Disruptive Protests Push Harvard Professor Jody Freeman to Resign from the ConocoPhillips Board of Directors

In 2006, Jody Freeman helped found Harvard’s Environment and Energy Law Program. In 2012, she joined the board of ConocoPhilllips, named the 14th most polluting company in the world by the Guardian and responsible for the highly destructive Willow Project in Alaska. Freeman earned $350,000 per year serving in this position, creating a blatant conflict of interest. And ConocoPhillips benefited directly from this “investment” when Freeman lobbied the SEC on the company’s behalf using her connections at Harvard.

In 2023, activists began calling attention to her double-dealing. Fossil Free Divest Harvard has been organizing within the university to apply pressure.

CEF grantees ratcheted up the pressure last month with a series of disruptive actions. One of our grantees, Climate Defiance, partnered with Extinction Rebellion Boston to disrupt a “Climate Forum” at Harvard, calling for Jody Freeman’s resignation. And in California, Climate Defiance teamed up with another CEF grantee, Oil and Gas Action Network, to disrupt a keynote address, giving her the “Big Oil Bestie” award instead.

In August 2023, that pressure paid off when Jody Freeman resigned from the Board of Directors at ConocoPhillips! These events create major shockwaves within elite circles, slowly but surely building momentum toward transformative climate justice policies.