Media Contact: Alan Heymann (202) 741-2136
WASHINGTON, DC – Mayor Adrian M. Fenty today named Maureen R. McGowan as interim director of the District Department of the Environment (DDOE). McGowan will serve in this role following the departure of George S. Hawkins, who is set to become the next general manager for the DC Water and Sewer Authority.
“Maureen has a deep knowledge of DDOE and its inner workings and I look forward to her continuing the great work of George Hawkins,” said Mayor Fenty. “I am confident that Maureen McGowan will do an excellent job in leading DDOE and its management team as we search the nation for his permanent replacement.”
Maureen R. McGowan, Esq.
Interim Director
Maureen R. McGowan has been an integral part of DDOE’s management team since November 2008. Prior to her appointment as interim director, McGowan served as special assistant to the director, and was the agency’s point person on issues related to the DC Water and Sewer Authority. McGowan came to DDOE from the Office of the City Administrator, where she was a program analyst under Dan Tangherlini for DDOE and numerous others District agencies. As a program analyst, she was responsible for budget development and performance monitoring, policy development and implementation, and analytical support to the City Administrator. McGowan also led the effort to recruit former-Director Hawkins to DDOE. These experiences gave McGowan an inside perspective on DDOE’s budget and operations before joining the agency.
McGowan holds a bachelor of arts in environmental studies from the University of Southern California, a juris doctorate from the University of Georgia School of Law, and a graduate environmental ethics certificate from the University of Georgia College of Environment and Design. Her work experience includes an Equal Justice Foundation legal fellowship at the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a clerkship at the Southern Environmental Law Center, a stint as a researcher and writer for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and seven years as a living exhibits keeper, educator and consultant at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. She lives in Columbia Heights.