Today, Governor Roy Cooper appointed Elizabeth Biser to lead the Department of Environmental Quality as Secretary.
“Elizabeth Biser is a strong leader who has experience with this environmental agency and knows its critical work in North Carolina,” said Governor Cooper. “I look forward to working with both Secretary Biser and Director Delli-Gatti to protect our air, land and water and ensure North Carolina’s transition to a clean energy future.”
“I am honored and humbled to lead the agency charged with providing environmental stewardship for the health and prosperity of all North Carolinians. I look forward to working with key leaders, stakeholders and people throughout North Carolina to fulfil this important mission. I enjoyed working with DEQ’s predecessor agency several years ago and am delighted to return and have the opportunity to lead DEQ at this critical time,” Biser said.
Biser most recently served as the President of Biser Strategies LLC and the Senior Policy Advisor of the Recycling Partnership. Previously, she was the Vice President of Policy and Public Affairs of the Recycling Partnership, the Government Relations & Policy Advisor of Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, LLP and the Director of Legislative & Intergovernmental Affairs at the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, now known as DEQ. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Biser succeeds Secretary Dionne Delli-Gatti who Senate Republicans wrongly rejected earlier this month just as controversial energy reform legislation emerged. Governor Cooper has named Delli-Gatti as North Carolina Clean Energy Director to focus on clean energy in North Carolina including this legislation and other policy initiatives.