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Laura Yoshii, Acting Regional Administrator
Laura Yoshii, Acting Administrator of the US EPA's Pacific Southwest Region
Laura Yoshii is Acting Regional Administrator of EPA's Pacific Southwest (Region 9) Office. EPA's Pacific Southwest Region is large and diverse, encompassing the states of Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada; more than 140 tribal nations and communities; and Pacific islands such as American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. It is headquartered in San Francisco, with some 850 employees based there, in field offices in Los Angeles, San Diego and Honolulu, and in a regional laboratory in Richmond, Calif.
Laura has served as the Acting Regional Administrator since January 2009 after serving as Deputy Regional Administrator since 1996. She also served as Acting Regional Administrator from January to October 2001.
Laura began her career as a Presidential Management Intern in 1978. Through this two-year program, she completed various rotational assignments throughout the Agency. She started her permanent career with Region 9 as a program coordinator for the Hazardous Waste Management Division. In 1981, she moved into the management ranks as Section Chief of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Hazardous Waste Programs, implementing RCRA hazardous waste and solid waste programs. In 1985, she became Branch Chief of the Pesticides and Toxics Office, where she implemented pesticides and Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) programs.
In 1986, through an intergovernmental personnel assignment, Laura served as Director of California Toxic Program Planning, Policy and Evaluation Division, at the California Department of Health Services, helping to establish California’s hazardous waste program. She was responsible for policy and legislation development, implementation, program monitoring and evaluation, and organizational development.
Laura returned to EPA in 1988 to become Deputy Director of the Office of Waste, Hazardous Waste Management Division. She was promoted to Director of Waste Programs in 1995, with responsibility for the overall management of the RCRA hazardous waste, solid waste, and underground storage tank programs and Region 9’s pollution prevention efforts. In 1996, she became the Director of the Cross Media Division, where she was responsible for the overall management of the pesticides and toxic programs, National Environmental Policy Act reviews and federal facility compliance, outer Pacific islands programs, tribal programs, environmental justice and community-based environmental projects.
Laura holds a B.A. degree in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Masters degree in Public Administration from California State University, Hayward.
