Griffin Thompson

Griffin M. Thompson, Ph.D Dr. Thompson has worked on energy, development, and climate change issues for over two decades, in both government and non-government positions. Dr. Thompson currently is Director of the Office of Electricity and Energy Efficiency at the U.S. Department of State. In that position he is responsible for establishing and managing the strategic direction and programmatic implementation of the Office’s mission in advancing U.S. foreign policy and national security goals in priority countries through the promotion of electricity system reforms and functioning power markets; promoting increased access to clean and affordable energy services; and, supporting USG climate change goals by creating the regulatory and electric utility system frameworks necessary for investment in clean energy and energy efficiency. Before becoming the Office Director in the Bureau of Energy Resources, Dr. Thompson served as Senior Program Manager in the State Department's Climate Office. Attendant duties included: • U.S. Government lead negotiator on Technology within the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) • U.S. Government representative on the International Steering Committee of the Renewable Energy Policy Network of the 21st Century (REN21), Paris, France • U.S. Government representative on the Governing Board of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), Vienna, Austria • Lead U.S. Negotiator for Energy at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, New York City Before coming to the State Department, Mr. Thompson served as Director of the Office of Energy at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and before that, as Senior Policy Analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Mr. Thompson has a B.A. in English from Gonzaga University and a Ph.D in Political Philosophy from Georgetown University.