Sarah Cottrell Propst

Sarah Cottrell Propst is the Vice President of State Affairs at the American Clean Power Association (ACP). She leads ACP’s state team working on policy, legislative, and regulatory initiatives across the U.S.

Prior to joining ACP in 2024, she served as Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) in Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration. There, she oversaw the Energy Conservation & Management, Forestry, Mining & Minerals, Oil Conservation, and State Parks Divisions. From 2012-2018, she was Executive Director of the Interwest Energy Alliance, a non-profit trade association representing the nation’s leading renewable energy companies in the West and Southwest. She was appointed Deputy Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department after serving as Energy and Environmental Policy Advisor to Governor Bill Richardson. She started her career as a Research Fellow with the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

Cottrell Propst earned a Master of Public Affairs from Princeton University’s Princeton School of Public & International Affairs and her AB from Davidson College. She serves on the Grand Canyon Trust’s Board of Trustees and enjoys being outside camping, hiking, paddling, and hunting.