Sydney Lienemann

Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Administration
New Mexico Environment Department

Dr. Sydney Lienemann is the Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Administration at the New Mexico Environment Department where she leads teams overseeing regulatory programs which include air and water quality programs, solid and hazardous waste programs, OSHA, climate change, and protecting the environment for the next generation of New Mexicans.

Lienemann began her career as an AmeriCorps VISTA member to support investments in climate infrastructure and clean energy in rural Alaska. Sydney later earned her Ph.D. in physics at University of Colorado Boulder and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) studying metal nanoparticles. She spent the last decade working at the intersection of climate, energy, and environmental policy. She was th MRS/OSA Science and Technology Congressional fellow and legislative assistant for climate and clean energy for U.S. Senator Mark Begich (AK), then led the Arctic energy diplomacy program at the U.S. Department of State as a AAAS Executive Fellow. She served as Chief of Staff to Alaska State Senate Minority Leader Tom Begich and Climate Advisor to the City of Albuquerque. Most recently, Sydney was the Head of Programs at Camus Energy, a clean tech start-up working to help utilities use more clean energy. In her free time, she loves to hike, bike, ski, and camp across New Mexico with her family.