Melissa Elkinton leads the Wind Energy Assessment group for DNV GL Energy Americas, a technical consulting, independent engineer, testing and certification company. She manages technical and commercial aspects of pre-construction and operational wind energy assessments for clients in the US and Canada, and provides technical supervision for projects in Latin America. Of the approximately 12 GW of project-financed wind farms that have been implemented in the US and Canada since 2014, Melissa has provided oversight on 80%, nearly 10 GW, of energy production assessments related to these successful projects. Prior to joining DNV GL in 2007 as a wind analyst, Melissa researched wind power at the Renewable Energy Research Lab as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. She received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Boise State University and MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Melissa is the recipient of the 2016 AWEA Technical Achievement Award.