Robin Millican
Robin Millican
Director of Research Programs and Strategic Partnerships | Columbia University SIPA’s Center on Global Energy Policy
Robin Millican is the director of Research Programs and Strategic Partnerships at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP). In this role she provides strategic oversight and coordination of the Center’s research agenda, ensuring rigor, coherence and policy relevance across CGEP’s portfolio of interdisciplinary work. She brings more than fifteen years of experience in organizational strategy, program design and U.S. and international energy policy.
Prior to joining Columbia, Millican served as Head of Strategic Initiatives and Integration at Breakthrough Energy, the global organization founded by Bill Gates to accelerate the transition to affordable, reliable, and clean energy. In that capacity, she acted as principal advisor to the executive leadership team on cross-organizational strategy and led the development of new initiatives to support portfolio companies, strengthen global market capabilities, and enhance analytic support for investment decision-making.
Previously, Millican served as Senior Director of U.S. Policy and Advocacy at Breakthrough Energy, where she oversaw a team of policy experts, managed a significant annual grantmaking portfolio, and directed strategies to advance federal and state policy priorities across the power, industrial, transportation, buildings, and agriculture sectors. She is recognized for her expertise in climate and energy policy and has provided testimony before the U.S. Congress. She was also a primary contributor to Bill Gates’ 2021 book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster.”
Earlier in her career, Millican led the energy innovation policy and grantmaking portfolio at Gates Ventures; advised public-sector clients as a strategy consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton; and served as a legislative aide to United States Senator John Cornyn, supporting policy development on energy, environmental and economic issues.
Millican serves on boards and advisory councils of several organizations, including ClearPath, Silverado Policy Accelerator and Nature is Nonpartisan.
