Governor Whitman served in the cabinet of President George W. Bush as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from January of 2001 until June of 2003. She was the 50th Governor of the State of New Jersey, serving as its first woman governor from 1994 until 2001.
As Governor, Christie Whitman earned praise from both Republicans and Democrats for her commitment to preserve a record amount of New Jersey land as permanent green space. She was also recognized by the Natural Resources Defense Council as having instituted the most comprehensive beach monitoring system in the nation. As EPA Administrator, she promoted common-sense environmental improvements such as watershed-based water protection policies. She championed regulations requiring non-road diesel engines to reduce sulfur emissions by more than 95 percent. Under her tenure, the Agency established the first federal program to promote redevelopment and reuse of “brownfields”, that is, previously contaminated industrial sites.
Governor Whitman serves on the Board of Directors of S.C. Johnson and Son, Inc., Texas Instruments Inc., and United Technologies Corporation.
Governor Whitman serves a number of non-profit organizations including heading the Trustees’ Executive Committee of the Eisenhower Fellowships. She co-chairs Clean and Safe Energy (CASE) with Ambassador Ron Kirk and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Security Project and the Center for Sustainable Shale Development.
Governor Whitman holds a BA from Wheaton College in Norton, MA, and is married to John R. Whitman. They have two children and six grandsons.
