Carol Browner
Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Live Web cast October 3, 2000 1 p.m. ET

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Carol M. Browner is the longest serving administrator in the history of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). She received the appointment from President Bill Clinton in January, 1993, and was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

The EPA's mission is to protect public health and the environment by safeguarding the nation's air, water, and land from harmful pollution. Throughout her tenure, Browner has been guided by the philosophy that safeguarding the environment means protecting where and how Americans live. It means providing Americans with real everyday benefits -- fresh air to breathe, clean water to drink, safe food to eat, revitalized communities.

In the last seven years, Browner has partnered with business leaders, community advocates, and all levels of government to promote common-sense, cost-effective solutions to the nation's most pressing environmental and public health challenges.

Recognizing the connection between a healthy environment and a strong economy, Browner created the successful Brownfields program to clean up and redevelop abandoned, contaminated urban properties. Since its creation, the Brownfields program has leveraged more than $1 billion in public and private funds for redevelopment, created thousands of new jobs, and helped hundreds of communities across the nation bring these idle properties back to productive use.

Browner worked closely with Congress to build broad bi-partisan support to pass two pivotal modern environmental laws -- the landmark Food Quality Protection Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Browner's career in public service spans more than two decades. Prior to her work at EPA, Browner served as the secretary of Florida's Department of Environmental Regulation. She also served as legislative director to then-Senator Albert Gore, Jr. and served on the staff of then-Senator Lawton Chiles.

Browner has received numerous honors and distinctions for her public service. In February 2000, she received The American Lung Association's (ALA) prestigious President's Award, recognizing her leadership on clean air in what the ALA called, "the toughest action in a generation to safeguard public health from the threats posed by air pollution." She has also received the "Advocate for Children Award" from the Ambulatory Pediatric Association, the "Mother of the Year Award" from the National Mother's Day Committee, Glamour Magazine's "Woman of the Year Award," the South Florida Chapter of the Audubon Society's "Guy M. Bradley Lifetime Achievement Award," and the "Lifetime Environmental Achievement Award" from the New York State Bar Association, among others.

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Environmental Protection Agency