The U.S. Department of Energy announced eight new Biden-Harris Administration appointees joining the DOE team to work alongside U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm in combating climate change and helping the United States achieve President Biden’s ambitious clean energy goals. With these new hires, DOE appointees continue to make up an historically diverse team with 59% women, 59% people of color, and 23% of staff identifying as LGBTQ+.
“We are excited to welcome this new group of appointees to our team of dedicated public servants focused on the President’s climate goals of 100% clean electricity by 2035 and a net-zero economy by 2050,” said DOE Chief of Staff Christopher Davis. “These individuals will bring an array of talent and experience as the Department, under Secretary Granholm’s leadership, implements the President’s Investing in America agenda.”
New appointees are listed below:
Vanessa Alderete, Deputy White House Liaison, Office of the Secretary
Alderete is life-long public servant who hails from a large Mexican-American family from East Los Angeles. She worked for then-Senator Kamala Harris where she rose to the position of Senior Director of Constituent Services. She received her Dual Progressive degrees from the University of Southern California, where she received her B.A. in International Relations and Masters in Public Administration, focusing on climate change and immigration policy. Prior to joining DOE, Alderete worked at Peace Corps as the Special Assistant to the Director. Alderete lives in DC with her husband, 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son and enjoys exploring the city, running in Rock Creek Park and taking her kids to the Smithsonian Museums.
Eric Delaney, Deputy Assistant Secretary for House Affairs, Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs
Delaney comes to the Department from the House Committee on Rules, where he was Senior Professional Staff and Director of Member Services. Previously, Delaney worked as Legislative Director for then Rep. Anthony Brown (MD). Prior to Eric’s work for Rep. Brown, he worked for then House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair and then Chair Xavier Becerra (CA). Delaney is a Philadelphia native who also lived in Great Neck, N.Y. He earned his B.A. from Binghamton University – S.U.N.Y., where he was a Division 1 soccer player, and currently resides in Washington, D.C., with his wife and son.
Brian Eiler, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Senate Affairs, Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs
Before joining the Department, Eiler served as Counsel to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works for five years, working under Chairman Tom Carper (DE). From 2012-2017 he served at the Department of Commerce for five years, first as Associate Director for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs in the Office of the Secretary, later as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Kathryn Sullivan. Eiler has also served as Oversight Counsel for the House Committee on Oversight and as Senior Policy Analyst for the Presidential Commission on the study of bioethical issues. Eiler received a Batchelor’s of Arts from Kenyon College and a Juris Doctor from American University, Washington College of Law. Originally from Chicago, he now lives with his wife and daughter in Washington, DC.
Christopher Ford, Deputy Press Secretary, Office of Public Affairs
Prior to joining DOE, he worked at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund as a media relations strategist. He also previously served as the broadcast manager on the communications team at the Center for American Progress. Before coming to DC, he worked as a production assistant on several film and television projects, including AMC’s TURN: Washington Spies and PBS’s Mercy Street. Born and raised in Virginia, Ford is a graduate of Wake Forest University where he majored in Politics & International Affairs and minored in History.
Megan Husted, Special Assistant, Office of Electricity
Prior to joining the Department of Energy, Husted was an intern for the White House Council on Environmental Quality in the Office of Environmental Justice. Prior to that, she was the Solar Project Director for the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association, working to expand solar energy systems and community solar policy across the state of Michigan. She holds a B.A. in Sustainability in Policy and Governance from the University of Louisville and a M.S. in Environmental Justice and Environmental Policy from the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. She was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky.
Alayna Jenkins, Special Assistant for the Secretary’s Briefing Book, Office of Management
Alayna graduated in May 2023 with a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in Environmental Science and Public Policy. Before her appointment, she served as an intern for the White House Council on Environmental Quality, where she worked as the assistant to the Federal Chief Sustainability Officer. Prior to that, she was a Fellow for the Open Environmental Data Project and a Student Coordinator for Harvard’s Resource Efficiency Program. Jenkins was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri.
Jessica Lee, Associate Administrator for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs
Jessica Lee is NNSA’s Associate Administrator for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs, a position she has held since February 2024. Previously, she served as a Senior Congressional Advisor at the Bureau of Legislative Affairs at the Department of State. In that role, she led State Department leadership’s congressional engagements related to the East Asia and the Pacific region. Lee began her career in Washington in 2008 at the House of Representatives, where she served as a policy advisor on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Other experiences include leading a national Korean American nonprofit organization focused on civic engagement across federal, state, and local levels and analyzing U.S.-DPRK nuclear diplomacy. She is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a 2021-2022 Arms Control Negotiation Academy Fellow with the Negotiation Task Force at Harvard University. Lee earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Wellesley College and a master’s degree in Regional Studies-East Asia from Harvard University.
Mikael Rafiqi, Advance Lead, Office of Management
Prior to DOE, Rafiqi served in various advance positions for multiple Presidential campaigns, including Biden- Harris and Bernie Sanders. He previously led advance for a Senatorial race in the state of Georgia. Additionally, he worked as a Scheduler in a congressional office, and a freelance advance/event producer. Rafiqi is a proud native of Plano, Texas.
Click here for the full list of DOE Biden-Harris Administration appointees.
