Douglas Domenech, a native of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and resident of Loudoun Conunty, Virginia,, is the former Deputy Chief of Staff of the United States Department of the Interior and a Bush Administration appointee to the White House Working Group on the Political Status of Puerto Rico, the body that fashions the Executive Branch's policy regarding Puerto Rico's political future. He was one of the highest-ranking Puerto Ricans in the Federal government at the time.
On January 6, 2010, Governor-elect Bob McDonnell appointed Domenech to serve as Secretary of Natural Resources of the Commonwealth of Virginia,[1] making him the first Hispanic and Puerto Rican to be appointed to McDonnell's cabinet. At the time of his appointment, Domenech, whose background is in forestry management, was working for a lobbying firm. Domenech worked for 12 years for the Forest Resources Association, a national trade association representing the forest products industry.
He is the great-nephew of Manuel V. Domenech, former legislator, Mayor of Ponce, Commissioner of the Interior, Treasurer, and acting Governor of Puerto Rico. He is the father of blogger and columnist Ben Domenech.