Secretary Salazar Lauds Senate's Confirmation of Rhea Suh as Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today lauded the U.S. Senate's confirmation of Rhea S. Suh as Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget, the top official overseeing financial, administrative and programmatic policy for the Department.

“Rhea brings strong program management and legislative experience to the important work facing us as we carry out President Obama's vision for our country and lead the Department into a new era of responsibility and accountability,” Secretary Salazar said. “Interior has a broad management mandate for federal land, water, wildlife and energy resources, as well as for building a better future for American Indian and Native Alaska communities. I welcome Rhea to our management team and look forward to her able assistance in helping us fulfill that mandate.”

Rhea Suh comes to Interior from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, where she was a top program officer managing a $200 million, six-year initiative designed to build ecological integrity and resilience in key lands and watersheds in western North America. Before that she was with the William and Flora Hewett Foundation, where she managed the foundation's portfolio of grants to protect the ecosystems of the western part of North America. She also has served as a consultant for the National Park Service where she wrote educational strategy and developed educational programs for under-served constituencies.

Suh also served as a senior legislative assistant to Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, working on public lands management and regulatory issues related to energy, air and water. She is a graduate of Columbia University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and Harvard University where she earned a Masters of Education, Administration, Planning and Social Policy. She received both a Fulbright Fellowship and a Marshall Fellowship.

As Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget, Suh will also work closely with the Recovery Act Coordinator Chris Henderson to oversee contracting, monitoring, management and accountability for Interior's $3 billion allocation under President Obama's stimulus plan.