Jeremiah Baumann is the Legislative Assistant for energy, environmental, natural resource, and transportation issues for U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (OR). Senator Merkley serves on the Environment and Public Works Committee. Prior to joining Senator Merkley’s staff, Jeremiah was the director of Environment Oregon from 2005 to 2009, where he led advocacy efforts for Oregon’s 25% by 2025 Renewable Energy Standard, renewable energy tax credits, and other sustainability policies. From 2003 to 2005, he worked as national co-director of the New Voters Project, a national nonpartisan campaign to increase youth voter engagement, and from 1998 to 2003, he was the Environmental Health Program Director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. He received his B.A. from Yale University.

Christy Goldfuss handles U.S. Forest Service policy for the House Natural Resources Committee.  Prior to her time on the Hill, Goldfuss worked as a Preservation Advocate for the non-profit organization, Environment America, where she focused on public lands issues.  Goldfuss had first-hand experience with public lands policies and their impacts on western communities as a broadcast journalist in Redding and Chico, California, and Reno, Nevada.  After eight years of covering those stories, she came to Washington DC to work on balanced policies that both protect Federal lands and benefit the surrounding communities.  She received her B.A. from Brown University in Providence, RI.  

Stephenne Harding is the Legislative Assistant for Agriculture, Energy, and Natural Resource policy for Senator Jon Tester (MT) in Washington, DC.  Much of her time is focused on the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, which seeks to designate wilderness in Montana for the first time in 26 years and promote restoration forestry.  Senator Tester works on natural resource issues through his Appropriations Subcommittees of Interior and Energy and Water.  Before joining Senator Tester’s office, Stephenne completed a Masters in Public Administration focused on Environment and Management at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.  There she served as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Center for Environment Policy Administration.  Stephenne is a native of Whitefish, Montana, and when she finds time, she still fills in at her old job as a rafting and backpacking guide in Glacier National Park.

Lenise Lago assumed the position of U.S. Forest Service Deputy Regional Forester for Pacific Northwest Region 6 in early 2009. Lago’s previous assignment was as Director of Budget for the Forest Service in their Washington D.C. office. She has worked in a variety of planning, budget and resource management jobs, including assignments on two ranger districts, two national forests and two regional offices. She was the Pacific Northwest Region’s Assistant Director of Budget and Financial Management before moving to Washington, D.C. in 2003 as the agency’s Assistant Budget Director.  Lago has worked closely with congressional staff on a number of funding bills, including the annual appropriations bill and emergency supplemental appropriations for hurricanes, wildfires and Northwest storm damage. Lago was raised in Athens, Georgia, and earned a bachelor’s degree in Timber Management and a Master of Forest Resources from the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forest Resources. She worked three years in the forest products industry before joining the Forest Service in 1989.

Scott Miller has worked for Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (NM) since 2003.  His work for the Committee focuses on National Forest and other public lands issues.  Prior to working for Senator Bingaman, Scott worked in the Solicitor’s Office in the Department of the Interior and for the National Marine Fisheries Service.  Scott received a J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law, where he focused on natural resources law, and a B.S. in Biology from Vanderbilt University.

Darren Springer is the Legislative Assistant for Energy and Environment in the Washington, D.C. Office of Senator Bernard Sanders (VT). In this role Darren works to advance Senator Sanders’ legislative priorities. Senator Sanders serves on both the Energy & Natural Resources Committee and the Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee. Darren also serves as the staff for the Green Jobs and New Economy Subcommittee on EPW, which Senator Sanders chairs.  Prior to joining the Senator’s Office, Darren worked at the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices for three and a half years, most recently as Program Director for Energy and Transportation. Darren is a graduate of Vermont Law School, having earned a J.D. and Master of Studies in Environmental Law. At Vermont Law School he served as Managing Editor of the Vermont Law Review. He is member of the Bar in Virginia and Florida. During his time at Vermont Law School, Darren worked for Senator Patrick Leahy on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and with the Vermont Alliance of Conservation Voters.