LEARN - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Information Officer
Ann Dunkin was most recently the Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer focused on state and local government at Dell Technologies. Prior to that, she was the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the County of Santa Clara. Dunkin served in the Obama Administration as CIO of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Previously, she was the Chief Technology Officer for the Palo Alto Unified School District, after a long career at Hewlett Packard in a variety of leadership roles focused on Engineering, Research & Development, IT, Manufacturing Engineering, Software Quality and Operations.
Dunkin is a published author, most recently of the book Industrial Digital Transformation, and a speaker on the topics of government technology modernization, digital transformation and organizational development. Dunkin was named one of ComputerWorld's Premier 100 Technology Leaders for 2016, one of DC's Top 50 Women in Technology for 2015 and 2016, and to StateScoop's Top 50 Women in Technology list for 2017. In 2018, she was inducted into Georgia Tech's Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni. Dunkin holds an M.S. and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering, both from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is a licensed professional engineer in the states of California and Washington.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
Prior to his nomination as Deputy Secretary, Turk was the Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), where he focused on helping countries around the world tackle their clean energy transitions. He also directed reports on the digitalization of energy systems, the future of clean hydrogen, and a project tracking progress on a wide range of clean energy technologies.
During the Obama-Biden Administration, Turk coordinated international technology and clean energy efforts at DOE. During this time, he helped spearhead the launch of Mission Innovation-a global effort to enhance clean energy innovation.
Job Titles:
- Program Director
- Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy
Dr. David Babson currently serves as a Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA‑E). His focus at ARPA-E includes bioenergy, agricultural systems innovation, and carbon management.
Prior to joining ARPA-E, Babson served as the Senior Advisor for Renewable Energy, Natural Resources, and the Environment in the Office of the Chief Scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). There, he led R&D coordination efforts on carbon management, climate adaptation, sustainability, agricultural systems innovation, bioenergy, and biotechnology. Prior to joining the USDA, Babson was a Technology Manager in the Department of Energy's Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) where he oversaw several Conversion Program projects and worked to understand how to leverage new technologies to advance the emerging bioeconomy and address global energy and climate challenges. Before BETO, Babson advocated for sustainable transportation solutions as a Senior Fuels Engineer at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Babson earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering from Rutgers University.
Dr. Elizabeth Shoenfelt Troein currently serves as an ARPA-E fellow. Her interests include advancing Negative Emissions Technologies, including accelerated geomineralization, direct carbon capture, and others.
Dr. Emily Yedinak currently serves as an ARPA-E Fellow. Her interests include employing life cycle analyses to better capture the environmental impact of clean energy innovations, supply chain management as it relates to materials required in green energy technology, and hydrogen production and storage.
Job Titles:
- under Secretary of Science and Innovation
Job Titles:
- Program Director
- Program Director at ARPA - E
Dr. Halle Cheeseman is a Program Director at ARPA-E with a focus on batteries and other electrochemical devices.
Dr. Ian A. Robinson currently serves as an ARPA-E fellow. His interests include negative emissions technologies, direct air capture to produce synfuels, fuel cells, electrolyzers, high-energy abundant battery materials, and decarbonization technologies for materials processing.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- Associate Director for Technology & Program Director
Dr. Isik C. Kizilyalli currently serves as the Associate Director for Technology at the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E). In this role, Dr. Kizilyalli supports the Deputy Director for Technology in oversight of all technology issues relating to ARPA-E's programs as well as assisting with program development, Program Director and Fellow recruitment, and coordinating project management across the Agency.
Dr. Jake Russell currently serves as an ARPA-E Fellow. His interests include the development of materials for improved electrical transport, thermal conversion and storage, and reduced mechanical losses, as well as techniques to enhance maritime fuel efficiency.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- Associate Director for Technology - to - Market at the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy
Dr. James Zahler currently serves as the Associate Director for Technology-to-Market at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) where he is responsible for oversight of all Technology-to-Market activities.
Job Titles:
- Acting Director
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- Acting Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy
Dr. Jennifer Gerbi, Acting Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), leads the Agency's development, launch, and execution of high-risk, high-reward energy R&D programs.
Dr. Katharine Greco currently serves as an ARPA-E Fellow. Her interests include the development and commercialization of energy storage technologies for a green grid.
Job Titles:
- Special Government Employee
Dr. Mario Garcia-Sanz currently serves as a Special Government Employee at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). His focus at ARPA-E includes advanced control engineering, wind energy systems, renewable and conventional power generation, electrical distribution systems, smart grid technologies, and water treatment plants and networks.
Job Titles:
- Program Director
- Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy
Dr. Olga Blum Spahn currently serves as a Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). Her focus at ARPA-E is on grid resiliency, power management and distribution, aviation and instrumentation for harsh environments leveraging optical and semiconductor device technologies.
