Janela Cantre is a Senior Associate at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), where she works at the intersection of policy, markets, and the energy transition in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Over the past eight years, she has worked across policy and regulatory analysis, power market modeling, strategic advisory, and commercial analysis across the Philippine and broader Asian energy sectors. Prior to RMI, she served as Strategy Manager at AboitizPower and held consulting, analytical, and commercial roles at AFRY and First Gen Corporation. Her work has increasingly focused on translating technical and economic analysis into practical solutions for governments, utilities, and other stakeholders navigating the transition toward more reliable, affordable, and sustainable power systems.

Janela earned a Master of Energy Economics from Rice University as a Fulbright Scholar and graduated magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines School of Economics. She is a recipient of Rice University’s MEECON Award for Scholarly Excellence and was part of the inaugural cohort of the Female Leaders in Energy Program in Asia Pacific, a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Energy Association. Her experience at Rice broadened her perspective on energy systems and strengthened her commitment to bring what she learned back home and contribute meaningfully to the Philippines and Southeast Asia. She remains passionate about advancing the energy transition, developing future energy leaders, and fostering collaboration across industry, government, and civil society.