Robin Millican

Breakthrough Energy

Director, U.S. Policy and Advocacy

Robin Millican is Director of U.S. Policy and Advocacy at Breakthrough Energy, a network of entities and initiatives founded by Bill Gates which include investment funds, nonprofit and philanthropic programs, and policy efforts linked by a common commitment to scale the technologies we need to achieve a path to net zero emissions by 2050. Robin leads the organization’s federal policy and advocacy strategies to accelerate the development and diffusion of clean energy technologies. In this role, Robin and her team are responsible for grantmaking, coalition building, and legislative strategy. She is based in Breakthrough Energy’s Washington, DC office. Prior to assuming this role with Breakthrough Energy, Robin led the clean energy innovation policy portfolio at Gates Ventures. During this time, she oversaw the expansion of an advocacy program that galvanized bipartisan support for the most significant energy and climate legislation in nearly fifteen years. Robin has over a decade of experience in energy, science, and technology policy, including as a senior strategy consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton and as a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate. She holds a Master of Public Policy degree from Duke University, and B.A. in International Studies from Southern Methodist University. 

Sessions With Robin Millican

Tuesday, 8 March

  • 11:30am - 12:10pm (CST) / 08/mar/2022 05:30 pm - 08/mar/2022 06:10 pm

    Accelerating Progress: Diversity, equity & inclusion in executive leadership
    Panel Diversity & Inclusion/Future of Workforce

    Last year, women made up 22% of the workforce in the US oil and gas industry, and nearly half of them worked in office and administrative support roles. While the number of corporate diversity & inclusion policies has increased 50% in the last five years, women and people of color report that they are repeatedly overlooked. A conversation with three leaders will ask: How diverse and inclusive is executive leadership in the energy industry? Are diverse teams better equipped to manage the challenges facing the industry, including the energy transition? Why? What actions would do most to advance diversity & inclusion in executive leadership?

Thursday, 10 March

  • 12:30pm - 01:10pm (CST) / 10/mar/2022 06:30 pm - 10/mar/2022 07:10 pm

    Advancing Energy Innovation: Growth of the ecosystem
    Panel Innovation & Technology

    Originating in the Silicon Valley, the term “Innovation Ecosystem is the evolving set of actors, activities, and artifacts, and the institutions and relations, including complementary and substitute relations, that are important for the innovative performance of an actor or a population of actors.” Creating energy sector innovation ecosystems has been challenging due to a multitude of participants, access to capital, role of governments, and challenges scaling promising technologies. With the need to develop and scale new technologies to achieve net zero by 2050, energy innovation will be the linchpin. What are critical factors for creating successful clean energy/tech innovation centers? Where are the most successful cleantech innovation ecosystems, and what makes them successful? Does the nature of the energy system make it less receptive to new ideas and innovations? How could governments incentivize these ecosystems? How could the pace of knowledge transfer be accelerated from innovation to deployment? With future growth in energy demand and investments centered in developing countries, how can new ecosystems be created in these countries?

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