Zenaida Y. Monsada is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

who served as first woman

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-re ...

from July 2015 until July 2016. Prior to being appointed as Energy Secretary she served as DOE Officer-in-charge from May–July 2015. While serving as OIC, she was also the undersecretary for four bureaus of the Department of Energy, Electric Power Industry Management Bureau, Energy Resources Development Bureau, Oil Industry Management Bureau, and the Renewable Energy Management Bureau.

Early life and education

Monsada is the eldest of 12 children of public servants from

Ormoc Ormoc (IPA: �oɾˈmok, officially the City of Ormoc ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Ormoc; war, Syudad han Ormoc; fil, Lungsod ng Ormoc), is a 1st class independent component city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 ce ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

. She is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of San Carlos in

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines and capital of the Cebu Province. Acc ...

. She earned units in Master of Science in Chemistry from

University of the Philippines Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...

and Master in Public Management from the Development Academy of the Philippines. She also had professional studies in Petroleum Management at the Arthur D. Little Management Education Institute in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, United States, and the

Norwegian Petroleum Directorate The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate ( no, Oljedirektoratet) or OD is a Norwegian government agency responsible for the regulation of the petroleum resources on the Norwegian continental shelf. Based in Stavanger, its mission is to ensure that the ...

in Stavanger, Norway.

Career

Monsada started working as Chemistry Lab Assistant in the University of San Carlos. She then worked as Project Chemist for a Special Project of Bureau of Mines under

Department of Environment and Natural Resources The Department of Environment and Natural Resources ( fil, Kagawaran ng Kapaligiran at Likas na Yaman, DENR or KKLY) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for governing and supervising the exploration, developmen ...

. After that she worked as Acting Division Chief of the Technical Assistance Division of Bureau of Energy Utilization under the

. She also worked as Assistant Branch Chief of Energy Regulatory Board and as Director of the Energy Industry Administration Bureau of DOE. She led the setting up of national petroleum testing laboratory at the Energy department and the setup of mobile monitoring and testing facility. After the resignation of then Energy Secretary

Jericho Petilla Carlos Jericho "Icot" Loreto Petilla is a Filipino politician. He ran as a senator in the Philippines under the Liberal Party (LP) during the 2016 Philippine general election, 2016 General Elections in the Philippines. He is also a former Secre ...

, she was appointed as Officer-in-charge of the department, until her formal appointment as the

Secretary of Energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when Pr ...

. While serving as OIC she was also the undersecretary for four bureaus of the Department of Energy, Electric Power Industry Management Bureau, Energy Resources Development Bureau, Oil Industry Management Bureau, and the Renewable Energy Management Bureau. She was formally appointed as Secretary on October 23, 2015 by then President

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. The son of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monsada, Zenaida Living people University of San Carlos alumni Secretaries of Energy of the Philippines Benigno Aquino III administration cabinet members Filipino chemists Filipino women chemists People from Ormoc University of the Philippines Diliman alumni Women members of the Cabinet of the Philippines Year of birth missing (living people)