News Releases from Headquarters›Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP)

Widespread Praise For EPA Nominee Alexandra Dunn

Dunn Nominated To Lead EPA Chemical Office

08/31/2018

Contact Information:

EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

WASHINGTON (August 31, 2018) – Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate Alexandra Dunn to serve as assistant administrator for the U.S Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). Ms. Dunn currently serves as regional administrator for EPA’s Region 1 office in Boston, Mass.

“As her tenure as Region 1 Administrator has demonstrated, Alexandra Dunn is highly qualified and well-suited to lead EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention,” said EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Ms. Dunn has worked closely with states, tribes, and local governments to protect public health and the environment while providing the regulated community the certainty it needs to create jobs and support local economies. She will use her experience and wealth of knowledge to help EPA faithfully implement the Toxic Substances Control Act and ensure chemicals in the marketplace are safe.”

Prior to joining EPA, Alexandra Dunn served as executive director and general counsel for the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS), a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to helping state agencies improve environment outcomes for Americans. While at ECOS, Ms. Dunn helped state governments improve water infrastructure, reduce air pollution, clean up contaminated sites, manage chemical safety, and enhance economic development. Before joining ECOS, Ms. Dunn was executive director and general counsel for the Association of Clean Water Administrators.

Ms. Dunn has also been published in the areas of the ethics of community advocacy, environmental justice, urban sustainability, water quality, cooperative federalism, and the Clean Water Act. Previously, she taught environmental justice and human rights and the environment as dean of Environmental Law Programs at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. She also taught at Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law, where she served as faculty advisor to the student Environmental Law Society. Ms. Dunn most recently taught environmental justice as an adjunct associate professor of law at American University’s Washington College of Law.

Last year, Ms. Dunn was elected to the Board of Regents of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, and she served on the executive committee and board of directors of the Environmental Law Institute. She has chaired the American Bar Association’s (ABA) section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, as well as its World Justice Task Force, and she served on the ABA Presidential Task Force on Sustainable Development.

Craig Butler, Director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency: "Alex is a very professional, positive, and experienced leader. She is a great communicator at all levels and understands how to manage programs and staff to maximize results. This will be critical in her new role, especially with a national focus on emerging contaminants and the public awareness heightened to these issues. Alex will be great in her new role. I wish her success and pledge my assistance if and how she needs it."

John Linc Stine, Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency: "I worked directly with Alex Dunn as the Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety Reform Act was enacted. She represented state environmental programs and was an effective advocate for our interests in protecting public health and the environment. She is a proven leader who can build effective partnerships."

Todd Parfitt, Director of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality: "Based on my experience working with Ms. Dunn, coupled with her diverse background and experience in environmental protection, I am confident that Ms. Dun possesses the necessary traits to successfully implement EPA's chemical safety and pollution prevention programs. As an officer for ECOS, I had the privilege of working closely with Ms. Dunn on numerous environmental protection issues during her four year tenure as Executive Director and General Counsel for ECOS. During that time, she demonstrated strong leadership and decision making skills while balancing the interests and needs of all 49 member states, including her involvement in national discussions related to TSCA reform legislation."

John C. Cruden, President of the American College of Environmental Lawyers: "Alexandra is currently serving as the Regional Administrator, Region 1, Environmental Protection Agency and has done a superb job working with the northeast states of that Region, advancing environmental actions. She will bring great management skills, a passion for the environment, and the ability to work cooperatively with states, environmental groups, industry, and academia to this new position. As the most recent Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, US Department of Justice, I have had the pleasure of working with a number of EPA Assistant Administrators as I served in both Republican and Democratic Administrations. I can say, without any hesitation, that Alexandra Dunn is supremely well qualified, will be a great and good force for positive environmental action, and will be someone who carefully reviews, abides by, and implements the law."

Scott Fulton, President of the Environmental Law Institute: “I have known Ms. Dunn in various professional capacities for the last 25 years and believe that she is an excellent choice for this position. She is a deeply experienced environmental leader and attorney who understands the complexity of regulatory and policy decisions, including those of the office she has been asked to lead. Ms. Dunn is respected across the environmental community by businesses; federal, state, and local officials; and nongovernmental organizations. I am confident she would serve the American people with integrity, intelligence, and distinction if confirmed as Assistant Administrator of OCSPP.”

LaJuana Wilcher, former EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water: "Alex's extensive professional experience working in the environmental field over the past 25 years positions her perfectly to provide leaership and perspective needed to succeed as EPA's Assistant Administrator. IN addition to he recent experience as EPA's Regional Administrator, she has worked with State environmental agency leaders, municipal agencies, industry and academics. Alex has relied on her legal background to guide organizations, clients and students concerning a full range of environmental issues. She has been involved in all aspects of environmental law, legislation, regulation, policy and litigation, both as a leader of large organizations and as an attorney."

Deb Markowitz, Visiting Professor of Environmental Policy and Leadership at the University of Vermont: “I served from 2010 – 2017 as the Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources for Vermont. In that capacity I worked closely with Ms. Dunn in her prior role as the Executive Director of the Environmental Council of the States. I saw first-hand Ms. Dunn’s significant strengths as a manager and as a leader. More specifically, Alexandra Dunn is an excellent choice to oversee implementation of the nation's chemical regulatory programs, especially the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act which amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Ms. Dunn and I worked together, in our prior professional roles, as this law was negotiated, to ensure that states would maintain meaningful chemical regulatory authorities. Her deep knowledge of key issues and passion for the portfolio of work in this EPA office will ensure her success."

Amy Edwards, co-chair of Holland & Knight’s National Environmental Team: “I am writing to support the nomination of Alexandra Dapolito Dunn to become the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention at the EPA… During her more than two decade career, she has had in-depth experience with a broad range of issues involving air, water, waste, energy, and environmental justice… Alex is well regarded for her substantive expertise, her vision, and her excellent management skills."