President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts
Warren F. “Pete” Miller Named Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy at DOE

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals for key administration posts: Joan Evans, Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs; Warren F. "Pete" Miller, Jr., PhD, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, Department of Energy; and John R. Norris, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

President Obama said, "I am grateful that these three impressive individuals will be working with me in these important roles. The commitment of these experienced public servants has made an impression on those around them and I am grateful that they will be working with me in the months and years ahead."

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals today:

Warren F. "Pete" Miller, Jr., PhD, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, Department of Energy

Warren F. Miller, Jr., PhD

Warren F. "Pete" Miller, Jr., PhD, presently serves as a part time Professor at Texas A&M University and is a resident of Albuquerque, NM. Dr. Miller is originally from Chicago, Illinois. He holds a BS from the United States Military Academy at West Point; is a Vietnam veteran; and holds a PhD in Nuclear Engineering from Northwestern University. Dr. Miller served for many years as a researcher and administrator at Los Alamos National Laboratory, retiring in 2001. He was elected as Fellow of the American Nuclear Society in 1982. He was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in 1996.

Joan Evans, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs

Joan Evans comes to the Department of Veterans Affairs after having served as Chief of Staff to Congresswoman Darlene Hooley (OR-5) from 1997-2009, the first Oregon Democrat to serve on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and top Democrat on the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. Prior to that, Joan was the American Academy of Ophthalmology's Washington Representative for policies affecting Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs manpower, health care and research. During Joan's long career, she has also served as Chief of Staff to Congressman John Cox, Washington co-director for Congressman Terry Bruce, and as the House of Representatives Director of the Presidential Inaugural Committee for the Obama Inauguration.

John R. Norris, Nominee for Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

John R. Norris is currently serving as Chief of Staff for Secretary Tom Vilsack at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Prior to joining the USDA, Norris served as Chairman of the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) from 2005 to 2009. As a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) he worked on the Electricity Committee and was Co-Chair of the 2009 National Electricity Delivery Forum. He served as a Board Member, Secretary and President of the Organization of Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) States as well as Chairman of the MISO Demand Response Working Group. He also was a member of the FERC/NARUC Demand Response Collaborative. Norris was on the Board of Directors of the National Regulatory Research Institute, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Iowa Power Fund and served on the Advisory Councils of the Iowa Energy Center, the Financial Research Institute for the University of Missouri College of Business and the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research at the University of Iowa. In 1999 and 2000 he was Chairman of the Iowa Electric Restructuring Task Force while serving as Chief of Staff for then Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack. Norris also worked for U.S. Representative Leonard Boswell (IA-3rd) as Boswell's Chief of Staff from 1997 to 1998. From 1989 to 2003 he owned and managed a restaurant in Greenfield, Iowa and he was State Director of the Iowa Farm Unity Coalition during the Farm Crisis of the 1980's. Norris graduated with distinction from the College of Law at the University of Iowa in 1995 and received his undergraduate degree in 1981 from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa.

Editorial Date June 11, 2009
By Bradley Bugger