Erik K. Raven Sworn in as Undersecretary of the Navy 

WASHINGTON — Erik K. Raven was sworn into the Department of the Navy as undersecretary of the Navy during a private ceremony at the Pentagon on April 13, the Navy announced. 

It is such an honor to join the Navy and Marine Corps team after spending the last 24 years on Capitol Hill,” said Raven. “Throughout my career, I have established some great relationships within the Department of the Navy and I look forward to building more. I am thrilled to join Secretary Del Toro, the assistant secretaries of the Navy, the chief of naval operations, commandant of the Marine Corps and everyone else in the department on our shared priorities of strengthening our maritime dominance, building a culture of warfighting excellence and strengthening our relationships with strategic partners.” 

Born in San Francisco, Raven graduated from College of Marin with a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Connecticut College and a Master of Arts degree in international history from the London School of Economics. 

Raven began his career in the offices of Sens. Dianne Feinstein, Edward Kennedy and Robert Byrd, serving in a variety of staff roles. In 2006, Raven became a professional staffer for the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations. He has since served as principal adviser to the Democratic chairs and vice chairs of the Committee on Appropriations and Subcommittee on Defense on budget matters relating to the Department of Defense and intelligence community. 

On Dec. 13, 2021, President Biden nominated Raven to be the next undersecretary of the Navy and he was confirmed by the Senate on April 7. 

“The Department of the Navy welcomes Undersecretary Raven with open arms. I have no doubt he will utilize his extensive congressional experience to benefit the Sailors, Marines and civilians in the Department,” said Del Toro. “I also want to thank Assistant Secretary for Energy, Installations and Environment Meredith Berger for performing the duties of undersecretary these last eight months. Her professionalism, thoughtfulness and recommendations have been critical when we announced the AUKUS partnership, collectively responded to the situation impacting Red Hill and the people of Hawaii, rolled out the [fiscal year 2022-2023] budget and handled countless other issues both internal and external to the department.”