This profile contains Biden Administration nominations and appointments made at the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Nominations and Appointments

Tommy Beaudreau was formerly Deputy Secretary of the Interior. Prior to joining the Biden Administration, he was a partner at the law firm of Latham & Watkins, and before that served in the U.S. Department of the Interior as Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, and Chief of Staff. He has been a non-resident fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.¹ Beaudreau stepped down from his position as Deputy Secretary o the Interior in October 2023.²

Tyler Cherry is Principal Deputy Communications Director, having formerly served as press secretary and senior spokesperson. Before joining the Biden Administration, he was director of rapid response and spokesperson for the Arizona Democratic Party/Joe Biden for President coordinated campaign, a public affairs director at SKDKnickerbocker, and a campaigns associate at Media Matters for America.³

Some of Cherry’s past statements made his position in the Biden Administration controversial. During the 2014 Gaza War, he reportedly posted to social media that he was celebrating an end to “the occupation of Palestine.”⁴ In other posts made at different times, he reportedly said that he was “praying…for an end to a capitalistic police state motivated by explicit and implicit racial biases,” that “the modern day police system is a direct evolution of slave patrols and lynch mobs,” and that he supported the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.^{5 6} The Fraternal Order of Police subsequently sent an open letter to President Joe Biden demanding that the president ask Cherry for his resignation “for conduct unbecoming of a Federal official and a human being.”⁷

Nada Wolff Culver is Deputy Director of Policy and Programs at the Bureau of Land Management. She formerly served as vice president, public lands and senior policy council at the National Audubon Society, and before that was senior counsel and senior director for policy and planning at The Wilderness Society, and a partner at the law firm of Patton Boggs.⁸

Laura Daniel-Davis is Acting Deputy Secretary, before which she had been serving as principal deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management.⁹ Prior to joining the Biden Administration, she was chief of policy and advocacy at the National Wildlife Federation. She was also previously a project leader at the Resources Legacy Fund. During the Obama Administration, she was chief of staff to U.S. Secretaries of the Interior Sally Jewell and Ken Salazar from 2011 to 2014, and associate deputy secretary and deputy chief of staff at the Department of the Interior from 2009 to 2010.¹⁰ Before that, she was deputy chief of staff to then-Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO), and during the Clinton Administration was associate director of congressional and legislative affairs at the Department of the Interior.¹¹

Daniel-Davis’ appointment as Acting Deputy Secretary was controversial because the U.S. Senate had previously declined to confirm her as assistant secretary for land and minerals management, primarily due to her record of environmental activism.¹²

Shannon Estenoz is Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. She was most recently the Chief Operating Office at the Everglades Foundation.¹³ She also formerly served in executive roles at the Environmental and Land Use Law Center, the World Wildlife Fund, and the National Parks Conservation Association. During the Obama Administration, she was Director of Everglades Restoration Initiatives at the U.S. Department of the Interior. She has served as national co-chair of the Everglades Coalition.¹⁴

Sarah Greenberger is Associate Deputy Secretary at the Department of the Interior. She was formerly senior vice president for conservation policy at the National Audubon Society, and before that served as a counselor and senior advisor to Obama Administration Secretaries of the Interior Ken Salazar and Sally Jewell. She was also a legislative counsel to Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD).¹⁵

Deb Haaland is Secretary of the Interior. She was formerly a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District, and also the former Chairwoman of the New Mexico Democratic Party.¹⁶ She was the Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico in 2014, served as the New Mexico Native American vote director for President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, and was formerly the Chairwoman of the Laguna Development Corporation.¹⁷

Haaland’s nomination prompted controversy related to some of her positions on environmental issues, which have been described as “radically anti-fossil-fuel.” She has expressed support for the Green New Deal and opposition to “fracking and drilling on public land.”¹⁸ Haaland was ultimately confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a 51-40 vote.