Dr. Peter de Bock currently serves as a Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. His focus at ARPA-E includes electronics thermal management and aviation propulsion systems.
Job Titles:
- Program Director
- Program Director at ARPA - E
Dr. Philseok Kim is a Program Director at ARPA-E. His interests include functional materials and composites, engineered surfaces and structures that enable and accelerate electrification and decarbonization of energy infrastructure with high energy-efficiency, resilience, and low carbon emissions.
Job Titles:
- Distinguished Senior Fellow
Dr. Richard O'Neill currently serves as a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E).
Job Titles:
- Program Director
- Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy
Dr. Scott Hsu currently serves as a Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA‑E). His focus at ARPA-E is on potentially transformative R&D to enable timely commercial fusion energy.
Job Titles:
- Program Director
- Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy
Dr. Simon Freeman serves as a Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA‑E). His focus at ARPA-E is on maritime energy and environmental sensing technologies.
Job Titles:
- Principal Deputy Administrator
Job Titles:
- Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
- United States Secretary of Energy
Jennifer M. Granholm was sworn in as the 16th Secretary of Energy on February 25, 2021, becoming just the second woman to lead the U.S. Department of Energy.
As United States Secretary of Energy, Jennifer M. Granholm leads an agency tasked with maintaining a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent and reducing the threat of nuclear proliferation, overseeing the United States' energy supply, carrying out the environmental clean-up from the Cold War nuclear mission, and the 17 National Laboratories.
Job Titles:
- Department of Energy 's under Secretary
- National Nuclear Security Administration
- under Secretary for Nuclear Security and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration
Jill Hruby was sworn in as the Under Secretary for Nuclear Security of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on July 26, 2021. She was confirmed by the Senate on July 22, 2021.
Administrator Hruby will lead NNSA in achieving our Nation's nuclear security missions by ensuring the Nuclear Security Enterprise is bringing cutting-edge science and creativity to sustain and fully understand our stockpile without testing; providing new technologies and procedures to lower cost and reduce the time to deliver all mission requirements; staying ahead of our adversaries; and developing advanced capabilities to enhance nuclear security, arms control, and Navy reactors.
With an extensive background in science and engineering spanning more than 30 years, Jill Hruby brings a wealth of national security experience to NNSA. Prior to her nomination as Administrator, Jill Hruby served as Director of Sandia National Laboratories from 2015-17.
Since her retirement from Sandia National Laboratories, Jill Hruby served as the inaugural Sam Nunn Distinguished Fellow at the Nuclear Threat Initiative from 2018-19. In addition, she has been a member of the Defense Science Board, the National Nuclear Security Administration Defense Programs Advisory Committee, and the National Academy of Science Committee for International Security and Arms Control. She has served on a variety of technical advisory committees and non-profit organization boards. She is a frequent participant in international dialogues; a spokesperson for women in engineering; and a mentor for emerging leaders.
Hruby earned her bachelor's degree from Purdue University and her master's degree from the University of California at Berkeley, both in mechanical engineering. She has authored numerous publications and reports, holds three patents, and received an R&D 100 Award. In 2016, she received the Suzanne Jenniches Upward Mobility Award from the Society of Women Engineers. In 2017, Business Insider named her the second most powerful female engineer. Jill has received the Department of Energy Secretary's Exceptional Service Award, the National Nuclear Security Administrator's Distinguished Service Gold Award, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service.
Job Titles:
- Contracting Officer at the Advanced Research Projects Agency
Mary Barnes currently serves as a Contracting Officer at the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E). As a Contracting Officer, Barnes is responsible for awarding and administering financial assistance awards and contracts in accordance with federal laws and regulations. Prior to ARPA-E, Barnes served as a Contracting Officer at the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Headquarters Procurement Services.
Job Titles:
- Lead Grants Management Specialist at the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy
Nicole Clopton currently serves as a Lead Grants Management Specialist at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). Clopton performs cradle-to-grave administration of cooperative agreements as well as other financial assistance and acquisition awards. Prior to ARPA-E, Clopton served as a Federal Grants Contracts Manager at the Northern Virginia Regional Commission.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director for External Coordination at ARPA - E
Peder Maarbjerg currently serves as the Assistant Director for External Coordination at ARPA-E and is responsible for legislative and public policy outreach.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- Deputy Director for Operations for the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy
Shane Kosinski is the Deputy Director for Operations for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), responsible for oversight and operations of the mission of ARPA-E as well as all ARPA-E programs.
Job Titles:
- Chief
- Counsel
- ARPA - E 's Chief Counsel
William Bierbower is ARPA-E's Chief Counsel. Before joining ARPA-E, Bierbower served as Chief Counsel at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Bierbower also served as Lead Counsel for NASA's Directorates for Exploration Systems and Science Missions at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and as senior attorney at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.