Michael S. Regan Bio
Michael Stanley Regan (born August 6, 1976) is an American environmental regulator and government official who served as the 16th Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency under President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party and a native of Goldsboro, North Carolina, he was the first African American man to lead the EPA. Since leaving the agency at the end of the Biden administration, Regan has returned to North Carolina as a Distinguished Fellow at the Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy.
Early Life and Background
Michael Stanley Regan was born on August 6, 1976, in Goldsboro, North Carolina, to Zeb Stuart Regan Jr. and Mavis Regan. His father is a Vietnam War veteran, a retired colonel in the North Carolina Army National Guard, and a former agricultural extension agent. His mother worked as a nurse for nearly 30 years. Regan grew up with a brother and a sister and spent much of his childhood hunting and fishing with his father and grandfather in the inner coastal plain of North Carolina. These early experiences in the state’s natural landscape helped shape his lifelong interest in environmental protection and public service.
Regan attended North Carolina A&T State University, a historically Black college and university, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in earth and environmental science. He later moved to Washington, D.C., to attend George Washington University, where he received a Master of Public Administration. His academic training in environmental science and public policy laid the foundation for a career focused on clean air, clean water, and climate issues.
Path to US Politics
Regan began his career as an environmental regulator for the United States Environmental Protection Agency during the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, serving from 1998 to 2008. In that role, he worked as an air quality specialist, gaining firsthand experience with federal environmental enforcement. After a decade at the agency, he joined the Environmental Defense Fund, a leading nonprofit environmental organization.
At the Environmental Defense Fund, Regan spent more than eight years and rose to become the associate vice president for clean energy and the Southeast regional director. In that position, he built expertise in clean energy policy, climate strategy, and regional environmental advocacy. His work with the organization made him a prominent voice on environmental issues in the Southeast and helped position him for senior government service.
Michael S. Regan Career
Early Career (1998–2016)
Regan spent the first decade of his professional life at the EPA, where he served as an air quality specialist under two presidential administrations. His federal work focused on enforcing clean air rules and addressing pollution in communities across the country. That experience gave him a detailed understanding of how environmental regulations operate in practice.
After leaving the EPA in 2008, Regan joined the Environmental Defense Fund, where he remained for more than eight years. He ultimately became the associate vice president for clean energy and the Southeast regional director, leading campaigns on climate, energy efficiency, and environmental justice throughout the region.
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (2017–2021)
In 2017, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper selected Regan to serve as the secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. In this role, he became one of the state’s most influential voices on environmental policy. He launched the state’s Environmental Justice and Equity Board, which was created to advise the secretary on advancing environmental justice and promoting community engagement, especially in historically underserved and marginalized communities.
Regan also helped develop the state’s Clean Energy Plan, which set goals of reducing private sector greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and moving toward carbon neutrality by 2050. He oversaw the state’s climate change interagency council, which worked to advance Governor Cooper’s pledge to achieve carbon neutrality. In January 2020, Regan secured an agreement with Duke Energy for what was described as the largest coal ash contamination cleanup in United States history, with the company committing to excavate eighty million tons of ash across seven of nine coal ash deposits. His department also ordered the chemical company Chemours to address and eliminate toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, that the company was dumping into the Cape Fear River upstream of a major source of drinking water. In 2018, he approved permits for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, though the project was ultimately cancelled.
EPA Administrator Era (2021–2024)
On December 17, 2020, members of the Biden presidential transition team announced that Regan would be nominated to serve as the next United States Environmental Protection Agency administrator. His nomination was endorsed by the Environmental Protection Network, an organization composed of former EPA appointees and career staff. On February 9, 2021, members of the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works voted 14–6 to send his nomination to the full Senate, which confirmed him 66–34 on March 10, 2021. Regan was sworn in on March 11, 2021, becoming the 16th Administrator of the EPA and the first African American man to lead the agency.
As Administrator, Regan was responsible for helping to advance the Biden administration’s commitment to combating climate change, promoting green energy innovations, and addressing the effects of environmental racism. Under his leadership, the EPA and the United States Army issued a revised rule defining the federal government’s jurisdiction over waters and wetlands under the Clean Water Act. On December 20, 2024, Regan announced his intention to resign from his position effective December 31, 2024.
Notable Events and Milestones
Regan’s career has been defined by several signature achievements, including leading the largest coal ash cleanup in U.S. history, launching North Carolina’s Environmental Justice and Equity Board, and becoming the first African American man to serve as EPA Administrator. His confirmation by a 66–34 Senate vote in March 2021 marked a major milestone in his career and reflected broad bipartisan support for his nomination.
Michael S. Regan Career Wins
Michael S. Regan has built a record of leadership in environmental regulation through senior government and nonprofit roles. His accomplishments include directing statewide environmental policy in North Carolina, leading major pollution cleanup efforts, and overseeing national environmental and climate strategy at the EPA.
Federal Leadership Highlights
As the 16th Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency from 2021 to 2024, Regan became the first African American man to lead the agency. He helped advance the Biden administration’s climate, clean energy, and environmental justice agenda, and co-issued a revised rule defining federal jurisdiction over waters and wetlands under the Clean Water Act.
Other Wins and Achievements
While serving as North Carolina’s Secretary of Environmental Quality, Regan launched the state’s Environmental Justice and Equity Board and helped develop the North Carolina Clean Energy Plan. He also secured a landmark agreement with Duke Energy for the largest coal ash contamination cleanup in U.S. history and ordered Chemours to address PFAS contamination in the Cape Fear River.
Michael S. Regan Family
Family Background and Public Service Lineage
Michael S. Regan is the son of Zeb Stuart Regan Jr., a Vietnam War veteran, retired colonel in the North Carolina Army National Guard, and former agricultural extension agent, and Mavis Regan, a nurse for nearly 30 years. He grew up with a brother and a sister in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and his family’s ties to public service and the land influenced his path into environmental policy.
Personal Life
Regan lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with his wife, Melvina, and their son, Matthew. Their first-born son, Michael Stanley Regan Jr., known as MJ, died on August 16, 2012, from stage IV high-risk neuroblastoma at the age of one. The family has resided in Raleigh as Regan has continued his work in environmental policy and public service.