Maria Robinson
Maria Robinson | |
---|---|
Director of the Grid Deployment Office | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office July 19, 2022 | |
President | Joe Biden |
Preceded by | Patricia A. Hoffman |
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 6th Middlesex district | |
In office January 2, 2019 – July 19, 2022 | |
Preceded by | Chris Walsh |
Succeeded by | Priscila Sousa |
Personal details | |
Born | (1987-03-25) March 25, 1987 (age 37) South Korea |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Matthew Robinson |
Residence(s) | Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Education | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (SB) University of Tulsa (MJEL) |
Maria Duaime Robinson is an American politician who served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 6th Middlesex district from 2019 to 2022. In September 2021, she was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as assistant secretary of energy for electricity delivery and energy reliability, but the White House withdrew her nomination on June 8, 2022.
Early life and education
Born in South Korea, Robinson was adopted by American parents of Irish-German Catholic descent from Pennsylvania. She attended Bishop Hoban High School in Wilkes-Barre, before attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science. She later attended the University of Tulsa, where earned a Master of Studies in Law.[1]
Career
Robinson became a member of the Framingham Democratic Committee and was a member of the Framingham Town Meeting. She became the first Korean-American elected to the Massachusetts General Court. Previously, she led Advanced Energy Economy’s program on wholesale markets, including engagement at Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the regional transmission organizations. Prior to that, she focused on regulatory issues relating to energy and air, including leading the organization’s state Clean Power Plan campaign, which covered over two dozen states across the country. She managed report development and data-driven analysis at the state and national level. Robinson was employed by Navigant Consulting in the renewable energy and energy efficiency practices, supporting the state of Massachusetts in analyzing and procuring contractors for statewide renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. She interned with the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s office of Water and in the office of Congressman Jay Inslee.[2]
Robinson was the first Korean-American elected to the Massachusetts State Legislature. In 2018, she overwhelmingly defeated the competing write-in candidates with nearly 78% of the votes. Her district lies solely within the city of Framingham, covering eleven of its eighteen precincts. Robinson serves on the House Committee on Technology and Intergovernmental Affairs, the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy, the Joint Committee on Export Development, and the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.[3][4][5][6]
She ran for a second term in 2020, and was endorsed by the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus.[7] She was reelected, receiving 98.0% of votes cast.[8]
In June 2021, Robinson was reportedly among the candidates vetted by the White House to succeed Neil Chatterjee as a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.[9] Willie L. Phillips Jr., chair of the District of Columbia Public Service Commission, was ultimately selected.[10]
In September 2021, President Biden announced that he would nominate Robinson to serve as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability.[11][12] On February 8, 2022, she appeared for a hearing before the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. On May 3, 2022, the committee was deadlocked on whether to advance her nomination to the full Senate.[13] Her nomination was withdrawn by President Biden on June 8, 2022.[14] Robinson was named director of the Grid Deployment Office in the Department of Energy and resigned from the House in July 2022. The position does not require Senate confirmation.[15]
Personal life
Robinson and her husband Matthew live in Framingham with their daughter. She is also an award-winning music director in the Greater Boston region and enjoys playing piano for shows.[16]
"Being Korean American is really tough. Especially as an adoptee. Because I'm not embraced as being fully Korean by a lot of people. I don't speak the same language. And then, at the same time, I'm not fully American either," State Representative Robinson said in a documentary about her life.[17]
See also
References
- ^ Razzaq, Zane. "In 6th Middlesex, Maria Robinson becomes first Korean-American in Mass. House". MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
- ^ Petroni, Framingham Source Editor Susan (September 5, 2018). "Robinson Easily Wins Seat Held By Late Chris Walsh". Framingham Source. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
{{cite web}}
:|first=
has generic name (help) - ^ "Maria Robinson. Experienced. Efficient. Energetic". Maria for Framingham. 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
- ^ "Maria Duaime Robinson: Committees". The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
- ^ "Maria Duaime Robinson: District". The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
- ^ Razzaq, Zane (November 7, 2018). "In 6th Middlesex, Maria Robinson becomes first Korean-American in Mass. House". Wicked Local. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
- ^ "Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus Political Action Committee Endorsed Candidates", Mwpc.org, retrieved August 5, 2020
- ^ "Maria Robinson", ballotpedia.org, retrieved February 18, 2021
- ^ Morehouse, Catherine (June 28, 2021). "Massachusetts state rep, favored by renewables industry, emerges among the frontrunners to fill FERC seat". Utility Dive. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ Morehouse, Catherine (September 9, 2021). "Biden taps D.C. utility regulator Phillips for FERC". POLITICO. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ "President Biden Announces Key Nominations". The White House. September 22, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ Razzaq, Zane (September 22, 2021). "Framingham's Maria Robinson to be nominated to join Biden administration". MetroWest Daily News. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ "PN1549 — Maria Duaime Robinson — Department of Energy — 117th Congress (2021-2022)". U.S. Congress. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- ^ "Nominations and Withdrawals Sent to the Senate" (Press release). The White House. June 8, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- ^ "Framingham State Rep Appointed To Federal Department Of Energy Role". Framingham, MA Patch. July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
- ^ Korean American Elected Officials & Candidates: State & City
- ^ A Mom's Personal Mission | 52 Documentary, retrieved September 6, 2022
External links
- Legislative website
- State House website
- Campaign website
- v
- t
- e
- Speaker of the House
- Ron Mariano (D)
- Speaker pro tempore
- Kate Hogan (D)
- Majority leader
- Michael Moran (D)
- Minority leader
- Bradley Jones Jr. (R)
- ▌Chris Flanagan (D, 1st Barnstable)
- ▌Kip Diggs (D, 2nd Barn.)
