The following bio is that of an event speaker or guest author. This person is not directly affiliated with the John Locke Foundation.

Dr. Donald van der Vaart earned a B.S. in Chemistry from UNC Chapel Hill, an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from N. C. State University, a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Cambridge University and a J.D. from N. C. Central University.

He has worked in both the energy and utility sectors before coming to the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality as an engineer. There he rose through the department to serve as an Air Quality manager, N. C. Energy Policy Advisor, Deputy Secretary, and eventually Secretary under the Pat McCrory administration.

He was named to the U.S. EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board in 2018 and reappointed in late 2020 to a term that ends September 30, 2023. Dr. van der Vaart also serves on the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission which is the rule-making body for the Department of Environmental Quality.

Dr. van der Vaart has authored nearly 50 papers on both technical and legal topics and authored two patents. He has testified for various Congressional Committees on environmental topics and is a licensed engineer and attorney in North Carolina.

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