Kati Angarone serves as Associate Commissioner for Science and Policy, overseeing the Division of Science and Research, the Office of Environmental Health and Security, and the Office of Economic Analysis.

She has worked at the DEP for more than 20 years and has experience with water and land use policy development and implementation. Kati spent many years assisting with DEP land use policies, including stormwater management, habitat protection, flood hazard area controls and protection of the Highlands region. More recently, she has focused on drinking water policy, including the adoption of new maximum contaminant levels, management of harmful algal blooms and emergency response.

Kati continues to work to develop policy that protects New Jersey’s environment and public health.

Paul Baldauf serves as Assistant Commissioner for Air Quality, Energy and Sustainability under Commissioner McCabe.

Paul is responsible for the management and oversight of two divisions: Air Quality, and Climate, Clean Energy and Radiation Protection. He also serves as New Jersey’s state liaison officer to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and is the state’s Commissioner to the Atlantic Compact Commission for Low Level Radioactive Waste.

Paul has served as Assistant Commissioner of AQES since 2016. Previously, he was Director of the Division of Energy Security and Sustainability, responsible for the oversight and operations of nuclear engineering, environmental radiation and X-ray compliance. He also oversaw the Bureau of Energy and Sustainability, which coordinates with the Board of Public Utilities on environmental aspects of the state’s energy portfolio, and led the Department’s sustainability initiatives. A career DEP employee, Paul joined the department in 1987 as an engineer in the water quality program. He moved to radiation protection and release prevention in 2003 and rose to the post of Director of Environmental Safety and Health in 2010.

Paul holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State University, as well as master’s degrees in civil and environmental engineering from Rutgers University and in homeland security from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. He is a licensed professional engineer in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.

Ray Bukowski serves as the DEP’s Assistant Commissioner of Natural and Historic Resources, leading the Division of Parks and Forestry, New Jersey Forest Fire Service, Green Acres Program, Division of Fish and Wildlife, and the Historic Preservation Office.

He has spent his career with DEP, starting as an inspector with Compliance and Enforcement in 1992. Ray has worked in several field offices, at Trenton headquarters and multiple media areas, developing a practical knowledge of the state and field operations. He also has served as a Management Improvement Specialist in the Commissioner’s Office, and as Manager of Island Beach State Park. In July 2015, Ray was appointed Assistant Commissioner of Compliance and Enforcement, managing four divisions and approximately 350 staff. He became the Assistant Commissioner of Natural and Historic Resources in April 2018.

A lifelong outdoor enthusiast, Ray also is a U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain. His enthusiasm for the outdoors and New Jersey’s resources inspired him to obtain his degree in Environmental Studies from Stockton University.

Ray lives in Ocean County with his wife, Jennifer; teenage sons, Brendan, Luke and Logan; and their Labrador retriever, Tuck.

Elizabeth Dragon serves as Assistant Commissioner for Compliance and Enforcement.

Selected to lead the C&E program in November, she previously oversaw its Bureau of Coastal and Land Use Compliance and Enforcement.

Elizabeth started her DEP career in 2004, after working with pollution prevention programs in Illinois. She joined the DEP as an environmental engineer in the Division of Watershed Management. She later transferred to the Division of Water Quality and eventually led the Stormwater Management Unit.

In 2015, Elizabeth joined the leadership of Compliance and Enforcement following her work with Operation Groundswell, an initiative focused on bettering the work life of DEP employees. In 2016, she became the manager of CLUE, the bureau that works to protect wetlands, streams, coastal areas and wildlife habitat through enforcement of DEP’s land use regulations.

A devoted public servant, Elizabeth spent more than 12 years as a member of the Air National Guard, between 1997 to 2018. In 2001, she served in response to Operation Southern Watch and, more recently, in response to Hurricane Maria in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Elizabeth lives in Burlington County with her husband and daughter. She holds an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from University of Illinois at Chicago and a master’s degree in engineering management from New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Ginger Kopkash serves as Assistant Commissioner for Land Use Management, overseeing development projects in New Jersey’s coastal zone, wetlands and flood plains.

Ginger is New Jersey’s Coastal Zone Manager, responsible for the state’s coastal zone management program. She oversees the staff that supports the Tidelands Management Council, as well as the Freshwater Wetlands Mitigation Council. Ginger also supervises the permitting of approximately 5,000 land use permit requests each year.

She previously served as the Assistant Commissioner for Land Use Management, as well as Director of the Division of Land Use Management. Ginger also played an essential role in the development of the state’s robust wetland mitigation program.

She is a graduate of Stockton University and serves on the Board of the Tuckerton Seaport & Baymen’s Museum.

Adrienne Kreipke is Acting Assistant Commissioner for Management & Budget.

In this role, Adrienne oversees the DEP’s divisions of Budget and Financial Operations; Human Resources; Information Technology; General Services and Systems Coordination; and the Office of Diversity, Equal Employment Opportunity and Public Contract Assistance.

Adrienne has worked at the DEP since 2013, previously serving as Director of Budget and Financial Operations. Her prior experience includes 15 years with the New Jersey Office of Management and Budget, in the Department of Treasury, most recently as Assistant Director. She also has worked in the nonprofit sector and for the federal government.

Adrienne holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a Master in Public Policy degree from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Sean Moriarty serves as Chief Advisor for Regulatory Affairs to Commissioner McCabe.

