D.C. Environmental Chief George Hawkins To Lead WASA

George Hawkins, right, Director of the D.C. Department of the Environment and a former official at the Environmental Protection Agency has been hired to be general manager of the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority.

Hawkins, 49, has been Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's point person on environmental issues since shortly after he took office in 2007. The WASA board of directors voted unanimously to hire Hawkins.

Prior to coming to the District, Hawkins was executive director of New Jersey Future, a non-profit organization which, under his leadership, came to be recognized as the state's foremost advocacy group promoting smart growth While there, George worked with Governor Jon Corzine's office to focus development on transit stations and urban areas. Hawkins also previously served as Executive Director of the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association and held senior positions with the US Environmental Protection Agency, including Senior Assistant Regional Counsel and Special Assistant to the Regional Administrator. He served Vice President Gore on the National Performance Review, playing an integral role in streamlining and strengthening environmental protection programs at USEPA and OSHA.

George began his career practicing law for the Boston firm Ropes & Gray, and is a member of the Bar in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. George graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1983 and cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1987. Since 1999, George has taught Environmental Law and Policy for the Princeton Environment Institute at Princeton University. George and his wife Tamara have two children.

WASA has an annual operating budget of $360 million. The D.C. Department of the Environment is an $80 million dollar agency with 300 employees. (Wash Post, 9/4/09, DDOE)