Celebrating the Impact of Lee Humphrey on HEET

Long before the pandemic, before the ‘Shared Action Plan’, and long before anyone outside of our little region of Massachusetts had ever heard of HEET, George Lee Humphrey was a champion of HEET’s work. Lee didn’t just show up, for years, week after week, to Gas Leaks Allies meetings to think together on the challenge of methane, he took action - even leaning into the number crunching! Lee didn’t just donate to HEET, year after year, he led the way - so often the first to stand up at those early fundraisers and declare his support. His love of the world, of people, of data-driven solutions, of common sense and common ground, of his family and friends, of action, of bravery, of caring, of a good idea and a good story… have all left their mark on our organization over the years and become shared values.

So when Lee Humphrey left this world on February 8, 2025, so many of us mourned both the man and the huge ripples of positive impact he sent out into the world. Some of those ripples kept arriving in our mailbox as Lee Humphrey and his family included HEET in his wishes for memorial contributions. As we had the privilege of reading the thoughtful notes that accompanied so many of those generous gifts - we were reminded of all the people impacted and inspired by him. But we worried - how could we reciprocate such generosity, such an honor - such a responsibility? How could we honor and celebrate such a life? Then we realized that Lee had already shown us a way - of course!

I dug into my old emails and found one from March of 2019. Attached were a series of gas leak scorecards courtesy of Lee Humphrey, clear as could be they laid out the data as it was a lovely combination of number crunching, accountability, and communication that motivates action. In the same email was a summary of the Department of Public Utilities regulation that had just been enacted - our Shared Action Plan that committed HEET to a full five years of verifying the outcomes of an audacious plan to prioritize large gas leaks in order to cut methane from gas leaks in half.

Five years later I am proud to say (and know Lee would be too!) that HEET, together with Gas Safety Inc, kept our commitment to this monitoring and verification process and that yes, our state cut a whole heck of a lot of methane. So we would love to celebrate Lee Humphrey’s life by dedicating the publication of the Final Report of the Shared Action Plan to him, replete with a fresh set of 'Lee Humphrey scorecards'. Our sincerest hope is that this publication can be used to bring people together to scale this practical and proven intervention across the country and that the Lee Humphrey scorecard ripples across the country cutting methane emissions in its wake.

Lee Humphrey's legacy continues to inspire us all at HEET and I know we are not alone in this. We extend our sincere condolences to his family and all who knew and loved him. His impact, I am sure, will continue to make the world a better place far into the future.

- Zeyneb