Sarah Venuto

Sarah Venuto joined Cornerstone’s federal government relations team in February 2023 after having served as director of the Office of External Affairs at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Sarah is an experienced advisor and attorney with expertise in political and legislative strategy, coalition building and federal policy focused on energy, environment and natural resources.

Sarah was appointed as director of the Office of External Affairs at FERC by Chairman Richard Glick in 2021. During her tenure at FERC, she acted as the strategic advisor to the Chairman, working to advance priority agenda items including climate change, environmental justice, transmission policy and pipeline permitting improvements. As director, Sarah served as FERC’s liaison to the White House, the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency and other key federal agencies with jurisdiction on energy issues.

Prior to working in the Biden Administration, Sarah served as the vice president of public policy at Duke Energy, where she developed and executed policy strategies to advance the company’s net zero carbon and methane emissions goals, acting as the external thought leader and spokesperson on the campaign. Additionally, she served as the Democratic staff director for the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources for then Ranking Member Joe Manchin (D-WV), directing the floor management of a package of 130 public land bills enacted into law in 2019. In that role, she negotiated and executed the first climate change hearing for the Committee in seven years. Before serving as the Democratic staff director, Sarah also worked for Senator Manchin as his chief counsel and senior policy advisor from 2016 to 2019.

Sarah also served as the head of federal government affairs for America’s Natural Gas Alliance, as well as government relations director for CenterPoint Energy and legislative counsel for Entergy. From 2007 to 2008, she worked for the Hillary Clinton for President campaign as assistant counsel.

Sarah received her Juris Doctor from the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts at the George Washington University.