Biography – Dionne E. Thompson

Dionne E. Thompson

Senior Vice President and Assistant Administrator for Corporate Liaison
Western Area Power Administration

As SVP and Assistant Administrator for Corporate Liaison in the Washington, D.C., Liaison Office, Dionne Thompson is responsible for developing and leading WAPA’s national relations and government affairs strategies, including interacting and engaging with members of Congress and their staff; liaising with the Department of Energy, Office of Management and Budget and other Executive Branch agencies regarding WAPA’s activities; and building and maintaining strong working relationships with national trade and energy industry associations.

Previously, Thompson was the Bureau of Reclamation’s deputy commissioner for External and Intergovernmental Affairs. In that position, Thompson oversaw Reclamation’s congressional, legislative and public affairs activities and represented the bureau’s relationships with federal, state and local governments. She also served as Reclamation’s chief of Congressional and Legislative Affairs from 2009 to 2015.

Thompson has been involved in energy and environmental issues in Washington, D.C., since 1993 when she was a staff counsel to former Sen. J. Bennett Johnston (D-LA) on the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and later for former Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA). She also worked as an attorney for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission between 2003 and 2009 where she was a legal advisor to the chairman in 2005, an advisor on market rates and tariffs, and Senate liaison in the Office of External Affairs where she covered electric transmission, natural gas and hydroelectric issues.

Originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, Thompson has lived in the Washington, D.C., area for more than 25 years. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia. Thompson is a member of the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania bars and the Energy Bar Association.