In her position as former Associate Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Janine Benner worked with former Acting Assistant Secretary David Friedman to formulate and manage EERE's technology research and development programs. For EERE, she led corporate strategy, corporate planning, and policy and executive level management of EERE's priority efforts.  

Before joining EERE, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for House Affairs in the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), providing strategic advice to the Energy Secretary and DOE leadership regarding congressional affairs.

That experience built upon more than a decade of working on energy efficiency and renewable energy issues on Capitol Hill, specifically serving Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) for 12 years.  She advised the Congressman on energy and environment issues, and was most recently the Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of managing the Washington, DC office. During her time with Rep. Blumenauer, Janine spearheaded efforts within the House of Representatives on key energy and environmental policy issues, including climate change and deployment of clean energy.

Before coming to Washington, Janine worked as a consumer advocate for the California Public Interest Research Group in Los Angeles.

She has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Princeton University.