Ralph Izzo, former President, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), has been elected to the Rita Allen Foundation Board of Directors.

Izzo, whose term begins immediately, brings to the position deep experience in connecting science, technology, and civic leadership—a focus of the Foundation in its work to support early-stage, boundary-spanning innovation in science and civil society. He began his career as a research scientist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, where he performed numerical simulations of fusion energy experiments and published research on magnetohydrodynamic modeling. He later served as a Congressional Science Fellow in the Office of Senator Bill Bradley, and he served as a senior science-policy advisor for Governor Thomas Kean of New Jersey, who also serves as a Director on the Rita Allen Foundation Board.

Izzo held numerous executive positions within the PSEG family of companies, where he led the development of safe and sustainable energy strategies and became a prominent champion of innovation toward a clean energy future. Prior to assuming the role of President, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of PSEG, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the PSEG subsidiary Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G), New Jersey’s largest provider of electric and natural gas service. He previously held Senior Vice President and Vice President positions in utility operations, appliance service, corporate planning, and electric ventures. He encouraged the next generation of engineers to join him in combining excellence in communication, leadership, and technical ingenuity to mitigate the growing climate crisis. 

“Ralph has spent his career connecting scientific insight with public benefit—from fusion research at Princeton to leading one of the nation’s major utilities through a transformative clean energy transition,” said Elizabeth Good Christopherson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Rita Allen Foundation. “We are delighted to welcome him to the Board of the Rita Allen Foundation, where his deep knowledge of resilient and responsive systems will help shape collaborative efforts to strengthen our civic and scientific future.”

Izzo was honored with the Platts Global Energy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022 and received the United States Energy Award from the U.S. Energy Association, which recognized that under his leadership, PSEG reduced carbon emissions from power generation by 98 percent, created a net-zero climate vision, and then accelerated it by 20 years to 2030. Also in 2022, Izzo was inducted to the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

“This is an important moment for the work of the Rita Allen Foundation and in particular its civic science efforts,” said Izzo. “The pace of innovation and technological advancement is outstripping the ability of public policy, regulation, and other government functions to keep pace. If we are to capture the full range of benefits possible from scientific advances, it is imperative that we build new routes for our civic institutions to keep pace through informed, data-driven discussions.”

New Jersey Hall of Fame Welcome Ralph Izzo

Izzo earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in mechanical engineering from Columbia University, as well as his Doctor of Philosophy in applied physics. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from the Rutgers Graduate School of Management. He has received honorary degrees from Montclair State University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Thomas Edison State University, Bloomfield College, Rutgers University, and Raritan Valley Community College.

Izzo serves as a member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee. He also serves on the boards of the Argonne National Laboratory, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Hackensack Meridian Health, and the Liberty Science Center, as well as the Bank of New York Mellon, TerraPower LLC., Ovintiv Inc., and CMS Energy. He is on the advisory board for Avina Clean Hydrogen, Inc., he is on the Advisory Council of Princeton University’s Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, and he is a member of the Columbia University School of Engineering Board of Visitors. He is the former Chair of the Nuclear Energy Institute, the Board of Governors of Rutgers University, and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, and he is an emeritus member of the Board of Trustees of the Peddie School.

About the Rita Allen Foundation

The Rita Allen Foundation is a venture philanthropy organization that invests in transformative ideas in their earliest stages to leverage their growth and promote breakthrough solutions to significant problems. 

The Foundation is developing new investments, research, and coalitions to strengthen civic science as a growing field of study and area of practice committed to ensuring that all people can shape and benefit from science, technology, and innovation. 

In addition, the Foundation invests in early-career biomedical scholars to do pioneering research, seeds innovative approaches to fostering inclusive civic engagement, and develops knowledge and networks to build the effectiveness of the philanthropic sector. We embrace learning through experimentation, network-weaving, bridge-building, and knowledge-sharing to advance the civic potential of diverse communities, philanthropy, and science and technology for the public good.