Debra Shorea longtime commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and member of the LGBTQ+ communitywill be selected to run Midwest operations for the Environmental Protection Agency, according to Politico.
The choice is a joint decision between EPA Administrator Michael Regan and the White House.
Shore has worked in regional conservation since the 1990s and as water commissioner has been credited with transforming the area's water board from a landing ground for retired politicians to a sharp environmental organization. Over the years, Shore has been an advocate on environmental justice issues, including cleaning up areas of Chicago's Southwest Side.
Shore will lead EPA Region 5, one of the biggest offices for the country's top environmental enforcer, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
It tackles thousands of air, water and land pollution issues in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin as well as 35 Native American tribes. She'll be responsible for protecting Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes, the source of drinking water for tens of millions of people.
Shore was in a two-person race with former Obama Administration official Micah Ragland. A native of Flint, Michigan, now based in Detroit, Ragland would have been the first Black full-time regional administrator for EPA Region 5.