Kate Kelly is Deputy Chief of Staff at the Department of the Interior. She formerly worked as public lands director at the Center for American Progress, and during the Obama Administration served as a senior advisor and communications director for Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and as communications director for Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.¹⁹

Marissa Knodel is an Advisor at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. She formerly worked as legislative counsel at Earthjustice, and before that managed a campaign to stop oil and gas development on federal lands and waters at Friends of the Earth.²⁰

Charles F. Sams III is Director of the National Park Service. He most recently served as a member of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. He has formerly served as executive director of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, as president and CEO of the Indian Country Conservancy, as executive director of the Umatilla Tribal Community Foundation, as national director of the tribal & native lands program for the Trust for Public Land, as executive director of the Columbia Slough Watershed Council, as executive director of the Community Energy Project, and as president and CEO of the Earth Conservation Corps.²¹ His nomination was uncontroversial and he was unanimously confirmed by the Senate.²²

Tracy Stone-Manning is Director of the Bureau of Land Management. She was most recently senior advisor for conservation policy at the National Wildlife Federation, where she also previously served as associate vice president for public lands. Before that, she served as chief of staff to Montana Governor Steve Bullock, as director of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, and as a regional director and senior advisor to Senator Jon Tester (D-MT). Before that, she was executive director of the Clark Fork Coalition.²³

Stone-Manning’s nomination provoked considerable controversy due to her affiliation with the radical environmental activist group Earth First! during the 1980s. According to the Wall Street Journal, Stone-Manning used a rented typewriter to re-type a letter warning the U.S. Forest Service that “five hundred pounds of spikes measuring 8 to 10 inches” had been driven into Idaho trees, and that loggers would get “hurt” if they attempted to bring them down.²⁴ Though Stone-Manning has since worked to minimize her role in the episode, and told the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that she had never been the target of an investigation, an investigator in the case claimed that she was an initial target of the investigation, only cooperating with authorities after being granted immunity in exchange for her testimony. According to the Washington Post, one of the investigators in the case wrote that “Ms. Stone-Manning was not an innocent bystander, nor was she a victim in this case.”²⁵ Stone-Manning was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a 50-45 vote.²⁶

Tanya Trujillo was Assistant Secretary for Water and Science. Before that, she had most recently been a project director at the Colorado River Sustainability Campaign, a fiscally sponsored project of the New Venture Fund. She is the former Executive Director of the Colorado River Board of California, and also served as Counselor to the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the U.S. Department of the Interior and as Senior Council to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. She has served as Vice Chair of the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission.²⁷ Trujillo resigned from her position at the department in July 2023.²⁸

