Jennifer Granholm is an American lawyer, educator, author and politician who served most recently as the 16th United States Secretary of Energy, and previously as the two-term governor of Michigan. As governor, she spearheaded Michigan’s economic recovery after the Great Recession by diversifying the state’s economy to focus on clean energy. 

As Secretary of Energy (2021-2025), Granholm restructured the U.S. Department of Energy to focus on research and development of advanced clean energy solutions and deployment of zero-carbon technologies. She oversaw $200 billion of U.S. DOE investments into companies and projects to accelerate the clean energy transition. During her tenure as Secretary, the country saw record deployment of clean energy — adding the equivalent of 30 Hoover Dams of zero-carbon energy to the nation’s electricity grid in 2024, more than twice as much solar power deployed as ever before. 

Granholm serves on the board of Edison International and is the CEO of Granholm Energy, LLC advising businesses and organizations on clean energy solutions. An honors graduate of Harvard Law School (1987), she is the author of A Governor’s Story: The Fight for Jobs and America’s Economic Future. Granholm was named in 2024 to the Time 100 Most Influential People list, and Forbes’ list of Top Climate Leaders.