FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 22, 2010
CONTACT: Robbie Wilbur
601/961-5277
MDEQ SELECTS MELISSA MCGEE-COLLIER AS DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
(Jackson, Miss.) – Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) Trudy Fisher announced recently that Melissa McGee-Collier has been selected as the Director of the Office of Community Engagement. This newly-created position will coordinate environmental justice, community engagement, and workforce events. Melissa is a former resident of Laurel and is the daughter of Percy and Willie Pearl McGee.
“The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has been proactive for many years in responding to citizens’ complaints, holding public meetings, and responding to environmental justice concerns. The addition of this position, and the selection of Melissa, will be a further step in improving our agency’s interaction with the public as individuals and as groups. I am pleased to select Melissa for this position. She has excelled in other positions at MDEQ, and I know she will do an excellent job,” said Trudy Fisher, MDEQ Executive Director.
"The overall contribution I have made to the agency in every role I have played, whether writing permits, conducting inspections, or implementing data management tools, has been the professionalism of my work which helped me establish and develop relationships with individuals within the agency and with industry representatives. My intent is to take that same professionalism and apply it to all citizens of the State of Mississippi. The creation of the Office of Community Engagement is probably one of the most innovative moves the agency has ever made. I am excited to be a part of it, and I look forward to creating partnerships with communities in addressing environmental issues," said Melissa McGee-Collier.
Melissa has been with MDEQ since 1995 and has held previous positions in the Air Division, in the Environmental Compliance Enforcement Division’s Timber and Wood Products Branch, and in the Data Integration Division where she worked on the implementation of the agency’s data management system, en Site, and other information management systems.
Melissa is a graduate of the Laurel City Public Schools and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and a Masters of Public Policy and Administration from Mississippi State University. She lives in Hinds County with her husband, Kenneth and three children: Kennedy, Karrington, and Isaac. # # # |