President
Melissa Simpson is President of Western Energy Alliance, one of the principal trade associations representing independent oil and natural gas producers operating on federal lands across the West. She took the role in April 2025, succeeding Kathleen Sgamma, and leads the Alliance’s federal and state advocacy on behalf of producers across the Rocky Mountain region and beyond.
Simpson came to Western Energy Alliance with more than two decades in natural resources, energy, and public-lands policy spanning the private sector and senior federal service. Immediately before joining the Alliance, she served as Director of Global Government Affairs at Sempra, where she focused on liquefied natural gas exports and emissions reporting. In government, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Energy Resources at the U.S. Department of State, as Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and as Counselor to the Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Earlier in her career she led government affairs for Safari Club International.
A Colorado native, Simpson holds a Juris Doctor from Creighton University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University. Her engagement with CSA strengthens the link between Western American energy production and the national-security questions CSA exists to inform.
