Alumni and Friends Directory

Lisa P.  Jackson

Lisa P. Jackson

Title: VP, Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives; Former Administrator

Company: Apple; Environmental Protection Agency, Obama Administration

Educational Background

MS, Chemical Engineering, Princeton University, 1986
BS, Chemical Engineering, Tulane University, 1983


Huntsman School Interactions:

The World's Principled Leaders Series Speaker - March 5, 2021

Biography

Lisa Perez Jackson is an American chemical engineer who served as the administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2009 to 2013. She is the first African-American to have held that position.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jackson is a graduate of Tulane University and Princeton University. Soon after entering the EPA as a staff-level engineer in 1987, she moved to the EPA's regional office in New York City, where she spent the majority of her 16-year EPA career. In 2002, she joined the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection as the Assistant Commissioner of Compliance and Enforcement and Assistant Commissioner for Land Use Management. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine appointed Jackson the state's Commissioner of Environmental Protection in 2006. Jackson also briefly served as Corzine's Chief of Staff in late 2008.

On December 15, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama nominated Jackson to serve as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 23, 2009, and took office that same day. During her tenure as EPA Administrator, Jackson oversaw the development of stricter fuel efficiency standards and the EPA's response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill; authorized the recognition of carbon dioxide as a public health threat, granting the EPA authority to set new regulations regarding CO2 emissions; and proposed amending the National Ambient Air Quality Standards to set stricter smog pollution limits. In December 2012, Jackson announced she would step down as EPA Administrator effective February 15, 2013; she was succeeded by Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe, who served as Acting Administrator until the Senate confirmed Gina McCarthy as a permanent successor on July 18, 2013.

In May 2013, it was announced that Jackson would be joining Apple Inc. as its environmental director. She reports directly to Tim Cook and oversees Apple's environmental issues. Jackson was promoted in 2015 to vice president of environment, policy, and social initiatives, a top policy position among the leaders of Apple.

Videos:

The World's Principled Leaders Series: Lisa P. Jackson