Liz Penniman

Communications Working Group Lead

Liz Penniman is a strategic communications leader with nearly 15 years of experience supporting the U.S. Department of Energy across multiple offices, including the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and most of its technology offices, the Office of Electricity (OE), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FE), and the Office of Indian Energy (IE). She currently serves as Co-Lead of the Communications, Engagement, & Media Working Group for the DOE Alumni Network, helping to strengthen connections across the network and share meaningful stories across the energy industry.

As Director of Communications and Acting Stakeholder Engagement Lead at EERE (2021-2025), she led office-wide communications strategies, spanning multi-channel campaigns, media relations, executive communications, and stakeholder engagement. Her work helped position federal energy initiatives to audiences across industry, government, and the public, generating more than 10 billion media impressions annually.

Before joining the federal government directly, Liz spent a decade at BCS, LLC, a DOE contractor, where she supported her clients with strategic communications efforts across the energy portfolio, developing messaging frameworks, executive content, and integrated campaigns tied to mission-critical program objectives.

Today, Liz brings that depth of federal energy experience to her work as Account and Communications Director at DCC Marketing, where she advises utilities, energy innovators, research organizations, manufacturers, and public- and private-sector partners on communications strategies tied to grid modernization, energy reliability, workforce development, clean transportation, carbon management, and emerging energy technologies.

Known for translating complex technical and policy issues into clear, actionable, and audience-centered narratives, Liz is focused on using outreach tactics to build trusted relationships across industry, government, academia, and communities.