President Biden Announces 12 Key Climate and Infrastructure Administration Nominations

WASHINGTON – Today, on Earth Day, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve and further the Biden Administration’s commitment to a modern sustainable infrastructure and clean energy future.

• Carlos Monje, Nominee for Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, Department of Transportation
• Amit Bose, Nominee for Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
• Shalanda Baker, Nominee for Director of the Office of Minority Economic Impact, Department of Energy
• Asmeret Berhe, Nominee for Director of the Office of Science, Department of Energy
• Robert Hampshire, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, Department of Transportation
• Monica Medina, Nominee for Assistant Secretary, Bureau and Oceans and International Environmental and Science Affairs, Department of State
• Bryan Newland, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, Department of Interior
• Annie Petsonk, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, Department of Transportation
• Frank Rose, Nominee for Principal Deputy Administrator for National Nuclear Security, Department of Energy
• Margaret Schaus, Nominee for Chief Financial Officer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• Rick Spinrad, Nominee for Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce
• Tracy Stone-Manning, Nominee for Director of the Bureau of Land Management, Department of Interior

Carlos Monje, Nominee for Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, Department of Transportation

Carlos Monje Jr. serves as a Senior Advisor to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Monje managed the agency review process for domestic agencies for the Biden-Harris Transition. Monje previously served as Acting Under Secretary and Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy for the U.S. Department of Transportation where he oversaw implementation of surface transportation programs, the discretionary grant programs, and efforts to promote equity and economic development. He was chief of staff of the White House Domestic Policy Council and Special Assistant to the President during the Obama Administration. Monje is the first in his family born in the United States. His family is from Argentina.

Amit Bose, Nominee for Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation

Amitabha Bose has spent nearly two decades in public service working to build a better, safer, and more sustainable transportation system that provides opportunity to communities across the United States.  Bose’s leadership in senior-level roles at the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) under two secretaries led to the passage of the FAST Act and MAP-21.  Currently, he serves as the Deputy Administrator of the FRA, returning to the agency where he was the Deputy Administrator, Chief Counsel, and Senior Adviser.  During those years, he guided the agency through the implementation of Positive Train Control, implementation and oversight of the $10 billion intercity passenger rail program, and alcohol and drug testing.  Throughout the Obama-Biden Administration, Bose also held positions in the Transportation Secretary’s office as Associate General Counsel and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs.  Before joining DOT, Bose worked for New Jersey Transit, New Jersey Department of Transportation, and U.S. Congress as a transportation staffer.  He has been involved in some of the highest profile rail and transportation projects, including: the Northeast Corridor Gateway Program, California High- Speed Rail, Acela 2021 trainsets, and Liberty Corridor. 

In addition to his decades in the public sector, he previously worked at HNTB, an infrastructure solutions firm, and advanced transportation and safety projects.  He served as board chair of the Coalition for the Northeast Corridor and on the New Jersey Restart and Recovery Advisory Council.  After arriving in the United StateS at age 5, Bose grew up in DeKalb County, Georgia.  He has an AB from Columbia College, a MIA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a JD from the University of Georgia.  He resides with his family in Arlington, VA.

Shalanda Baker, Nominee for Director of the Office of Minority Economic Impact, Department of Energy

Shalanda H. Baker is the Deputy Director for Energy Justice in the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity at the U.S. Department of Energy. Prior to her appointment, she was a Professor of Law, Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University. She has spent over a decade conducting research on the equity dimensions of the global transition away from fossil fuel energy to cleaner energy resources. She is the author of over a dozen articles, book chapters, and essays on renewable energy law, energy justice, energy policy, and renewable energy development. In 2016, she received a Fulbright-Garcia-Robles research fellowship to study climate change, energy policy, and indigenous rights in Mexico. She is the Co-Founder and former Co-Director of the Initiative for Energy Justice (www.iejusa.org), an organization committed to providing technical law and policy support to communities on the frontlines of climate change. Her book, Revolutionary Power: An Activist’s Guide to the Energy Transition (Island Press 2021), argues that the technical terrain of energy policy should be the next domain to advance civil rights. She received her BS from the United States Air Force Academy and JD from Northeastern University School of Law. She obtained her LLM while serving as a William H. Hastie Fellow at the University of Wisconsin School of Law.

