The U.S. Senate has confirmed Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall as the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) deputy secretary. In her role, Sherwood-Randall will support Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz in the management and operation of the DOE.
As a top advisor to President Barack Obama for nearly six years, Sherwood-Randall served as the White House Coordinator for Defense Policy, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Arms Control for the National Security Council, from April 2013 until her Senate confirmation. From 2009 to 2013, she served as the president's principal advisor on Europe, including 49 countries and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Prior to her service in the Obama administration, Sherwood-Randall was a senior research scholar at Stanford University from 2000 to 2008 and a founding principal in the Harvard-Stanford Preventive Defense Project from 1997-2008. She was also an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations from 2004-2008.
Sherwood-Randall served in the Clinton administration from 1994 through 1996 as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia. Previously, she co-founded and served as the associate director of Harvard University's Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project. At the outset of her public service career, Sherwood-Randall was Chief Foreign Affairs and Defense Policy Advisor to then-Sen. Joseph Biden.
"Liz's confirmation comes at a historic time in our nation's energy evolution," comments Moniz. "She joins us with deep expertise in the department's nuclear security mission, including both nuclear weapons and countering proliferation. Her extensive public service and recent responsibilities on the White House National Security team position her to contribute to the department's energy and security missions in a major way, both domestically and internationally."
Sherwood-Randall adds, "I am deeply honored by President Obama's nomination to this new role and by the trust the Senate has placed in me by confirming me today. I am excited to have this opportunity to serve with Secretary Moniz and the multi-talented Energy Department staff, whose mission is vital to a strong economy and to our national security."
