Sarah Propst

Background

About Sarah Propst

Sarah Cottrell Propst is the Senior Vice President of State Affairs for American Clean Power Association (ACP), the leading voice of today's multi-tech clean energy industry. ACP represents over 800 energy storage, wind, utility-scale solar, clean hydrogen and transmission companies. From 2019 through 2023, she served as the Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) in the administration of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. EMNRD's divisions include: Oil Conservation, Mining & Minerals, Energy Conservation & Management, State Parks, State Forestry, and Administrative Services. From 2012 to 2018, she was Executive Director of the Interwest Energy Alliance, a non-profit trade association that represents the nation's leading companies in the renewable energy industry, bringing them together with nongovernmental advocacy organizations in the West (AZ, CO, NV, NM, UT & WY). Previously, she founded Propst Consulting, LLC, a firm engaged in energy and environmental policy. She has served as the Deputy Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department, where she oversaw departmental organization, staffing, budgeting, and policies. She worked as Governor Bill Richardson’s Energy & Environmental Policy Advisor in the State of New Mexico. She advised the Governor on national, regional, and state energy and environmental issues, wrote speeches, negotiated bills, worked with the legislature on the Governor’s energy and environmental proposals, and represented New Mexico on the Western Governors’ Association Staff Council. Ms. Cottrell Propst is an expert in energy and environmental policy and climate change solutions. She has worked in Washington, DC, throughout the United States, and on international projects including a public-private partnership study for the United Nations Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) with field work in Ghana. She has managed projects for non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and government agencies. She has served on the City of Santa Fe Planning Commission and currently serves on the board of the Grand Canyon Trust.