White House Environmental Justice Head Leaving Administration

Cecilia Martinez, the first-ever senior director for environmental justice at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, is leaving the agency, a CEQ spokeswoman confirmed Thursday.

Martinez had been serving as one of the administration’s most senior architects of environmental justice policy, an issue area that President Joe Biden and his top deputies have repeatedly prioritized. CEQ has also come to oversee much of Biden’s government-wide environmental justice platform.

Under Martinez’ direction, the policy shop has been working with agencies to adjust the cost-benefit analyses that feed into federal decisions, ensuring they consider the health and environmental benefits in disadvantaged ...