Leadership

James Kenney
Cabinet Secretary, New Mexico Environment Department

James Kenney was named by Governor Lujan Grisham to lead the New Mexico Environment Department in January 2019. He has spent more than 21 years across two stints at the U.S. EPA, most recently as Senior Policy Advisor for Oil & Gas. In that role, he worked with senior agency leadership and designed strategies to support environmentally responsible development of oil and natural gas resources while working with states, tribes, federal agencies, and industries on regulatory and policy matters. He also was a Senior Environmental Engineer at EPA, leading both civil and criminal investigations related to various EPA statutes and regulations. He has been an EPA Ozone Program Manager and Senior Environmental Engineer at an environmental engineering firm in Denver, as well as a consultant at the U.S. Department of Justice. Kenney holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Environmental Engineering from Temple University. He serves as ECOS Vice President, Co-Chair of the ECOS Oil & Gas Caucus, and State Co-Chair of the E-Enterprise Leadership Council. He is also a member of the ECOS Climate & Energy Steering Committee. 

Chris Wells
Executive Director, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality

Chris Wells was appointed Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality by Governor Tate Reeves in October 2020. Wells began his career with the agency in 2007, providing legal support for the Environmental Compliance & Enforcement Division until 2014, when he was appointed to serve as Chief of Staff. Since June 2017, he has served as Acting Director of the Office of Restoration. Wells also is Mississippi’s Trustee for the Natural Resource Damage Assessment under the Oil Pollution Act and represents the state on the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, which was formed by the RESTORE Act. Wells earned a Chemical Engineering degree from Mississippi State University in 1996, and is a registered professional engineer. He graduated from the Mississippi College School of Law in 1999, served as a Law Clerk to U.S. District Court Judge William H. Barbour, Jr., and prac-ticed law with the firm of Scanlon, Sessums, Parker, & Dallas from 2000 to 2007. He also was an Adjunct Professor at the Mississippi College School of Law from 2010 to 2019. Wells currently serves as Chair of the ECOS Compliance Committee. 

Leah Feldon
Director, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

Leah K. Feldon serves as Director of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), appointed by the Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) in February 2023, after having served as Interim Director for five months. She entered public service at DEQ in the Office of Compliance & Enforcement in 2005, becoming Manager of that office in 2009. From 2009 to 2016, Feldon held other positions within DEQ including Acting Eastern Region Ad-ministrator, Acting Eastern Region Solid and Hazardous Waste Manager, and Interim Air Operations Manager at Headquarters. In 2016, she was appointed Special Advisor to the Director for Cleaner Air Oregon, an initiative to overhaul industrial air toxics regulations. In 2016, the EQC confirmed Feldon as the Deputy Director. She earned her JD degree from Lewis & Clark Law School and her Bachelor of Arts from University of Dayton in Ohio. She is a member of the Oregon State Bar. Feldon is Chair of the ECOS Air Committee and a board member of the Environmental Research Institute of the States.

Myra Reece
Director, South Carolina Department of Environmental Services

Myra Reece is currently Director of the new South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (DES). In a career spanning more than 30 years with DES (formerly the Department of Health & Environmental Control), Reece also has filled leadership roles with the regional office system and as the Bureau Chief for Air Quality. Reece also is a member of U.S. EPA’s Clean Air Act Advisory Committee and the SC Housing Board of Commissioners. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology from Clemson University and a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of South Carolina. She is also a graduate of the Management Academy for Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the Southern Center of Excellence in Environmental Health at Emory University. Reece currently serves as ECOS Past President, Co-Chair of the ECOS Environmental Justice Workgroup, and member of the E-Enterprise Leadership Council.