WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that Ms. Carole Plowfield will assume the role of Acting Director for the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs until a new Director is appointed by the Secretary.  She is being detailed from her current position as Special Advisor in the Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis, where she worked on a broad array of energy policy issues.

In this new position, Ms. Plowfield is committed to maximizing the development and deployment of energy solutions for the benefit of American Indians and Alaska Natives, and strengthening the Department’s partnership with these communities. She will work to improve the conditions in remote Alaskan native communities where energy costs are often much higher than the national average, providing the technical assistance, resources, skills, and analytical tools needed to overcome these challenges and implement sustainable energy strategies.

Ms. Plowfield has more than 20 years of project management experience working on energy policy and public service issues.  Prior to joining the Department of Energy, Ms. Plowfield served as the Executive Administrator and Senior Public Policy Analyst for the FutureGen Industrial Alliance, a consortium of energy and utility companies in a public-private partnership with the Department of Energy to design and build a $1 billion commercial-scale, coal-fueled power plant with carbon capture and storage technologies. Ms. Plowfield was part of the management team that worked to solve the financial, legal, regulatory, and political issues involved in any large energy infrastructure project.

Prior to the FutureGen project, Ms. Plowfield served as the Deputy Director for the Brookings Institution’s Presidential Appointee Initiative, a project of the Center for Public Service to reform the presidential appointments process and encourage public service. She was also the Deputy to the Vice President and Director of Governmental Studies where she provided organizational and strategic planning and worked on the Center’s Volcker Commission to improve how the federal government works, as well as other organizational effectiveness and capacity-building projects.

Ms. Plowfield holds a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy from Drew University, and completed coursework at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute.

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