Massachusetts EEA Secretary
Tepper Announces Leadership Team
BOSTON – Secretary Rebecca L.
Tepper announced her leadership team today at the Executive Office of Energy
& Environmental Affairs (EEA). The following individuals have joined the
Office of the Secretary and will help shape the Commonwealth’s clean energy
economy, environmental protections, and public lands.
“We’ve
assembled a team of visionary thinkers and dedicated public servants to lead
the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs at this pivotal time,”
said Secretary Tepper. “Working with our departments, we are
committed to guiding an equitable transition to clean energy, protecting our
precious natural resources, and building healthy, resilient communities. I’ve
charged our team to view their work through an environmental justice lens so
that no community is left behind as the clean energy economy grows and the
climate heats up.”
Kathleen
Glunz Skarin – Chief of Staff
Prior
to joining the Healey-Driscoll Administration, Skarin spent 25 years in
high-intensity political and professional working environments at all levels of
government. Most recently, Skarin served as senior engagement officer at RIZE
Massachusetts. Before joining RIZE, she was director of strategic partnerships
at the New England Aquarium. As chief of staff at the Middlesex Sheriff’s
Office for nearly a decade, Skarin was a member of the sheriff’s command staff
and led on executing priority initiatives, including criminal justice reform
efforts. She also served as staff director for the Joint Committee on Public
Health and later the Joint Committee on Financial Services. During this time,
she managed the daily operations of the committees and developed the policy
agenda with the chairman and committee staff. Her career began in Washington,
DC as a member of the legislative staff of Senator Edward M. Kennedy and later
in Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley’s Washington office, where she spent seven
years working with Congress and the executive branch on issues important to the
city of Chicago, including expanding and improving the city’s transit system.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Marquette University. She started on
February 27.
As
Chief of Staff, Skarin oversees the daily operations of the agency, handling
the Secretary’s agenda and schedule, facilitating inter-agency collaboration,
and serving as a primary point of contact with the Governor’s Office.
Paolo
DiFabio – Deputy Chief of Staff
Paolo
DiFabio comes to EEA from the British Consulate-General in Boston, where he
served as Head of Politics, Press, and Public Affairs. In this role, he
organized numerous UK business and political delegations, major events like
bringing the Red Arrows to Boston, celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum
Jubilee, and the 2022 Earthshot Prize visit of the Prince and Princess of
Wales. Since COP26 DiFabio has been helping to lead the UK’s efforts to tackle
climate change and support green energy development in the region. Previously,
he spent twelve years as a university administrator leading academic degree
development and student recruitment for Boston University’s College of Fine
Arts, as well as other roles in political campaigns and business startups. He
holds a Bachelor’s from Ithaca College and a Master’s of Fine Arts from Boston
University. He starts on March 27.
DiFabio
will work closely with Skarin and other members of EEA leadership to coordinate
the daily operations of the agency and provide support to the Secretary.
Peter
C. Mulcahy – General Counsel
Peter
Mulcahy is an experienced energy and environmental law advocate in both the
public and private sectors. Mulcahy previously served as an Assistant Attorney
General in the Environmental Protection Division under then-Attorney General
Healey, working on some of her Office’s highest-profile environmental
initiatives, including the investigations of Volkswagen’s diesel emissions
fraud and ExxonMobil’s decades-long deception of the public regarding the role
of fossil fuels in climate change. He defended key environmental regulations
against challenges from the Trump Administration and won settlements against
corporations and individuals who flouted laws protecting the environment and public
health. He also co-led several policy initiatives, including novel drives to
pull together stakeholders across the state government and non-profit sector to
raise awareness, change policy, and increase enforcement to protect the public
from toxic exposures to lead and asbestos. While at the Attorney General’s
Office, he also served as co-chair of the Environmental Litigation Committee of
the Boston Bar Association. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office,
Mulcahy was a senior associate at Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr
LLP in Boston, practicing in the firm’s Investigations and Criminal Litigation
group. Most recently, he was a senior associate in the White Collar and
Investigations group at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.,
also in Boston. He grew up in Shrewsbury and holds a bachelor’s degree in
government and a law degree, both from Harvard. He rows on Lake Quinsigamond
and lives in Shrewsbury with his daughter, Amalia, and his dog, Scout.
Mulcahy
will advise the Secretary and EEA leadership on a variety of legal and policy
issues, including legislation, regulations, and statutory authorities, and will
advise and coordinate with department-level legal staff.
Katherine
Antos – Undersecretary of Decarbonization & Resilience
Katherine
Antos has served as the Deputy Executive Director for Planning &
Sustainability at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) since 2022. At
MAPC, she leads the Clean Energy, Environment, Land Use, Transportation and
Arts & Culture Departments on plans, technical assistance and initiatives
that advance a more resilient Greater Boston region. She partners with cities,
towns, state agencies and organizations to promote sustainable development,
advance equity, address climate change, and foster regional collaboration.
Prior to joining MAPC, Antos worked at the Washington, D.C. Department of
Energy and Environment (DOEE) as the Senior Policy Advisor to the Director and
the Chief of the Partnering and Environmental Conservation Branch. She oversaw
the development and execution of priority initiatives to advance watershed
restoration, environmental education, workforce development, community
engagement, climate mitigation and resilience, and urban agriculture. Antos
also served as the first Ambassador for the Anacostia River under the Urban
Waters Federal Partnership and in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
(EPA) Chesapeake Bay Program Office. She has received national and regional
recognition for her work to reduce pollution, build partnerships, cultivate
stewardship among diverse communities, and lead change at DOEE and the EPA.
