Mary Blanchard

Mary Blanchard joined the Wisconsin Energy Institute after a 20-year career in industry and leads efforts to advance energy-related research, education, and outreach at the university. Formerly the director of marketing and government affairs at Virent, Inc., Blanchard has extensive knowledge of the biofuels industry and a broad understanding of the economic, social, and environmental opportunities created by sustained, cross-disciplinary research on energy. She has served on bioeconomy and biofuels advisory groups for the Midwestern Governors Association and the Wisconsin Legislative Council. Blanchard holds bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and English from the University of Notre Dame, a master’s degree from the London School of Economics, as well as a master of business administration (MBA) from Northwestern University.