Governor announces new Cabinet secretary of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources

Apr. 29—A longtime energy policy expert, whose résumé includes high-ranking roles under two Democratic presidents as well as global hydrogen market development, will take over as head of the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.

Melanie A. Kenderdine will assume the secretary-designate position May 8, according to the Governor's Office. She succeeds former Secretary Sarah Cottrell Propst, who announced her resignation in November.

Kenderdine, a graduate of Manzano High School in Albuquerque and the University of New Mexico, co-founded and is currently principal and executive vice president for nonprofit Energy Futures Initiative.

The organization, headed by former U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, is involved in what one Forbes analysis described as an "extraordinary new consortium" to develop an organized market for the clean hydrogen economy — the demand part of the equation for the hydrogen hubs the federal government is supporting around the country. New Mexico, in partnership with Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, applied for U.S. Energy Department funding to create a regional hub, but didn't make the cut.

Kenderdine previously worked at the U.S. Department of Energy under Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. She was a part of several high-profile energy projects during those years, including work in modernizing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

In 2000, after severe winter in the Northeast led to a fuel supply crunch, Kenderdine, at the time acting assistant energy secretary for policy under then-Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, was part of a team that developed a plan to establish a home-heating oil reserve for the region — drawing on crude from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, according to news reports at the time.

Before her role in the Energy Department, Kenderdine also served as Richardson's chief of staff and legislative director when he was a New Mexico congressman, according to previous news coverage and her company bio.

In a news release announcing Kenderdine's appointment, Gov. Michelle Lujan's office highlighted her work on Mission Innovation, a global initiative that supports clean energy research, development and demonstration; North American grid integration and security; and involvement in the return of a major Utah oil shale reserve to the Ute tribe. She also formerly served as executive director of the MIT Energy Initiative, according to a résumé provided to The New Mexican.

In her new role, Kenderdine will oversee and provide policy direction for energy conservation, forestry, mining and minerals, oil conservation and state parks divisions.

Kenderdine was not available Monday for an interview, but said in the news release she's honored to take the role.

"The governor has committed New Mexico to be a national leader in the country's journey to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions," she said in the release. "I look forward to joining her outstanding team."

Kenderdine will earn a salary of $200,000 per year, the Governor's Office wrote in an email Monday. Deputy Cabinet Secretary Dylan Fuge, who has led the department since Cottrell Propst's departure, plans to stay on with the department.