For Immediate Release: January 9, 2018

Contact: Regina L. Davis, 202-898-9382, rdavis@naruc.org

 

NARUC Welcomes Danielle Sass Byrnett as the Director of Domestic Grants

Washington—The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners is pleased to announce the addition of Danielle Sass Byrnett as the director of the association’s domestic grants and research department.

Byrnett, who has several years of experience in science, technology, public policy and public outreach, will manage a three-member team responsible for executing grant-funded projects and providing training, technical assistance and research programs for NARUC and its members.

The department, also known as the Research Lab, is primarily funded by cooperative agreements with the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology and has engaged in partnerships with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and others.

“Danielle Sass Byrnett brings a range of exceptional experience and insights to NARUC, which will help us to expand our research portfolio and provide meaningful, practical resources for our members,” said NARUC President John Betkoski III. 

In her previous role as a senior policy advisor to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Byrnett was focused on reducing market barriers and capitalizing on opportunities to tap energy efficiency as a cost-effective resource that could help states meet their energy, environmental and economic development goals. She also oversaw DOE’s portfolio of efforts to support energy efficiency in existing homes, including Home Performance with ENERGY STAR, the Better Buildings Residential Network, the Better Buildings Residential Program Solution Center and other analysis and outreach efforts. Under the Recovery Act, she managed the Better Buildings Neighborhood Program, an intensive $500 million, three-year effort to test innovative models for delivering building energy efficiency programs across the country.

Before joining DOE, she worked as a state climate and energy policy expert for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She also served as a member of the White House Council on Environmental Quality Recovery through Retrofit working group.

Byrnett earned a Master of Public Policy degree with a focus on energy and the environment at Duke University. She holds a B.A. in biology and environmental studies from Swarthmore College.

For more information on the department, visit https://www.naruc.org/naruc-research-lab.