North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper just announced that Dionne Delli-Gatti will be the new Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.  Delli-Gatti will replace Michael Regan, who is President Biden’s choice to lead the U.S. EPA.  Regan, a native North Carolinian, was formerly Southeast regional director for the Environmental Defense Fund, where he focused on climate change and improving air quality. 

Delli-Gatti also worked for the Environmental Defense Fund.  For the past three years, she was the Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs for Southeast Climate and Energy.   She states her area of expertise is energy policy, government affairs and environmental justice and equity.  Previously, she worked with the Atlanta EPA Regional office for six years as a Public Affairs Specialist with the Congressional and Intergovernmental Liaison group.  Prior to her work with EPA, she was a Regional Regulatory Manager for CONTECH Stormwater Solutions for almost five years.  During that time, she was also a member of the Climate Change Issues team with the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation that focused on potential impacts of climate change on wastewater and stormwater sectors.  She recently served on the Board of Directors for Advanced Energy and the NC Conservation Network.  Delli-Gatti is an Air Force veteran and holds a B.A. from Wright State in Environmental Geology and a Master of Science from the University of North Texas in Environmental Science.