Sharon Burke is the Founder and President of Ecospherics, an environmental research and advisory firm based in Washington, D.C. She most recently served as the lead on climate change, energy, and environment for the Biden-Harris Transition Team. She previously served as the first Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy at the Department of Defense (DoD), where she oversaw the energy security of U.S. military operations. Before her time at DoD, she worked as a Senior Fellow and Vice President at the Center for a New American Security, where she initiated a program called “Natural Security” to examine the intersection of natural resources and national security. She has also worked at the State Department, Amnesty International, and the New America think tank. Sharon holds a bachelor’s degree from Williams College and a master’s degree in international affairs with a focus on energy policy from Columbia University.
Podcasts
Sharon Burke on Environmental Security and the Energy Transition
- Energy
Recent Posts
George Chen in CNN International on the growing U.S.-China AI competition
September 26, 2026
Media Mentions
Despite growing calls to prevent AI development from spiraling out of control, the Trump-Xi summit has produced little substance, as ...
Han Lin in Nikkei Asia: Pomp, tariffs and AI: 5 things to know about the Trump-Xi summit
September 26, 2026
Media Mentions
“The more stable China’s diplomacy with other countries, the more bandwidth they can focus on what are very significant political ...
Han Lin in Channel News Asia: What corporate China’s absence from Trump-Xi state banquet says about US-China business ties
September 25, 2026
Media Mentions
Lin Han-Shen, China director at US strategic advisory firm The Asia Group, said the two capitals approached the guest list ...
Han Lin in The Straits Times: Pandas are cute but US needs rare earth magnets
September 25, 2026
Media Mentions
“For all the attention on the hard security, technology and trade issues, that China made room for panda diplomacy was ...