Allison Finelli, a staffer with the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management in Washington, D.C., recently accepted a 120-day detail as acting chief of staff at the Hanford Site’s Office of River Protection.
In her interim role, Finelli will report to ORP Manager Brian Vance, sources said Thursday. She will serve as a primary aide and adviser to Vance and assist in management of the Hanford office.
Finelli is the executive officer for the Office of Environmental Management. In this post, she supports Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Anne Marie White on a wide range of policy initiatives.
Prior to joining EM’s front office, Finelli served as executive officer for the cleanup office’s associate principal deputy assistant secretary for field operations, according to an agency bio. She previously worked in Environmental Management’s Office of External Communications and the Office of Community and Intergovernmental affairs.
Before joining the Energy Department in 2015, Finelli served as deputy executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Energy Communities Alliance, which represents local and tribal governments living near DOE facilities. Finelli received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
Finelli became acting chief of staff Jan. 20, replacing Mark Edgren, who is now with the semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration Albuquerque, N.M. The Office of River Protection’s mission is to oversee management of about 56 million gallons of radioactive tank waste at Hanford and protect the Columbia River. It has a budget of about $1.58 billion for fiscal 2019.
