David Foster served as Senior Advisor to U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz from 2014-2017 on energy, environmental, climate, economic development, workforce development and labor relations issues.  He also designed and oversaw the annual production of the U.S. Energy and Employment Report, a survey driven study of labor markets in four key energy-related sectors of the U.S. economy.

Prior to working at the Department of Energy, David Foster served as the founding Executive Director of the BlueGreen Alliance (BGA), a strategic partnership of 14 of America’s most important unions and environmental organizations with a combined membership of 14.5 million.  

From 1990-2006, he was the Director of United Steelworkers (USW), District #11, a 13 state region based in Minneapolis, MN.  His responsibilities included serving on the union’s International Executive Board and negotiating labor agreements with many of the country’s largest steel, iron ore and aluminum companies. 

Since 2009 Foster has served on the Board of Directors of Kaiser Aluminum Corporation and, since 2006 the Board of Directors of Oregon Steel Mills and its successor, Evraz, North America. 

From 2003-2010, he taught graduate classes on globalization, sustainability, and labor relations at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.