Principals

Amy Fuerstenau

Amy has 19 years of experience in political and advocacy campaigns, philanthropy, nonprofit management and government, designing and implementing strategies.  She truly understands how to impact and support policy makers, philanthropic leaders and other decision-makers and has a demonstrated track record of accelerating change and building power and the capacity of the field.

Prior to co-founding AC Strategies, Amy was a Vice President at the Energy Foundation, co-leading U.S. Programs. Amy co-developed the Energy Foundation’s States Program, an innovative model and approach to climate and clean energy state advocacy and funding that is now being replicated in other issue areas, including democracy.  While at Energy Foundation she also developed and oversaw a $20 million Federal Climate Program, launched a sister 501c(4) organization, and advised and aligned individual donors and foundations around a comprehensive state strategy, helping guide hundreds of millions of dollars in investment to address the climate crisis. 

Amy started her career on Capitol Hill, where she worked for a decade, including as the Energy Policy Advisor for the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, where she designed and oversaw the energy and climate strategy and legislative agenda in the U.S. House of Representatives, including the nation’s current energy law. Since 1996, she has also worked on several congressional and gubernatorial campaigns and clean energy ballot measures.She continues to serve as the Executive Director of the Energy Action Fund, a 501 c(4) that supports lobbying, accountability, ballot measures and electoral strategies. 

Curtis Seymour

Curtis is a co-founder and partner at AC Strategies. Curtis helps clients shape policy and regulatory outcomes to drive clean energy markets by designing and executing comprehensive advocacy strategies. Curtis has nearly two decades of experience in clean energy and climate policy working for industry, government and the nonprofit sector. Whether plunging into the weedy details of power markets regulation or or considering comprehensive climate mitigation solutions, Curtis helps clients develop strategies to navigate the substance and the politics of their issues.

Prior to co-founding AC Strategies, Curtis was Vice President of Policy at Energy Foundation and co-developed the Energy Foundation’s States Program with Amy, building the team from a staff of 6 to over 30 and directing over $100 million in annual philanthropic investment. He previously worked in the renewable energy industry, leading state legislative and regulatory affairs for a major renewable energy company, developing innovative partnerships between solar companies and utilities and advising foreign companies on US market strategy. In government, Curtis worked at the California Public Utilities Commission as an advisor and senior analyst to advance key renewable energy policies, which helped kickstart California’s globally recognized solar energy market.

Curtis has also launched a number of projects focused on accelerating a clean energy transition, and currently serves on the board of Grid Lab, an organization he founded to provide technical expertise to policy makers on power grid transformation.

Curtis lives in Oakland, CA with his wife and two children.