U.S. Department of Energy Welcomes New Biden-Harris Appointees and Announces Promotions

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced five 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 and recent promotions, DOE appointees continue to make up an historically diverse team with 60% women, 57% people of color, and 25% of staff identifying as LGBTQ+.   

“The Department of Energy boasts an incredible group of appointees, and these five new additions and the stellar cohort taking on new roles are no exception,” said DOE Chief of Staff Christopher Davis. “As we continue our work to lead the global transition to clean energy, this group of talented individuals will be critical in implementing the energy investments in the President’s Investing in America agenda.” 

New appointees are listed below: 

Tylor Collier, Special Assistant, Deputy Chiefs of Staff, Office of the Secretary  
Collier is a graduate of the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, where she earned her Master of Public Policy with a Policy Analysis Certificate. She is passionate about social policy and racial equity. Collier was born and raised in Southeast Michigan and graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. in Social Relations and Policy, and a B.A. in Arts and Humanities. 

Chloe Koseff, Special Assistant, Office of Science  
Prior to joining the Department of Energy, Koseff served as the late Senator Dianne Feinstein’s lead advisor on energy and agriculture policy. Previously, she worked for Congressman Jerry McNerney on energy, water, science, transportation, and natural resource policy for his district around the Bay-Delta region of California, and as a climate policy analyst for the National Audubon Society. Originally from California, Koseff holds a B.S. in Earth Systems (Sustainable Food and Agriculture) and an M.S. in Earth Systems from Stanford University. 

Sneha Nair, Special Assistant, National Nuclear Security Administration 
Prior to Nair’s appointment, she was a Research Analyst with the Nuclear Security Program at the Stimson Center, where she led research on insider threat mitigation, bias in human reliability programs, and implications of emerging technologies. Nair has held roles at the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization in Austria and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in the Netherlands. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and holds an MA (Honours) in Geography and International Relations from the University of St. Andrews in the United Kingdom. 

Allie Peck, Press Assistant, Office of Public Affairs 
Peck most recently served as a Senior Legislative Affairs Advisor at the White House in the Office of Legislative Affairs. Prior to that, she was as a Communications Associate at Precision Strategies and served in a variety of communications and legislative roles at several nonprofits and on Capitol Hill. Peck holds a B.S. in Psychology and a B.A. in Criminal Justice from the University of Pittsburgh. 

Alexandra Teitz, Deputy General Counsel for Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy Demonstration, Office of the General Counsel 
Before joining the Department, Teitz was the Chief Counsel and Senior Climate Advisor for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Previously, she founded AT Strategies, where she provided policy advice to nongovernmental organizations on climate, energy and air issues. During the Obama Administration, Teitz served as Counselor to the Director of the Bureau of Land Management at the Department of Interior, handling climate, energy and regulatory matters. She also spent more than a decade as committee counsel for climate and energy issues for Chairman/Ranking Member Henry Waxman on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, culminating in the position of Chief Counsel for Energy and Environment on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Teitz holds a B.A. from Oberlin College, an M.E.S. from the Yale University School of the Environment, and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. She is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia and California, and she lives in Maryland. 

Current appointees taking on new roles are listed below:  

Liz Berliant, White House Liaison, Office of the Secretary  
Previously, Berliant served as the Deputy White House Liaison. Prior to that, she was Finance Director of Operations at the Democratic National Committee. Throughout her four years at the DNC, Berliant managed the finance operations team, played a leading role for the major donor experience for the 2020 Democratic National Convention, and aided in running operation processes for the Biden-Harris campaign. Berliant has held positions on a range of political campaigns from local to national. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati with her B.A. in Political Science. 

Amanda Finney, Director of Public Affairs, Office of Public Affairs 
Finney most recently served as the Deputy Director of Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy. Previously, she was Chief of Staff for the White House Press Office and Special Assistant to the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, she acted as the Associate Director of Policy and Communications for Sidewalk Labs. Previous campaign roles include National Deputy Women’s Outreach Director for the Mike Bloomberg presidential campaign, Louisiana State Director, and digital correspondent for Hillary for America.  Finney served as an organizer for President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, and a Fellow for the Presidential Inaugural Committee. Previously, she worked in Marketing and Communications at Microsoft. Born in South Carolina, Finney is a graduate of Wake Forest University and holds a MA from Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University. 

Vanessa Grisko, Chief of Staff, Office of Energy Jobs 
Grisko joined the U.S. Department of Energy in January 2021 as the Special Assistant to the Secretary’s Chief of Staff. She has served as the Special Assistant in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and most recently as Special Advisor to the Undersecretary for Science and Innovation. Prior to joining DOE, Grisko was the Biden Harris Deputy Distributed Director in Florida, and National Spanish Outreach Manager for the Senator Bernie Sanders presidential campaign. Prior to campaigns, she’s had careers in public relations and sustainability consulting in Chicago helping real estate portfolios achieve energy efficiency goals. Grisko is a native of Marco Island, FL and holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.   

Cate Hurley, Principal Deputy Speechwriter, Office of Public Affairs 
Hurley was most recently a Deputy Speechwriter for the Secretary and Deputy Secretary. Previously, she was Press Secretary for U.S. Representative Adam Schiff, and has served on the staff of the Biden-Harris campaign in Arizona, the 2020 Democratic National Convention, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Cate graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in political science and narrative studies and is from Pasadena, California. 

Charisma Troiano, Deputy Director and Chief Spokesperson, Office of Public Affairs 
Charisma L. Troiano is the DOE’s Deputy Director of Public Affairs and Chief Spokesperson. She previously served as DOE’s Press Secretary following an earlier promotion from a Deputy Press Secretary at DOE. Prior to that, she served as Director of Communications for Democracy Forward, a public interest litigation firm fighting against corruption in government policymaking. Previously, she served as Press Secretary for the late Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson. Born into a proud family of immigrants, Troiano started her career as a legal journalist for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. She lives with her husband and splits time between Brooklyn and Washington, D.C. Troiano is a graduate of Vassar College and New York Law School. 

Rebecca Ward, Chief of Staff, Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains 
Ward has served in the Department of Energy under the Biden Administration for nearly three years as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Senate Affairs in the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. She formerly served as the Managing Director of the Clean Energy Leadership Institute, a national organization dedicated to creating new energy leadership for an equitable, resilient, and decarbonized energy ecosystem. Previously, she served as U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley’s Legislative Assistant working on energy, climate, and transportation policy. Ward is from Portland, Oregon, and received her B.A. in Public Policy and Energy Technologies from Duke University. 

Click here for the full list of DOE Biden-Harris Administration appointees.