Melanie Kenderdine was a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center. Previously, Ms. Kenderdine concurrently served at the US Department of Energy (DOE) as the energy counselor to the secretary and director of the Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis from May 2013 to January 2017. She wrote or edited two installments of the federal government’s Quadrennial Energy Review, was a principal architect of the G7 Energy Security Principles adopted by G7 leaders in Brussels in 2014, and was the editor of the Energy Security Valuation Study, submitted to Congress in early 2017.

Prior to her service at DOE, Ms. Kenderdine helped to establish the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) and served as its executive director. During her six-year tenure at MITEI, Ms. Kenderdine was a member of the research team for MIT’s Future of Natural Gas Study, was the rapporteur and editor for the MITEI Symposium Series, and edited the MIT Future of the Electric Grid Study. Before joining MITEI, Ms. Kenderdine served as the vice president of Washington Operations for the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) from 2001 to 2007. While at GTI, she established a not-for-profit company, the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA), taking it from an MOU between GTI and one university, to a research consortium of twenty-six universities and thirty industry partners. RPSEA ultimately competed for and won a $350 million federal unconventional gas research contract.

From 1993 to 2001, Ms. Kenderdine was a political appointee in President Bill Clinton’s administration, serving in several key posts at DOE, including senior policy adviser to the secretary, director of the Office of Policy, and deputy assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental affairs. Prior to joining DOE, Ms. Kenderdine was chief of staff and legislative director for New Mexico Congressman Bill Richardson.

In 2014, Ms. Kenderdine was named one of the top five women in Washington shaping energy policy by the National Journal. She started the C3E Symposium series at MIT to support the careers of women in clean energy and still serves as a DOE C3E ambassador. Ms. Kenderdine is a frequent lecturer and speaker on energy policy across the country and around the world. She has published articles in the World Energy Forum magazine, Physics Today, and co-authored chapters in two editions of the book “Energy Security in the 21st Century: A New Foreign Policy Strategy.” She is the board chair of the Alliance of Hope, a nation-wide support network for survivors of suicide.