Sean leads and manages the DEP’s internal legal team and serves as its general counsel on all matters of regulatory compliance and rule-making. He also is a member of the Commissioner’s executive team, providing input on priority initiatives that include climate change and environmental justice.

Previously, Sean served as a Regulatory Officer with the Bureau of Legal Services and Stewardship for the DEP’s Green Acres Program. He had joined that team in May 2017, after several years representing the program as its Deputy Attorney General.

Sean received both his undergraduate and law degrees from Rutgers University. He lives with his wife and daughter in Haddon Township.

Mark Pedersen serves as Assistant Commissioner for Site Remediation and Waste Management to Commissioner McCabe.

Mark has been with the Department of Environmental Protection for more than 33 years. As Assistant Commissioner, his primary responsibilities are to oversee the remediation of contaminated sites in New Jersey and to ensure that solid and hazardous waste are managed in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations. In addition, he is Chairman of the New Jersey Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board, which oversees the licensing and performance of site remediation professionals.

Mark previously served as Director of Land Use Regulation, responsible for overseeing land use permitting programs. He has worked with the Governor’s Office of Recovery and Rebuilding, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to facilitate recovery efforts and rebuilding of New Jersey’s coastal areas in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

Mark has vast experience in brownfield development, industrial site remediation and enforcement. He has had a lead role in implementing many initiatives, including those leading to the Site Remediation Reform Act.

Michele Putnam serves as Assistant Commissioner of Water Resource Management, overseeing the divisions of Water Quality, Water Supply and Geoscience, and Water Monitoring and Standards.

She has worked in the field of environmental protection for more than 25 years, much of the time in water resource and hazardous waste management programs.

Michele started her career in consulting and then joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, as an environmental scientist in the construction grants program. She moved to the DEP, where she worked in the water infrastructure financing program before becoming a site manager in the new hazardous waste cleanup program. There, she helped develop the first multiyear plan for publicly funded cleanups.

Michele served as Assistant Director for Hazardous Waste Planning and Deputy Director of Hazardous Waste Operations, overseeing permitting, enforcement and planning for hazardous waste, before temporarily leaving state service. She worked briefly with local environmental commissions, and then returned to the DEP and joined the watershed management program. She later was appointed Director of Water Supply, in charge of water supply permitting, planning and the safe drinking water program.

As Director of the Division of Water Quality, she has been responsible for the DEP’s surface water, groundwater, stormwater, pretreatment and residuals permitting programs, and the water infrastructure financing program.

She has served on a variety of councils and boards, including the Delaware River Basin Commission and the New Jersey Water Supply Authority, and has worked with others, such as the Clean Water Council and the Drinking Water Quality Institute.

Michele is a graduate of Douglass College at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.

Dave Rosenblatt is the state’s first Chief Resilience Officer, appointed in May 2019 by Commissioner McCabe.

He is leading the DEP’s wide-ranging climate resilience work and coordinating with other state agencies to ensure our shared goal of a more resilient New Jersey.

Dave also serves as the DEP’s Assistant Commissioner for the Climate and Flood Resilience program, overseeing the Division of Coastal Engineering, the Division of Dam Safety and Flood Engineering, the Bureau of Climate Resilience Design and Engineering, and the Bureau of Climate Resilience Planning. He and his CFR staff are developing the Statewide Climate Resilience Strategy and the Coastal Resilience Plan, as directed by Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 89.

With more than 40 years’ service to the Department, Dave previously spent 15 years as Assistant Commissioner and Administrator of Engineering and Construction. Earlier, he was Chief of the Atlantic Coastal and South Jersey Bureau, in the Division of Watershed Management, for five years.

Dave managed the preparation of the “New Jersey Governor’s Delaware River Flood Mitigation Task Force Report” in 2006 and the “Report to the Governor: Recommendations of the Passaic River Basin Flood Advisory Commission” in 2011.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the Rutgers College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, and a master’s degree in teaching from The College of New Jersey.

Jane Rosenblatt is the Deputy Chief of Staff under Commissioner McCabe.

Jane aids Chief of Staff Shawn M. LaTourette in providing policy direction to DEP programs responsible for ensuring protection of New Jersey land, air, water and natural and historic resources. She also serves as the Commissioner’s designee to the Board of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and manages appointments to environmental and natural resource boards and commissions.

Additionally, Jane oversees priority projects through the DEP’s Office of Permit Coordination and Environmental Review, and provides executive leadership for the DEP’s Community Collaborative Initiative, a place-based brownfields redevelopment program.

Prior to joining the DEP, Jane served as Cabinet Liaison, Office of Cabinet Affairs, in the Office of Governor Phil Murphy. Before joining state government, Jane developed expertise in the nonprofit community, with focuses on advancing sustainable water infrastructure investment and local environmental action.

Brendon Shank is the Director of Communications under Commissioner McCabe.

As Director, Brendon leads the effort to tell the DEP’s best stories, with emphasis on promoting the DEP mission, priorities and principles. He oversees teams facilitating communication through media relations, environmental education, social media, online resources and other channels.

Prior to joining the DEP in 2018, Brendon directed communications teams and campaigns for a variety of national nonprofits and companies. He has presented at national conferences on crisis management, social media and strategic communications.

Brendon is a graduate of American University’s School of Public Affairs and lives with his wife, two sons and a dog named Bruce, all of whom enjoy exploring New Jersey’s great outdoor treasures.