Special Assistant to the President for Economic Development and Industrial Strategy, White House National Economic Council (NEC)

Alex Jacquez serves as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Development and Industrial Strategy for the White House National Economic Council. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, he served as Senior Policy Advisor for labor and economic policy on the Senate Budget Committee under Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT). He has previously served in various policy and engagement roles for Senate Democratic leadership, the Obama-Biden White House, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and federal and state campaigns. He graduated from Lehigh University.

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy

Jeff Marootian is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. He previously served as a Senior Advisor to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and as Special Assistant to the President in the Biden-Harris White House. He was also a member of the Biden-Harris Presidential Transition Team. 

Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, Jeff was the Director of the District Department of Transportation, where he led the adoption of sustainable transportation technologies and oversaw more than $4 billion of critical infrastructure and utility projects including the reconstruction of the historic Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. 

Mr. Marootian previously served in the Obama-Biden Administration as the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Chief Sustainability Officer at the U.S. Department of Transportation. He is an alumnus of The George Washington University where he has also taught as an adjunct faculty member in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Administration.

Senior Advisor, IRA Program Office, U.S. Department of the Treasury

Rachel is a Senior Advisor in the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Inflation Reduction Act Program Office where she focuses on informing and educating stakeholders about the IRA’s clean energy tax provisions to maximize uptake of the law’s benefits. Previously Rachel was the Director of U.S. Manufacturing Policy at Ford Motor Company where she led the manufacturing, labor and critical mineral and traditional supply chain policy portfolios.

Prior to Ford, Rachel served as the Chief Communications Advisor and Deputy Policy Director for Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) on the Finance Committee where she led tax, oversight and illicit finance communications and strategy.

In 2016 Rachel was appointed to Treasury’s Office of Public Affairs as the Tax and Economic spokeswoman under former Secretary Jack Lew. She began her career working for the offices of Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and former Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI) in a variety of communications and policy roles. Rachel serves on the board of Girls on the Run DC and is a recurring guest lecturer at George Washington University and Michigan State University.

Ontario’s Representative in Washington, DC

David Paterson is Ontario’s Representative in Washington co-located at the Embassy of Canada to the United States in Washington, D.C. During his 30 years in business, he served as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and served on the boards of the Canadian American Business Council, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association and the Canadian Journalism Foundation.

Prior to his Ontario appointment in November 2023, David lead Corporate & Environmental Relations for General Motors Canada and worked as part of GM’s global Public Policy and Communications team.

Between 2010 and 2014, he was Senior Vice President, Government Relations & Public Policy at BlackBerry (formerly Research In Motion) where he led a global team responsible for regulatory engagement in 175 countries. This included trade, export controls, market access, taxation, privacy, cyber security, patents and intellectual property, spectrum, cross border data flows, consumer protection, environment and safety.

Senior Chief Deputy Director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity

As Senior Chief Deputy Director for LEO, Jonathan Smith works to advance our strategic goals and vision for Michigan’s economic future. He first joined LEO as Chief of Staff in 2020, playing an integral role in a wide variety of projects and initiatives critical to our mission.

Jonathan is a public policy professional that brings with him more than two decades of experience in policy development, legal analysis, regulatory oversight, management and strategic stakeholder engagement.

Jonathan previously served as a Chief of Staff and senior legislative staffer on Capitol Hill, including roles with a number of Members of the Michigan delegation such as Carl Levin, John Dingell and Gary Peters. While working in Congress he developed a robust public policy agenda and helped pass important legislation dealing with a number of issues important to LEO, including economic development, small business lending and workforce development. His private sector experience includes roles as an attorney at one of the nation’s largest law firms and as federal policy lead on emerging issues in the mobility sector for a large technology company. He holds degrees from Michigan State University and the University of Michigan Law School.