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Chamai Shahim
When Chamai Shahim was deployed to Afghanistan with the Oregon Army National Guard in 2010, her experience was shaped by her curiosity.
Shahim grew up in a small town in Oregon and joined the National Guard at age 17. She was intrigued by the varied backgrounds and perspectives of the people she met in Afghanistan, from local nationals employed on the base who she played volleyball with to breaking bread with tribal leaders who she met through her special-forces friends.
“Many of my peers, unfortunately, looked at everyone there as a terrorist, but I was fascinated,” Shahim says. “I felt like I learned much about the world during that time.”
That same open-minded curiosity shaped her early post-military work developing strategy for emerging technologies and continues to drive her current efforts finding supply chain solutions for the clean energy sector, alongside her role as Project Vanguard’s Arizona Community Leader.
Shahim served six years as a CH47 helicopter mechanic and crew chief before leaving the Guard to pursue her civilian career in 2013. She first became interested in renewable energy while working toward her bachelor’s degree at Colorado School of Mines, where she took part in the Shell Eco-marathon Battery Electric Car Prototype Design Team.
She went on to earn her MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management. She also held roles in mining and oil and gas, including the Coker and Coker Gas Decommission project.
“I’ve always been fascinated by technology in general, and when I got involved in the energy industry, there was an immediate spark,” Shahim says.
She found her entry point to renewables through her role as a Strategic Futures Innovation Manager at the Arizona Commerce Authority where her work influenced the CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act. In this role, she focused on advancing high-tech industries such as renewable energy, zero-emission vehicles, semiconductors, and advanced manufacturing.
Chamai is currently Vice President of Strategy and Execution at Gambek Metals. There, she leads initiatives that accelerate growth, operational excellence and strategy development that bridges gaps within material supply chains critical to the energy industry, advanced manufacturing, construction and other key industries.
She says she hopes her work with Project Vanguard provides veterans transitioning out of active duty support and resources, along with encouragement to get into the renewable energy industry.
“I feel the clean energy sector is a natural fit for those coming out of the military, for so many important reasons” Shahim says. “Having transitioned out and not had the resources I might have wished for, I hope to help provide those for others.”
