Kate joined MJB&A in 2019 and brings over 35 years of professional experience in the field of environmental policy design, analysis and implementation, particularly as it applies to energy development. Ms. Fay, respected across multiple sectors and the investment community, possesses a unique ability to bridge divides and bring conflicting parties together using deep subject matter knowledge and strategies to address complex issues. Kate provides strategic advice to the firm’s oil and natural gas practice, with an emphasis on strategic corporate climate, air quality, public land use and ESG matters.
Prior to joining MJB&A, Kate held corporate environment and climate policy positions at Noble Energy, Inc. where she played key roles in a host of strategic environmental, social and governance regulatory matters; including the nation’s first ever direct regulation of methane in Colorado and the company’s first published Climate Resilience Report. Previously, Ms. Fay served in the Obama Administration as the Senior Energy and Climate Advisor to the EPA Region 8 (Rocky Mountains) Administrator. She also served during Colorado Governor Bill Ritter’s administration as the Energy Manager for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, where she led the Department’s participation in the 2008-2009 overhaul of the State’s oil and gas regulations. Kate’s initial opportunity to serve in the public sector was as part of the EPA senior air policy team assigned to develop, negotiate and implement the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments.
Kate spent much of her early career in the private sector. Her first professional employment was with Tosco Corporation in Los Angeles, where she was a Regulatory Analyst and Permitting Manager for the company’s US refining and oil production operations. She then became an Associate at Sierra Research, a Sacramento, CA- based consulting firm specializing in air quality permitting and policy development.
Kate holds a B.S. degree in natural resources economics and public policy from the University of California, Berkeley; was a German Marshall Fund Environment Program Fellow; and has been adjunct professor at the University of Colorado. She currently serves on the Advisory Council of the CU Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment. Kate lives in Boulder, Colorado.