November 15, 2023
Governor-Elect Jeff Landry Announces Head of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
Lafayette, La– Today, Governor-elect Jeff Landry announced that Aurelia Skipwith Giacometto will serve as Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. Aurelia will be the first black female to serve as Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.
“We are proud to have Aurelia Skipwith Giacometto head the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. To bring someone to Louisiana with her caliber, her mind, and her pedigree, is incredible. With her extensive background in science-based policy and conservation, Aurelia understands the balance between protecting our environment and ensuring job creation,” said Governor-elect Jeff Landry.
“I am honored to have been selected by Governor-elect Landry to serve as the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. Louisiana is unique in its natural resources, which attract many people to the State. I look forward to bringing my background and experience in science and conservation to serve the Governor and the great people of Louisiana,” said Aurelia Skipwith Giacometto.
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Background:
Aurelia Skipwith Giacometto is an American conservationist who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). As the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Giacometto managed a $2.9 billion budget and 8500 employees from December 2019 to January 2021.
Her teams managed more than 850 million land and water acres, endangered species programs, international conservation efforts, and law enforcement. She increased access to four million acres of public lands for recreational purposes.
Prior to that, Giacometto implemented science-based policy by applying her background in science and law when serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks in her first public service role.
Following her tenure in public service, she accepted the role of CEO at the International Order of T. Roosevelt (IOTR), a not-for-profit. During her term, IOTR focused on transforming conservation by performing in-the-field projects designed to fulfill corporate social responsibility initiatives enabling businesses to continue to operate while contributing to healthy ecosystems and wildlife populations.
In 2023, she founded Las Golden & Associates, which provides services in conservation and environmental stewardship to clients in variety of industries.
Furthermore, she advises on the precommercial development of coal-based carbon advanced products and works. With her late husband, she co-founded AVC Global, a track-and-trace company using blockchain technology to prevent counterfeit pharmaceuticals entering into markets in Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Today, she serves on the boards of Ramaco Resources, a publicly traded metallurgical coal company; Foundation of Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF); Protect the Harvest; Rubicon Institute; and Steamboat Institute.
She is a member of the Colossal BioSciences’ Advisory Board, Ducks Unlimited Conservation Policy Committee, and the National Rifle Association’s Hunting and Conservation Committee.
Prior to service at the Interior Department, Giacometto was the Assistant Corporate Counsel at Alltech, an all-natural international animal feed and agriculture corporation, where she was the legal contact for the Crop Science division.
Giacometto’s career began at Monsanto, now Bayer Corporation, a global leader in agricultural and chemical products. Her responsibilities grew from laboratory characterization of agricultural products that improved yields and increased health benefits to projects that improved crop resiliency against environmental impacts. Her work was critical to the federal regulatory approval process for global product commercialization. She managed the teams of the multi-million-dollar Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) to develop and deploy corn to farmers in five African countries with no cost of the technology.