During her one-year Sustainable Energy Fellowship with NRDC, Lara's work focused mainly on energy policy advocacy in the California utility sector. In particular, Lara was involved in numerous California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) proceedings including the 2009-2011 investor-owned utility program portfolios and the first-ever strategic planning effort sponsored by the CPUC. Lara also participated in the Peer Review Group, a collaborative effort to ensure that third-party solicitations and the development of the Local Government Partnership programs were conducted in a fair and transparent manner.

In addition, Lara worked with the publicly-owned utilities (POUs) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) to analyze the POU progress towards meeting their aggressive goals set under AB2021. Lara also participated in the Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) proceeding at the CEC and represented NRDC at various CEC workshops and hearings. Upon completing her Sustainable Energy Fellowship, Lara became a permanent NRDC staff member to continue the work she began as a Fellow.

"This Fellowship put me on a path that I would not have otherwise had the opportunity to pursue. I made extremely close friends this year and learned more than I could have imagined from people blazing the trail in this field. I feel truly honored to be a part of NRDC as was only possible through the MAP Fellowship."

"Without Lara taking a central role in key elements of our advocacy to reduce global warming, our team would not have been nearly as effective this past year. Lara brings not only professionalism and an amazing work ethic to the Energy Program, but her own personal energy, which is contagious."