Michelle Naomi (Billig) Patron (born 1974) is an energy policy expert who currently serves as the director of sustainability policy at

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

. From 2013 to 2015, she served in the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for energy and climate change on the U.S. National Security Staff. Patron received her bachelor's degree from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1996 and her master's degree in international studies from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1999.Samuel W. Bodman, Julia E. Sweig, James D. Wolfensohn, "Global Brazil and U.S.-Brazil Relations", Council on Foreign Relations (2011), p. 97 From 1999 to 2003, Patron was an international policy advisor at the

U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear we ...

, advising on relations with major energy producing and consuming countries and designing strategies to address climate change, energy security, and market reform. During 2001, she served as Energy Attach¨at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Patron was an International Affairs Fellow at the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

in 2003-2004 and conducted energy research at

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...

in New York. She also worked at the

International Energy Agency The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization, established in 1974, that provides policy recommendations, analysis and data on the global energy sector. The 31 member countries and 13 associatio ...

and the Center for International Environmental Law. In 2004, Patron moved to PIRA Energy Group, an energy consulting firm in New York, where she was senior director, managing a research service that tracked global political and regulatory developments and assessing their impact on energy markets. She was at the same time an adjunct professor at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

's Center for Global Affairs. Patron is a member of the

and has written for ''

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

'', ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', and the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''.

Personal life

Patron is the daughter of Judi Billig and Bob Billig, a Broadway director and conductor, of

North Miami Beach North Miami Beach (commonly referred to as NMB) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The City of North Miami Beach is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. Originally named "Fulford-by-the-Sea" in 1926, after ...

, Florida. She was married on November 15, 2008, to David I. Patron, at the time an executive with

American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...

. "Michelle Billig, David Patron"
The New York Times (November 16, 2008)

References

1974 births Living people Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni {{US-gov-bio-stub Columbia College (New York) alumni Microsoft people