Alan Yu is the senior vice president for National Security and International Policy at American Progress. Yu has three decades of experience working on some of the biggest global challenges for the United States, from energy and environment to human rights to international trade to nonproliferation.
Yu previously served at the U.S. Department of State as an adviser to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. He was responsible for diplomatic engagement on climate policy with countries across the Indo-Pacific region and spearheading efforts to reform internal operations to emphasize and integrate climate policy at the State Department.
Yu had a previous stint at American Progress from 2019 to 2021, serving as a senior fellow and director for international climate policy with the Energy and Environment department.
Yu served from 2014 to 2018 as the U.S. Department of Energy’s director for Asian affairs, where he coordinated the efforts and resources of the department’s senior leadership, technical offices, and national labs to ensure a unified strategy in U.S. energy policy and technical engagement with countries in East, Southeast, and South Asia.
Prior to serving at the Energy Department, Yu served as a foreign service officer at the State Department, with postings in Washington, D.C., China, Japan, and Afghanistan. He worked on a wide range of regional and foreign policy matters, with a focus on East Asia and international environmental issues. Earlier in his life, Yu was a middle school teacher in the Central African Republic during his time serving as a Peace Corps volunteer.
Yu received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley.
