Cooper names Michael Regan to lead NC DEQ

Governor Roy Cooper on Tuesday named Michael Regan, a leader in environmental advocacy with ample experience working with energy and businesses, to lead the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.

Regan served as Southeast Regional Director of the Environmental Defense Fund and National Director of the Energy Efficiency Southeast Climate & Energy Policy from 2008-2016. He also worked with the EPA on air quality for the Clinton and Bush administrations from 1998-2008. 

“Michael Regan has the environmental background to know that protecting state resources is vital to our state’s health and economic climate,” Cooper said. “He also has the government experience and diplomacy to understand that working together is the way to get things done.”

Regan, a native of eastern North Carolina, is a graduate of North Carolina A&T University with a master’s degree in public administration from George Washington University.

Cooper on Tuesday also named William G. Ross, Jr. as the acting secretary for the state’s environmental agency. Ross served as the head of the agency from January 2001 to January 2008 and was the longest serving secretary of the environmental agency.

“We’re hitting the ground running by making sure veteran managers are in place across state agencies,” Cooper said. “I’m grateful these experienced public servants have agreed to serve temporarily.”