The U.S. Department of the Interior recently welcomed several Biden administration appointees.
These appointees will join the agency's leadership team to "help create jobs in the clean energy economy, steward America's public lands and waters, pursue environmental justice and honor our nation-to-nation relationship with Tribes," according to a March 13 news release.
“Two years into the Biden-Harris administration, the Interior Department is making steady progress to implement President Biden’s agenda – from investing in America’s infrastructure, to strengthening Indian Country, to championing ambitious clean energy goals," Chief of Staff Rachael Taylor said in the release. "We are thrilled to welcome a new group of accomplished professionals to the Interior Department who will help continue our work to deliver for the American public.”
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Annalise Blum has worked at the Department of Defense as a senior advisor for climate and as an American Association for the Advancement of Science Policy Fellow in the office of Stability and Humanitarian Affairs, according to her biography. She also started the RECESS (Resource Competition, Environmental Security and Stability) team.
Maria Camila Gomez Osorio is the special assistant to the assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. She has worked in state and federal elected offices – including seven months in Congressman Jones’ Washington DC office as a legislative assistant, according to her LinkedIn page. She has also worked as district representative with Congresswoman Nita Lowey and the Office of Congressman Mondaire Jones. She graduated from Buffalo State University with a political science degree and earned a Master of International Affairs from the University of Albany.
Rebecca Jablonski-Diehl joins the Department of the Interior as an advisor in the Office of Policy, Management and Budget, her LinkedIn page reported. She has experience working as part of the senior professional staff for the House of Representatives Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. Additionally, she worked with Pew Charitable Trusts for 4.5 years and in multiple roles with the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy, from senior associate to manager. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in environmental studies from Mount Holyoke College and a Masters of Marine Affairs from the University of Washington.
Henry Wykowski is an advisor to the Bureau of Land Management. He spent nearly five years working in the U.S. House of Representatives as a staff assistant for the National Resources Committee’s Democratic Staff and as professional staff for the National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, according to his Linkedin profile. He also has experience as an underwriting associate with Starr Companies in New York and as a horticulture intern for the Bayard Cutting Arboretum. Wykowski graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in environmental thought and practice and English.
