The Honorable Sharon E. Burke is the Chief Engagement Officer at CIMMYT, where she oversees strategy for public communications and investor engagement. She is also the Founder and President of Ecospherics, a policy and strategic communications firm dedicated to addressing the intersection of ecological health and security.
Throughout her career, she has held leadership roles in civil society and the U.S. Government. Burke began her government career as a researcher at the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment, later serving in the Bush Administration as speechwriter to the Deputy Secretary of State, and in the Obama Administration as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy. She has also held influential positions at leading think tanks, including the Center for a New American Security, where she founded the groundbreaking Natural Security program.
Burke holds degrees from Williams College and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she was a Zuckerman and International Fellow. A widely published expert, she sits on several advisory boards including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and is recognized for her contributions at the nexus of climate, energy, food and national security.