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About EPA

Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science for the Office of Research and Development, and EPA Science Advisor

Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta

Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, Ph.DJennifer Orme-Zavaleta, Ph.D., is the  Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science for the Office of Research and Development and the EPA Science Advisor. Dr. Orme-Zavaleta has been with EPA since 1981, working in the areas of human health and ecological research, risk assessment, policy and regulation development, strategic planning, and program implementation. The focus of her experience includes the evaluation of risks to human and ecosystem health, and the influence of environmental change on human health in response to a variety of stressors including synthetic organic and inorganic chemicals, radionuclides, microorganisms, and vector-borne disease.

Dr. Orme-Zavaleta received her B.A. in Zoology from Ohio Wesleyan University, M.S. in Zoology and Toxicology from Miami University, and Ph.D. in Wildlife Science and Public Health from Oregon State University.

Jennifer has held a number of positions within EPA in the Offices of Toxic Substances, Water and Research and Development. Most recently she served as the Director of EPA’s National Exposure Research Laboratory. She also served as the Interim National Program Director for Safe and Sustainable Water Resources, where she led the development of research to achieve safe, resilient and sustainable solutions to the increasingly complex water challenges facing US regions, states, tribes, cities and rural areas.