Ali Zaidi is the White House Office of Management and Budget’s Associate Director for Natural Resources, Energy, and Science. In this role, Zaidi leads a team of policy and budget experts overseeing a wide array of policy, budget and management issues across a nearly $100 billion portfolio and a number of federal agencies including the Departments of Energy, Agriculture, and the Interior; the Environmental Protection Agency; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; the Army Corps of Engineers’ civil works; and the National Science Foundation. Zaidi brings to the position a strong background in the design and implementation of federal policies and the development of public and private sector partnerships to increase U.S. energy security and cut harmful carbon pollution. In his previous role, as the Domestic Policy Council’s Deputy Director for Energy Policy, Zaidi handled a wide range of issues on the White House’s domestic policy team. His portfolio covered policy matters related to supply of and demand for energy – including policies that reduce our dependence on foreign oil by promoting responsible federal-lands production and adoption of alternative fuels; and policies that create jobs by advancing research and deployment of clean energy and energy efficiency technologies – as well as the intersection of these matters with the President’s Climate Action Plan. Since February 2009, Zaidi has served in a number of roles within the Obama Administration: Before his position at the White House Domestic Policy Council, he served as senior director for Cabinet Affairs at the White House. Zaidi has also served as a policy aide to the U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and as special projects coordinator at the White House Office of Management and Budget.