Robin Burton is a member of the Markets and Policy Analysis Group in the Strategic Energy Analysis Center. Research interests include health and environmental impacts of energy efficiency and renewable energy deployment at the state and local level, including the circularity of energy materials. She joined NREL in 2018 after completing her Master of Public Health (MPH) degree with dual concentrations in Environmental & Occupational Health and Global Health. Her capstone project was on potential health effects of exposure to oil and gas wastewater and included a policy recommendation for decisionmakers in Colorado. Her career before graduate school includes eight years with Whole Foods Market, first as environmental coordinator in the five-state Rocky Mountain Region, and then as assistant store manager at stores in Colorado, Hawaii, and California. Robin began her career with Boulder, Colorado-based non-profit Eco-Cycle, providing recycling and resource conservation services to the commercial sector.

Research Interests

Health effects of energy policy and practice

Global health and sustainable development

Circular economy for energy materials

Energy-water-food nexus

Stakeholder engagement

Education

M.P.H. in Environmental & Occupational Health and Global Health, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO (2018)

B.A. in Science, Technology, and Society (STS) and Women’s Studies, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY (1999)

Prior Work Experience

Associate Store Team Leader (Assistant Store Manager), Whole Foods Market, multiple locations (Superior, CO, Honolulu, HI, Kailua, HI, Berkeley, CA) (2008-2016)

Green Mission Coordinator (Environmental Coordinator), Whole Foods Market, Rocky Mountain Region (2008)

Zero Waste Services Coordinator, Eco-Cycle, Boulder, CO (2003-2007)

Featured Work

Robin Burton, Elizabeth Doris, and Elaine Ulrich. 2019. Puerto Rico Energy Planning Resources Workshop Report. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. NREL/TP-6A20-73839.