Washington, D.C. -- President Barack Obama has tapped Elizabeth A. (Liz) Montoya to be Chief of Staff for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. OPM Director John Berry today announced that Montoya will serve a critical role in helping manage the nation's human resources agenda.

"I am proud to announce the appointment of Liz Montoya. I am counting on Liz to help identify and implement the best in human resources management practices throughout government," said Berry.

Montoya has more than 20 years of executive experience, serving previously as Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Energy, as Associate Deputy Administrator for the Small Business Administration, and Associate Director of Presidential Personnel and Special Assistant to the President. Most recently, Montoya served on the President's transition team for the U.S. Department of Energy as a member of the Natural Resources and Energy work group.

Prior to accepting the OPM post, Montoya was with Sealaska Corporation, where she served as senior advisor to the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer in the areas of human resources, corporate strategic planning and program development. Sealaska is an Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Corporation which is owned by more than 17,500 tribal shareholders. During her tenure, Montoya designed a human resources comprehensive review of Sealaska's nine subsidiaries to affect a consistent human resources process throughout the organization.

Montoya's corporate experience began in 2001 with Resource Consultants, Inc., where she served as the Director of Federal Programs. Among her chief responsibilities were leading client outreach programs and coordinating business development. In 2005, Montoya joined the Los Alamos Alliance, where she opened storefront offices in Los Alamos and Espanola, New Mexico, for Lockheed Martin and the team known as The Los Alamos Alliance to work with community leaders on wide-ranging issues affecting the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Her extensive federal government portfolio includes service as an Associate Deputy Administrator with the Small Business Administration, where she managed SBA's Office of Human Resources, Chief Information Office and the Office of Administration. Montoya also served as the White House Liaison for the Department of Transportation in the early 1990s; she served from 1994 to 1997 in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel as the Associate Director of Presidential Personnel and Special Assistant to the President. In 1997, she became Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary Federico Pena at the U.S. Department of Energy. From 1985 to 1993, Montoya worked with the Los Alamos National Laboratory as a Senior Program Development Specialist.

In 2005, Montoya earned a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.