Michelle Pirzadeh
Contact the RA's Office
By Phone:
(800) 424-4372 or
(206) 553-1234
By Mail:
U.S. EPA, Region 10
Regional Administrator's Office, RA-140
1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900
Seattle, WA 98101
Michelle Pirzadeh,
Acting Regional Administrator
Acting Regional Administrator (RA)
Michelle Pirzadeh is currently the Acting Regional Administrator for EPA Region 10. As RA, Michelle is responsible for a staff of 650 employees and an annual budget of $500 million. Region 10 oversees the implementation of the federal environmental rules and regulations in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska, including 271 tribal governments in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. In addition to Acting RA, Michelle has worked for EPA Region 10 in numerous capacities over the last 26 years, including the Deputy Regional Administrator (DRA) since April 2008.
Before serving the Region as DRA, Michelle was the Director of Region 10’s Office of Ecosystems, Tribal & Public Affairs (ETPA). Michelle became ETPA’s first Director in 2004, guiding its formation and implementation, and charting its strategic direction. ETPA’s work takes place in all four Region 10 states and touches virtually every major program within the Agency, including Water, Air, Waste, Toxics, Superfund, and Tribal Environments.
As Director of ETPA, Michelle had direct responsibility for the following programs: Public Affairs (Press, Congressional and International Affairs); Tribal (affecting 271 Federally-recognized Tribes); Wetlands Protection; Sediments Management and Ocean Disposal; NEPA Review; Environmental Justice; Community Involvement; and Community-Based Environmental Programs (e.g., Regional Geographic Initiative, Children’s Health, Environmental Education, National Estuary Program).
Before moving to ETPA, Michelle served as Associate Director of Region 10’s Office of Environmental Cleanup for five years, overseeing both administrative and programmatic operations of the Superfund, Brownfields and Emergency Response programs. She spent 10 years in the Region’s Community Involvement Program, assisting all of the Region’s programs in the communications and public meeting dimensions of their work.
Michelle has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington in communications. She is an avid cook, gardener, and boater. She resides in Edmonds, Washington along with her husband Dave and her yellow lab Fleetwood.
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