Laura Taylor is the director of Energy Policy and Innovation Center (EPIcenter) at Georgia Tech. 

Taylor has over 30 years of experience n research, outreach, and policy engagement in the Southeast. It includes measuring the broader economic benefits associated with improved air, water, and ecosystem quality and is an elected fellow and past president of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. She has held numerous advisory board positions, including the environmental economics subcommittee of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s science advisory board and the legislative research commission advisory subcommittee on offshore energy exploration for the North Carolina General Assembly.

Her work uses economic tools to improve environmental and energy systems management and policy. She also has research and policy experience focused on the intersection of energy systems and human health, water resource management, and land use. She has held numerous advisory board positions and is an elected fellow and past president of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. 

Prior to her leadership role at the EPIcenter, Taylor served as the Chair of the School of Economics at Georgia Tech. During her time as chair, the School of Economics doubled its faculty with 19 new faculty members, and the number of students pursuing a major in economics increased by more than 50%. Economics also expanded its teaching and research in several areas including health, energy, environment, globalization, theory, and data analytics. The School’s bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. programs achieved federal STEM designation in 2019, reflecting the curriculum’s tech-centered approach to liberal arts education and emphasis on using mathematical and statistical models. The School’s undergraduate economics program is ranked No. 1 among public universities in Georgia and No. 21 among public universities nationally in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings.

Prior to joining the faculty at Georgia Tech in 2018, Taylor was Director of the Center for Environmental and Resource Economic Policy at North Carolina State University (2007-2018), and Associate Director of the Environmental Policy Program at Georgia State University (2001-2015).