Jacquelyn Pless is the Fred Kayne (1960) Career Development Professor of Entrepreneurship and an Assistant Professor in the Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management Group at the MIT Sloan School of Management within Business & Economics. She earned her Ph.D. and M.S. in Mineral and Energy Economics from the Colorado School of Mines in 2016 and 2014, respectively, and a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of Vermont Honors College in 2009. Before joining MIT in 2019, Pless served as an Oxford Martin Fellow and Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford's Institute for New Economic Thinking and Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment from 2016 to 2019, Visiting Assistant Professor at Stanford University's Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research in Spring 2022, Head of Analytics at Quartz Associates from 2017 to 2019, Research Economist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis from 2013 to 2016, Energy Policy Specialist at the National Conference of State Legislatures from 2010 to 2013, and Legislative Assistant at the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2009 to 2010. She also held positions including Research Assistant at the Wharton School and Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania in 2015 and Visiting Researcher at Harvard Kennedy School in Fall 2018.

Pless's research focuses on innovation economics, energy and environmental economics, strategic management, and climate finance, examining how firms and policymakers foster innovation for social progress, particularly in energy and environmental areas, including firm responses to externality interdependencies. Key publications include "Pass-Through as a Test for Market Power: An Application to Solar Subsidies" (American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2019), "Bringing rigour to energy innovation policy evaluation" (Nature Energy, 2020), "Are ‘Complementary Policies’ Substitutes? Evidence from R&D Subsidies in the UK" (forthcoming, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy), "Can Digitalization Improve Public Services? Evidence from Innovation in Energy Management" (forthcoming, Management Science, with Robyn Meeks and Zhenxuan Wang), and "To Starve or to Stoke? Understanding Whether Divestment versus Investment Can Steer (Green) Innovation" (Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policy and the Economy, 2023). Her honors include Poets & Quants Best 40-Under-40 Business School Professor (2024), Kenan Institute Distinguished Research Fellow on Stakeholder Capitalism and ESG Investing (2022), Marie Curie Fellowship (2018), Finalist for Distinguished CESifo Affiliate Award in Energy and Climate Economics (2020), and Finalist for IAEE Best Student Paper Award (2014). She is a Research Affiliate of CESifo, Honorary Research Associate at the University of Oxford, Faculty Affiliate of MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research and Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, and teaches courses on innovation strategy, entrepreneurship, and climate and energy ventures.

Professional Email: jpless@mit.edu