Mark Toney of T.U.R.N. describes the fights to keep California utility costs in check

 

Mark Toney has been the Executive Director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN) since 2008. Mark has transformed TURN into a social movement organization, whose 27 staff are two-thirds women and two-thirds people of color, and has expanded its impact to promote and win racial and economic justice in energy affordability, climate action, and broadband equity.

Mark was appointed in 2020 to the California State Bar Board of Trustees by Governor Newsom and reappointed in 2024. He also currently serves on the National Whistleblower Center board, and previously served on the boards of ACLU Northern California and California Shakespeare Theatre.

Mark served as executive director of the Center for Third World Organizing for four years, and of Direct Action for Rights & Equality for eight years. He holds a B.A. from Brown University, a Ph.D. in Sociology from UC Berkeley, and has been recognized as a Kellogg National Leadership Fellow, National Science Foundation Fellow, Echoing Green Fellow, and Mother Jones Heroes for Hard Times.