Geovette Washington, senior vice chancellor and chief legal officer, was selected as the team lead on President-elect Joe Biden’s agency review team for the Department of Commerce.

The Biden-Harris agency review teams are responsible for ensuring a smooth transfer of power, understanding the operations of the agency and preparing Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and their cabinet to run the agency.

University spokesperson Kevin Zwick said Washington is on leave from Pitt, but he doesn’t have more information on the length of Washington’s leave or who will fill her position while she’s gone.

Before joining Pitt in 2015, Washington served as general counsel and a senior policy adviser for the Office of Management and Budget at the White House from 2013-15. Washington was also deputy general counsel from 2010-13 for the U.S. Department of Commerce. In this position, she was the second-highest ranking official in the Office of General Counsel in the Department of Commerce.