Sarah Gainer is a director of federal affairs at Southern Company's Washington, D.C. office for Southern Company Gas. Prior to joining Southern Company in March 2021, Gainer spent 14 years at Chesapeake Energy Corporation, once the largest independent producer of natural gas and oil, leading their federal affairs office in Washington, D.C., as well as managing a number of Midcontinent states for seven years. She also served as a manager of federal affairs for El Paso Corporation, at the time, the largest interstate natural gas pipeline company.
Prior to her corporate work, Gainer spent four years on Capitol Hill, working on energy and environment issues for Senators George Voinovich (R-OH) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who represents her home state of Oklahoma. She has undergraduate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and completed her master's coursework in International Trade & Investment Policy from The George Washington University.