- ▌David Vieira (R, 3rd Barn.)
- ▌Sarah Peake (D, 4th Barn.)
- ▌Steven Xiarhos (R, 5th Barn.)
- ▌Dylan Fernandes (D, Barn., Dukes, Nan.)
- ▌John Barrett (D, 1st Berkshire)
- ▌Tricia Farley-Bouvier (D, 2nd Berk.)
- ▌Smitty Pignatelli (D, 3rd Berk.)
- ▌F. Jay Barrows (R, 1st Bristol)
- ▌Jim Hawkins (D, 2nd Bris.)
- ▌Carol Doherty (D, 3rd Bris.)
- ▌Steve Howitt (R, 4th Bris.)
- ▌Patricia Haddad (D, 5th Bris.)
- ▌Carole Fiola (D, 6th Bris.)
- ▌Alan Silvia (D, 7th Bris.)
- ▌Paul Schmid (D, 8th Bris.)
- ▌Christopher Markey (D, 9th Bris.)
- ▌William M. Straus (D, 10th Bris.)
- ▌Christopher Hendricks (D, 11th Bris.)
- ▌Norman Orrall (R, 12th Bris.)
- ▌Antonio Cabral (D, 13th Bris.)
- ▌Adam Scanlon (D, 14th Bris.)
- ▌Dawne Shand (D, 1st Essex)
- ▌Kristin Kassner (D, 2nd Ess.)
- ▌Andy Vargas (D, 3rd Ess.)
- ▌Estela Reyes (D, 4th Ess.)
- ▌Ann-Margaret Ferrante (D, 5th Ess.)
- ▌Jerry Parisella (D, 6th Ess.)
- ▌Manny Cruz (D, 7th Ess.)
- ▌Jenny Armini (D, 8th Ess.)
- ▌Donald Wong (R, 9th Ess.)
- ▌Daniel Cahill (D, 10th Ess.)
- ▌Peter Capano (D, 11th Ess.)
- ▌Thomas Walsh (D, 12th Ess.)
- ▌Sally Kerans (D, 13th Ess.)
- ▌Adrianne Ramos (D, 14th Ess.)
- ▌Ryan Hamilton (D, 15th Ess.)
- ▌Francisco E. Paulino (D, 16th Ess.)
- ▌Frank A. Moran (D, 17th Ess.)
- ▌Tram Nguyen (D, 18th Ess.)
- ▌Natalie Blais (D, 1st Frnk.)
- ▌Susannah Whipps (I, 2nd Frnk.)
- ▌Todd Smola (R, 1st Hpdn.)
- ▌Brian Ashe (D, 2nd Hpdn.)
- ▌Nicholas Boldyga (R, 3rd Hpdn.)
- ▌Kelly Pease (R, 4th Hpdn.)
- ▌Patricia Duffy (D, 5th Hpdn.)
- ▌Michael Finn (D, 6th Hpdn.)
- ▌Aaron Saunders (D, 7th Hpdn.)
- ▌Shirley Arriaga (D, 8th Hpdn.)
- ▌Orlando Ramos (D, 9th Hpdn.)
- ▌Carlos Gonzalez (D, 10th Hpdn.)
- ▌Bud Williams (D, 11th Hpdn.)
- ▌Angelo Puppolo (D, 12th Hpdn.)
- ▌Lindsay Sabadosa (D, 1st Hampshire)
- ▌Daniel R. Carey (D, 2nd Hpsh.)
- ▌Mindy Domb (D, 3rd Hpsh.)
- ▌Margaret Scarsdale (D, 1st Middlesex)
- ▌James Arciero (D, 2nd Mid.)
- ▌Kate Hogan (D, 3rd Mid.)
- ▌Danielle Gregoire (D, 4th Mid.)
- ▌David Linsky (D, 5th Mid.)
- ▌Priscila Sousa (D, 6th Mid.)
- ▌Jack Lewis (D, 7th Mid.)
- ▌James Arena-DeRosa (D, 8th Mid.)
- ▌Thomas M. Stanley (D, 9th Mid.)
- ▌John J. Lawn (D, 10th Mid.)
- ▌Kay Khan (D, 11th Mid.)
- ▌Ruth Balser (D, 12th Mid.)
- ▌Carmine Gentile (D, 13th Mid.)
- ▌Simon Cataldo (D, 14th Mid.)
- ▌Michelle Ciccolo (D, 15th Mid.)
- ▌Rodney Elliott (D, 16th Mid.)
- ▌Vanna Howard (D, 17th Mid.)
- ▌Rady Mom (D, 18th Mid.)
