Meet the Commissioners

Chairperson Margaret Curran

Margaret Ellen (Meg) Curran was appointed to the Public Utilities Commission, as Chairperson, in June of 2013 by Governor Lincoln D. Chafee. Her term runs through February 2019.

Chairperson Curran previously served as United States Attorney in Rhode Island. Before becoming US Attorney, she was an Assistant US Attorney in Rhode Island. She has also served as an adjunct professor at the Roger Williams University School of Law and has been a trial lawyer in private practice in Providence.

Chairperson Curran received her JD, with high honors, from the University of Connecticut School of Law and was Editor-in-Chief of the Connecticut Law Review. She clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, for Judge Thomas J. Meskill, and for the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, for Judge Bruce M. Selya. Chairperson Curran holds a BA in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania and an MS in Anthropology from Purdue University.

Currently, Chairperson Curran is a member of the board of directors of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the New England Conference of Public Utility Commissioners (NECPUC).

Chairperson Curran has served on a number of public and nonprofit boards and held membership with various institutes and societies. She was a member of the Rhode Island Parole Board; a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence; and served as Chair of the Rhode Island Health Benefits Exchange Advisory Board, now part of HealthSource RI. Chairperson Curran has also served on the boards of the Rhode Island Zoological Society, serving several terms as Chair; the Rhode Island Audubon Society; and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Rhode Island Chapter.  She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and served as an advisor on the Institute’s Model Penal Code Sentencing Project. She was a member of the First Circuit Court of Appeals Rules Advisory Committee and a member of the First Circuit Gender Bias Task Force.  She has been a member and officer of the Roger Williams American Inn of Court. She is a longtime member of Bat Conservation International.

For her exemplary service, Chairperson Curran has received a number of honors and awards, including an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the Roger Williams University School of Law, the John H. Chafee Memorial History Maker Award for Service, and honors from Common Cause of Rhode Island and Justice Assistance.

Commissioner Marion Gold

Marion Gold was appointed to the Commission by Governor Gina Raimondo in June 2016.

Commissioner Gold had previously served as Commissioner of the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources (OER). As leader of the OER, Dr. Gold was dedicated to working with public and private sector partners to provide sustainable, secure, and cost-effective energy services to all sectors of the community. Prior to joining the OER, she was the Director of the Outreach Center at the University of Rhode of Island where she established the URI Partnership for Energy and directed extension programs for communities and the public in energy, environmental horticulture, and urban agriculture. She served on the URI President's Council for Sustainability and on the RI Energy Efficiency and Resource Management Council.

Dr. Gold has been a leader in environmental issues throughout her decades of public service. Early in her career she worked at the Department of Environmental Management and the RI Resource Recovery Corporation where she was instrumental in launching the first statewide recycling program in the country.

Dr. Gold continues to serve as an adjunct professor of Environmental and Resource Economics. She enjoys teaching courses on energy and energy economics, serving on graduate committees, and advising Energy Fellows.

Dr. Gold holds a BS with honors in Natural Resource Science and Policy from the University of Michigan, a MS in Environmental Economics from Michigan State University, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Rhode Island. She is married with two children and lives in North Kingstown, RI. When not learning about the intricacies of energy systems, Dr. Gold enjoys hiking, travel, and spending time with family and friends.

Commissioner Abigail Anthony

Abigail Anthony was appointed by the Governor to the Public Utilities Commission in June, 2017. Abigail previously was the director of Acadia Center’s Grid Modernization and Utility Reform Initiative, and the organization’s Rhode Island director. Abigail was appointed by Governors Carcieri and Chafee to the Rhode Island energy Efficiency and Resource Management Council, which oversees the implementation of the state’s energy efficiency programs and policies.

Abigail is a lifelong resident of Jamestown, where she lives with her husband and two young boys.