Asmeret Berhe, Nominee for Director of the Office of Science, Department of Energy

Asmeret Asefaw Berhe is a Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry; the Ted and Jan Falasco Chair in Earth Sciences and Geology; and Interim Associate Dean for Graduate Education at the University of California, Merced. Her research is at the intersection of soil science, global change science, and political ecology with an emphasis on how the soil system regulates the earth’s climate and the dynamic two-way relationship between the natural environment and human communities. She previously served as the Chair of the US National Committee on Soil Science at the National Academies; was a Leadership board member for the Earth Science Women’s Network; and is currently a co-principal investigator in the ADVANCEGeo Partnership – a National Science Foundation funded effort to empower (geo)scientists to respond to and prevent harassment, discrimination, bullying and other exclusionary behaviors in research environments. Her scholarship on how physical processes such as erosion, fire, and changes in climate affect the biogeochemical cycling of essential elements in the earth system and her efforts to ensure equity and inclusion of people from all walks of life in the scientific enterprise have received numerous awards and honors. She is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Geological Society of America, and a member of the inaugural class of the US National Academies New Voices in Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

Berhe was born and raised in Asmara, Eritrea. She received a B.Sc. in Soil and Water Conservation from the University of Asmara, an M.Sc. in Political Ecology from Michigan State University, and a Ph.D. in Biogeochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. In 2020 she was named a Great Immigrant, Great American by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Robert Hampshire, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, Department of Transportation

Robert Hampshire serves as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology Policy. Hampshire was previously an associate professor at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He was also a research associate professor in both the U-M Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS), and an affiliated faculty member in the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering (IOE).

His unique blend of engineering systems research with public policy has made him a leader in not only transportation research, but also on the disparate impact of policy decisions in transportation systems. This has led to important strides in our understanding of transportation equity. His research applies operations research, data science, and systems approaches to analyze novel transportation systems such as smart parking, connected vehicles, autonomous vehicles, ride-hailing, bike sharing, car sharing, as well as, pedestrian and bicyclist safety. His research focuses on environmental impacts, equity, and access to opportunities. His work has been cited widely, and covered by major press outlets. He has worked extensively with both public and private sector partners worldwide. He has also been a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University and a visiting professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Hampshire received a PhD in operations research and financial engineering from Princeton University.

Monica Medina, Nominee for Assistant Secretary, Bureau and Oceans and International Environmental and Science Affairs, Department of State

Monica P. Medina is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and a Senior Associate on the Stephenson Ocean Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.  She is the CEO and Co-Founder of Our Daily Planet, an e-newsletter on conservation and the environment.  A former Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, she also served as General Counsel of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense.  Earlier in her career, Medina served as the Senior Counsel to former Senator Max Baucus on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, as the Senior Director for Ocean Policy at the National Geographic Society, and in senior roles in other environmental organizations.  She is a member of the Board of Directors of the nonprofits SkyTruth and the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.  She received the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service and the Army Meritorious Service Medal.  She attended college on an Army R.O.T.C. scholarship, and began her career on active duty in the Army General Counsel’s Office, after being selected for its Honors Program.  Medina has a Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. 

Bryan Newland, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, Department of Interior

Bryan Newland is a citizen of Bay Mills Indian Community (Ojibwe), and was born and raised on the Bay Mills Reservation on the southern shore of Lake Superior.  He recently completed his tenure as the elected President of Bay Mills Indian Community, where he previously served as Chief Judge of the Bay Mills Indian Community Tribal Court.  From 2009 to 2012, Newland served as a Counselor and Policy Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Interior – Indian Affairs under President Obama.

Newland is a graduate of the Michigan State University College of Law, with a certificate from the Indigenous Law and Policy Center.  He also received his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University.  He is married to Erica Newland, and they have two children – Graydon and Meredith.

Annie Petsonk, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, Department of Transportation

Carol A. (“Annie”) Petsonk is Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs at the United States Department of Transportation.  She has over three decades of experience in international negotiations, including bilateral, regional, and multilateral negotiations on aviation, trade, and the environment. She is an internationally recognized expert in these fields, has attended Assemblies of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) since 2013, and served from 2014 to 2021 as an expert observer on ICAO’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection. She helped develop ICAO’s landmark Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), a global program supported by the U.S. aviation industry. She also assisted in drafting standards to implement CORSIA, and developed policy recommendations to advance sustainable aviation fuels. She has testified in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, and authored and co-authored more than seventy articles, book chapters, presentations, blogs, and other materials.

