Treasury Announces Appointment of Key Members of Staff

Industry Update
January 25, 2021

WASHINGTON – Today, the United States Department of the Treasury announced new members of staff who will serve in key roles. These qualified, tested, and skilled leaders will join a team prepared to deliver results by getting the economy back on track, strengthening the financial system, and restoring jobs. These appointees represent diverse and varied communities and will put service to the American people at the forefront of their work. They also reflect the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to assembling a team of experts with diverse backgrounds

Biographies of the appointees are listed below in alphabetical order:

NATALIE WYETH EARNEST, COUNSELOR TO THE SECRETARY FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS

Natalie Wyeth Earnest is returning to the Treasury Department after serving as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs during the Obama-Biden Administration. In that role, Earnest was the principal communications advisor to Secretary Jack Lew, and directed public affairs and external communications on issues including economic policy, domestic finance, tax policy, international affairs, and illicit finance. She also managed the communications for Secretary Lew’s confirmation by the U.S. Senate in 2013. Earnest joined Treasury in 2009, under Secretary Tim Geithner, as the spokesperson for international affairs. Before joining the administration, she served as a spokesperson for the Presidential Inaugural Committee, the 2008 Obama-Biden campaign, and the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Prior to that, she was press secretary for Governor Kathleen Blanco’s Louisiana Recovery Authority, which focused on securing funding, establishing principles for redevelopment, and leading regional planning efforts to rebuild southern Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Most recently, Earnest managed communications for Treasury Secretary-designate Yellen’s nomination as part of the Biden-Harris Presidential Transition. Earnest received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California. She lives on Chicago’s North Shore with her husband and their two children.

ARUNA KALYANAM, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR TAX AND BUDGET, OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS

Aruna Kalyanam is a veteran of Capitol Hill, bringing over 21 years of experience in the tax policy legislative process with her to the Treasury Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs. Kalyanam most recently served on the Ways and Means Committee as Deputy Chief Tax Counsel and Staff Director of the Select Revenue Measures (the dedicated tax policy Subcommittee) under Chairman Richard E. Neal and Subcommittee Chairman Mike Thompson. She has been involved in every major tax legislative package on Capitol Hill since 2001, and led the Ways and Means Committee’s policy development on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and infrastructure. A native of Maryland, Kalyanam is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and the Washington College of Law at American University.

ALEXANDRA LAMANNA, SPOKESPERSON, OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Alexandra LaManna joins the Treasury Department from Lyft, Inc., where she was Head of Corporate, Crisis, and Financial Communications. At Lyft, LaManna led strategic communications, crisis and issues management, rapid response, and thought leadership programs. She also served as Lyft’s primary spokesperson and led communications for its 2019 initial public offering. LaManna is a trusted senior advisor with more than a decade of experience advising C-suite executives navigating complex business, competitive, reputational, and regulatory challenges. Prior to Lyft, she was a counselor for the global advisory firm Sard Verbinnen where she worked with clients on corporate positioning, as well as on issues advocacy programs for organizations and high-profile individuals facing crises, regulatory investigations, high-stakes legal challenges, and other sensitive matters. LaManna also oversaw communications efforts for various Cabinet nominees as part of the Biden-Harris Presidential Transition. Originally from New Jersey, she is a graduate of Northwestern University.

ANGEL L. NIGAGLIONI, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR APPROPRIATIONS AND MANAGEMENT, OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS

Angel L. Nigaglioni most recently served as Legislative Director and Counsel, as well as Appropriations Committee Associate Staff, to Congressman José E. Serrano, the Chairman of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee and Vice-Chairman of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee. Since 2013, Nigaglioni served under Congressman Serrano and worked on crafting, managing, and accomplishing Mr. Serrano’s legislative and appropriations priorities. Nigaglioni is a proud graduate from The George Washington University and Indiana University Maurer School of Law. Originally from Puerto Rico, he lives in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife.

ADITI HARDIKAR, SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE DEPUTY SECRETARY

Aditi Hardikar most recently served as the Leadership and Training Lead for the Biden-Harris Presidential Transition. She spent three years at the Obama Foundation, first as Chief of Staff with a focus on strategic planning and organizational growth, and then as the Acting Vice President for Operations on the development team, overseeing data and analytics, communications, and research. During the second term of the Obama-Biden Administration, Hardikar was Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement, serving as the primary liaison to the LGBTQ and AAPI communities for issues including economic opportunity, health care, transgender rights, data collection, and youth homelessness. Hardikar served as Coalitions Finance Director for the Clinton-Kaine presidential campaign, helped lead LGBTQ fundraising and outreach efforts on the Obama-Biden reelection campaign, and led LGBTQ and AAPI fundraising and strategy at the Democratic National Committee. Hardikar is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan.

MARK J. MAZUR, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR TAX POLICY, OFFICE OF TAX POLICY

Mark J. Mazur was most recently the Robert C. Pozen Director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, where he led the organization since 2017. Mazur has served in the federal government for 27 years in various positions. He was a policy economist at the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation from 1989 to 1993. He then joined the Clinton-Gore Administration where he served in a number of roles, including: senior economist at the President’s Council of Economic Advisers; senior director at the National Economic Council; chief economist and senior policy adviser to the Secretary of Energy; Director of the Policy Office at the U.S. Department of Energy; and Acting Administrator of the Energy Information Administration. In 2001, he became the Director of Research, Analysis, and Statistics at the Internal Revenue Service. Mazur joined the Obama-Biden Administration in 2009 as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Analysis in the Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy. In 2012, he was confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, and he served in this role until early 2017. Before entering public service, Mazur was an assistant professor in Heinz College at Carnegie-Mellon University. He has a bachelor’s degree in financial administration from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in economics and a Ph.D. in business from Stanford University. A native of New Jersey, Mazur now lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.

DAMIAN RICHARDSON, SPECIAL ASSISTANT, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

Damian Richardson served on the Biden-Harris Presidential Transition as the Executive Assistant to Secretary-designate Yellen and the Treasury transition team, working closely with the incoming Chief of Staff to prepare for day one of the Administration. During the 2020 general election, Richardson was a campus organizer in the key battleground state of Wisconsin. Richardson is a recent graduate of Harvard College and a native of Oak Park, Illinois.