Professional Affiliation

Deputy director for Climate and Energy Policy, Center for American Progress

Expert Bio

Bidisha Bhattacharyya is the deputy director for Climate and Energy Policy at Center for American Progress. Prior to joining CAP, Bhattacharyya was the vice president of emerging markets at the impact-investment firm Village Capital, where she led a global team across India, Mexico, and East Africa to invest in high-impact startups innovating to solve problems across clean energy deployment and financial inclusion. She previously spent three years deploying solar energy solutions in rural India with the technology startup Simpa Networks, where she led the end-to-end rollout of a new off-grid solar product line.

Prior to her work in entrepreneurship and energy technology innovation, Bhattacharyya spent four years on Capitol Hill as a policy adviser in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. She served as the senior energy and agriculture policy adviser to former Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) and as energy and agriculture legislative assistant for Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), where she worked on issues ranging from wind energy deployment to rural renewable energy policy.

Bhattacharyya received her master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University, where she focused in energy policy and climate adaptation. She holds a B.A. in economics from St. Olaf College.