U.S. Energy Foundation today announced the election of Rose McKinney-James as Board Chair. McKinney-James succeeds Bill Ritter, Jr., former governor of Colorado.  McKinney-James is the former CEO of the Corporation for Solar Technology and Renewable Resources, and former Director of the Nevada Department of Business and Industry. She has been a clean energy and climate policy advocate for more than two decades and is a member of the Energy Foundation Executive Committee and most recently chaired the Governance and Nominations Committee, which has focused on diversifying board membership.

“I am excited to lead Energy Foundation into this new decade,” said McKinney-James. “We have an opportunity to advance a refreshed and accelerated clean and equitable energy future at this pivotal moment in our country’s history. It is with sincere gratitude that we thank Bill for his tremendous contributions to Energy Foundation these past nine years, and to the clean energy movement at large.”

McKinney-James is the Managing Principal of Energy Works LLC, and McKinney-James & Associates, public policy and advocacy firms based in Las Vegas, Nevada, with an emphasis on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and regulatory and environmental policy. She also is a former commissioner with the Nevada Public Utility Commission and served as a member of the Obama-Biden Transition Team with responsibility for the U.S. Department of Energy and the Team Lead for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Honored with the GreenBiz Vanguard Award, she is listed in Black Enterprise Magazines Registry of Black Corporate Directors and in SAVOY Magazine Power 300 among the most influential African American Corporate Directors.