Hear Mike and Director Whitney discuss the history of UK engagement in the Arctic (back to the first explorers in the 1800s) and how the Arctic links the UK to global shipping routes. Plus, discover Mike’s favorite “food” in the UK and tips on where to visit.
May 28, 2024
minute read time
Welcome to our third edition of Minute with Mike! We'll be bringing you installments of conversations between Director Erin Whitney and Senior Advisor Mike McEleney on recent international engagements, history, and energy innovations in the Arctic. You can listen to our first episode about the US-Iceland Energy Partnership here, and our second episode about Sweden’s energy landscape here.
Ahead of the Arctic Encounter in April, Director Whitney met with guests from the British Consul in San Francisco while they were in Anchorage, hearing an update on the UK’s expansion of offshore wind energy and their planning for Arctic engagements (40% of the UK’s energy supply comes from offshore wind).
A few weeks later, Director Whitney and Mike met with the Minister of State for the United Kingdom on the margins of Arctic Encounter, learning more about their energy supply chain and how the Arctic is critical to the UK today. In “Looking North”, the UK outlines their policies and strategies relating to the Arctic under a shared framework.
Hear Mike and Director Whitney discuss the history of UK engagement in the Arctic (back to the first explorers in the 1800s) and how the Arctic links the UK to global shipping routes. Plus, discover Mike’s favorite “food” in the UK and tips on where to visit.
Give it a Listen:
AnneMarie Horowitz
AnneMarie Horowitz is the Chief of Staff for the Arctic Energy Office. She joined the Arctic Energy Office in May 2023, and previously served as the Acting Communications Director until September 2023. AnneMarie has been with the Energy Department since 2010, and was previously on the digital team of the Office of Public Affairs, where she managed digital projects and internal employee communications efforts. AnneMarie was the Digital Communications Manager from March 2023 - September 2023 for the Department of Health and Human Affairs' Public Education Campaign, We Can Do This, to share information about the COVID vaccine.
AnneMarie founded two active employee resource groups at the Department of Energy: POWER (Professional Opportunities for Women in Energy Realized) and the Emerging Professionals Group. From 2015 - 2017 she served as the Special Advisor on workforce issues for Deputy Secretary of Energy Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall. She has also previously worked in the Under Secretary for Management and Performance and the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity.
AnneMarie created the STEM Rising: Women @ Energy series, featuring profiles of women from the agency who work in STEM careers. She was critical to establishing the Equality in Energy Transitions Initiative, a dual-hatted effort of the International Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Ministerial to advance the transition to a clean energy economy by engaging more women in clean energy, and is involved with the U.S. C3E Initiative as an award reviewer and communication. During the Obama Administration she was a DOE designee to the White House Council on Women and Girls. AnneMarie was a U.S. delegate to the APEC Women in the Economy Forum in 2014 in Beijing, China.
AnneMarie has a BA in Political Science from the University of Portland and a Masters of Government from Johns Hopkins University. She resides in Philadelphia.