Practical Pathways to a Sustainable Future: Balancing Environmental Progress with Economic Growth
The 16th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, MICHAEL S. REGAN, emphasizes practical approaches to addressing environmental challenges, particularly in areas such as clean energy transitions, climate resilience, water quality, and environmental justice. With a focus on actionable solutions that balance environmental protection, Regan addresses how environmental policy can balance with economic growth and community needs.
Regan’s leadership at the EPA included initiatives like reducing greenhouse gas emissions through clean energy policies, promoting sustainable water infrastructure, and ensuring that underserved communities have equitable access to environmental benefits.
Addressing complex environmental issues with practical and results-oriented strategies, Regan offers real-world examples and frameworks for achieving environmental goals in ways that are feasible, inclusive, and impactful for businesses, policymakers, and communities alike.
Championing Environmental Equity: Transforming Communities Through Justice and Innovation
MICHAEL S. REGAN, the 16th Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), reflects on his groundbreaking leadership in establishing the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. This office, the first of its kind in the EPA’s history, represents a transformative commitment to addressing environmental challenges in economically distressed and frontline communities.
Regan shares the inspiration behind the initiative, emphasizing how his vision of environmental protection includes equity and justice as fundamental principles. He discusses the specific challenges faced by underserved communities, such as disproportionate exposure to air and water pollution, limited access to clean energy solutions, and the compounding effects of climate change. Regan also emphasizes the broader significance of environmental justice, positioning it as a model for addressing systemic inequities through collaborative, innovative, and inclusive solutions.
Regan's speeches inspire his audience to think about their role in creating a future where every community has the opportunity to thrive in a healthy, sustainable environment.
ESG in Action: Aligning Sustainability, Equity, and Leadership for a Resilient Future
16th EPA Administrator MICHAEL S. REGAN's leadership focused on integrating environmental and social priorities into governance structures, aligning closely with ESG principles. His work addressed how government agencies, private enterprises, and civil society can align their goals to address critical challenges like climate change, resource sustainability, and social equity.
Regan offers concrete insights on policy-driven approaches to integrating ESG into organizational strategies and highlights examples of successful collaborations that balance environmental protection with economic growth and community well-being. Administrator Regan believes ESG principles are not only moral imperatives but also strategic opportunities for driving innovation, building resilience, and fostering long-term value creation.
Watch Michael S. Regan in conversation at the Austrian World Summit >>
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan comes from a legacy of service
16th EPA Administrator MICHAEL S. REGAN is the son of public servants - his mother, a nurse for nearly 30 years, and his father, a retired Colonel with the North Carolina National Guard, Vietnam veteran, and former agricultural extension agent. Michael followed in his parents' footsteps to pursue a career in public service to enact change at scale. Invite Regan today to learn more about generational commitments to bettering our world, environmentally friendly development, and opportunities for private-public collaboration.
Watch Michael S. Regan give the North Carolina A&T State University Fall commencement address >>
Michael S. Regan was nominated by the 46th President of the United States, confirmed by the United States Senate on March 10, 2021, and sworn in as the 16th Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency on March 11, 2021.
The son of public servants - his mother, a nurse for nearly 30 years, and his father, a retired Colonel with the North Carolina National Guard, Vietnam veteran, and former agricultural extension agent - Regan went on to follow in his parents' footsteps to pursue a career in public service.
Regan has been recognized by leading domestic and global organizations / governments for his outstanding contributions to environmental protection, while spurring economic growth across numerous industry sectors. His commitment to excellence has been acknowledged through several awards including Time Magazine TIME100 Next, Time Magazine TIME100 Health, the HBCU Honors Distinguished Public Service Award, Boys and Girls Club of America Alumni Hall of Fame, Keystone Policy Center Leadership Award, and the NNPA National Legacy Award.
Regan has traveled across the country and around the world meeting face-to-face with communities hardest hit by environmental pollution and threats to public health. In his first year as Administrator, Regan established EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, the first national program office in the agency’s history dedicated to solving environmental challenges in economically distressed and frontline communities.
As EPA Administrator, Regan was the Chief Executive Officer of a federal regulatory agency with more than 16 thousand employees and an annual operating budget north of 10 billion dollars. With an additional historic funding boost from the United States Congress beyond the annual budget, Regan designed and led an investment strategy of more than 100 billion dollars in the health, equity, and resilience of American communities, while providing the private sector with regulatory certainty to ensure job growth, global economic competitiveness, and investor confidence.
Prior to his nomination as EPA Administrator, Regan served as the 17th Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ).
As Secretary, he spearheaded the development and implementation of North Carolina's seminal plan to address climate change and transition the state to a clean energy economy. Under Regan’s leadership, he secured the largest coal ash clean-up-legal settlement in United States history. He led complex negotiations regarding the clean-up of the Cape Fear River, a body of water contaminated for decades by the toxic chemicals per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In addition, Regan established North Carolina's first-of-its-kind Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board to better align social inequities, environmental protection, and community empowerment.
Prior to NCDEQ, Regan served as the Associate Vice President of U.S. Climate and Energy and Southeast Regional Director at the Environmental Defense Fund. He successfully managed complex negotiations with energy companies, corporate business leaders, environmental and industry associations and elected officials across the nation.
Regan is a graduate of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, making him the first EPA Administrator to have graduated from a Historically Black University. He earned a master’s degree in public administration from The George Washington University and received an honorary doctorate from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in 2021.
He and his wife Melvina are proud parents of their son Matthew and dog Zeus.
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