My name is Lisa Jackson. I was at Princeton from '83 to '86. I got my Master's in Chemical
Engineering, and now I serve as the administrator of the United States Environmental Protection
Agency. My engineering background is extremely important to the job I do every day. It gives
me a different perspective from others. Engineering is about problem solving. A lot of the issues
we deal with here at EPA are technical in nature. And one of the things I said from
day one is that our entire work has to be based on the best science we can muster from
the American people. Probably the biggest adjustment has been the move and the pace
of work here in Washington. It's great because there's a huge expectation that we're going
to bring this agency back. That we're going to restore EPA to its place as the protector
of air, water and land. But that means a huge agenda. And so we're working awful hard here.
You know, a little bit later today I'll be speaking to students -- high school students
in an organization called Jack and Jill. They are African American kids and they're coming
to D.C. as part of a leadership program. It's so important for us at EPA to build and continue
to build our recognition of our mission with youth. The youth have always cared about environment
and pushed our issues, and this generation is all about being green, and we want to encourage
them. I speak about the devastation for America in Katrina often. My mom lost her home. She's
actually sold what's left of it back to the state of Louisiana and moved up to Ocean City.
Katrina was not only a tragedy; it was an environmental catastrophe as well. And I remind
people that when those wetlands were being torn up, the people who suffered most from
the damage in the low-lying areas of the city who happened to be people of color, had nothing
to do with the decisions made on those wetlands. So making gumbo and making Washington policy.
Gumbo, of course, even the word is all about a mixture, and bringing together these ingredients
and letting them simmer, and coming out with something really good. And obviously policy
and politics is very much the same thing. If we're going to be successful in environmental
policy, it's about bringing all the people who care about it, all the stakeholders we
call, together and coming out with the best solution. You know my time at Princeton in
the Engineering School certainly influenced where I am today. At that point, I worked
on environmental issues. And Princeton had a history of being involved in some of the
first environmental studies that were done up in Woburn, Mass. on groundwater. And I
worked with folks who did that research. It certainly influenced and enhanced my interest
in the environmental field. My name is Lisa Jackson and I'm a Princeton engineer.