Office of the Secretary

For Immediate Release: June 14, 1999

Contact: John Wright 202/208-6416

Lenna M. Aoki Named to Direct Congressional and
Legislative Affairs Office at the Interior Department

Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt today praised President Clinton's appointment of Lenna M. Aoki, a former Staff Director of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, to be Director of the Interior Department's Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs.

"I am pleased to have Ms. Aoki as a member of my management team here at Interior," said Babbitt. "With her broad knowledge of the legislative process and her decade of solid experience on the Hill, she is well qualified to serve as the Department's legislative chief and advisor to me."

Ms. Aoki served as Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee from 1995-99, under Democratic Leader Tom Daschle and Co-Chairman Harry Reid, where she played a major role in working with the leadership, members and staff of the Senate and House, to advance Democratic policy and goals during the 104^th and 105^th Congresses. Before that she served as Counsel (1991-94) for the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs under Chairman Daniel Inouye, legislative assistant (1987-89) to Democratic Whip Alan Cranston, and as legislative intern to Congressman Bruce Morrison. She also worked as an Attorney/Legislative Consultant in private practice in Washington, D.C.

Prior to her congressional/legislative work, Ms. Aoki's experience includes serving as Visiting Fellow at the United Nations Far East Institute in Tokyo, Japan, where she participated in training sessions and seminars for Japanese and foreign legal professionals focusing on international cooperation in the administration of justice. She also served as a law clerk for several organizations including the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, California State Public Defender's Office, and for an international law firm located in Tokyo, Japan. She also worked as an Administrative Assistant to the Executive Director for the New Haven Legal Assistance Association, in New Haven, Connecticut.

Ms. Aoki earned a bachelor's degree in history from Yale College, in 1981, and her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law in 1984. She resides in Washington, D.C.

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