Interior Announces Todd Willens as Chief of Staff

Date: May 17, 2019
Contact: Interior_Press@ios.doi.gov 

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced the appointment of Todd Willens to serve as Chief of Staff. Mr. Willens joined the Department in July of 2017 as the Associate Deputy Secretary and assumed the duties of the Acting Chief of Staff in January 2019.

“I am appreciative to have Todd Willens as my permanent Chief of Staff,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt. “His leadership in the front office will be a true asset in achieving the President’s priorities for the Department.”

Mr. Willens will oversee and directly manage the Office of the Secretary. In this role, he will advise the Secretary on policy development and coordination internally, with other agencies, and with the White House. Mr. Willens will represent the Secretary as a Board of Director on the Presidio Trust and as an Ex Officio Member on the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

“I am sincerely appreciative and grateful to President Trump and Secretary Bernhardt in giving me this opportunity to serve our great country as Chief of Staff at the Department of the Interior,” said Mr. Willens. “Public service is a public trust, and as such, I will diligently carry out these duties with humility and distinction.”

As Associate Deputy Secretary, Mr. Willens served as a member on the Department’s Regulatory Reform Task Force, National Environmental Policy Act Working Group, and Endangered Species Act Working Group, and as an Ex Officio Member of the Hunting and Shooting Sports Conservation Council and the International Wildlife Conservation Council.

From 2011-2017, Mr. Willens served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Congressman Steve Pearce of New Mexico and served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife & Parks at the Department of the Interior from 2006-2008. Before he held these positions, he was the Senior Policy Director for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources. He was Vice President for Government Affairs of Feld Entertainment, Inc. from 2001-2003. A California native, Mr. Willens is a 1994 graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles. He resides in Washington, D.C. with his family.

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