Elise Voorhis

Elise Voorhis serves as a Foreign Affairs/Energy Officer at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources with over ten years of experience in the energy sector. In her role, she works with countries around the world to support their clean energy transition and mitigate climate change. Prior to joining the State Department, she was a Senior Program Coordinator for the United States Energy Association and worked to strengthen the capacity of electric utilities and regulators in USAID-assisted countries to effectively manage and operate power systems and develop sustainable energy resources. She has extensive experience in the energy sectors of sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific, the Caribbean, and the United States.

In 2015, she had the pleasure of working at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, and the U.S. Department of State as a graduate intern. In 2013, she studied abroad in Geneva, Switzerland to study at the United Nations on International Relations and Multilateral Diplomacy where she published research on the Shale Gas Revolution in the United States and its impact on renewable energy development and geopolitics.

She holds a Master’s degree in Global Environmental Policy at American University in Washington, D.C. as well as a Bachelor’s degree with honors in International Relations and Global Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and a minor in European Studies and Environmental Studies.