The Biomass Research and Development (BR&D) Board was established by the Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000 (continued under Section 9008 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, as revised by Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA) and the Agricultural Act of 2014), and the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018).
The BR&D Board coordinates programs within and among departments and agencies of the federal government to promote the use of biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower. The BR&D Board is co-chaired by designees from the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is typically comprised by politically appointed members to represent the member departments and agencies.
New BR&D Board members are being identified.
Board Operations Committee Members
- Valerie Sarisky – Reed, Director, Bioenergy Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy
- Devinn Lambert, Board Operations Committee Liaison, Technology Manager, Bioenergy Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy
- Gail McLean, Photochemistry and Biochemistry Team Lead, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy
- William Hohenstein, Director, Climate Change Program Office, Acting Director, Offices of Energy Policy and New Uses and Environmental Markets, Office of the Chief Economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Mark Brodziski, acting Deputy Administrator, Business Programs, Rural Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Wade Salverson, Stewardship Coordinator and Biomass Forester, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior
- Jim Caley, Director of Operational Energy, U.S. Department of the Navy
- Shawn Johnson, Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of Transportation
- Nathan Brown, Alternative Jet Fuels Project Manager, Federal Aviation Administration
- Brian Heninger, Economist, National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Carole Read, Program Director in the Engineering Directorate, National Science Foundation​