NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Katrina Pielli is a Senior Energy Advisor and Lead for the Smart Communities Coalition with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Pielli leads the Smart Communities Coalition, co-chaired with Mastercard, which seeks to improve the delivery of essential services to displaced populations and host communities through enhanced coordination between public and private entities and strategic implementation of technology. Pielli also leads the Scaling Off-Grid Energy team focused on partnerships and market acceleration to deliver 20 million new household and business electricity connections in sub-Saharan Africa Africa through off-grid solar energy solutions by 2030. She previously led Power Africa’s off-grid energy access team, Beyond the Grid, focused on adding 25-30 million new household and business electricity connections in sub-Saharan Africa through off-grid energy solutions – household solar and mini-/micro-grid technologies. Ms. Pielli also was Power Africa’s Civilian-Military liaison and in this role she identified opportunities to collaborate with the U.S. military. Pielli is secunded from the U.S. Department of Energy where she serves as a Senior Policy Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency.

 Prior to joining USAID,  Pielli held several positions in the U.S. government — at the U.S. Department of Energy, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Pielli holds a Master’s of Science in Environmental Management and Policy from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Environmental Studies and Policy from Cornell College.