Please join the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines as we welcome U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary David M. Turk presenting Careers in Climate on Thursday, October 10, 2024 at Colorado School of Mines. 

Deputy Secretary Turk will reflect on his decades of experience working in climate and clean energy, offer advice to students pursuing careers in these fields, and speak about the U.S. Department of Energy’s approach to the climate crisis.

David M. Turk was sworn in as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy on March 25, 2021. As Deputy Secretary, Turk serves as the number two official and Chief Operating Officer of a $50 billion per year organization focused on all things energy, basic science, and nuclear security. Turk has taken a leading role in implementing President Biden’s historic clean energy legislation, including coordinating with the White House, interagency partners, and the private sector. With Secretary Granholm, he has orchestrated a major reorganization of the Department to create and staff new offices to demonstrate and deploy clean energy technologies. Turk has also focused on early-stage innovation, including the launch of a series of Energy Earthshots.

Prior to his nomination as Deputy Secretary, Turk was the Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, where he focused on helping countries around the world to make progress on their clean energy transitions. In the Obama-Biden Administration, he served for a first time in the Department of Energy, including spearheading the launch of Mission Innovation – a global effort to enhance clean energy innovation. Turk has also been a Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director at the U.S. National Security Council, Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Change at the State Department, and a Staff Director of the National Security Subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee.

Turk was born in Quito, Ecuador, and raised in Rock Falls, Illinois. He is a graduate of both the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Virginia Law School. He and his wife, Emily Turk, have three children.