Lisa Jackson discusses her service in the Obama administration, in which she served as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2009 to 2013. She recounts the development of her interest in environmental protection work, shares formative lessons from her career in state environmental agencies prior to the years of the Obama presidency, and provides details about major efforts and initiatives with which she was closely involved. Jackson describes the administration's approach to Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards; EPA efforts to compile a national inventory of greenhouse gas emissions; the administration's pursuit of cap-and-trade legislation in the 111th Congress; the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the creation of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force; and international climate negotiations including the 2009 Copenhagen Summit. Jackson also speaks widely about her focus on environmental justice, and shares stories of her travels around the country, the development of Plan EJ 2014, EPA's engagement with the public and local communities, and the importance of the EPA Superfund program. Also discussed are the centrality of science to the work of the EPA, the differences between regulatory and legislative approaches to climate mitigation and emissions reduction, Jackson's work in rural America, and the family sacrifices associated with public service
Presidents--United States; Automobiles--Fuel consumption--United States; BP Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill, 2010; Environmental justice--United States; Climate change mitigation--Government policy--United States; Jackson, Lisa P; Obama, Barack; Conference of the Parties (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) (15th : 2009 : Copenhagen, Denmark); United States. Environmental Protection Agency; Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force (U.S.); Superfund Program (U.S.)
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2021
Physical Description
63 pages
Note (Biographical)
Lisa Jackson is an American engineer and public administrator. Jackson served on the Obama-Biden presidential transition team, and in the Obama administration as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2009 to 2013. Jackson was the first African American EPA administrator. Prior to her service in the Obama administration, Jackson worked at EPA for 16 years, from the late-1980s to the early-2000s, with particular focus on EPA's federal Superfund program. In 2002, she joined the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, where she held a variety of positions, including New Jersey commissioner of environmental protection. In 2008, Jackson briefly served as chief of staff to New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine. At the time of the interview, Jackson was vice president for environment, policy and social initiatives at Apple, which she joined in 2013
Note
Interviewed by Dov Weinryb Grohsgal on January 14 and May 6, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Lisa P. Jackson, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023