Denise Brinley serves as the Executive Director of Governor Wolf’s Office of Energy, a newly formed office in Pennsylvania. Ms. Brinley will coordinate energy-related matters among state agencies and serve as the first point of contact for federal agencies, businesses, nonprofits, and other organizations in the energy sector. In this role, she will convene and guide the Commonwealth Energy Collaborative – a multi-disciplinary, agency-focused effort to align numerous energy efforts and develop long term energy strategies for Pennsylvania.
Prior to this role, Ms. Brinley was a Senior Energy Advisor at DCED — focusing on Pennsylvania’s energy advantages by working with economic and workforce development partners to retain and grow our energy industry and by marketing and attracting potential investors to the commonwealth. Her work involved expanding the use and delivery of natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial facilities. She also cultivated a strong business climate for alternative energy deployment; supported the growth of in-state development, manufacturing and assembly of advanced energy technologies; and worked with other state agencies to ensure sound energy-related infrastructure.
Most recently, Denise served as vice president and principal environmental consultant in TRC Corporation’s Harrisburg office, focusing primarily on the natural gas development, wetland mitigation banking, and brownfield redevelopment.
Prior to joining TRC, Brinley served as director of the Bureau of Environmental Cleanup and Brownfields at the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), where she oversaw the commonwealth’s comprehensive environmental cleanup programs, including the redevelopment of brownfield sites.
Ms. Brinley also served as DEP’s Special Deputy Secretary of the Office of Community Revitalization and Local Government Support, where she forged partnerships with economic and industrial development associations, local governments, private developers, and the
business community.
She has a bachelor’s degree in geoscience from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, and a master’s degree in geology from the University of Maryland at College Park. Denise is a national park enthusiast and resides in Cumberland County with her two children.