Who We Are

The Institute for Energy Research (IER) is a not-for-profit organization that conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets. IER maintains that freely-functioning energy markets provide the most efficient and effective solutions to today’s global energy and environmental challenges and, as such, are critical to the well-being of individuals and society.

Founded in 1989 from a predecessor organization, IER is a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is funded entirely by tax deductible contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations. No financial support is sought for or accepted from government sources.

Our Principles

IER has earned a solid reputation for its scholarly approach to energy analysis and free-market energy and environmental policy. IER’s perspective is based on the following tenets:

Free Markets: History shows that private property rights, market exchange, and the rule of law have resulted in affordable energy, improved living standards and a cleaner environment.

Objective Science: Public policy, particularly in the environmental area, should be based on objective science, not emotion or improbable scenarios that invite wealth-reducing government activism, which often impairs society’s resilience to change.

Public Policy Tradeoffs: Policies that attempt to correct “market failure” in energy markets must be tempered with the reality of “government failure.” It is inappropriate to compare idealized government actions with real-world market outcomes. Government policies are implemented by politicians and bureaucracies, not by unbiased and informed academics.

Efficient Outcomes: The welfare of energy consumers, energy producers, and taxpayers can and should be considered together.

Impartial and Unbiased: Government policies should be predictable, simple, and technology neutral. This approach will spur capital formation in the energy industry and promote technological innovation.

IER has earned a solid reputation for its scholarly approach to energy analysis and free-market energy and environmental policy. IER’s perspective is based on the following tenets:
History shows that private property rights, market exchange, and the rule of law have resulted in affordable energy, improved living standards and a cleaner environment.
Public policy, particularly in the environmental area, should be based on objective science, not emotion or improbable scenarios that invite wealth-reducing government activism, which often impairs society’s resilience to change.
Policies that attempt to correct “market failure” in energy markets must be tempered with the reality of “government failure.” It is inappropriate to compare idealized government actions with real-world market outcomes. Government policies are implemented by politicians and bureaucracies, not by unbiased and informed academics.
The welfare of energy consumers, energy producers, and taxpayers can and should be considered together.
Government policies should be predictable, simple, and technology neutral. This approach will spur capital formation in the energy industry and promote technological innovation.
  • Free Markets
  • Objective Science
  • Public Policy Realism
  • Equitable Treatment
  • Constrained Government

Meet Our Team

  • Robert L. Bradley, Jr.
    CEO and Founder
  • Thomas J. Pyle
    President
  • Daniel Kish
    Senior Vice President of Policy
  • Lisa Wallace
    Senior Vice President of Operations and Development
  • Dustin DeBerry
    Vice President of Development
  • Kenny Stein
    Vice President of Policy
  • Angela Haubert
    Manager of Donor Relations
  • Alexander Stevens
    Manager of Policy and Communications
  • Garrett Kehr
    Director of Digital Marketing
  • Smythe Anderson
    Director of Government Relations and External Affairs
  • Terry Posey
    Office Manager & Executive Assistant
  • Caleb Jasso
    Policy & Digital Media Associate
  • Mary J Hutzler
    Distinguished Senior Fellow
  • Lisa Linowes
    Advisory Council Member
  • Robert J. Michaels
    Advisory Council Member
  • Hilary Sills
    Advisory Council Member

Our Board of Directors

  • Jim Clarkson

  • Wayne Gable

  • Steven F. Hayward

  • Preston Marshall

  • Trent Sebits