Santa Fe, NM(KKOB)- New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department Secretary, Melanie A. Kenderdine, has resigned from her position effective immediately. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham made the announcement Friday, saying the resignation was due to personal reasons. Erin Taylor, deputy cabinet secretary, will serve as Acting Cabinet Secretary of EMNRD.
Before joining the Lujan Grisham administration in May of 2-24,, Kenderdine served as co-founder, principal and executive vice president of the Energy Futures Initiative, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit focused on clean energy transition. She also held high-level positions at the U.S. Department of Energy in both the Obama and Clinton administrations.
“Melanie brought national energy expertise to New Mexico, and I’m grateful for her contributions at EMNRD. I wish her well,” Lujan Grisham said.
Prior to returning to EMNRD, Erin Taylor served at the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of State and Community Energy Programs, where she oversaw large-scale technical assistance initiatives for governments in all 56 states and territories. She also served as the state liaison for the federal Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization.
Taylor holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Pennsylvania State University, a postgraduate diploma in sustainable rural development from the University of Aberdeen, and a master’s degree in environmental policy and management from the University of Denver.
