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.

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

She has worked in the field of environmental protection for more than 30 years, starting her career with the DEP in the Radiation programs. She joined the Water Resource Management program six years ago. In Water Resource Management, Pat served as Director of the Division of Water Supply & Geoscience for 4½ years and Director of the Division of Water Monitoring & Standards for 1½ years.

Her efforts in Water Resource Management have focused on the revision of the long-term monitoring strategy; restoration grant program; assessment of the implementation of the Safe Drinking Water regulations, with an emphasis on the Lead and Copper Rule; emergency response; water supply planning; water infrastructure; and the development of maximum contaminant levels.

She has served on a variety of councils and boards, including the Delaware River Basin Commission, the New Jersey Water Supply Authority and the Drinking Water Quality Institute.

As a career DEP employee, Pat has a strong belief in public service and the protection of public health, safety and the environment.

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.

Vincent Mazzei serves as Assistant Commissioner for Watershed and Land Management, overseeing the Division of Land Resource Protection and the new Division of Watershed Protection & Restoration.

Selected to lead the WLM program in June, Vince previously supervised the Bureau of Inland Regulation, in the Division of Land Use Regulation.

Vince began his DEP career in 1988, following his graduation from Stevens Institute of Technology. He is a licensed professional engineer and is regarded as an expert in flood risk analysis and mitigation. For more than 30 years, Vince has worked to support environmentally responsible planning, design and construction of thousands of development and infrastructure projects throughout New Jersey.

Vince authored New Jersey’s Flood Hazard Area Control Act rules, which are the most stringent statewide flood hazard area and stream corridor protection regulations in the nation. He has a leading role in the development of NJPACT, a targeted regulatory reform initiative aimed at modernizing many of the state’s environmental regulations to protect against climate threats. He also serves as chairman of the New Jersey Association for Floodplain Management.

Vince was named the 2018 Government Engineer of the Year by the American Society of Civil Engineers, North Jersey Branch, and the 2016 Civil Engineer of the Year by the American Society of Civil Engineers, Central Jersey Branch. He is a two-time recipient of the State of New Jersey Teamwork and Partnership Award.

Vince earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Stevens and a master’s degree in theology from Pennsylvania’s Cairn University. His interests include hiking, traveling, volunteering and composing music, as well as studying history, theology and mathematical theory.

Vince lives in Hunterdon County with his wife (and fellow DEP employee), Becky, and their three children, Zachary, Evelyn and Jonah.

Davon McCurry is the Director of Legislative Affairs under Commissioner McCabe.

Davon leads the DEP’s government relations team and manages the Department’s intergovernmental relations, including those with local governments, the state Legislature and New Jersey’s congressional delegation. He also guides the DEP’s legislative team in responding to pending legislation and crafting the Department’s affirmative legislative proposals.

Prior to joining the DEP, Davon served as an aide to the Governor in the Office of Appointments and the Office of Constituent Relations, under Governor Phil Murphy. Before entering state government, Davon worked with a Trenton-based lobbying firm, where he handled a range of issues, including energy, health care and education.

Davon is a graduate of Rutgers University–New Brunswick and lives in Burlington County.

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.