The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) has a new director: Alexandra Dunn. Nominated by President Donald J. Trump to serve as assistant administrator last Fall, Ms. Dunn previously served as regional administrator for EPA’s Region 1 office in Boston, MA, as was endorsed by both environmental groups and the chemical industry. Her appointment was confirmed by the Senate on January 2.

Prior to joining EPA, Ms. 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.

Reported by Helen Gillespie, Chemical-Matters.com