Sarah Venuto is the Executive Director of the American Critical Minerals Association (ACMA) and
a seasoned federal energy policy strategist and attorney with deep expertise in legislative
strategy, coalition building, and natural resources policy. She joined Cornerstone’s federal
government relations team in 2023 after serving as director of the Office of External Affairs at
FERC, where she acted as the Commission’s primary liaison to the White House, the Department
of Energy, the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other
federal agencies. Appointed by Chairman Richard Glick, she advised on priority agenda items
including climate change, environmental justice, transmission policy, and pipeline permitting
improvements.
Before her work at FERC, Sarah served as vice president of public policy at Duke Energy, leading
federal strategies to advance the company’s net-zero carbon and methane emissions goals. She
previously served as Democratic staff director for the Senate Energy & Natural Resources
Committee under Ranking Member Joe Manchin, directing the floor management of a 130-bill
public lands package enacted in 2019 and negotiating the Committee’s first climate hearing in
seven years. Her earlier roles include chief counsel and senior policy advisor to Senator Manchin,
head of federal government affairs for America’s Natural Gas Alliance, government relations
director for CenterPoint Energy, and legislative counsel for Entergy. She began her career as
assistant counsel on the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and holds a J.D. from Catholic
University and a B.A. from George Washington University.