EPA's Jackson Welcomes 5 Regional Administrators & CFO

Earlier this month, President Obama announced his selections for Regional Administrators in EPA Regions 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Regional Administrators for the EPA are responsible for promoting state and local environmental protection efforts and serving as a liaison to state and local government officials.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, left, also welcomed Barbara Bennett to EPA as Chief Financial Officer.

Biographies

Curt Spalding, RA for Region 1: H. Curtis “Curt” Spalding has extensive experience in environmental protection as an advocate, policy analyst and administrator. For almost 20 years, he served as Executive Director of Save The Bay in Rhode Island, a nationally recognized, 20,000-member environmental advocacy and education organization. He established the Narragansett Bay Keeper and Habitat Restoration programs, and oversaw the successful completion of the $9 million Explore The Bay Campaign and construction of the Save The Bay Center at Fields Point in Providence, RI. Prior to joining Save The Bay, Curt was an Environmental Protection Specialist and Presidential Management Intern at EPA’s offices in Boston and Washington, D.C. He received his bachelor’s degree from Hobart College and an M.P.A. from SUNY at Albany in Albany, NY.

Judith Enck, RA for Region 2: Judith Enck has almost 30 years of experience in environmental protection. Most recently she served as the Deputy Secretary for the Environment in New York State since 2007. She has worked as a policy advisor to the Attorney General of New York, Executive Director of Environmental Advocates of New York, and as a Senior Environmental Associate with the New York Public Interest Research Group. She also serves on a number of boards in New York, including the New York State Energy Board and the New York State Superfund Management Board. Judith received her bachelor’s degree from the College of Saint Rose and lives in Poestenkill, New York.

Shawn M. Garvin, RA for Region 3: Shawn M. Garvin has worked for EPA Region 3 for more than 10 years, and currently serves as EPA Region 3’s Senior State and Congressional Liaison. In that position Shawn is the primary point of contact for Congressional delegations and state and local officials throughout the region. He joined EPA in 1997, serving as Special Assistant to the Regional Administrator. Prior to that, Shawn worked for then-Senator Joe Biden and County Executive Dennis Greenhouse. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware.


Al Armendariz, RA for Region 6: Dr. Alfredo “Al” Armendariz is an Associate Professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where he has taught environmental and civil engineering. For the past 15 years, Al worked in a variety of research and academic positions and has published several of his findings. He has worked as a research assistant at the MIT Center for Global Change Science at their Atmospheric Chemistry Laboratory, and as a chemical engineer for the Radian Corporation in North Carolina. In 2002 he joined the faculty at Southern Methodist University and spent a summer on special assignment to EPA’s Dallas office as an Environmental Scientist. Al received his S.B. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.E. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Florida, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Jared Blumenfeld, RA for Region 9: Jared Blumenfeld has been the Director of the San Francisco Department of Environment for eight years, serving as the primary environmental decision-maker for 28,000 city staff and a $6.5 billion budget. He also managed the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department which oversaw 242 world-class parks and recreational centers like Golden Gate Park, Candlestick Park, and Harding Park PGA golf course. He is a founder of the Business Council on Climate Change, an organization that unites local businesses to confront climate change. Jared received his law degrees at the University of London and the University of California.

Barbara J. Bennett, Chief Financial Officer: Barbara J. Bennett is a global business executive with over 25 years of experience. Most recently, she served as the Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Discovery Communications. From 1990 to 2007, Barbara was a key member of the team that built the parent company of the Discovery Channel into a global media enterprise, with more than 100 channels in 170 countries, reaching one billion subscribers in over 30 languages. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and has completed executive programs at Harvard Business School and Yale University.