Kevin Hale
NYSERDA
Rose McKinney-James
Managing Principal & Founder
Energy Works LLC |McKinney-James & Associates
Sessions:
Rose McKinney-James embraced a passion, fueled a vision and made it a reality. She has been described as a trailblazer and change agent. Her work to advance the commercial deployment of renewable resources established her as a national leader in climate and clean energy. A skilled and effective advocate, she has demonstrated the capacity to cultivate critical relationships and transformative collaborations with key community and industry leaders. McKinney-James directed the Department of Business and Industry, Nevada’s largest state agency and was recognized for her innovation providing efficient and advanced services to the business community. As the former CEO of CSTRR, a solar and renewable energy company, she is credited with authoring the strategy to fast track the integration of renewable resources into utility energy portfolios. A registered lobbyist with the Nevada Legislature, she has represented the interests of Fortune 500 companies, local government and small business interests.
McKinney-James has over two decades of service as a public company Director. Since 2005, Rose has been a member of the Board of Directors of MGM Resorts International, where she currently chairs the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, and serves on the Compensation Committee. Additionally, she has served as Chair of Governance and Nomination for Employers Insurance, and Chair of the Compliance and Diversity Committees for Mandalay Resort Group. McKinney-James was responsible for creating and implementing an inaugural diversity program for Mandalay Resorts that became a model for the gaming industry.
McKinney-James has been deeply engaged in every aspect of Board governance to include risk, talent management, financial oversight and strategy. She is considered a leading voice in ESG (Environmental Social Governance) and has worked closely with MGM management to craft a robust set of strategies to align company culture and values with key initiatives designed to foster strong internal and external efforts to advance diversity, equity and inclusion, sustainability and philanthropy in the communities where it conducts business. These assignments have provided a unique opportunity for her to apply her professional experience and considerable knowledge in economic development, sustainability and community engagement. As a seasoned former state government leader and utility Commissioner, she is also well versed in government affairs and legislative and utility regulatory proceedings.
McKinney-James serves on the Board of NACD Pacific Southwest, MGM Detroit, Chairs the CRA Committee for Toyota Financial Savings Bank, Chairs the Governance and Nominations Committee for the Energy Foundation and is the Chair Emerita for the American Association of Blacks in Energy.
McKinney-James is the 2019 recipient of the Direct Women Sandra Day O’Connor Award for Board Excellence, and the inaugural GreenBiz Verge VANGUARD Award. She has been recognized by the US Small Business Administration as Small Business Advocate of the Year and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Chamber of Commerce, and the Nevada Conservation League. McKinney-James is listed in the Black Enterprise Registry of Black Corporate Directors and in SAVOY Magazine Power 300 among the most influential African American corporate Directors in the United States. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Ms. McKinney-James resides in Las Vegas Nevada. She is a graduate of the Antioch School of Law in Washington D.C., and received her BA from Olivet College, in Olivet Michigan.
