Gates Cambridge Alumna Kate Brandt has been appointed by President Obama to serve as the US Government's Federal Environmental Executive.
Gates Cambridge Alumna Kate Brandt has been appointed by President Obama to serve as the US Government’s Federal Environmental Executive.
Kate [2007], who did an MPhil in International Relations, will be responsible for promoting environmental and energy sustainability across Federal Government operations, including 500,000 buildings, 600,000 vehicles, and $500 billion annually in purchased goods and services.
The Office of the Environmental Executive works collaboratively with the Executive Office of the President and each of the Federal agencies to implement the President’s Executive Order on Federal Sustainability (EO 13514) and the GreenGov initiative.
Kate says: “I am very honoured to have been appointed and excited to take on this new challenge. The Gates vision of social leadership deeply impacted my decision to devote my career to public service.”
After leaving Cambridge, Kate worked at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, and for President Obama’s 2008 campaign in the state of Florida.
Following the 2008 campaign, Kate served on the Presidential Transition Team for Dr Susan Rice and the National Security Agency Review Team. She began at the White House on the first day of President Obama’s administration as a Policy Analyst in the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change.
Kate then served as the Special Advisor for Energy to the Secretary of the Navy at the US Department of Defense. She advised the Secretary on Navy energy policy and strategy and was the policy director for the report to the President entitled America’s Gulf Coast: A Long Term Recovery Plan after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. For her work in this position, she was awarded the Harry S. Truman Extraordinary Impact Award.
Following her work at the Department of Defense, Kate was a Director for Energy and Environment in the Office of Presidential Personnel at the White House, recruiting, interviewing and managing the presidential appointment of Senate-confirmed and senior candidates for energy and environment federal agencies.
After the White House, Kate served as a Senior Advisor at the US Department of Energy in the Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Energy where she played a key role in establishing the office and executing President Obama’s Climate Action Plan.
