Economic and Energy Policy Expert, Appliance Industry Leader Join AHAM Staff

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 14, 2023) – The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) has bolstered its staff in advocacy and technical operations with the hiring of economic and energy policy expert Heidi King, a former chief economist at the House Energy and Commerce Committee, White House and Office of Management and Budget policy analyst and acting administrator at the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, and Travis Perkins, who joins AHAM after three decades in engineering and leadership roles at Whirlpool Corporation, most recently as principal engineer. 

King, who joins AHAM as policy advisor, brings decades of federal leadership experience to her new role. In addition to her federal positions, she has also served as global director of environmental and safety risk for GE Capital. 

At Whirlpool, Perkins held senior engineering positions covering a range of product categories, including laundry, refrigeration, dishwashers and air conditioning. He has worked on AHAM standards-development efforts for several years and served on AHAM’s Major Appliance Verification Steering Committee. He received AHAM’s Home Appliance Industry Leadership Award this year. At AHAM, he will focus on appliance verification and certification programs as senior principal engineer and certification/verification lead.   

AHAM’s president and CEO, Kelly Mariotti said, “Both Heidi and Travis are true experts in their fields. Between them, they bring more than 60 years of experience and knowledge that is certain to add value for AHAM’s members. Their talents will be invaluable as AHAM leads the home appliance industry through a historically active environment on both the regulatory and technical sides in the U.S. and Canada.”