President-elect Joe Biden has selected Michael S. Regan to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 2017, Governor Cooper named Regan Secretary of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality. Regan has over twenty years of experience with environmental advocacy and regulation.

“I applaud President-Elect Joe Biden’s selection of Secretary Michael S. Regan to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” said Congressman G. K. Butterfield.

Regan worked with the Environmental Protection Agency’s air quality and energy programs for the Clinton and Bush administrations, according to his official biography. Before leaving the agency, Regan served as a national program manager responsible for designing programs aimed at reducing pollution, and market-based solutions to improve energy efficiency, air quality and climate-related challenges.

“Awesome news! Michael Regan has been a tremendous Secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality for NC, and I have no doubt that he will be a tremendous Administrator of the EPA,” said Josh Stein, North Carolina’s Attorney General.

Regan has a bachelor’s degree in Earth and Environmental Science from N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University and a master’s degree in Public Administration from George Washington University. He is a native of Goldsboro.

“Huge news for NC! So excited to have an EPA Administrator who actually cares about climate and water quality!” Senator Wiley Nickel said on Twitter.  

Governor Roy Cooper shared the sentiment of Regan’s capabilities and said Regan was “a consensus builder and a fierce protector of the environment. He’s been part of a strong, diverse cabinet in North Carolina. And if he is selected by the president-elect, I have no doubt that he will do the same kind of job for our country.”

“As North Carolina’s chief environmental official, Secretary Regan has demonstrated he understands that climate change is a threat to human existence,” said Butterfield