Environmental Career Center – Helping people work for a better environment since 1980

Ms. Lisa Jackson announced  her resignation today as Environmental Protection Agency Administrator.  Her resignation will take effect soon after President Obama’s inauguration in January.  She has served in the cabinet level position since 2009.

Jackson leads EPA’s efforts to protect and ensure a clean, healthy environment for all Americans.   She oversees a staff of more than 18,000 environmental professionals.  She has lead the effort to usher in a green economy and address health threats from pollution in our air, water and land, and renew the public’s trust in EPA’s work.

Raised a proud resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, Administrator Jackson is a summa cum laude graduate of Tulane University and earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University. In 2012, she received an honorary doctorate degree from Tulane University. She has also received an honorary law degree from Pace Law School.

She started with the EPA as a staff-level scientist in 1987 and spent the majority of her career working in EPA’s Region 2 office in New York. In 2002, Jackson joined the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and was appointed Commissioner of the agency in 2006.

As the first African-American to serve as EPA Administrator, Jackson has made it a priority to expand outreach to communities that are historically under-represented in environmental action. The EPA has stepped up protection for vulnerable groups including children, the elderly, and low-income communities that are particularly susceptible to environmental and health threats. Administrator Jackson has promised all stakeholders a place at the decision-making table.

These efforts continue alongside Administrator Jackson’s work in response to the Deepwater BP oil spill. The spill impacted a region that Jackson calls home, and she is dedicated to both the short- and long-term recovery efforts. President Obama recently appointed her to lead the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Taskforce. She has visited the area numerous times, and is working closely at the federal, state and local level to protect the health, environment and economy of the area.

Jackson resides in Washington D.C. with her husband Kenny and two sons, Marcus and Brian.