Gina McCarthy
Former EPA Administrator; President and CEO, NRDC
@GinaEPA
Gina McCarthy became the president and chief executive officer of Natural Resources Defense Council in January 2020, leading more than 700 attorneys, scientists, advocates, and policy experts that make NRDC one of the country’s most effective environmental action organizations.
Under President Obama, McCarthy served as the 13th administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation under. Her leadership led to significant federal, state, and local actions on critical issues related to the environment, economy, energy, and transportation.
McCarthy ushered in a paradigm shift in national environmental policy, which expressly linked it to global public health. She led initiatives that cut air pollution, protected water resources, strengthened chemical safety, and reduced greenhouse gases to protect more communities from negative health impacts. McCarthy signed the Clean Power Plan, which set the first national standards for reducing carbon emissions from existing power plants, underscoring the country’s commitment to domestic climate action and spurring international efforts that helped secure the Paris Agreement.
At the state level, McCarthy served as commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, deputy secretary of the Massachusetts Office of Commonwealth Development, and undersecretary of policy for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. In Connecticut, she was instrumental in developing the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multi-state effort to reduce emissions contributing to global warming. In Massachusetts, McCarthy advised five governors on environmental affairs and worked at the state and local levels on policies relating to critical environmental issues.
At the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, McCarthy chairs the board of advisors at the Harvard Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment (C-CHANGE). She also serves as a member of the boards of the Energy Foundation and Ceres.
McCarthy holds a master’s degree in environmental health engineering and planning and policy from Tufts University and a bachelor’s in social anthropology from University of Massachusetts at Boston.
Gina McCarthy became the president and chief executive officer of Natural Resources Defense Council in January 2020, leading more than 700 attorneys, scientists, advocates, and policy experts that make NRDC one of the country’s most effective environmental action organizations.
Under President Obama, McCarthy served as the 13th administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation under. Her leadership led to significant federal, state, and local actions on critical issues related to the environment, economy, energy, and transportation.
McCarthy ushered in a paradigm shift in national environmental policy, which expressly linked it to global public health. She led initiatives that cut air pollution, protected water resources, strengthened chemical safety, and reduced greenhouse gases to protect more communities from negative health impacts. McCarthy signed the Clean Power Plan, which set the first national standards for reducing carbon emissions from existing power plants, underscoring the country’s commitment to domestic climate action and spurring international efforts that helped secure the Paris Agreement.
At the state level, McCarthy served as commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, deputy secretary of the Massachusetts Office of Commonwealth Development, and undersecretary of policy for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. In Connecticut, she was instrumental in developing the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multi-state effort to reduce emissions contributing to global warming. In Massachusetts, McCarthy advised five governors on environmental affairs and worked at the state and local levels on policies relating to critical environmental issues.
At the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, McCarthy chairs the board of advisors at the Harvard Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment (C-CHANGE). She also serves as a member of the boards of the Energy Foundation and Ceres.
McCarthy holds a master’s degree in environmental health engineering and planning and policy from Tufts University and a bachelor’s in social anthropology from University of Massachusetts at Boston.
