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Former EPA Chief, Governor of New Jersey To Serve As 2017 Hedrick Fellow

News - Hedrick Whitman 2017
March 19, 2017

Christine Todd Whitman, who served in the cabinet of President George W. Bush as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the first woman governor of New Jersey, will visit the Coast Guard Academy on March 24 as the Coast Guard Foundation’s 22nd Hedrick Fellow.

The Coast Guard Foundation Hedrick Fellowship is a longstanding tradition of bringing world-renowned political, military and industry leaders to the Coast Guard Academy to share their wisdom with cadets.

Governor Whitman lead the EPA from January of 2001 until June of 2003 and was the 50th Governor of the State of New Jersey from 1994 until 2001. She is president of the energy and environmental consulting firm The Whitman Strategy Group and the author of a New York Times best-seller called It’s My Party Too.

As Governor, Christie Whitman was recognized by the Natural Resources Defense Council as having instituted the most comprehensive beach monitoring system in the nation. As EPA Administrator, she is credited with promoting environmental improvements such as watershed-based water protection policies and implementing landmark brownfields legislation to promote the redevelopment and reuse of previously contaminated industrial sites.

The fellowship program was founded by an endowment from Frank E. and Harriet E. Hedrick in 1982 to bring influential Americans to the Academy in New London, Conn. for the purpose of interacting with cadets and the faculty in both formal academic seminars as well as informal settings.

Past Hedrick Fellows include former Presidents George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter; former Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia, Sandra Day O'Connor and Warren Burger; former Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper; and former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card.

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Former Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper addressing the Academy's cadets as the 2016 Hedrick Fellow on March 23, 2016.

Supporting Academy cadets is an integral part of the Coast Guard Foundation's mission, with the Hedrick Fellow playing an important role exposing cadets to prominent leaders forming the Coast Guard’s future officers' leadership skills.

Update 3/30/17: Images provided by the Coast Guard Academy. Official Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicole Barger.

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  • News - Whitman Hedrick
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