CESAM 2024 Speakers

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

KEYNOTE

Representative Meredith A. Dixon

Meredith Dixon is a state representative for House District 20 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, first elected in 2020. She has held prominent roles within the New Mexico Legislature, including serving as vice-chair of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. Additionally, she is involved with the House Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee, among others. Dixon’s legislative priorities include improving child welfare, diversifying New Mexico’s economy, and enhancing public safety.

During her time in office, she has successfully sponsored and co-sponsored key legislation, but also contributed to various interim committees and councils focused on energy.

Secretary James C. Kenney

New Mexico Environmental Department (NMED)

James C. Kenney has spent more than 21 years across two stints at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, most recently as senior policy advisor for oil and gas. In that role, he worked with senior agency leadership and designed strategies to support environmentally responsible development of oil and natural gas resources while working with states, tribes, federal agencies and industries on regulatory and policy matters.

Kenney has also served as a senior environmental engineer at the EPA, leading both civil and criminal investigations related to the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and other EPA statutes and regulations as well as developing strategic compliance and enforcement approaches on oil and natural gas exploration.

Secretary Designate Melanie A. Kenderdine

New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD)

Melanie Kenderdine is a former co-founder, Principal, and Executive Vice President of the Energy Futures Initiative, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit focused on advancing clean energy through technology and policy innovation. She has held senior roles at the U.S. Department of Energy under both the Obama and Clinton administrations. In the Obama administration, Kenderdine helped launch Mission Innovation, fostered North American grid security, and modernized the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. She also led efforts on the Quadrennial Energy Review. During the Clinton administration, she was instrumental in key initiatives, including the 2000 Strategic Petroleum Reserve oil exchange, the creation of the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, and a major land transfer back to the Ute tribe in Utah.