Influential and interesting in 2018 -- Liz Burdock

Assembling the components to kickstart the US offshore wind sector

Burdock has been working in the sustainability field for the best part of 20 years now, starting her career in energy efficiency and environment-friendly measures in the US government’s Department of Housing and Urban Development.

After leaving the federal administration, she focused on establishing the Business Network for Offshore Wind, a not-for-profit organisation to support offshore-wind development in the US.

Founded in 2014 at state level serving Maryland, the network is now a national organisation and has become the primary voice for US offshore wind.

The network’s goal is "to inform, educate and connect businesses, developers and global experts in offshore wind", she says. "We want to develop a community for networking and collaboration."

The job opportunities that offshore wind can offer are a key driver in her ambitions for the sector.

"It’s important to me that we give everyone a chance, and offshore wind does just that — it employs [everyone from] lower-skilled people to highly educated PhDs."

With the US offshore sector set to take off in a big way in the next couple of years, Burdock's voice and experience will become evermore valuable.