Laura Lochman started as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Diplomacy in the Bureau of Energy Resources on December 13, 2021. She was previously Director of the Office of Canadian Affairs. From January-September 2021, she served as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs for Canada, Haiti, and the Caribbean. Laura Lochman is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with over 30 years of experience in policy analysis and implementation. She has served in various overseas assignments with the Department of State, including as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy to the Kingdom of Denmark; Economic Counselor in Bogota, Colombia; Consul General in Calgary, Canada; Deputy Economic Counselor and Chief of the Trade and Investment Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow; and Deputy Economic Counselor and Environment, Science and Technology Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid. Earlier, she served in Caracas, Venezuela and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In Washington, Laura previously served in the State Department’s Office of Cuban Affairs, the Bureau of South Asian Affairs, and in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. Laura was detailed for one year from the State Department to a non-governmental organization, the Nature Conservancy, as a policy advisor. She also spent two years as the State Department’s Deputy Director of the Office of Central European Affairs.

Laura graduated with a B.A. in International Studies and French from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She also studied at the Université de Montpellier, France. Laura holds a black belt in karate, and her foreign languages include French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian.