FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: ECOS Executive Director Ben Grumbles, (202) 266-4929 or bgrumbles@ecos.org or
Lia Parisien, (202) 266-4931 or lparisien@ecos.org
Environmental Council of the States (ECOS)
U.S. Environmental Commissioners Announce New Executive Director
Washington, DC — The Environmental Council of the States (ECOS), the national non-profit, non-partisan association of state and territorial environmental commissioners, formally announced today that Alexandra Dapolito Dunn has been named the new Executive Director and General Counsel. Dunn replaces Executive Director R. Steven Brown who retired in 2013. Dunn brings two decades of environmental law, policy, and management experience to ECOS, most recently serving as Executive Director and General Counsel of the Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA).
“Ms. Dunn is a nationally recognized expert on key environmental issues facing states and territories today. She is the right leader to highlight the essential roles states and territories play in advancing the quality of our nation’s air, water, and land resources,” said ECOS President Dick Pedersen. “Our leadership will work with Ms. Dunn to promote ECOS’ meaningful participation in federal regulatory, legislative, and public policy settings.”
Prior to ACWA, Dunn served as Dean of Environmental Law Programs at Pace University School of Law in New York, General Counsel of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, Counsel at the American Chemistry Council, and in private law practice. In her career, Dunn has worked on issues from water quality and quantity to contaminated site cleanup and redevelopment, air quality, facility siting and permitting, pesticide management, climate adaptation and mitigation, and environmental justice. Dunn is the immediate past-Chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources.
“An energetic leader, Ms. Dunn develops holistic approaches to complicated environmental policy matters and brings diverse perspectives together,” said President Pedersen. “ECOS’ leadership and Ms. Dunn will ensure that the state and territorial agency perspective is clearly articulated – particularly as co-regulators with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.”
“ECOS is a dynamic organization that draws on the deep expertise of state and territorial leaders to improve the implementation of our nation’s environmental programs. I am honored to be a part of ECOS at an important time in our country’s environmental history,” said Dunn.
Dunn holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America and a B.A., cum laude, in Political Science from James Madison University. She is a member of the bars of New York, the District of Columbia, Maryland, the U.S. Supreme Court, and federal courts.
ECOS is the national nonprofit, nonpartisan association of state environmental agency leaders. For more information, visit www.ecos.org.
