integral mandate of the GWSA – advising the EEA Secretary on his determination to limit greenhouse gas emissions to 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and developing the Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2020, which lays out a portfolio of policies and programs that will lower energy costs, create clean energy jobs, reduce greenhouse gases and keep Massachusetts leading toward the clean energy future.

Before joining EEA six years ago, Cash was a research associate and lecturer in environmental science and public policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and taught science in the Amherst public schools.

Cash, 45, earned a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Yale University and a Ph.D. in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government. He, his wife, and two daughters reside in a 140-year-old house that is fully insulated and features solar panels and a super-efficient combined heat and power furnace.