As Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Lisa P. Jackson leads a staff of 3,400 professionals dedicated to protecting, sustaining and enhancing New Jersey’s water, air and land, and preserving its wealth of natural and historic resources.

Before her nomination by Governor Jon S. Corzine, Jackson served as the DEP’s Assistant Commissioner for Land Use Management during 2005. A skilled and dedicated administrator, Jackson headed numerous programs including Land Use Regulation, Water Supply, Geological Survey, Water Monitoring and Standards, and Watershed Management. She focused on developing a system of incentives for stimulating the right growth in the right places. Under her leadership, the DEP crafted regulatory standards for implementing the landmark Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act.

Jackson joined the DEP in March 2002 as Assistant Commissioner of Compliance and Enforcement after 16 years with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), initially at its headquarters in Washington and more recently at its regional office in New York City.

As the state’s chief environmental enforcer, Jackson led groundbreaking compliance sweeps in Camden and Paterson, communities in which the effects of pollution on public health had long been neglected. She launched the environmental initiative following multicultural outreach efforts to inform and involve community residents and businesses. Working with county officials, State Police and the EPA, the DEP then mobilized more than 70 inspectors to conduct upward of 1,000 compliance investigations in the two cities, the first of a series of enforcement sweeps.

During her tenure at the EPA, Jackson worked in the federal Superfund site remediation program, developing key hazardous waste cleanup regulations, overseeing hazardous waste cleanup projects throughout central New Jersey and directing multimillion-dollar cleanup operations. She later served as deputy director and acting director of the region’s enforcement division.

A native of New Orleans, Jackson earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University. She is a summa cum laude graduate of Tulane University’s School of Chemical Engineering.

Jackson resides in East Windsor. She is married to Kenny Jackson and is the proud mother of two wonderful sons.