Statement on President-elect Biden’s Nominations of Climate Champions Across the Board for White House Staff

Washington, D.C. – Today, Lori Lodes, executive director of Climate Power, issued the following statement on Joe Biden’s decision to appoint key staff for the White House climate team.

“President-elect Biden understands that our future depends on our ability to address climate change now and is building the team ready to hit the ground running on Day One,” said Lori Lodes, executive director of Climate Power. “This exceptional and diverse team understands we need to work together as one nation toward building a clean energy economy, while creating millions of good paying, union jobs and a just and equitable future for all.”

This remarkable team will work closely with White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy and will play key policy roles coordinating with federal agencies across the administration to execute the Biden-Harris bold climate agenda that mobilized millions of climate voters during the past presidential and legislative elections.

Maggie Thomas will serve as Chief of Staff for the Office of Domestic Climate Policy.  She was the Political Director at Evergreen Action, a non-profit working to advance a full government mobilization to defeat the climate crisis. In addition, she served as Climate Policy Advisor to Senator Elizabeth Warren and Deputy Climate Director to Governor Jay Inslee.

David Hayes will serve as Special Assistant to the President for Climate Policy. Currently, he is the Executive Director of the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center and an Adjunct Professor at the NYU School of Law. Hayes was Deputy Secretary at the Department of the Interior for Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. He served as a policy advisor for the Biden-Harris Transition, and led the energy and environmental agency review teams for the Obama-Biden Transition.

Cecilia Martinez will serve as Senior Director for Environmental Justice. She worked as the lead for the Council of Environmental Quality Agency Review Team on the Biden-Harris Transition. She also served on the Climate Engagement Advisory Committee and the Transition Advisory Board. She is the co-founder and Executive Director at the Center for Earth, Energy, and Democracy (CEED).

Jahi Wise will serve as Senior Advisor for Climate Policy and Finance. Previously, Wise was Policy Director for the Coalition for Green Capital (CGC), an organization dedicated to accelerating investment in clean energy and climate infrastructure.

Sonia Aggarwal will serve as Senior Advisor for Climate Policy and Innovation. Aggarwal was a co-founder and the vice president of Energy Innovation, where she acted as founding executive director of the Climate Imperative project. She also managed global research at ClimateWorks Foundation, where she worked on the McKinsey carbon abatement cost curves and led research for the American Energy Innovation Council.

Jeff Marootian will serve as Special Assistant to the President for Climate and Science agency personnel. Currently, Marootian is the Director of the District of Columbia’s Department of Transportation and serves in the U.S. Department of Transportation Agency Review Team for the Biden-Harris Transition. Prior to joining Mayor Muriel Bowser’s cabinet in 2017, Marootian served in the Obama-Biden Administration and held roles at the United States Department of Transportation as the White House Liaison, Assistant Secretary for Administration, and Chief Sustainability Officer.