Chris Smith named Salata Climate Action Fellow

The Salata Institute is delighted to welcome Salata Climate Action Fellow Christopher Smith.

Chris previously served as Chief Government Affairs Officer at the Ford Motor Company, where he advanced legislation, policy and regulation on issues related to electric vehicles, critical minerals, connectivity, and digital services for Ford’s global manufacturing presence. Prior to Ford he was SVP at Cheniere Energy Inc., where he built the policy, governmental and public affairs presence for America’s largest natural gas exporter. He is a former Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy, overseeing the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the National Energy Technology Laboratory, the DOE’s $6B portfolio of carbon capture demonstrations, and served as the federal official for the Deepwater Horizon Spill Commission. He testified before Congress more than twenty times.

Chris holds a degree in engineering management and mechanical engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point, an MBA from Cambridge University, and a degree in applied mathematics from American Public University. He is a board member at the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, Resources for the Future and the Atlantic Council. He is a Senior Advior to Longview Energy Systems, developing the next generation of fusion energy for carbon-free baseload power.

At Harvard, Chris will evaluate policy levers to advance domestic manufacturing of world-leading electric vehicles; pursue innovative solutions for carbon-free power; and tackle related supply chain challenges. He will support the Harvard-MIT research Initiative ‘Accelerating EV Adoption,’ and will work with Harvard researchers across business, policy, and law to analyze the impact of potential policy moves on private sector decision makers.