During her previous federal government service in the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Petsonk represented the United States in cases of strategic significance to the Executive Branch, organized the international work of DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, and participated in interagency development of international policy, including trade and environmental policy.  At the United Nations Environment Programme (Nairobi), she was involved in the development of one of the world’s most successful environmental agreements, the 1987 Montreal Protocol on the Ozone Layer.  She served for twenty-five years as international counsel at the non-partisan, non-profit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).  She has worked in the private sector, and she has taught for over two decades as a member of the adjunct faculty of the George Washington University Law School.  She is a member of the bars of Massachusetts and Colorado.  Petsonk is a graduate of Harvard Law School and of The Colorado College, which also awarded her an honorary degree.  She is married to John Watts.  They have one son, Nicholas. 

Frank Rose, Nominee for Principal Deputy Administrator for National Nuclear Security, Department of Energy

Frank A. Rose is a senior fellow and co-director of the Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution.  Prior to joining Brookings, Rose served as U.S. assistant secretary of state for arms control, verification, and compliance from 2014-17. From 2009-14, Rose served as the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for space and defense policy. He has also held positions at the U.S. Department of Defense, in the U.S. Congress, and the private sector. Rose received his bachelor’s degree in history from American University in 1994 and a master’s degree in war studies from King’s College, University of London in 1999.

Margaret Schaus, Nominee for Chief Financial Officer, National Aeuronatics and Space Administration

Margaret Vo Schaus is a career member of the Senior Executive Service. Over the past decade, she has held numerous leadership roles with responsibility for the financial management and business operations of science and engineering organizations at the Departments of Energy and Defense. She currently serves as the Director for Business Operations in the Office of the Under Secretary Research and Engineering at the Department of Defense, where she is responsible for oversight of a multibillion dollar budget. Schaus has been recognized with awards including the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Exceptional Civilian Service Award, the Department of Energy’s Distinguished Career Service Award, and the Secretary of Energy’s Honor Award.  She is a first-generation Vietnamese American, born in Michigan and raised in southern California. She received a B.A. in Science, Technology, and Society as well as English from Stanford University, and a M.S. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University.

Rick Spinrad, Nominee for Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Dr. Rick Spinrad is a Professor of Oceanography at Oregon State University (OSU), and a member of the Ocean Studies Board of the National Academies.  In 2016 he retired as Chief Scientist of NOAA, appointed by President Obama. He was the VP for Research at OSU, and was the head of NOAA’s Research Office and the National Ocean Service. He co-led the White House Committee developing the nation’s first set of ocean research priorities. Dr. Spinrad was a Senior Executive with the US Navy, and was awarded the Distinguished Civilian Service Award (highest Navy civilian award), has held faculty appointments at three universities, and was President of Sea Tech, Inc. He also created the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, and was the U.S. representative to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

Spinrad received Presidential Rank Awards from Presidents Bush and Obama, and is a Fellow of 4 professional societies. He holds degrees from The Johns Hopkins University and OSU.

Tracy Stone-Manning, Nominee for Director of the Bureau of Land Management, Department of Interior

Tracy Stone-Manning has spent her career devoted to public service and conservation. As senior advisor for conservation policy at the National Wildlife Federation, she advocates for the wise stewardship of our nation’s lands and waters.  Before joining the Federation, she served as Montana Governor Bullock’s chief of staff, where she oversaw day-to-day operations of his cabinet and the state’s 11,000 employees. She stepped into that post after serving as the Director of the state’s Department of Environmental Quality, overseeing the state’s water, air, mining and remediation programs.  She served as a regional director and senior advisor to Senator Jon Tester during his first term, focusing on forestry issues. Early in her career, she led the Clark Fork Coalition, a regional conservation group, as it advocated successfully for Superfund cleanups that created thousands of jobs and revitalized a river. The group also co-owned and managed a cattle ranch in the heart of the Superfund site. 

Raised in a big, Navy family — her dad commanded a submarine – she was guided into public service from childhood. She is a backpacker, hunter and singer, and has been married to the writer Richard Manning for 30 years. She lives in Missoula, Montana and holds a M.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana and an B.A. from the University of Maryland.

###