Former NJ Governor Whitman Speaks at Skeptics

Christine Todd Whitman, former Governor of New Jersey and former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, was the Society of Skeptics speaker during a special Monday evening program, November 16, in Armstrong-Hipkins Center for the Arts. Her topic focused on “Republican Politics.”

Whitman is president of The Whitman Strategy Group (WSG), a consulting firm that specializes in energy and environmental issues. She is also co-chair of the Republican Leadership Council (RLC), which she founded with Senator John Danforth. She is the author of a New York Times bestseller called “It’s My Party Too” published in January of 2005 and released in paperback in March 2006.

Governor Whitman served in the cabinet of President George W. Bush as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from January of 2001 until June of 2003. She was the 50th Governor of the State of New Jersey, serving as its first woman governor from 1994 until 2001. As Governor, Christie Whitman earned praise from both Republicans and Democrats for her commitment to preserve a record amount of New Jersey land as permanent green space. She was also recognized by the Natural Resources Defense Council as having instituted the most comprehensive beach monitoring system in the nation. As EPA Administrator, she promoted common-sense environmental improvements such as watershed-based water protection policies. She championed regulations requiring non-road diesel engines to reduce sulfur emissions by more than 95 percent. Under her tenure, the agency established the first federal program to promote redevelopment and reuse of “brownfields,” that is, previously contaminated industrial sites.

Governor Whitman serves on a number of non-profit organizations including the Board of Trustees of the Eisenhower Fellowships and the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations. She was also the co-chair for the Council on Foreign Relations’ Task Force, More Than Humanitarianism: A Strategic U.S. Approach Toward Africa, as well as the Aspen Health Stewardship Project, which was released in February of 2008. She co-chairs Clean and Safe Energy (CASE) with Dr. Patrick Moore.

Governor Whitman also serves on the Board of Directors of S.C. Johnson and Son, Inc., Texas Instruments Inc., and United Technologies Corporation. She currently serves as an advisor to the Aspen Rodel Fellowship program. Prior to becoming Governor, she was the president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and served on the Somerset County board of Chosen Freeholders. She holds a B.A. from Wheaton College.

Click here for the complete fall/winter Skeptics schedule.

Updated 11/17/2009

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