Samantha Sawmiller is a 2023-2024 Veterans Advanced Energy fellow at the Atlantic Council and the director of development for Open Road Renewables, a utility-scale solar and battery energy storage developer based in Austin, Texas, with projects throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. In her role, she works with landowners, local government bodies, and state agencies to take projects from origination to fully permitted projects in Ohio. In her previous role, she served as the state veteran and military affairs liaison for US Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH).  

Sawmiller served in the US Marine Corps on active duty from 2006 to 2010 and was deployed to Iraq. She received a BS from Ohio State University and a master’s degree from the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service at Ohio University.