Roach originally hails from Austin, TX and made his way to Oklahoma by way of Lubbock, TX where he completed his doctorate in economics. His dissertation was a collection of three papers concerning carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. After completing his doctorate, Roach served as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Wind Institute where he taught courses on wind energy economics, policy and law. Before living on the windy plains of West Texas, he attended the University of North Texas where he received a B.A. in music and a B.S. in economics.