Interior Department Welcomes Additional Members of Agency Leadership

04/12/2021
Last edited 07/12/2021

Date: Monday, April 12, 2021 
Contact: Interior_Press@ios.doi.gov

WASHINGTON –The Department of the Interior today announced additional members of agency leadership working to steward America’s public lands and waters, pursue environmental justice, and honor our nation-to-nation relationship with Tribes.

“The Department of the Interior is in a unique position to be a leader in putting our nation on a path to achieve net-zero emissions, create good-paying jobs in the renewable energy sector, and benefit underserved communities – and that work wouldn’t be possible without our talented and diverse team putting in the work for an equitable and clean energy future,” said Jennifer Van der Heide, Chief of Staff. “I’m so proud to welcome our newest colleagues to the team, and I have full confidence in their ability to carry out Interior’s mission.”

Interior’s political team proudly reflects the diversity of America, with more than 50% identifying as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) and 75% as women.

The appointees are listed below in alphabetical order:

  • Heather Barmore – Director of Digital Strategy
  • Elizabeth (Liz) Klein – Senior Counselor to the Secretary
  • Giovanni Rocco – Deputy Press Secretary
  • Felicia Salazar – Speechwriter
  • Raina Thiele – Senior Advisor for Alaska Affairs and Strategic Priorities

Biographies are listed below:

Heather Barmore – Director of Digital Strategy

Heather Barmore is a digital communications professional who most recently served as Editorial Director for the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC). Prior to joining PIC, she served as Editorial Director for the Biden-Harris campaign, where she led online storytelling and narrative building across digital platforms. Heather also held positions as Director of Digital Communications for Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, and Senior Advisor for Digital for NARAL Pro-Choice America. She has a degree in Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics and Government (CLEG) from American University. A native of upstate New York, Heather resides in Washington, DC.

Elizabeth (Liz) Klein – Senior Counselor to the Secretary

Liz Klein is an experienced attorney who specializes in clean energy, climate change, and environmental issues. She has previously served at Interior, most recently as Interior’s associate deputy secretary as well as principal deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Policy, Management and Budget. Before then, Liz was an attorney at Latham & Watkins specializing in energy and environmental law issues, and a law clerk at the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and its Environmental Enforcement Section. She graduated from the George Washington University with an economics degree and received her JD from American University’s Washington College of Law.

Giovanni Rocco – Deputy Press Secretary

Giovanni Rocco most recently served as Regional Press Secretary with Biden for President North Carolina where he led media operations and directed the campaign's Spanish-language media strategies. Before the campaign, he served as Senior Communications Associate at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, crafting messaging for a diverse economic policy portfolio. Prior to that, he was part of the Center for American Progress where he worked with young people to uplift their voices in the media. Giovanni immigrated with his family to the United States from Chile at the age of nine. He holds dual degrees in Media Studies and Political Science from Florida State University.

Felicia Salazar – Speechwriter

Born and raised in New Mexico, Felicia Salazar most recently served as Communications Director for Rep. Deb Haaland in the House of Representatives, where she leveraged breaking news, ran press outreach, managed social media, and led national and local communication strategy. Through her previous roles in the Albuquerque Mayor’s Office, New Mexico State Legislature, Democratic Party of New Mexico and U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich’s Office, she carries a specific expertise in messaging on climate change, Indian Country, and working family priorities. The first in her family to graduate from college, Felicia is a proud University of New Mexico alumna.

Raina Thiele – Senior Advisor for Alaska Affairs and Strategic Priorities

Raina Thiele served as Associate Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Obama-Biden White House. She also served at the Office of Management and Budget where she worked on a variety of energy and international issues. She received her Master in Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and her Bachelors degree from Yale College. She was born and raised in Alaska and her family hails from Pedro Bay village on Lake Iliamna in the Bristol Bay region and Alexander Creek near Mount Susitna. She is Dena’ina Athabascan and Yup’ik and an enrolled member of Pedro Bay village.   

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  • Video
    04/11/2025

    This Week at Interior April 11, 2025

    Video

    Transcript:

    (MUSIC BEGINS)


    This Week at Interior

    President Trump this week signed Executive Orders aimed at achieving the Administration's goal of American Energy Dominance with a renewed focus on coal. One of the orders directs Interior to identify untapped coal resources on federal lands, while removing barriers to mining and leasing.

    The value of untapped coal in our country is one hundred times greater than the value of all the gold at Fort Knox, and we're going to unleash it and make America rich and powerful again.

    To advance the President Trump's order, Interior will implement a series of policy moves and regulatory reforms to position coal as a cornerstone of the nation’s energy strategy by ensuring federally managed lands remain open and accessible for responsible energy development. Secretary Burgum likened the actions to creating a new Golden Age of "Mine, Baby, Mine," saying that  

    Interior is unlocking America’s full potential in energy dominance and economic development to make life more affordable for every American family while showing the world the power of America’s natural resources and innovation.  

    Among the actions are ending the moratorium on federal coal leasing, reopening federal lands in Montana and Wyoming to coal leasing, removing regulatory burdens for coal mines, and providing royalty rate relief.  

    Interior this week announced the disbursement of more than $13 million in grants to support the reclamation of abandoned mine lands, furthering the Trump administration’s commitment to American Energy Dominance, environmental stewardship and economic renewal in coal communities. The funding is administered through the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, and it will support job creation and economic revitalization efforts in North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.  

    Interior this week announced the release of updated oil and gas reserve estimates for the Gulf of America's Outer Continental Shelf. The new data and analysis over the last couple of years reveal an additional 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent since 2021, bringing the total reserve estimate to 7.04 billion barrels of oil equivalent. That figure includes 5.77 billion barrels of oil and 7.15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced plans to significantly increase oil and gas leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf, and just last week Secretary Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to hold the first Gulf of America oil and gas lease sale since its renaming in February.

    Secretary Burgum held his first All Hands meeting this week at Interior's historic Yates Auditorium. The Secretary saluted the notable accomplishments the Department has achieved in making the transition from the previous administration, and expanded on his vision that innovation, rather than regulation, is the cornerstone of American prosperity.

    The thing that has led our country for 250 years is innovation, doesn't matter whether it's the Agricultural Revolution, the Industrial Revolution our ability to innovate in a way that allowed us to win World War One and World War II and lead the world and become the world leader, all of it was innovation based, and we have to get back to those roots. That's how we win. That's how America wins in this world, that's how we win again for our children and our children's children, is we win with innovation.

    U.S. Geological Survey crews were deployed late last week and this week to monitor flood impacts after storms dumped heavy rain across portions of the southeast and Midwest. Crews are still hard at work gathering flood measurements in Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Ohio, as well as West Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi, where as much as ten inches of rain fell causing massive flooding. The gages provide information for the National Weather Service to predict when dangerous flooding might occur and allow for warnings to vulnerable residents, as flood crests will continue into early May.

    And our social media Picture of the Week, California's Battery Point Lighthouse. Perched on California's rugged northern coast, this historic beacon stands among the rocky outcrops of the California Coastal National Monument and has guided mariners since its first lighting in 1856.

    Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X! That's This Week at Interior!


    (MUSIC ENDS)

     

    News and headlines from Interior April 11, 2025

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