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EPA Announces Regional Administrator for Region 4

Release Date: 09/01/2010
Contact Information: Carl Terry, (404) 562-8327, [email protected]

(ATLANTA – Sept. 1, 2010) Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced President Barack Obama's selection of Gwen Keyes Fleming as the Agency's Regional Administrator for EPA's Region 4. This region encompasses Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and 6 Tribal Nations.

"I look forward to working closely with Gwen Keyes Fleming on the many urgent environmental issues we face throughout the country, and especially along Region 4's Gulf Coast," EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said. "Gwen is coming on at an exceptionally challenging time. I'm thrilled to have Gwen as part of our leadership team at EPA. She will certainly play an instrumental role in protecting the health and environment of all those living in the region."

Regional Administrators are responsible for managing the Agency's regional activities under the direction of the EPA Administrator. They promote state and local environmental protection efforts and serve as a liaison to state and local government officials. Regional Administrators are tasked with ensuring EPA's efforts to address the environmental crises of today are rooted in three fundamental values: science-based policies and programs, adherence to the rule of law, and transparency.

Gwen Keyes Fleming has more than 15 years experience as both a prosecutor and administrator, serving as the District Attorney for the past five years in Georgia's Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit which encompasses all of Dekalb County. She is the first African-American and the first woman to have held the District Attorney position. As District Attorney, she manages more than 165 employees, handling 13,000 felony cases each year with an annual budget of more than $12 million. In addition, Keyes Fleming has instituted several successful community outreach programs related to crime prevention on behalf of young women and children, working with vulnerable adults and at-risk communities. Prior to serving as District Attorney, she served as the elected Solicitor-General handling misdemeanor crimes and implemented numerous domestic violence prevention initiatives which successfully decreased the rate of domestic violence deaths in the county. Keyes Fleming obtained her B.S. in Finance from Rutgers University and her Juris Doctorate from the Emory University School of Law. She has received numerous awards, including the Emory Law's Distinguished Alumni Award, Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys Leah Ward Sears Award for Distinction in the Profession in 2010, Atlanta's Top 100 Black Women of Influence in 1999, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, and the Women in the NAACP Award in 2010.