Antos grew up in Massachusetts and holds a Master’s degree in City Planning
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental
Studies from Brown University. She lives in Arlington, Massachusetts, with her
husband and children. She starts on March 27.
As the
Undersecretary of Decarbonization & Resilience, Antos will integrate EEA's
climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts in response to the climate
crisis. She will oversee the implementation of the Clean Energy and Climate
Plan, the Commonwealth's roadmap to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions
by 2050, and efforts to prepare for and increase resilience to climate change
impacts. As part of the Healey-Driscoll Administration's agenda, Antos will
focus on reducing impacts to communities disproportionately burdened by
flooding and extreme heat and creating opportunities in the clean energy
economy.
Stephanie
Cooper – Undersecretary for the Environment
Stephanie Cooper joins EEA as Undersecretary for Environment
after serving in a range of roles throughout the Secretariat. Most recently, Cooper was
the Deputy Commissioner for Policy & Planning for the Massachusetts
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). In this role, she led agency
regulatory development efforts and managed priority initiatives related to air
quality, climate change, hazardous waste clean-up, solid waste and recycling,
and water resources. She previously served as Chief of Staff for DEP. For eight
months in 2021 and 2022, she took a leave from DEP to serve as Acting
Commissioner for the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), where she
oversaw a successful agency-wide strategic evaluation process. Previously, as
Assistant Secretary at EEA, she guided the state’s policies and investments
relative to land protection, forestry, and urban parks. Prior to that, as Chief
of Staff for DCR, she helped manage DCR’s diverse responsibilities across a
450,000-acre forest and parks system. Before coming to Massachusetts, Stephanie
served the City of New York in a variety of roles, including Chief of Staff for
Operations at the NYC Department of Transportation, and in the Mayor’s Office,
where she was a liaison to transportation, environmental protection, and
capital construction agencies. Her other prior experience includes
environmental consulting, community organizing, and non-profit work. She holds
a Bachelor’s in political science from Middlebury College and a Master’s in
public administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School. She lives in
Brookline with her daughter. She started on March 6.
As
Undersecretary for Environment, Cooper will oversee and partner with the
environmental agencies – the Departments of Environmental Protection, Fish and
Game, Agricultural Resources, and Conservation and Recreation – to protect,
preserve, and enhance the Commonwealth’s environmental resources while ensuring
a clean energy future for all. She will serve as a key advisor on environmental
issues and coordinate specific programs, including land conservation, park
investments, toxics use reduction, and coastal zone management.
Michael
Judge – Undersecretary of Energy
Michael
Judge joins EEA as Undersecretary for Energy from the Coalition for Community
Solar Access (CCSA), where he has served as the Vice President for Policy since
September 2021. In this role, Judge managed CCSA’s Policy Team, leading its
policy advocacy at both the federal level and across the more than 20 states in
which the organization’s members are active. Prior to his time at CCSA, he
spent over 12 years in various roles in Massachusetts state government,
including over two years as Director of Electric Power, Regional, and Federal
Affairs at the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU), in which he
managed the DPU’s Electric Power Division and its oversight of the
Commonwealth’s investor-owned electric distribution companies and licensed
competitive retail electricity suppliers and brokers. He also advised the
Commission on matters pertaining to electric power supply, reliability,
electric vehicles, energy efficiency, grid modernization, interconnection,
renewable energy, and storm and emergency planning. Prior to his time at the
DPU, he spent over nine years at the Massachusetts Department of Energy
Resources (DOER), including four years as Director of its Renewable and
Alternative Energy Division. During his time at DOER, he was responsible for
the administration of the Commonwealth’s Renewable and Alternative Portfolio
Standards and oversaw the development and implementation of other programs
supporting clean energy and energy storage, such as the Solar Massachusetts
Renewable Energy Target (SMART) Program. He holds two Bachelor’s degrees from
UMass Amherst and lives in Boston. He starts on March 27.
As the
Undersecretary for Energy, Judge will coordinate the execution of energy policy
for EEA. He will work directly with DOER, the DPU, the Massachusetts Clean
Energy Center, and other agencies on the development of policy priorities and
the implementation of Massachusetts energy laws and regulations.
Previously, Secretary
Tepper appointed María Belén Power as the first-ever Undersecretary of
Environmental Justice & Equity, who
will lead the newly established Office of Environmental Justice. Jason
Marshall will serve as Deputy Secretary and
Special Counsel for Federal and Regional Energy Affairs, and Mary Louise “Weezie” Nuara will join as
Assistant Secretary for Federal and Regional Energy Affairs. Tepper also named Maria
Hardiman as Director of Communications. Olivia McCaffrey will remain
Chief Financial Officer, Faye Boardman to continue as Chief Operations
Officer, and Johannes Buchannan will stay on as Assistant Secretary for
Government Affairs. Tori Kim continues as Assistant Secretary and
Director of the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office, and Lisa
Berry Engler remains Director of the Office of Coastal Zone Management. Danielle
Burney continues as Deputy Director of Communications.
