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Monica Medina

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Monica Medina
15th Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
In office
September 28, 2021 – April 28, 2023
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byKerri-Ann Jones
Succeeded byJennifer Littlejohn (acting)
Personal details
Born1962 (age 61–62)
SpouseRon Klain
Children3
EducationGeorgetown University (BA)
Columbia University (JD)
Military service
Branch/service United States Army

Monica P. Medina (born 1962) is an American attorney and government official who previously served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs at the Department of State.[1] Medina served as Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, deputy associate attorney general, and general counsel of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She was also the U.S. Commissioner to the International Whaling Commission.[2] She is currently President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Early life and education

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Medina received an Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps scholarship in 1979 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University. She received her Juris Doctor with honors from Columbia Law School.[3][4]

Career

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Medina began her career in the office of the general counsel of the Army, where she served on active duty in the United States Army.

Capitol Hill

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From 1989 to 1992, she served as senior counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Clinton administration

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In 1992, she was appointed by Janet Reno to serve as deputy associate attorney general at the United States Department of Justice, with oversight of the Environment Division. Medina was later appointed to serve as general counsel of NOAA from 1997 to 1999. As general counsel of NOAA, Medina represented the United States in several international negotiations, and argued and won significant cases before the United States courts of appeals.[5]

2000–2008

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Medina served as a senior officer in the Pew Environment Group, where she provided advice and assistance on issues of marine law and policy. Medina also worked in the U.S. Office of the International Fund for Animal Welfare and spent a number of years as a partner at the law firm of Heller Ehrman, with a practice focused on environmental law, corporate law, and biotechnology matters. Medina served on the presidential transition team of Barack Obama.[6]

Obama administration

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In the Obama administration, Medina served as principal deputy undersecretary for oceans and atmosphere of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.[7] Medina also served as the U.S. Commissioner to the International Whaling Commission.[8][9] Medina led efforts on Arctic conservation, restoration of the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, conservation of endangered species, and fisheries management and enforcement.[10]

Medina later served as special assistant to United States Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, where she played a role in eliminating discrimination against women in the military and in addressing military sexual assault.[11] Medina also drafted the rule overturning the ban on women from “combat” positions strictly because of their gender.[12] Medina later served as a member of the Defense Department Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.

2013–present

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Medina currently runs Our Daily Planet, an email newsletter about climate change and the environment. Previously she served as deputy director of the environment program at the Walton Family Foundation[13] and an adjunct professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Prior to joining the Walton Family Foundation she served as the senior director of ocean policy at the National Geographic Society.[14][15] Medina is also a board member of the Service Women's Action Network and the Georgetown Sustainable Oceans Alliance board.[16]

Medina has written opinion columns for The New York Times, HuffPost, The Hill, and USA Today. Medina frequently writes about environmental policy, and has authored columns supportive of the Green New Deal.[17][18][19] Medina has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, CGTN America, and NPR.[20][21][22]

In April 2021, Medina was nominated to serve as an Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs in the Biden administration. Her nomination was reported favorably by the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee on August 4, 2021. Medina was officially confirmed by the entire Senate on September 28, 2021, by a vote of 61–36.[23]

In 2023, Media was named president and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society[24]

Awards

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For her service in the Army, Medina was awarded a Commendation Medal in 1989 and a Meritorious Service Medal in 1990. In 2013, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta awarded Medina the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal.

Personal life

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Medina is married to Ron Klain, the former chief of staff to President Joe Biden. Klain is a former chief of staff to two U.S. vice presidents and the former United States Ebola response coordinator. Medina and Klain met as undergraduates at Georgetown. They have three children.[25]

References

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  1. ^ "President Biden Announces 12 Key Climate and Infrastructure Administration Nominations". The White House. 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  2. ^ "Faculty". gufaculty360.georgetown.edu. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  3. ^ Medina, Monica (2016-09-20). "Mr. Trump, Women Belong In The Military". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  4. ^ "For Alumni Turned Professors, Continuity Amid Change". 2013-03-26. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  5. ^ "About Monica Medina, Principal Deputy Undersecretary for Oceans and Atmosphere | Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force | US EPA". archive.epa.gov. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  6. ^ Writer, Richard GainesStaff (15 May 2013). "Catch shares leader hosts Markey fund-raiser". Gloucester Daily Times. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  7. ^ "International Whaling Commission leader is 'optimistic' for compromise at June meeting". LA Times Blogs - L.A. Unleashed. 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  8. ^ "Updated – The Obameter: Strengthen international rules against commercial whaling". PolitiFact. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  9. ^ "Commercial whaling may continue for 10 years: IWC". Reuters. 2010-04-23. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  10. ^ "Monica Medina". www.csis.org. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  11. ^ Balluck, Kyle (2018-01-08). "Pentagon officials endorse demonstration against military sexual assault". TheHill. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  12. ^ Lubold, Gordon (11 April 2013). "The Navy, Marines don't have to furlough civilians; Monica Medina leaves the front office; McCaskill isn't buying what Franklin's selling on sexual assault case; A Harrier pilot's best man speech; And at Andrews, the cookie program crumbles; plus a little". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  13. ^ "Leading Conservation Expert to Join Walton Family Foundation". Walton Family Foundation. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  14. ^ "Gabon Announces Protection of 23 Percent of Its Waters – National Geographic Society Newsroom". blog.nationalgeographic.org. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  15. ^ "Thank Goodness for Guano – National Geographic Society Newsroom". blog.nationalgeographic.org. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  16. ^ "Who We Are". Service Women's Action Network. 2016-01-20. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  17. ^ Medina, Monica (2013-09-30). "Opinion | The White Gold of Jihad (Published 2013)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  18. ^ Medina, Monica; Korenha, Miro; Writers, Guest (2019-01-11). "Opinion | The Green New Deal's Sudden Popularity Is A Reason For Climate Change Optimism". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  19. ^ Medina, Monica. "How can Trump ignore climate crisis with twin hurricane-season storms barreling toward us?". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  20. ^ Anderson Cooper: To say this out loud sounds ludicrous – CNN Video, 10 September 2019, retrieved 2020-10-21
  21. ^ "How Green New Deal moves climate change solution forward". MSNBC.com. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  22. ^ "Former NOAA Official On Trump's Alabama Hurricane Threat". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  23. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Monica P. Medina, of Maryland, to be Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs)". US Senate. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  24. ^ "Monica P. Medina, First US Diplomat Designated to Advocate for Global Biodiversity, Named President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society". Wildlife Conservation Society. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  25. ^ "NOAA Leadership: Monica Medina" Archived 2010-12-28 at the Wayback Machine. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website; retrieved August 14, 2013.
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