Updated: Nov. 29, 2020 at 4:58 p.m.
Six faculty members joined President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ review teams responsible for transitioning each government agency to the new administration.
Jay Shambaugh, Christopher Kojm, Bridget Dooling, Michelle Howard, Madelyn Creedon and David Michaels will help ready the transition of power from President Donald Trump’s administration to Biden’s, according to the Biden-Harris transition website and a press release issued Nov. 28. Each team will evaluate their respective agency’s current projects and initiatives and speak with current employees to prepare Biden, Harris and the members of the incoming cabinet for their new roles, the website states.
“Led by President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, co-chairs, a diverse advisory board and respected leaders and staff from across sectors, the transition team is preparing to help President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris meet the urgent challenges facing our nation on day one,” the website states.
The faculty members will work as volunteers, who have joined the review teams to oversee in their own capacity and will not be officially employed by the transition team.
Shambaugh, a professor of economics and international affairs, is listed as one of three volunteers for the Council of Economic Advisers transition team.
The website also lists Kojm, a professor of international affairs, as a volunteer preparing the Biden-Harris administration to oversee 17 organizations part of the United States’ intelligence community. The team is responsible for the transition of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, eight Department of Defense agencies and seven sectors of other departments like the Drug Enforcement Agency’s Office of National Security Intelligence.
Dooling, a research professor of public policy and administration with the Regulatory Studies Center and a former analyst and attorney with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, will serve as a volunteer on the Office of Management and Budget team, according to the website.
Howard, who was confirmed as the first female and African American vice chief of U.S. naval operations in 2013, was appointed as a visiting professor in the Elliott School of International Affairs in June 2018 to teach a course on cybersecurity and policy that fall. Howard is one of the volunteers who will be overseeing the analysis of the Department of Defense, according to the website.
Creedon, a research professor of international affairs, will serve on the team for the Department of Energy, which will also review the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the website states.
“These teams are composed of highly experienced and talented professionals,” the website states. “The teams have been crafted to ensure they not only reflect the values and priorities of the incoming administration but reflect the diversity of perspectives crucial for addressing America’s most urgent and complex challenges.”
Michaels, a professor of environmental and occupational health, will serve on the COVID-19 advisory board to help the incoming administration prepare a “robust and aggressive response” to control the virus. Michaels served as the assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health under the administration of former President Barack Obama, the release states.
