Eight New Biden-Harris Appointees Join DOE

The Department of Energy continues to build up its roster of executives with the addition of eight new Biden-Harris administration appointees.

Ann Dunkin, former chief strategy and innovation officer at Dell Technologies, formally joined the agency as its new chief information officer. Dunkin has prior experience serving as CIO for Santa Clara County and the Environmental Protection Agency, the DOE said.

The agency also welcomed additions to the Office of Public Affairs.

Included in the list is Charisma Troiano, the office’s new deputy press secretary. Troiano is the former communications director of Democracy Forward, a public interest litigation firm that fights against corruption in government policymaking. 

Dave Bloom also joined the public affairs office as its new speechwriter. Previously, he worked as a senior speechwriter and communications to Karl Racine, the attorney general for the District of Columbia. 

The list of appointees also includes Aimee Witteman, the new deputy assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs. She assumed her role after a seven-month stint as director of U.S. states policy at Energy Innovation, a California-based energy and environmental policy firm. 

Kathryn Huff, a former assistant professor in the Department of Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was tapped to serve as the DOE’s principal deputy assistant secretary for nuclear energy.

In addition, Yahaira Lopez, a seasoned operations management and human capital strategist, was named as the agency’s new deputy chief of staff. One of the highlights of Lopez’s career was managing environmental policy initiatives at the Department of Agriculture during the Obama administration. 

The DOE also announced the appointment of Elizabeth Noll as deputy assistant secretary for house affairs. Noll recently served as vice president of Coefficient Group and worked for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Throughout her career, she advanced policy solutions to combat energy system challenges and the climate crisis.

Becca Ward, the new legislative adviser for the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs, rounds out the list of new DOE officials. Most recently, she was the managing director of the Clean Energy Leadership Institute. She is also the former legislative assistant of Sen. Jeff Merkley, during which time she dealt with energy, climate and transportation policies.