Steve Burns serves as Vice President for Energy and National Security at the Institute for Security and Technology (IST). In his role, Steve leads the organization’s energy security initiative, which seeks to strengthen America’s energy system to withstand natural disasters, geopolitical crises, and cyber-physical attacks—protecting national security and economic prosperity.

Steve joined IST after serving as the Director for Energy Security on the National Security Council staff at the White House, and Chief of Energy and Infrastructure United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Europe and Eurasia. Over his 15 years of government service, Steve conceived, built, and led several ground-breaking foreign assistance programs that have since been emulated across donor governments and multilateral development banks in areas including energy sector cybersecurity, electricity and natural gas network planning, and utility disaster response in developing countries. Later in his White House role, he expanded on these programs by coordinating with foreign governments and U.S. private industry to secure vital assistance to U.S. allies in the face of regional armed conflicts and other threats to global energy security.

Early in his career, Steve authored multiple Electric Power Research Institute technical reports on ensuring nuclear safety-related component operability during design basis conditions. He later advised electric utilities and multi-national industrial clients on power asset development and power procurement strategies. Steve is a registered Professional Engineer and earned a Doctorate in engineering management.