Tyler Owens

Federal Affairs Director

Tyler Owens is federal affairs director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). In this role, he serves as ORNL’s senior representative and chief liaison to government officials, industry, think tanks, and university representatives in Washington, D.C. He provides guidance to the laboratory director to develop and execute strategies that best position ORNL in the evolving federal policy environment. He is also responsible for presenting ORNL’s priorities to Congress, the administration, and federal agencies.

Tyler has more than 20 years of experience at federal, state, and local government levels, most recently serving as a senior staff member in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, including more than a decade on the Senate Committee on Appropriations. He served in 2002 as full committee staff on the House Committee on Natural Resources, handling natural resources, public lands, energy, and endangered species issues. He joined the staff of U.S. Senator Robert F. Bennett in 2006 as counsel, later becoming senior counsel over agriculture, energy, environment, natural resources, judiciary, and related appropriations. In 2009, Tyler joined the Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development as professional staff and was named Republican clerk in 2015. In November 2021, Tyler joined ORNL as the federal affairs director. Tyler graduated magna cum laude from Utah State University in 2001 with a bachelor of arts in political science and received a juris doctor from George Mason University School of Law in 2005. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar.