Dr. Caitlin McKennie Joins the
Payne Institute for Public Policy 
at the Colorado School of Mines 
as a Research Associate for Critical Minerals

GOLDEN, COLORADO – The Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines announced that Dr. Caitlin McKennie has joined the institute as a Researcher, and will be focusing her work on critical minerals.

Dr. McKennie recently completed her PhD in Economics from the University of Stirling and is a postdoctoral fellow at the Payne Institute. Prior to her doctorate, she received an M.A. in applied economics from the University of Colorado, Denver, and an M.S. in mineral and energy economics from Colorado School of Mines. Dr. McKennie comes to Payne after five years of working for the State of Colorado in numerous roles, across several agencies and executive leadership teams. She brings extensive experience in public policy and economics to this position in a manner that is outcome-focused and quantitatively driven. Her empirical research at Payne focuses largely on sustainability, energy consumption, and mineral markets at state, national, and global levels. While a research fellow at the Payne Institute, she intends to apply her unique skillset and curious mindset towards helping the world become a more equitable, viable, and environmentally sustainable place to live – one of which never loses its intrinsic value.

About the Payne Institute for Public Policy

The Payne Institute for Public Policy at Colorado School of Mines is in a unique position to serve as a nexus for high-quality, data-driven, solutions-oriented research and dialogue needed to inform energy and environmental policy at this critical moment. The Payne Institute can harness the faculty and student body of an institution with deep roots in mining and petroleum engineering, but also with superb programs and longstanding relationships spanning renewable energy, water purification, civil and environmental engineering, materials science and other areas. Mines has an unmatched track record in solving tough scientific and engineering problems across the gamut of energy and environmental fields. The university enjoys a hard-earned reputation as an unbiased problem-solver in disciplines often at odds in the energy-environment discussion; the university tagline, a marriage of the words “Earth” “Energy” and “Environment,” is in fact an accurate reflection of our expansive and growing purview.