Oral history interview with Heather R. Zichal, 2021
Abstract
Heather Zichal reflects on her time as deputy assistant to the president on energy and climate change. She details how she began working for New Jersey Congressman Rush Hold and her transition to working as a policy director for Obama during his campaign, organizing discussions on climate change and energy policy. Zichal expounds on the interconnectedness of energy policy and the economy in the con text of the Great Recession, leading to debates on different kinds of energy including biofuels and fracking, as well as cooperation with industry. She talks about the Obama administration's commitment to international climate negotiation, the Clean Power Plan, and how the administration progressed with transmission challenges, natural gas as a transitional energy source, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. She emphasizes the importance of transparency and being mindful of the public opinion, and finally gives insight into the present state and possible future of environmental policy
Presidents--United States; Climatic changes--United States; Environmental policy--United States; Energy policy--United States; Biomass energy--Government policy--United States; Hydraulic fracturing--Government policy--United States; BP Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill; Zichal, Heather; Obama, Barack; Clean Power Plan (U.S.)
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2021
Physical Description
82 pages
Note (Biographical)
Heather Zichal served as policy director for the 2008 Obama presidential campaign. She also served on the Obama-Biden Transition Project Energy and Environment Policy Working Group. In addition, Zichal served as deputy assistant to the president for e nergy and climate change during the Obama administration. She left the administration in 2013, opening her own firm called Zichal, Inc. and serving as a fellow at the Atlantic Council. She served as an advisor to the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign and, in 2022, she became the global head of sustainability at J.P. Morgan Chase
Note
Interviewed by Dov Weinryb Grohsgal on February 24 and April 8, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Heather R. Zichal, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2022