diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 2e414a102..a917bb6ad 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 # HDMF Changelog
 
+## HDMF 3.1.2 (Upcoming)
+
+### Fixes
+- Fixed `setup.py` not being able to import `versioneer` when installing in an embedded Python environment. @rly (#662)
+
 ## HDMF 3.1.1 (July 29, 2021)
 
 ### Fixes
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index a774f3328..807bfdb2e 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -1,6 +1,12 @@
-# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*
+import sys
+
 from setuptools import setup, find_packages
 
+# Some Python installations don't add the current directory to path.
+if '' not in sys.path:
+    sys.path.insert(0, '')
+
 import versioneer
 
 with open('README.rst', 'r') as fp: