Helaina Matza

Helaina R. Matza is the Deputy Special Coordinator for the Partnership on Global Infrastructure Investment, U.S. Department of State. Matza has most recently served as the Director of Energy Transformation in the Bureau of Energy Resources at the Department of State. In this role she led strategic engagement on clean energy and power sector issues, including the Department’s multilateral effort focused on securing clean energy supply chains. Helaina previously served as Director of Climate Diplomacy and Energy Transformation at the National Security Council in the White House.

Helaina has spent the past eight years at the Department of State developing and managing multi-million-dollar innovative initiatives related to energy, climate change and environmental issues. She has served in a diverse set of roles, including as a lead sustainability advisor developing the Department’s global air quality monitoring program, leading several Bureau of Energy Resources’ policy priorities overseas, and as a lead negotiator on the U.S. delegation at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Before joining the Department of State, she held positions focused on philanthropic engagement and trade promotion. Helaina holds an M.P.A. focused on global energy management and a B.A. in International Affairs, both from The George Washington University.