James Dalton Reilly

James D. Reilly, a proven legislative leader and strategist with a track record of working on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation in Congress, has accepted the position of Senior Vice President for Federal Legislative Affairs for the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Reilly, who has served since 2007 as Chief of Staff to U.S. Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware will transition to AWEA by the end of the month, in time to attend WINDPOWER, North America’s largest wind energy conference and exhibition, in his new role in May 2014 Reilly began his career in marine policy, and first worked for Sen. Carper as Finance Director on his successful 2000 campaign, raising political contributions and support needed for the former Governor to unseat a five-term Senate incumbent by a 12-point margin. Reilly then served as Carper’s Legislative Assistant for environment, energy, agriculture, and related appropriations matters, before serving as the Senior Energy and Environment Advisor at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. In that capacity he designed and implemented strategies for political engagement between the U.S. and Britain, the G8 and European Union, and the private sector. He returned to Carper’s office in 2007, as Chief of Staff. He has facilitated bipartisan and other partnerships to achieve the Senator’s objectives related to committee assignments on Finance, Environment and Public Works, and Homeland Security and Government Affairs. Reilly holds a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University, and a Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Delaware.