Energy Department Nominees Confirmed by U.S. Senate

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Energy Department is pleased to announce that four nominees to key Departmental positions have been confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

The individuals confirmed today include:

David Danielson, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Dr. David Danielson has been a Program Director at the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) since 2009. Prior to joining ARPA-E, Dr. Danielson was a clean energy venture capitalist at General Catalyst Partners, a Boston-based venture capital fund. He co-founded the firm's clean energy investment practice and helped build and grow startups in various clean energy technology areas including solar power, wind power, advanced biofuels, bio-gas, carbon capture and storage, and advanced lighting. Dr. Danielson is a co-founder of the New England Clean Energy Council. He has authored more than 20 scientific articles in the field of advanced materials. While at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Dr. Danielson was the founder and President of the MIT Energy Club, and was a founding Director of the MIT Energy Conference. For his work in building a strong multidisciplinary energy community at MIT, he was awarded the Karl Taylor Compton Prize, MIT's highest student award. Dr. Danielson holds a B.S., summa cum laude, in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dot Harris, Director of the Office of Minority Economic Impact

Dot Harris is currently President and CEO of Jabo Industries, LLC, a minority-woman owned management consulting firm concentrated primarily in the energy, information technology and healthcare industries. Previously, Ms. Harris was an executive at General Electric Company (GE) and held a number of leadership positions in GE's Energy and Industrial Systems businesses, including Global Marketing Leader for GE's Industrial Services business. Before joining GE, Ms. Harris was an officer and Vice President of Operations & Production for ABB Service, Inc. She also spent twelve years as Field Services Engineer and Services Manager with Westinghouse Electric Company. Ms. Harris currently serves as the National Secretary for the American Association of Blacks in Energy. She holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC and a M.S. in Technology Management from Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, GA.

Charles McConnell, Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy

Charles McConnell is the Chief Operating Officer in the Office of Fossil Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Prior to joining DOE in 2011, Mr. McConnell served as Vice President of Carbon Management at Battelle Energy Technology from 2009-2011, with responsibility for business and technology management. He previously spent 31 years with Praxair, Inc., in various positions in the U.S. and Asia, including as Global Vice President. Mr. McConnell has held a number of advisory positions including chairmanships of the Gasification Technologies Council and the Clean Coal Technology Foundation of Texas. He has served on the FutureGen Advisory Board in Texas, the Gulf Coast Carbon Center, T&P Syngas Company, the Pittsburgh Coal Conference and the Coal Utilization Research Council. Mr. McConnell holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Cleveland State University.

Gregory H. Woods, General Counsel

Gregory H. Woods is currently the Deputy General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation. From 2004 to 2009, Mr. Woods was a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in New York, New York. He was an associate at the firm from 1998 to 2004. Mr. Woods was a member of the firm's corporate finance and Latin American practice groups and a member of the firm's hiring and diversity committees. From 1995 to 1998, Mr. Woods was a Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he litigated fraud cases. Mr. Woods currently serves on the board of the Union Settlement Association in New York, which provides social services in East Harlem, and the Board of Trustees of Williams College. Mr. Woods holds a B.A. from Williams College and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

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