Mark Nechodom

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT MARK NECHODOM

After a long career in government and academia, I am supporting sound energy, public health, and climate mitigation policy in the State of California, now for the first time from the industry side. As Senior Director for Science and Technology at WSPA, I deal with a broad range of policies, regulations, and legislation that meaningfully engage the oil and gas industry in sustainable energy and climate policies. Having served as a regulator in California under Governor Jerry Brown, I am able to \"walk in both worlds\" and serve the best interests of the regulated community, the regulators who have tough jobs, and the public that wants to understand a complex and foundational part of the broader energy industry. Most of my professional career has been dedicated to emerging, sustainable, and scientifically-informed energy policy in one form or another. I have worked as a federal scientist supporting biomass renewable energy development; as a policy advisor in Washington DC and international settings; and as a senior political appointee overseeing oil and gas, mining, and farmland conservation. I have long understood that energy poverty is a major barrier to community, economic and public wellbeing. Affordable, reliable, safe, and equitable access to energy is the foundation of any civilization. Squaring that requirement with the circle of environmental and climate outcomes to live responsibly on the planet has been a lifelong goal. When I\'m not busy in the energy world, I am almost always outdoors somewhere doing something to balance my soul. I\'m a former sea and sprint kayak racer (east and west coasts); an avid ski bum; a long range motorcycle rider; and a rock collector. As an amateur geologist, I carry a rock hammer and a Roadside Geology book everywhere I travel in the American West, and am notorious for carrying 20-lb boulders out of the wilderness in my backpack to add them to my door-side collection wherever I happen to live. I am continually astounded by what the thin crust of this delicate planet has done to amaze and support us within just a few million years. Hopefully it won\'t take us that long to get it right.