A Sierra Club founding director and assistant to Vice President Kamala Harris are among President Joe Biden‘s appointees to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced last week.
The five new DOE appointees are expected to help combat climate change "and build a more prosperous and equitable clean energy future," according to a department press release issued Nov. 16. The new appointees are part of the DOE's "historically diverse team" which is 59% women, 56% people of color and 19% of staff identifying as LGBTQ+, the release said.
"We are thrilled to welcome another group of accomplished and driven leaders to our team who will help achieve our goal of a prosperous, equitable clean energy future for every American family," DOE Chief of Staff Tarak Shah said in the news release. "With the help of the investments from Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, our staff will continue the important work of powering clean energy innovation, building the foundation of a clean economy, and relentlessly pursuing climate change solutions that will create hope for future generations."
New U.S. Department of Energy Policy Office Chief of Staff Gina Coplon-Newfield
| twitter.com/GinaDrivingEV/
Leading the list of new appointees is Gina Coplon-Newfield, founding Director of Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All Campaign. She is now DOE Policy Office Chief of Staff. Coplon-Newfield also previously ran campaigns and programs at Physicians for Human Rights, the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines and a lead poisoning prevention initiative in Boston, the DOE said.
Miranda Dixon, now a director in the DOE's Management Office, was an event producer for a woman-owned event firm and advanced trips for Harris. She also spent three years as a traveling advance associate for the White House during the Obama administration, and was an advance coordinator for Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, the release said.
Mailinh McNicholas, now a DOE Office of Science special assistant, was a White House staff assistant who previously served as regional organizing director in south Florida during Biden's 2020 presidential campaign, the release said.
Chad Smith, now DOE Public Affairs office deputy press secretary, was a White House Office of Presidential Personnel researcher who was deputy research director during Biden's presidential campaign, according to the release. Before Biden's run for president, Smith was a researcher and editor at American Bridge 21st Century, a left-leaning Super PAC.
Kathy Zheng, now a DOE Public Affairs Office special assistant, was an influencer marketing executive at Branded Entertainment Network Group, a Los Angeles-based product placement company, according to the release. She was a paid media associate during the Biden-Harris campaign.
