Christy Goldfuss

Christy Goldfuss, former managing director of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), rejoined American Progress as the organization’s senior vice president for Energy and Environment Policy. As managing director, Goldfuss helped develop and implement the Obama administration’s environmental and energy policies, including the Climate Action Plan, then-President Barack Obama’s major initiative to combat climate change. She co-chaired the Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience and identified priorities for protecting the country against the worst impacts of climate change.

While leading the CEQ, she advised on the creation of the National Environmental Policy Act climate guidance and testified repeatedly in the U.S. House of Representatives defending it. She also coordinated policy discussions on ozone pollution levels, the review of the coal leasing program, and conservation finance, to name a few.

During Goldfuss’ time at the White House, she served as co-chair of the National Ocean Council, where she worked on a wide variety of issues. She oversaw the completion of the first federal seafood traceability regime to prevent illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. She advised on the completion of the first two regional marine plans in New England and the Mid-Atlantic and assisted in collecting community input for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument and Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

Goldfuss drove the first family’s strategy for engagement in the celebration of the National Park Service’s Centennial. While at the White House, this included a focus on engaging younger generations in their parks and public lands. This also included advising the president on the majority of his 34 national monument designations that help to tell an inclusive story of the natural and cultural history of the United States.

Prior to her work at the CEQ, Goldfuss was the deputy director of the National Park Service, where she helped lead efforts to set and meet strategic goals related to conservation and preservation of America’s natural and cultural heritage. She also created and directed the Public Lands Project at American Progress and worked on the legislative staff for the House Committee on Natural Resources. She was named WAN’s Woman of the Year in 2016.