Emma Pokon, then acting commissioner of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, speaks on Nov. 15, 2023, at the Resource Development for Alaska annual conference in Anchorage. Pokon, whom Gov. Mike Dunleavy promoted to commissioner the following month, was chosen to lead the regional Environmental Protection Agency office serving Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and 271 tribal nations. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska’s top environmental regulator was chosen to be the new Pacific Northwestern regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced on Wednesday.
Emma Pokon, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, was chosen by President Donald Trump to lead EPA’s Seattle-based Region 10 office, Dunleavy said.
“I can’t think of any Alaskan better suited to oversee federal environmental regulations and laws for Alaska than Emma Pokon,” Dunleavy said in a statement.
Pokon has led the Department of Environmental Conservation since August 2023, when she became acting commissioner upon the resignation of Jason Brune. Dunleavy named her as commissioner the following December.
Pokon joined the department in 2020, moving there from the state Department of Law, where she served as a senior assistant attorney general. At the Department of Law, she handled environmental and natural resource matters.
Poken, in the governor’s statement, said it had been “an incredible privilege” to be part of DEC’s leadership for the past five years.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue public service in this new role and look forward to working with EPA leadership and Region 10 to ensure balanced implementation of the nation’s environmental laws,” she said.
Deputy Commissioner Christina Carpenter will serve as acting commissioner of the department until a permanent successor to Pokon is chosen, Dunleavy’s statement said.
The Region 10 office serves Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and 271 tribal governments.
Pokon replaces Casey Sixkiller, who led the regional office in President Joe Biden’s administration. Sixkiller, a former Seattle deputy mayor and chief operating officer of King County, Washington, now serves as director of the Washington Department of Ecology.
The Region 10 EPA office has been led in the interim by Acting Administrator Dan Opalski.