Jerrell B. Whitehead, Sightline research fellow, is trained as a historian and is a lover of film, healthy eating, and weightlifting, but not necessarily in that order. An east coast transplant to Washington, he spent over a decade away from the state, with residence and work experience in England and Japan. At Sightline, he conducts research on various facets of the coal industry, linking regional energy policy and the protest against pollution with the larger global energy market. Jerrell received a BA in history from Yale University, where he graduated magna cum laude and was also awarded a prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship. Thanks to generous funding from Bill and Melinda Gates, he received a Master’s (Mphil) and a PhD in economic and social history from the University of Cambridge. After many years away from home, he is happily settling into the unique rhythm of life in the Pacific Northwest, a place he unbiasedly hails as “the best place in America.” Read his latest blog articles here. Email him at jerrell [at] sightline [dot] org.