Page 46 - profiles 2019 working copy containing all bios as of Feb 20 final version

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

I am Brian Connor and over my 23 years in the federal civil service, I served
in the federal legislative and executive branches before my retirement.

I spent several years on Capitol Hill in the offices of Rep. William F. Clinger
Jr. (R-PA) and Rep. Margaret Heckler (R-MA). I was the legislative staff lead

on the passage of two laws: The Pennsylvania Wilderness Act and Federal
Capital Investment Act.

During the remainder of my civil service career, I served the American public

in the Department of Energy in accelerating the deployment of energy
efficiency and renewable energy technologies. My most notable achievement
at DOE was the Secretary’s Special Achievement Award for leading an

interagency effort with DoD, DHS, FAA, and two national Laboratories. The
interagency group developed, tested, and evaluated new technologies that
mitigated electromagnetic interference from wind turbines that degraded the
performance of the government’s range radars used to defend our borders and

safely manage our air traffic control system. These mitigation technologies
led to government approvals of hundreds of stalled wind farm projects

without compromising vital agency missions. Wind energy continues to grow
rapidly and now provides America with 5% of our country’s electricity
demand and sustains over 100,000 jobs in 50 states.

I am Earl P. Mink, a Korean War veteran, and I served in several Agencies,
including the Department of Energy. Over half of my adult life has been in

service to my country. The war service was particularly terrible for many of
us and the civil service was often done with personal financial sacrifice.
During my career, I helped to set up the Peace Corps; provided development
and training for a professional Civil Service Workforce in the Department of

Labor, Office of Education, Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and the
Department of Energy. My work helped to make the Service faster and more
efficient. The Federal Civil Service workforce provides the “hands” and work

to do the tasks assigned by Congress, and we do it with enthusiasm and
dedication.

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