Penny Burton —

Biography

 As chief human resources officer, Penny Burton is responsible for development, retention, and recruitment of the highly diverse and talented NREL workforce.   Burton came to NREL in 2009, and during her time here, she's overseen the successful implementation of a new compensation program, redesign of the lab's defined-benefit pension plan to meet growing funding challenges, and implementation of a human capital management system to more effectively manage NREL's workforce, all while achieving over 50% employee growth.   Burton brings over 30 years of progressive experience in various industries with leadership experience in all human resources functional areas for both profit and non-profit organizations. She came to NREL from MRIGlobal where she was manager of talent acquisition and development.   Prior to MRIGlobal, she was regional director of administration for Pioneer Services, a division of Pioneer Financial Industries where she was a member of the senior leadership team. During her time on the leadership team, the organization generated over $16M in receivables and opened 20 offices in the United States and Germany. She has also been vice president of employment for a major Midwestern bank and a human resources and training director in the retail industry.   Burton holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri, Columbia.

Research Interest

    Green Energy, Green Chemistry, Sustainability, renewable resources, biomass, biofuel, Green Engineering, green industrial applications, green investments, green process, green energy, biomaterials, nanotechnology, waste management, water treatment, bioreactors, bioprocessing