Denise Koch became the Director of Spill Prevention and Response (SPAR) for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in December 2018.  Before her appointment to head SPAR, Ms. Koch served as the DEC Director of the Division of Air Quality for almost four years. She has spent 12 years in DEC and 5 years as an environmental consultant in Alaska.  During her work at DEC, Ms. Koch has had leadership roles on a wide variety of projects ranging from developing PFAS policy in Alaska, working on a plan to clean up fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, obtaining EPA approval for DEC primacy to implement the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) wastewater permit program, and establishing DEC’s cruise ship program and Ocean Ranger Program.  Ms. Koch has a Master’s of Science in Public Health focused in Environmental Health from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Arts in environmental science from the University of Virginia.

Phone:(907) 465-4040

Mailing Address:
Department of
Environmental Conservation
555 Cordova Street
Anchorage, AK 99501
 

Kevin Jardine was appointed Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy on April 23, 2020. Most recently, he was Associate Deputy Minister of the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) for five years, where he led the development and implementation of B.C.’s new Environmental Assessment Act (2018).

Kevin joined the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs in late 2000 as a Land and Resource Analyst, subsequently taking on the same role in the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management (MSRM). In 2003, he moved to Nelson to take on a role as Regional Manager for MSRM and, shortly thereafter, joined the newly-formed Deputy Ministers’ Policy Secretariat to explore issues surrounding the management of species at risk in BC. From there, Kevin was appointed the Provincial Species at Risk Coordinator and, in 2005, took on a leadership role in the newly-formed Integrated Land Management Bureau as Assistant Deputy Minister, establishing GeoBC in the process.

In 2008, Kevin was appointed the Deputy Cabinet Secretary of Cabinet Operations and, in 2010, was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister for Open Government in the Ministry of Labour, Citizens’ Services and Open Government where he had accountability for public service revitalization initiatives and citizen-centered service transformation, including transparency initiatives such as DataBC and a services-focused redesign of government’s main Website. Prior to joining the EAO, Kevin spent more than three years as the Assistant Deputy Minister of Court Services Branch in the Ministry of Justice.

Mailing Address:
BC Ministry of Environment
P. O. Box 9339, Stn. Prov. Govt
Victoria, BC
Canada V8W 9M1

Thomas M. Cullen Jr. was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown as the Administrator of the California Office of Spill Prevention & Response (OSPR) in June 2012. He also serves as one of two Chief Deputy Directors of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife. Mr. Cullen directs a team of scientists, environmental specialists, game wardens, and support personnel in protecting and preserving 3,427 miles of shoreline and 7,734 square miles of State waters from oil and other deleterious substances as well as invasive, non-indigenous marine species.

Phone: (916)445-9326
Cell: (916)599-6988
Fax: (916)324-9786
Thomas.Cullen@wildlife.ca.gov

Mailing Address:
Department of Fish and Wildlife
P.O. Box 944209
Sacramento, CA 94244-2090
(Mailing)

1700 K Street, Ste. 250
Sacramento, CA 95811
(Direct)

Keith Kawaoka, D.Env., who has been with the Hawaii Department of Health for more than 15 years, has been appointed Deputy Director of Environmental Health. Gov. David Ige confirmed his appointment in April, 2015.

Dr. Kawaoka has extensive environmental health expertise. He brings to the position more than 35 years of experience in the environmental protection field from both the public sector and private industry. He directs the Department’s Environmental Health Administration, which includes the Environmental Management Division, Environmental Health Services Division, and State Laboratories Division, and the HEER Office. Prior to joining the Hawaii Department of Health, he held various senior level positions in both national and local environmental consulting firms.

Kawaoka holds a master’s degree in public and environmental health and a doctorate in environmental science and engineering, both from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

Phone: (808) 586-4249
Fax: (808) 586-4368
keith.kawaoka@doh.hawaii.gov

Mailing Address:
Dept. of Health
P.O. Box 3378
Honolulu, HI 96801-3378

Lydia Emer is the Administrator for Land Quality programs with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. She has served as an administrator since 2014. The division focuses on leadership and direction for coordinated short and long range planning for programs and services provided by Cleanup and Emergency Response, Materials Management, and Hazardous Waste and Tanks to support our agency’s mission to be a leader in restoring, maintaining and enhancing the quality of Oregon’s air, land and water.

Prior to finding a home in environmental quality programs, Lydia performed various roles over 14 years with the Oregon Public Health Division. Her primary focuses were on agency-wide performance improvement and accreditation, and leading efforts reduce the incidence of vaccine-preventable disease in our state. Lydia received a M.S. in Public Administration and Development from the University of Birmingham (2009), United Kingdom.

Phone: (503) 229-5300
Fax: (503) 229-6762

Mailing Address:
Dept. of Environmental Quality
700 NE Multnomah St., Suite #600
Portland OR 97232

Program Manager Dale Jensen, Department of Ecology Spill Prevention, Preparedness & Response Program, represents the Department of Ecology on the Oil Spill Task Force. Previous to joining the Spills Program, Dale served as manager in the Department of Ecology’s Air Quality and Toxics Cleanup programs. Prior to state service, Dale was a small business owner/operator in retail, agriculture, and environmental consulting.

Phone: (360) 407-7450
Cell: (360) 790-8143
Fax: (360) 407-7288
dale.jensen@ecy.wa.gov

Mailing Address:
Dept. of Ecology
P.O. Box 47600
Olympia, WA 98504-7600
(Mailing)

300 Desmond Dr.
Lacey, WA 98503
(Direct)