- ▌Dave Robertson (D, 19th Mid.)
- ▌Bradley Jones Jr. (R, 20th Mid.)
- ▌Kenneth Gordon (D, 21st Mid.)
- ▌Marc Lombardo (R, 22nd Mid.)
- ▌Sean Garballey (D, 23rd Mid.)
- ▌Dave Rogers (D, 24th Mid.)
- ▌Marjorie Decker (D, 25th Mid.)
- ▌Michael Connolly (D, 26th Mid.)
- ▌Erika Uyterhoeven (D, 27th Mid.)
- ▌Joe McGonagle (D, 28th Mid.)
- ▌Steven Owens (D, 29th Mid.)
- ▌Richard Haggerty (D, 30th Mid.)
- ▌Michael Day (D, 31st Mid.)
- ▌Kate Lipper-Garabedian (D, 32nd Mid.)
- ▌Steven Ultrino (D, 33rd Mid.)
- ▌Christine Barber (D, 34th Mid.)
- ▌Paul Donato (D, 35th Mid.)
- ▌Colleen Garry (D, 36th Mid.)
- ▌Dan Sena (D, 37th Mid.)
- ▌Bruce Ayers (D, 1st Norfolk)
- ▌Tackey Chan (D, 2nd Norf.)
- ▌Ron Mariano (D, 3rd Norf.)
- ▌James M. Murphy (D, 4th Norf.)
- ▌Mark Cusack (D, 5th Norf.)
- ▌William C. Galvin (D, 6th Norf.)
- ▌William Driscoll (D, 7th Norf.)
- ▌Ted Philips (D, 8th Norf.)
- ▌Marcus Vaughn (R, 9th Norf.)
- ▌Jeffrey Roy (D, 10th Norf.)
- ▌Paul McMurtry (D, 11th Norf.)
- ▌John H. Rogers (D, 12th Norf.)
- ▌Denise Garlick (D, 13th Norf.)
- ▌Alice Peisch (D, 14th Norf.)
- ▌Tommy Vitolo (D, 15th Norf.)
- ▌Matt Muratore (R, 1st Plymouth)
- ▌Susan Gifford (R, 2nd Plym.)
- ▌Joan Meschino (D, 3rd Plym.)
- ▌Patrick J. Kearney (D, 4th Plym.)
- ▌David DeCoste (R, 5th Plym.)
- ▌Vacant (6th Plym.)
- ▌Alyson Sullivan (R, 7th Plym.)
- ▌Angelo D'Emilia (R, 8th Plym.)
- ▌Gerard Cassidy (D, 9th Plym.)
- ▌Michelle DuBois (D, 10th Plym.)
- ▌Rita Mendes (D, 11th Plym.)
- ▌Kathleen LaNatra (D, 12th Plym.)
- ▌Adrian Madaro (D, 1st Suffolk)
- ▌Daniel Joseph Ryan (D, 2nd Suff.)
- ▌Aaron Michlewitz (D, 3rd Suff.)
- ▌David Biele (D, 4th Suff.)
- ▌Christopher Worrell (D, 5th Suff.)
- ▌Russell Holmes (D, 6th Suff.)
- ▌Chynah Tyler (D, 7th Suff.)
- ▌Jay Livingstone (D, 8th Suff.)
- ▌John F. Moran (D, 9th Suff.)
- ▌Bill MacGregor (D, 10th Suff.)
- ▌Judith García (D, 11th Suff.)
- ▌Brandy Fluker Oakley (D, 12th Suff.)
- ▌Daniel J. Hunt (D, 13th Suff.)
- ▌Robert Consalvo (D, 14th Suff.)
- ▌Sam Montaño (D, 15th Suff.)
- ▌Jessica Giannino (D, 16th Suff.)
- ▌Kevin Honan (D, 17th Suff.)
- ▌Michael Moran (D, 18th Suff.)
- ▌Jeff Turco (D, 19th Suff.)
- ▌Kimberly Ferguson (R, 1st Worcester)
- ▌Jonathan Zlotnik (D, 2nd Wor.)
- ▌Mike Kushmerek (D, 3rd Wor.)
- ▌Natalie Higgins (D, 4th Wor.)
- ▌Donnie Berthiaume (R, 5th Wor.)
- ▌John Marsi (R, 6th Wor.)
- ▌Paul Frost (R, 7th Wor.)
- ▌Michael Soter (R, 8th Wor.)
- ▌David Muradian (R, 9th Wor.)
- ▌Brian Murray (D, 10th Wor.)
- ▌Hannah Kane (R, 11th Wor.)
- ▌Meghan Kilcoyne (D, 12th Wor.)
- ▌John J. Mahoney (D, 13th Wor.)
- ▌Jim O'Day (D, 14th Wor.)
- ▌Mary Keefe (D, 15th Wor.)
- ▌Dan Donahue (D, 16th Wor.)
- ▌David LeBoeuf (D, 17th Wor.)
- ▌Joseph D. McKenna (R, 18th Wor.)
- ▌Kate Donaghue (D, 19th Wor.)
- ▌Democratic (133)
- ▌Republican (25)
- ▌Independent (1)
- ▌Vacant (1)