Bullard Center Welcomes Dr. Abdulla Alabbasi as Part of U.S. State Department's Community Solutions Program Fellowship

The Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice proudly welcomes Dr. Abdulla Alabbasi as a participant in the U.S. Department of State's Community Solutions Program (CSP) Fellowship. Alabbasi, who is from Bahrain, and his mentor, Ed Pettitt, a Graduate Research Assistant at the Bullard Center, are collaborating on a range of energy justice projects aimed at empowering underserved neighborhoods in Houston. According to Pettitt, "Dr. Alabbasi's collaboration with the Bullard Center embodies our commitment to addressing environmental and climate justice issues in disadvantaged communities, aiming to make a lasting impact on energy equity and resiliency in Houston's Third Ward and beyond."

Their initiatives include crafting a Heat & Energy Technical Advisory Report for Houston’s Third Ward and Columbia Tap Trail Corridor, providing guidance to the Third Ward Cuney Homes Choice Neighborhood Initiative, and creating a model for deploying solar, storage, and microgrid systems spearheaded by Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). They are also assessing microgrid feasibility at Cuney Homes and Texas Southern University while exploring the possibility of establishing a microgrid "test bed" for advanced simulation and testing.

As the director of the Energy and Environmental Studies Program for the Bahrain Center for Strategic, International, and Energy Studies, Alabbasi has extensive experience in sustainable energy policies. During his CSP fellowship, which lasts for a total of four months until the end of November, he is building networks, identifying challenges, and proposing solutions in the path to energy transition, with a goal to increase awareness of clean energy and net-zero emissions targets in Bahrain once he returns.

The Community Solutions Program has empowered over 830 community leaders from 100 countries to contribute over 350,000 hours supporting communities worldwide. This program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, with funding from the U.S. Government and support from IREX.