Passionate about energy and sustainable development, Lourdes Melgar brings to the forefront strategic issues pertinent to the transition to a low-carbon economy. As research affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a non-resident Fellow at the Baker Institute, she draws from her policy experience to the search of solutions to accelerate the transformation of energy systems.

Lourdes sits on boards of listed companies and holds positions in the advisory boards of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, the Natural Resource Governance Institute, Phius, Chapter Zero Mexico, and the Board of Trustees of Mount Holyoke College.

During the time of design, negotiation, and initial implementations of Mexico’s 2013 Energy Reform, Lourdes served as Vice Minister for Electricity (2012-2014) and Vice Minister for Hydrocarbons (2014-16), playing a key role in the definition of the new model, the creation of the electricity market, the design and bidding process of oil contracts, and the inclusion of environmental and social sustainability. Previously, as a career diplomat, she held various positions in Mexico’s Foreign Service, and served as Director General for International Affairs at the Ministry of Energy.

In the academic realm, Dr. Melgar was Founding Director of the Center for Sustainability and Business at EGADE Business School. She was the 2016-17 Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow at MIT and has been a visiting scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center and at the Jackson School of Geosciences of the University of Texas. A graduate from Mount Holyoke College, she holds an M.S. and a PhD in Political Science from MIT.