Head of Alaska environmental conservation agency named regional EPA administrator under Trump

The head of Alaska’s state environmental conservation department has been tapped by President Donald Trump to serve as a regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Emma Pokon, commissioner for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, will serve as the Region 10 administrator for the federal agency, according to the governor’s office.

The region, headquartered in Seattle, covers environmental issues in states in the Pacific Northwest: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

“I can’t think of any Alaskan better suited to oversee federal environmental regulations and laws for Alaska than Emma Pokon,” said Gov. Mike Dunleavy in a prepared statement. “She has performed an admirable job leading the Department of Environmental Conservation and protecting Alaska’s pristine land and waters, and I join Alaskans from across the state in congratulating her for her new role.”

Dunleavy appointed Pokon as commissioner of the agency in December 2023. Her last day there will be Feb. 5.

Before she joined DEC in February 2020, Pokon worked for the Alaska Department of Law as Senior Assistant Attorney General, according to the state DEC website. She also formerly did work for the North Slope Borough, according to DEC.

Deputy Commissioner Christina Carpenter will serve acting commissioner until Dunleavy selects a replacement, the statement said.

“It has been an incredible privilege to be a member of DEC’s leadership for the last five years and to serve in Governor Dunleavy’s cabinet,” Pokon said in the statement. “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.”

Pokon could not immediately be reached for additional comment on Wednesday.