EPA picks national American Indian Environmental Office head

by Terri C. Hansen
News from Indian Country
Pacific Northwest Bureau Chief

Washington, D.C. - The Environmental Protection Agency has appointed Kathy Gorospe as the new executive director of the American Indian Environmental Office in Washington, D.C.

In this senior management position Ms. Gorospe, an enrolled Laguna Pueblo, will report directly to EPA Administrator Carol Browner. Her responsibilities include coordination and oversight of EPA's Indian programs, federal agency and tribal operations, training on tribal environmental concerns, cultural and legal issues.

"I am very honored to be selected for this position," Gorospe said . "I think it's a reflection of the work I've done on behalf of Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission and in part, a reflection of the high regard the Administration and particularly other tribes have for this organization."

Gorospe, who earned a law degree from Oregon's Willamette University, served as executive director of Oregon's Commission on Indian Services from 1980 to 1987, and since 1990 has been executive assistant for the CRITFC in Portland, Ore.