Kristen Ellis

Kristen Ellis serves as the Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Regulatory and Policy Affairs within the US Department of Energy’s Environmental Management (EM) Office. Her portfolio includes infrastructure disposition, subsurface closure, regulatory compliance, waste and materials management and packaging and transportation.

She previously served as EM’s Senior Advisor for STEM and Talent Acquisition, as she assessed future STEM workforce needs. She also served in the DOE Office of Public affairs during the Biden Administration transition. 

She also served as the Chief of Staff for DOE Under Secretary for Science, overseeing all daily operations, including personnel, budgets, policy, media, and interface with DOE senior leadership. That portfolio included over $14 billion in federal funding for fundamental energy research, energy technologies, and science; direct management of 11 of the Department’s national labs and user facilities; the environmental and legacy management missions; and technology commercialization activities.

Previously, she ran the EM Office of External Affairs, directing the media and congressional strategies of the EM complex. She also formerly served as Director of the EM Intergovernmental Office, partnering with national intergovernmental organizations, tribal governments, and community organizations. She has also served in multiple position in DOE's Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs.

She received her Juris Doctorate in 2006 from the University of Baltimore School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in the State of Maryland. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Western Maryland College, with concentrations in Communications and Journalism.

She lives in Virginia with her husband and two daughters. She is an active volunteer in Girl Scouts of America.