1. “Tommy P. Beaudreau.” Latham & Watkins LLP. Accessed June 21, 2021. Available at: https://www.lw.com/people/tommy-beaudreau
2. “Deputy Secretary Beaudreau to Step Down at Interior Department.” U.S. Department of the Interior. October 4, 2023. Available at: https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/deputy-secretary-beaudreau-step-down-interior-department
3. Tyler Cherry. Linkedin. Accessed October 16, 2023. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylercherry
4. Thomas Catenacci. “White House Silent on Biden Official’s Pro-Palestinian Post Amid Bloodshed in Israel.” Fox News. October 13, 2023. Available at: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-silent-biden-officials-pro-palestine-post-bloodshed-israel
5. Paul Bedard. “Police Union Demands Firing of Anti-Cop Interior Spokesman.” Washington Examiner. October 10, 2023. Available at: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/washington-secrets/police-union-demands-firing-of-anti-cop-interior-spokesman
6. Thomas Catenacci. “White House Silent After Biden Official’s Posts Attacking Police, Boosting Russia ‘Scandal’ Resurface.” Fox News. October 7, 2023. Available at: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-silent-biden-officials-posts-attacking-police-boosting-russia-scandal-resurface
7. Letter to The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr. from Patrick Yoes. Fraternal Order of Police. October 12, 2023. Available at: https://fop.net/letter/letter-calling-for-resignation-of-doi-official-tyler-cherry/
8. “Nada Wolff Culver.” Bureau of Land Management. Accessed August 5, 2022. Available at: https://www.blm.gov/bio/nada-wolff-culver
9. “Longtime Interior Department Leader Laura Daniel-Davis Named Acting Deputy Secretary.” U.S. Department of the Interior. October 31, 2023. Available at: https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/longtime-interior-department-leader-laura-daniel-davis-named-acting-deputy-secretary
10. “Laura Daniel Davis.” National Wildlife Federation. November 30, 2020 (accessed via WayBack Machine). Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20201130084054/http://nwf.org/About-Us/Leadership/Laura-Daniel-Davis
11. “Longtime Interior Department Leader Laura Daniel-Davis Named Acting Deputy Secretary.” U.S. Department of the Interior. October 31, 2023. Available at: https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/longtime-interior-department-leader-laura-daniel-davis-named-acting-deputy-secretary
12. Thomas Catenacci. “Biden Admin Gives Major Promotion to Official who Failed Senate Confirmation over Climate Activism.” Fox News. October 31, 2023. Available at: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-admin-major-promotion-official-failed-senate-confirmation-climate-activism
13. “Shannon A. Estenoz.” U.S. Department of the Interior. June 25, 2021. Available at: https://www.doi.gov/shannon-estenoz
14. “Shannon Estenoz.” U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities. Accessed January 8, 2021. Available at: https://www.usendowment.org/who-we-are/board-of-directors/shannon-estenoz/
15. “Interior Department Announces New Biden-Harris Appointees.” U.S. Department of the Interior. September 1, 2021. Available at: https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-announces-new-biden-harris-appointees
16. “Climate Nominees and Appointees: Congresswoman Deb Haaland.” Biden-Harris Transition. Accessed December 18, 2020. Available at: https://buildbackbetter.gov/nominees-and-appointees/deb-haaland/
17. “Debra Haaland.” Ballotpedia. Accessed December 18, 2020. Available at: https://ballotpedia.org/Debra_Haaland
18. Gessing, Paul. “Deb Haaland Could Be a Disaster at Interior.” National Review. February 23, 2021. Available at: https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/02/deb-haaland-could-be-a-disaster-at-interior/
19. “Leadership in the Office of the Secretary.” U.S. Department of the Interior. Accessed August 5, 2022. Available at: https://www.doi.gov/leadership-office-secretary
20. “Interior Department Announces Members of Biden-Harris Leadership Team.” U.S. Department of the Interior. January 20, 2021. Available at: https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-announces-members-biden-harris-leadership-team
21. “White House Announces Nomination of Charles F. Sams III as National Park Service Director.” U.S. Department of the Interior. August 18, 2021. Available at: https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/white-house-announces-nomination-charles-f-sams-iii-national-park-service-director
22. Cohen, Li. “Charles Sams III Becomes First Native American to Head National Park Service in its 105-year History.” CBS News. November 20, 2021. Available at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/charles-sams-iii-first-native-american-to-head-national-park-service-105-year-history/
23. Saccone, Mike. “Stone-Manning Nomination Highlights Biden Administration’s Commitment to Balanced, Responsible Lands Management.” National Wildlife Federation. April 22, 2021. Available at: https://www.nwf.org/Latest-News/Press-Releases/2021/04-22-21-Stone-Manning-BLM-Nomination
24. Strassel, Kimberley A. “Biden’s Monkeywrencher.” The Wall Street Journal. July 8, 2021. Available at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/bidens-monkeywrencher-11625783897
25. Grandoni, Dino. “Biden’s Public Lands Nominee, Once Linked to Eco-saboteurs, Advances with Key Senate Vote.” The Washington Post. July 22,2021. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/07/22/tracy-stone-manning-biden-senate/
26. Frazin, Rachel. “Senate Confirms Biden’s Controversial Land Management Pick.” The Hill. September 30, 2021. Available at: https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/574738-senate-confirms-bidens-controversial-land-management-pick
27. “The Team.” Colorado River Sustainability Campaign. Accessed January 8, 2021. Available at: https://www.rivercampaign.org/the-team
28. Suman Naishadham and Felicia Fonseca. “Interior Department official with key role in Colorado River talks is stepping down.” Associated Press. July 12, 2023. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/colorado-river-interior-department-west-drought-11a2d239549c883d2877990e3c144940