Carlton Brinda is a 2021-2022 Veterans Advanced Energy fellow at the Atlantic Council and a twenty-four-year retiree of the US Navy. In the Navy, he was a chief electrician qualified in the operation of a nuclear power plant on submarines. He managed a diverse team of electrical technicians that was responsible for operating and maintaining the electrical systems. He also trained and supervised an operations team in the safe operation of the nuclear reactor plant, steam plant, and auxiliary systems. He completed multiple submarine deployments to the Mediterranean, the Gulf, the Northern Atlantic, and the Western Pacific.

Following retirement, Brinda was key in the commissioning of a battery-grade lithium carbonate processing plant at US Magnesium. He tested systems, created procedures and qualifications, and trained and qualified the operations team.

Brinda is now a control center lead for AES Clean Energy in Salt Lake City. His team monitors over three gigawatts of solar, wind, and battery storage facilities across the United States. The team is responsible for safe and reliable operation, dispatching of technicians, and reporting to scheduling coordinators and transmission operators.