Environmental Progress - Winter 1996

Illinois EPA Director Gade Elected To National Academy Of Public Administration

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director Mary A. Gade has been elected one of the new fellows of the National Academy of Public Administration, joining 450 distinguished public management experts with government, private sector and academic backgrounds.

The Academy was chartered by Congress in 1984 to identify emerging issues of governance and provide practical assistance to federal, state and local governments.

Director Gade joined 50 other new fellows elected by the Academy at an induction ceremony in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 15. Previously-inducted Academy members who voted on the selection of the new fellows include former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Colin Powell, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary, former U.S. defense secretaries James Schlesinger and Donald Rumsfeld and former Attorney General Edward Meece.

Former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator William Ruckelshaus, also a fellow of the Academy, was the featured speaker at the event. Director Gade has worked closely with Ruckelshaus on the Enterprise for the Environment Initiative to reform the relationship between government and the private sector in protecting the environment.

"Mary Gade is a great addition to the Academy. Her record as a leader and reputation for innovative work in government will further allow us to address important issues in the environmental field and broader public management area," said Academy President R. Scott Fosler.

Director Gade testified before Congress in February on behalf of recommendations for reforming the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency contained in an Academy study. At the time, she was also president of the Environmental Council of the States, a national organization of top state environmental officials that Gade co-founded.

Director Gade and the Illinois EPA have been leaders in the implementation of a new National Environmental Partnership System with the U.S. EPA, consistent with one of the key recommendations for reform in the Academy report. It emphasizes individual agreements with each state, rather than a "one-size-fits-all" approach dictated by the federal government. Illinois and other states that have signed partnership agreements have pledged to provide more specific measurements of environmental progress that can be understood by the general public.

A nationally-recognized advocate of turning more additional responsibilities for administering environmental laws to the states and emphasizing pollution prevention and public-private partnerships, Gade became director of the Illinois EPA in 1991. She previously had 13 years experience with the U.S. EPA, including the Chicago Region V office. At the time of her appointment to the Illinois EPA, she was Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response in Washington, D.C.