Former US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator and Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) Commissioner Gina McCarthy addressed an audience of 200 environmental professionals at the Connecticut Science Center on Thursday, March 22. The Environmental Law Section of the Connecticut Bar Association (CBA), Connecticut Environmental Forum (CEF), Connecticut Society for Women Environmental Professionals (SWEP-CT), and Environmental Professionals’ Organization of Connecticut (EPOC) hosted the sold-out event, “An Evening with Gina McCarthy.”

During her lecture, McCarthy shared her views of the current and future state of environmental regulations at the local, regional, national, and international levels. “It is a difficult time but we must feel positive about the world and the future,” expressed McCarthy. “We have the rule of law on our side and that is what matters and that is what will prevent us from going backwards.”

McCarthy served as the EPA administrator from 2013-2017 and CT DEEP commissioner from 2004-2009. She has been a leading advocate for common sense strategies to protect public health and the environment for more than 35 years. Currently, McCarthy serves as director of Harvard Chan’s Center for Health and the Global Environment, and is a professor at the Harvard University Center for the Environment and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.