Leadership

Jon Niermann
Chairman, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Jon Niermann was appointed to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) by Governor Greg Abbott in 2015 and reappointed to a second term in 2021. He has served as the commission’s Chairman since 2018. Niermann is Chair of the Western States Water Council and Governor Abbott’s appointee to the Good Neighbor Environmental Board and Western Water Cooperative Committee. He is also a member of the American College of Environmental Lawyers. Prior to joining TCEQ, Niermann held roles at the Texas Attorney General’s Office including Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Environmental Protection Division. He also has worked as an environmental attorney in private practice. Niermann earned a Bachelor’s degree in History at the University of California at Santa Barbara and a Master of Business Administration and JD at the University of Oregon. Niermann currently serves as ECOS President and member of the E-Enterprise Leadership Council. 

James Kenney
Cabinet Secretary, New Mexico Environment Department

James Kenney was named by Governor Lujan Grisham to lead the New Mexico Environment Department in January 2019. He has spent more than 21 years across two stints at the U.S. EPA, most recently as Senior Policy Advisor for Oil & Gas. In that role, he worked with senior agency leadership and designed strategies to support environmentally responsible development of oil and natural gas resources while working with states, tribes, federal agencies, and industries on regulatory and policy matters. He also was a Senior Environmental Engineer at EPA, leading both civil and criminal investigations related to various EPA statutes and regulations. He has been an EPA Ozone Program Manager and Senior Environmental Engineer at an environmental engineering firm in Denver, as well as a consultant at the U.S. Department of Justice. Kenney holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Environmental Engineering from Temple University. He serves as ECOS Vice President, Co-Chair of the ECOS Oil & Gas Caucus, and State Co-Chair of the E-Enterprise Leadership Council. He is also a member of the ECOS Climate & Energy Steering Committee. 

Brian Rockensuess
Commissioner, Indiana Department of Environmental Management

Brian Rockensuess was appointed Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) by Governor Eric J. Holcomb in December 2021. Rockensuess has worked at IDEM since 2013, having served as Chief of Staff since 2016. Previously, he was the agency’s Director of Governmental Affairs and the business, agricultural, and legislative liaison. Prior to his service at IDEM, he worked for the Indiana State Senate. Rockensuess earned an undergraduate degree from Ball State University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Rockensuess currently serves as ECOS Secretary-Treasurer and as Co-Chair of the ECOS-EDF Community Healthy Air Monitoring Partnership (CHAMP).  

Myra Reece
Interim Director, South Carolina Department of Environmental Services

Myra Reece is currently Interim Director of the new South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (DES). In a career spanning more than 30 years with DES (formerly the Department of Health & Environmental Control), Reece also has filled leadership roles with the regional office system and as the Bureau Chief for Air Quality. Reece also is a member of U.S. EPA’s Clean Air Act Advisory Committee and the SC Housing Board of Commissioners. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology from Clemson University and a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of South Carolina. She is also a graduate of the Management Academy for Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the Southern Center of Excellence in Environmental Health at Emory University. Reece currently serves as ECOS Past President, Co-Chair of the ECOS Environmental Justice Workgroup, and member of the E-Enterprise Leadership Council.