CESER Leadership
Puesh M. Kumar
Director
Puesh M. Kumar leads the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER). The office is focused on strengthening the security and resilience of U.S. energy infrastructure from cyber, physical, and natural hazard risks and disruptions.
Puesh manages over 300 federal employees and contractors who lead efforts spanning national and state level policy development, executing technical assistance, conducting research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects, managing the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and responding to energy disruptions such as the Colonial Pipeline cyber-attack, physical attacks on electric substations, or natural hazards such as hurricanes and wildfires.
Puesh represents the Department at National Security Council (NSC) meetings on cybersecurity and resilience, leads executive-level engagement with the private sector including the CEO-led Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC) and senior executive-led Oil and Natural Gas Subsector Coordinating Council (ONG SCC) on security and resilience, and partners with federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the intelligence community, and others.
Puesh has over 20 years of experience spanning grid modernization, security, and resilience efforts within the energy sector. He engages on topics such as resource adequacy, cloud security, artificial intelligence, reliability, electrification, supply chain security, and emergency response.
Previously, Puesh was the principal manager for cybersecurity engineering and risk management at Southern California Edison, which is the largest electric utility serving the Los Angeles area. There, he led a team that addressed cyber risks to electricity infrastructure, including emerging technologies such as battery storage, renewable energy, and operational technologies. Puesh previously served as director of preparedness and exercises for DOE’s Infrastructure Security and Energy Restoration division and as senior advisor for policy and strategy at CESER.
Puesh has also held industry positions at the American Public Power Association as director of engineering and operations and at Memphis Light, Gas, and Water as a power systems electrical engineer. In 2020, Puesh received the U.S. Secretary of Energy’s Exceptional Service Award.
Lili Colon
Principal Deputy Director
Lili Colon is the Principal Deputy Director (PDD) for CESER, providing leadership across the Office to optimize operations and build capacity, to enable the organization to achieve its mission and realize its vision of a more secure, reliable, and resilient energy sector for the American people.
Colon brings a wealth of expertise to CESER, having most recently served as the Deputy Associate Director for the Integrated Operations Division within the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Colon also served as the Chief for Strategic Planning and Resource Management for the Cybersecurity Division within CISA. In this extensive role, she was responsible for advancing and managing cybersecurity strategy, policy, and governance, while concurrently leading the successful execution of a $1.2 billion annual budget to achieve national cybersecurity objectives.
Colon’s portfolio extends beyond CISA and cybersecurity, as she also served as the Deputy Federal Security Director for the Transportation Security Agency (TSA). Overseeing five airports in Florida, including the Orlando International Airport, Colon led a workforce of over 1,700 employees and a budget of $8.9M and was responsible for security and operational activities requiring diverse capabilities. From understanding and mitigating risks from emerging technologies, to developing and maintaining critical public/private partnerships needed to ensure the safety and security of airport operations, Colon leveraged her deeply rooted knowledge of federal budget and acquisition management, cybersecurity and risk mitigation, and stakeholder engagement to successfully accomplish her duties during her tenure.
As Chief of Staff for the Enhanced Shared Situational Awareness - a presidential initiative, Colon led the effort to increase the speed and quality of cyber information sharing through the development of critical partnerships, implementation of communication strategies, and operational and capacity-building best practices.
Colon earned a Master’s degree in Information Security Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University and holds a B.S. from Syracuse University in Information Management and Technology. She is also an alum of the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executive Fellows program, and an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland Global Campus teaching courses in Business Management, Cybersecurity, and Government Policy.
As PDD Colon will prioritize all efforts – both administratively and operationally – required to increase the resilience of our nation’s critical infrastructure and reduce exposure to cyber risks. Her past work, successes, and critical partnerships across the interagency and private sector uniquely position her to foster collective action, build coalitions, and ensure a threat-informed and data-driven approach to securing the U.S. energy sector through the dynamic CESER mission.
Jason Shay
Chief Operating Officer
Jason Shay is the Chief Operating Officer for the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER). In this role, Shay oversees the Corporate Business Office which is responsible for human capital management, financial management, business operations and administrative operation for CESER. Prior to joining the Department of Energy, Shay worked at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for 16 years where he served in multiple capacities. Most recently, Shay served as NRC’s Budget Director. where he provided executive oversight of the agency’s budget formulation, budget execution, license fee policy, and internal control functions. Prior to working at the NRC, Shay worked for the Department of the Navy, Financial Management and Comptroller’s Office. Shay served as a Non-Commissioned Officer (E-5) in the United States Marine Corps from 1994 through 1998 where he performed Embassy Guard Service throughout Europe.
Douglas MacIntyre
Deputy Director, Office of Petroleum Reserves
Douglas MacIntyre is the Deputy Director for the Office of Petroleum Reserves in the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response. He is responsible for providing executive leadership and program direction in the management and operation of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, and Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserve.
Mara Winn
Deputy Director, Preparedness, Policy, and Risk Analysis
Mara Winn is the Deputy Director for the Preparedness, Policy, and Risk Analysis (PPRA) division of the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER). In this role, Winn leads the division in supporting energy sector security and resilience through strong, two-way coordination and communication with the Department of Energy‘s (DOE) government and industry partners.
Prior to joining the DOE, Winn was the Associate Director for Planning and Coordination at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) National Risk Management Center. She oversaw planning and collaboration activities focused on addressing the Nation's highest priority critical infrastructure risks, originating from cyber-attacks and other hazards. Winn has more than twenty years of experience in all stages of acquisition management, systems engineering, project management, and product development life cycles from analysis through implementation and closeout. She has led teams across the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the areas of risk management, radiological and nuclear detection, transportation security, and immigration, as well as in medical device development in the private sector.
Winn received a Bachelor of Arts in Physics from Smith College and a Bachelor of Engineering from Dartmouth College, and is a graduate of the DHS Senior Executive Services Candidate Development Program. Winn also holds a Certificate in Project Management from Boston University, is a certified Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP), and holds several technical certifications.
Ken Buell
Deputy Director, Response and Restoration
Ken Buell is the Deputy Director for Response and Restoration at the U.S Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER). In this role, he leads CESER’s emergency response team and ensures the capability to effectively and efficiently respond to all hazards impacting or potentially impacting energy systems. He also serves as the lead for Emergency Support Function (ESF) #12 under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Response Framework.
Prior to joining the Department, Buell was the Director of Measurement and Reporting at the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Infrastructure Protection, where he led Congressionally-mandated reporting on the state of national critical infrastructure. Additionally, he led the development of the office’s performance metrics, creation of a Quarterly Program Review, and the development of the 2012-2016 Strategic Plan.
Buell is a 30-year veteran of the United States Navy, where he served as a combat search and rescue helicopter pilot, Navigator of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, and faculty at the National Defense University.