As director of policy and government affairs for the National Ocean Industries Association, Jon worked on offshore energy policy and legislation affecting energy exploration and development, ranging from the potential expansion of offshore energy exploration in the Southeastern United States to the Deepwater Drilling Moratorium and de facto Shallow Water Moratorium.
As the deputy director of policy and planning for the U.S. Minerals Management Service, he helped lead the way in fostering conditions to enable the Service to achieve many benchmarks, including:
- the largest Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease sale in history
- the largest Arctic Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease sale in history
- the creation of the first renewable energy office for the offshore
- over $23 billion collected and distributed, the highest amount of mineral revenue collections and distributions in history
He also served as the principal Minerals Management Service liaison and advisor with the White House for all information and decisions made involving the historic decision to amend the Presidential Withdrawal of the Pacific coast, Atlantic seaboard and parts of the Central and Eastern Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas development. In that role, Jon worked closely with staff and members of Congress as Congress made the decision to not reinstate the annual Congressional Moratoria for the first time in a generation.
As deputy director for the Secretary’s Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of Interior, Jon played a crucial role in formulating key provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act and Amendments to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. His responsibilities also included:
- managing presidential appointment nominees through the Senate confirmation process
- assisting with drafting legislation and the formulation of the administration’s position in testimony
- managing witness preparation for meetings and hearings
- creating communication and outreach plans while serving as a liaison with the Department’s Congressional authorizing committees, individual members of Congress and officials in the White House